Sen. Tim Grayson

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes April 27 as Harvey Milk Day to honor the first openly gay man elected to public office in a major U.S. city. The resolution recognizes Milk's legacy as a civil rights leader who fought against discrimination and advocated for LGBTQ+ visibility and unity among minority communities. It recounts key events in his life, including his assassination in 1978 and the subsequent legal proceedings against his killer. The measure serves as a commemorative acknowledgment of Milk's impact on California and national history rather than creating new laws or policies.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The board of governors appoints the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to serve as the chief executive officer of the segment. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes them to provide instruction to students at the campuses they operate. This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to the need in the state for well-trained providers of care for individuals with developmental disabilities. The bill would require the chancellor's office to develop a model curriculum for a certification program for providers of care for individuals with developmental disabilities, designed to be offered at community college campuses where there is sufficient student interest and a properly qualified faculty to sustain a certification program. The bill would require the chancellor's office, in developing the model curriculum, to consult with individuals and organizations with expertise in providing care to individuals with developmental disabilities and the training of practitioners for that task.

Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish the California Legacy License Plate Program, and to create and issue a series of specialized license plates, consisting of one or more of 3 specified designs that replicate license plates from the state's past. Existing law requires the department to collect and hold paid applications for the plates, as specified, and prohibits the department from issuing a specialized license plate until it has received not less than 7,500 paid applications for any one of the particular plates on or before January 1, 2015. This bill would extend the deadline for receipt of the required number of paid applications to January 1, 2026, for plate designs that did not receive the required number of applications by January 1, 2015. This bill would also add an additional plate design to the program, as specified.

Existing law provides for various programs and services to support parents, children, and families, including the Home Visiting Program under the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, which provides case management and evidence-based home visiting for the purpose of family support, and family preservation services, which are services for children and families designed to help families at risk or in crisis. This bill would, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, require the State Department of Social Services to contract with a nonprofit organization to operate and maintain the California Parent Youth Helpline to provide emotional support through calls, live chats, and texts 7 days a week and weekly online groups for parents, children, and youth to strengthen their families. The bill would require the nonprofit organization to meet specified qualifications and would specify the responsibilities of the nonprofit organization to also include, among other things, providing statewide marketing and outreach to parents, children, and youth and distributing parenting, child development, and resiliency program materials. The bill would make findings and declarations related to these provisions.

(1) Existing law provides for the prosecution of crimes by the district attorney of each county. Existing law establishes the office of the Attorney General to prosecute crimes at the state level and to provide technical assistance to local law enforcement, including district attorneys' offices. This bill, until January 1, 2029, would require the Attorney General to choose 3 counties in which to establish Innocence Commission Pilot Programs to further the district attorneys' commitment to justice, professional ethics, and integrity, and to effectuate the district attorneys' duty to prevent and rectify the conviction of innocent persons. The bill would require participating district attorneys' offices to establish an Innocence Commission, to review cases submitted to it to determine if a person is factually innocent, has been wrongfully committed, or should receive relief in the interest of justice, as specified. The bill would require participating district attorneys' offices to track specified metrics and to report them to the Attorney General's office quarterly. The bill would require the Attorney General's office to submit annual progress reports to the Legislature by January 31 of each year until 2029, as specified. (2) Existing law establishes the Department of Justice under the direction and control of the Attorney General, which is composed of the Office of the Attorney General and those other divisions, bureaus, branches, sections, or other units as the Attorney General may create within the department pursuant to certain law. This bill would establish in the Department of Justice a Post-Conviction Justice Unit. The bill would prescribe the duties of the unit as including, among other things, working in partnership with local district attorneys to conduct investigations and reviews aimed at resolving wrongful or other improper criminal convictions. The bill would require the unit to develop formal protocols and standards to implement these provisions by July 31, 2026.

Existing law creates the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and the local street and road system. Existing law provides for the deposit of various moneys, including revenues from certain fuel taxes and vehicle fees, for the program into the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account. Existing law, after deducting certain appropriations and allocations, authorizes annual appropriations of $5,000,000 of the moneys available for the program to the University of California to conduct transportation research and of $2,000,000 of the available moneys to the California State University to conduct transportation research and transportation-related workforce education, training, and development, as specified. This bill would require the University of California and the California State University, on or before January 1 of each year, to each submit a report to the Transportation Agency and specified legislative committees detailing its expenditures of those moneys for the previous fiscal year, including, but not limited to, research activities and administration.

Existing federal law, the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, creates the Crime Victims Fund and authorizes federal financial assistance to states for the purpose of supporting eligible crime victim assistance programs. Existing law creates various programs under the Office of Emergency Services related to crime prevention and education, including, among other things, programs concerning family violence prevention and domestic violence prevention. This bill would require the office to allocate funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fill the gap in the federal Victims of Crime Act funding and to prioritize continuity and stability of crime victim services if the federal grant funding that is awarded to the office is 10% or more lower than the amount awarded in the prior year. The bill would require the office to regularly consult, collaborate with, and consider the recommendations regarding allocation of funding from the Victims of Crime Act Steering Committee.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates October 2024 as Menopause Awareness Month in California to highlight the health and societal impacts of menopause on women. It acknowledges that millions of women face symptoms that can affect their daily lives and work, noting that women of color are at higher risk for complications like premature menopause and heart disease. The resolution encourages the state to provide better health information and services to support women's well-being before, during, and after this transition. While the text outlines these goals, the bill itself is a formal recognition rather than a law that creates new funding or mandates specific programs.

This measure would proclaim the week of April 14, 2024 to April 20, 2024, to be Cities Week, and would encourage all Californians to be involved in their communities and be civically engaged with their local government.

This measure would join Asian and Pacific Islander communities throughout the state, nation, and world in celebrating April 13, 2024, to April 15, 2024, as the Songkran New Year Festival.