Legislate: All Bills

CA AB 1013 - Robert Garcia
Peace officer training: behavioral health.
05/23/2025 - In committee: Held under submission.
AB 1013, as introduced, Garcia. Peace officer training: behavioral health. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish and keep updated a classroom-based continuing training course that includes instructor-led active learning, such as scenario-based training, relating to behavioral health and law enforcement interaction with persons with mental illness, intellectual disability, and substance use disorders. Existing law requires the commission to make available the course to each law enforcement officer with a rank of supervisor or below and who is assigned to patrol duties or to supervise officers who are assigned to patrol duties.This bill would authorize the commission to partner with local departments of behavioral health, community-based organizations, or nonprofit organizations to establish and keep updated this classroom-based continuing training course. The bill would require a law enforcement officer with a rank of supervisor or below and who is assigned to patrol duties or to supervise officers who are assigned to patrol duties to complete the course. By imposing additional training costs on local law enforcement agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA AB 1018 - Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
Automated decision systems.
05/05/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 1018, as amended, Bauer-Kahan. Automated decision systems. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act establishes the Civil Rights Department within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and requires the department to, among other things, bring civil actions to enforce the act.Existing law requires, on or before September 1, 2024, the Department of Technology to conduct, in coordination with other interagency bodies as it deems appropriate, a comprehensive inventory of all high-risk automated decision systems that have been proposed for use, development, or procurement by, or are being used, developed, or procured by, any state agency.This bill would generally regulate the development and deployment of an automated decision system (ADS) used to make consequential decisions, as defined. The bill would define “automated decision system” to mean a computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence that issues simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation, that is designed or used to assist or replace human discretionary decisionmaking and materially impacts natural persons.This bill would require a developer of a covered ADS, as defined, to take certain actions, including conduct performance evaluations of the covered ADS and provide deployers to whom the developer transfers the covered ADS with certain information, including the results of those performance evaluations.This bill would, beginning January 1, 2027, require a deployer of a covered ADS to take certain actions, including provide certain disclosures to a subject of a consequential decision made or facilitated by the covered ADS, provide the subject an opportunity to opt out of the use of the covered ADS, provide the subject with an opportunity to appeal the outcome of the consequential decision, and submit the covered ADS to third-party audits, as prescribed. The bill would also prescribe requirements for a third party to audit a covered ADS.This bill would require a developer, deployer, or auditor to, within 30 days of receiving a request from the Attorney General, provide an unredacted copy of the performance evaluation or disparate impact assessment prepared pursuant to the bill to the Attorney General and would exempt those records from the California Public Records Act.This bill would authorize certain public entities, including the Attorney General, to bring a specified civil action for noncompliance.Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

CA AB 1032 - Robert A. Rivas
Coverage for behavioral health visits.
05/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (May 23).
AB 1032, as amended, Harabedian. Coverage for behavioral health visits. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, as defined, under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions.This bill would generally require a large group health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, to reimburse an eligible enrollee or insured for up to 12 visits per year with a licensed behavioral health provider if the enrollee or insured is in a county where a local or state emergency has been declared due to wildfires. The bill would prohibit these benefits from being subject to utilization review. Under the bill, an enrollee or insured would be entitled to those benefits until one year from the date the local or state emergency is lifted, whichever is later. The bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurer to provide notice to all affected enrollees of these provisions, as specified. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

CA AB 1034 - AnaMarie Avila Farias
Teacher credentialing: programs of professional preparation: youth mental health.
05/23/2025 - In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
AB 1034, as amended, Ávila Farías. Teacher credentialing: programs of professional preparation: youth mental health. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials. Existing law requires the commission to ensure that an accredited program of professional preparation for multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credentials includes, among other things, standards established by the commission for the preparation of teachers for all pupils, as provided.This bill would require, when the above-described standards are next revised on or after January 1, 2026, the commission to include a requirement that beginning teachers have a basic understanding of youth mental health.Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials. Existing law requires, as a minimum requirement for a preliminary multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential, the satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation that, among other things, has been accredited by the Committee on Accreditation on the basis of standards of program quality and effectiveness that have been adopted by the commission and provides specified experience including, among other experience health education, including study of nutrition, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the physiological and sociological effects of the abuse of alcohol, narcotics, and drugs and the use of tobacco.This bill would require that health education experience to also include a basic understanding of youth mental health.

CA AB 1037 - Sade Elhawary
Public health: substance use disorder.
05/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 3.) (May 23).
AB 1037, as amended, Elhawary. Public health: substance use disorder. (1) Under existing law, a licensed health care provider who is authorized by law to prescribe an opioid antagonist may issue standing orders for the distribution of an opioid antagonist to a person at risk of an opioid-related overdose or to a family member, friend, or other person in a position to assist a person at risk of an opioid-related overdose. Existing law exempts a health care provider who acts with reasonable care in issuing a prescription or order for an opioid antagonist from professional review, civil action, or criminal prosecution, under certain circumstances. Existing law requires that a person who receives an opioid antagonist pursuant to a standing order or otherwise possesses an opioid antagonist receive training, as specified. Existing law provides that a person who is trained in the use of an opioid antagonist and acts with reasonable care and in good faith is not subject to professional review, liable in a civil action, or subject to criminal prosecution.This bill would expand the above-described authorizations to those who are at risk of or any person who may be in a position to assist a person experiencing any overdose and would strike the requirement that those who receive and possess opioid antagonists receive training. The bill would authorize a person in a position to assist a person at risk of an overdose to possess an opioid antagonist and subsequently dispense or distribute an opioid antagonist to a person at risk of an overdose or another person in a position to assist a person at risk of an overdose. The bill would instead exempt a person who administers an opioid antagonist in good faith, whether or not they were trained, from liability for civil damages, as specified, and would instead exempt a health care provider who acts with reasonable care from liability in a civil action for any injuries or damages relating to or resulting from the acts or omissions of any person who administers the opioid antagonist in good faith, as specified.(2) Existing law imposes a drug program fee for each separate controlled substance offense, as specified, to be deposited by the county treasurer in a drug program fund. Existing law requires that a portion of the fund be allocated to primary prevention programs in the community.This bill would state that primary prevention programs may include those activities aligned with evidence-based best practices, as specified.(3) Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to license and regulate facilities that provide residential nonmedical services to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse or abuse, and who need alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug recovery treatment or detoxification services. Existing law authorizes a licensed alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility to permit incidental medical services, as defined, to be provided to a resident at the facility premises by a licensed physician and surgeon or other health care practitioner under specified limited circumstances, including that the resident has signed an admission agreement. Existing law requires a licensee to develop a plan to address when a resident relapses, including when a resident is on the licensed premises after consuming alcohol or using illicit drugs.This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, to offer a combined application for entities seeking licensure as an alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility and to provide incidental medical services, as defined. The bill would prohibit the department from requiring an admission agreement to require a person to be abstinent and not intoxicated in order to be admitted to care or continue treatment. The bill would require a licensee to prioritize the individual maintaining some level of connection to treatment, following a relapse.(4) Existing law defines “dru

CA AB 1041 - Steve Bennett
Health care coverage: health care provider credentials.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
AB 1041, as amended, Bennett. Health care coverage: health care provider credentials. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act’s requirements a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance.This bill would require those departments to review specified credentialing requirements and adopt regulations to establish minimum standards or policies and processes that can streamline and reduce redundancy and delay in provider credentialing. The bill would also require those departments to adopt regulations to develop, on or before July 1, 2027, a standardized credentialing form to be used by health care service plans and health insurers for credentialing and recredentialing purposes. The bill would require every health care service plan or health insurer to use the standardized credentialing form on and after July 1, 2027, or six months after the form is completed, whichever is later. The bill would require those departments to update the form every three years, or as necessary to comply with changes in laws, regulations, and guidelines, as specified.Existing law requires a health care service plan or disability insurer that provides coverage for mental health and substance use disorders and that credentials health care providers of those services for its networks to assess and verify the qualifications of a health care provider within 60 days after receiving a completed provider credentialing application.This bill would, except as provided above, require a health care service plan or health insurer that credentials health care providers for its networks to assess and verify the qualifications of a provider within 90 days after receiving a completed provider credentialing application. If the health care service plan or health insurer does not meet the 90-day requirement, the bill would require the applicant’s credentials to be conditionally approved unless specified circumstances apply, including that the applicant is subject to discipline by the licensing entity for that applicant.Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 1064 - Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
Leading Ethical AI Development (LEAD) for Kids Act.
05/05/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 1064, as amended, Bauer-Kahan. Leading Ethical AI Development (LEAD) for Kids Act. The California AI Transparency Act requires a person that creates, codes, or otherwise produces a generative artificial intelligence system that has over 1,000,000 monthly visitors or users and is publicly accessible within the geographic boundaries of the state to make available an AI detection tool at no cost to the user that, among other things, allows a user to assess whether image, video, or audio content, or content that is any combination thereof, was created or altered by the covered provider’s generative artificial intelligence system.This bill, the Leading Ethical AI Development (LEAD) for Kids Act, would establish, and provide for the membership of, the LEAD for Kids Standards Board in the Government Operations Agency and require the Governor to appoint an executive officer of the board, subject to Senate confirmation, who would hold the office at the pleasure of the Governor. The act would require, on or before January 1, 2028, the board to adopt regulations governing, among other things, criteria for determining the level of estimated risk of a covered product based on an analysis that weighs the likelihood and severity of reasonably foreseeable adverse impacts against the anticipated benefits of the covered product and denominating the risk levels, as prescribed. The act would define “covered product” to mean an artificial intelligence system that is intended to, or highly likely to, be used by children, used to process a child’s personal information, or applied directly to a child, but the bill would also require the board to adopt regulations governing criteria for developers to determine if an artificial intelligence system is a covered product.The act would, among other things, require, on or before July 1, 2028, a developer to do certain things with respect to a covered product, including preparing and submitting to the board any risk level assessment required by regulation in order to determine the appropriate risk classification of the covered product. The act would authorize the board to refer violations of the act to the Attorney General and would authorize the Attorney General to recover a certain civil penalty, as prescribed. The act would authorize a child who suffers actual harm as a result of the use of a high risk or prohibited risk covered product, or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of that child, to bring a civil action to recover, among other relief, actual damages.The act would create in the State Treasury the LEAD for Kids AI Fund into which any civil penalty recovered by the Attorney General pursuant to the act is deposited and would make the moneys in the fund available, only upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of administering the act.

CA AB 1078 - Marc Berman
Firearms.
05/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 10. Noes 3.) (May 23).
AB 1078, as amended, Berman. Firearms. Existing (1) Existing law prohibits a person from carrying a concealed firearm or carrying a loaded firearm in public. Existing law authorizes a licensing authority, as specified, if certain requirements and other criteria are met, including, among other things, the applicant has completed a specified course of training, to issue a license to carry a concealed handgun or to carry a loaded and exposed handgun, as specified. Existing law requires a licensing authority to conduct an investigation to determine whether an applicant can receive or renew a license that includes, among other things, a review of all information provided in the application for a license, and a review of the information in the California Restraining and Protective Order System. Existing law prohibits the licensing authority from issuing a license if, among other things, the applicant has been convicted of contempt of court, has been subject to a restraining order, protective order, or other type of court order, unless that order expired or was vacated or otherwise canceled more than 5 years prior to receipt of the completed application, or, in the 10 years prior to the licensing authority receiving the completed application, has been convicted of specified criminal statutes.This bill would also prohibit a licensing authority from issuing a license if an applicant was convicted of, under any federal law or law of any other state that includes comparable elements of, contempt of court or specified criminal statutes in the 10 years prior to the completed application or was subject to any restraining order, protective order, or other type of court order.This bill would require the review of the California Restraining and Protective Order System to include information concerning whether the applicant is reasonably likely to be a danger to self, others, or the community at large, as specified. By imposing new duties on local licensing authorities, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.The bill would additionally exempt from the licensure prohibition for applicants previously subject to a restraining order, protective order, or other type of court order, applicants who were previously subject to an above-described order that did not receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the order was issued.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.(2) Existing law prohibits a person who is licensed to carry a firearm from carrying a firearm in specified places, including schools, government buildings, hospitals, zoos, parks, churches, and a bus, train, or other form of public transportation. Existing law exempts a firearm that is secured in a lock box, as specified, under certain circumstances, from these prohibitions.This bill would exempt a firearm that is unloaded and locked in a lock box for the purpose of transporting the firearm from the prohibition on carrying the firearm on a bus, train, or other form of public transportation, including a building, real property, or parking area under the control of a public transportation authority.(3) Existing law requires, when a person applies for a new license or license renewal to carry a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, a licensing authority, as specified, to issue or renew a license if the applicant has provided proof that, among other things, the applicant has completed a specified course of training, including live-fire shooting exercises on a firing range, and the applicant is the recorded owner of the pistol, revolver, or other

CA AB 1090 - Laurie Davies
Alcoholism or drug abuse treatment facilities: County of Orange pilot program.
03/25/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on Health.
AB 1090, as amended, Davies. Alcoholism or drug abuse treatment facilities: County of Orange pilot program. Existing law provides that the State Department of Health Care Services has the sole authority in state government to license adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities, as defined. Existing law authorizes the department to conduct announced or unannounced site visits to licensed facilities to review compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations.This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to establish a pilot program to locate an investigator within a participating county to investigate complaints against licensed adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities within the county. The participating county would be the County of Orange if the Orange County Board of Supervisors elects to participate in the pilot program. The bill would require the department to implement the pilot program by executing a contract with the County of Orange providing that the department will assign an investigator and the county will reimburse the department for the costs associated with the pilot program, including, but not limited to, the administrative costs and the investigator’s compensation and benefits. The bill would require the pilot program to be completed no later than December 31, 2029, and would require the county to submit a report of the results of the pilot program, as specified, to the Legislature no later than December 31, 2030. The provisions of this bill would be repealed on December 31, 2034.Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law requires a health care service plan to annually provide to enrollees a written or electronic notice regarding the benefits of a behavioral health and wellness screening for children and adolescents 8 to 18 years of age.This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to that provision.

CA AB 11 -
The Social Housing Act.
12/03/2024 - From printer. May be heard in committee January 2.
AB 11, as introduced, Lee. The Social Housing Act. Existing law creates a housing authority in each county or city, which functions upon the adoption of a specified resolution by the relevant governing body. Existing law authorizes these housing authorities, within their jurisdictions, to construct, reconstruct, improve, alter, or repair all or part of any housing project. Existing law establishes various programs that provide housing assistance.This bill would enact the Social Housing Act and would create the California Housing Authority as an independent state body, the mission of which would be to ensure that social housing developments that are produced and acquired align with the goals of eliminating the gap between housing production and regional housing needs assessment targets and preserving affordable housing. The bill would prescribe a definition of social housing that would describe, in addition to housing owned by the authority, housing owned by other entities, as specified, provided that all social housing developed or authorized by the authority would be owned by the authority.This bill would prescribe the composition of the California Housing Authority Board, which would govern the authority, and which would be composed of appointed members and members who would be elected by residents of social housing developments, as specified. The bill would set forth the powers and duties of the authority and the board, including the requirement that the authority and the board annually prepare and submit a business plan and related information to the Governor and Legislature, as specified. The bill would also require the board to provide for regular audits of the authority’s accounts and records, as specified. The bill would require the authority to seek to achieve revenue neutrality, as defined, and would require the authority to seek to recuperate the cost of development and operations over the life of its properties through mechanisms that maximize the number of Californians who can be housed without experiencing rent burden.This bill would require the authority to prioritize the development of specified property, including vacant parcels and parcels near transit, and would establish a process for the annual determination of required social housing units. Under the bill, social housing would accommodate a mix of household income ranges and would provide specified protections for residents, who would have the right to participate in the operation and management of the units in which they reside.This bill would require the California Housing Authority to employ 2 leasing models in creating social housing, referred to as the rental model and the ownership model, and would specify the characteristics of both models. Under the rental model, the authority would extend a one-year lease to individuals who commit to a minimum of one year of residence and would require the authority to set rents, as specified. Under the ownership model, the authority would extend a 99-year lease, in the form of a limited equity arrangement, as defined, to individuals who commit to a minimum 5-year term of residence, and would authorize the authority to act as a lender for residents. The bill would specify how the units may be sold and transferred. The bill would establish eligibility requirements for social housing residents and would provide for the selection of residents by lottery, as specified, provided that people who may have been displaced from a property as part of its development would be granted a preference for occupancy. The bill, among other things, would require the authority to accept a local jurisdiction’s preference for a project parcel if specified conditions are met. This bill would establish the Social Housing Revolving Loan Fund within the State Treasury to provide, upon appropriation by the Legislature, zero-interest loans for the purposes of constructing housing to accommodate a mix of household incomes. The bill would decl

CA AB 1103 - Christopher M. Ward
Controlled substances: research.
05/20/2025 - In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
AB 1103, as amended, Ward. Controlled substances: research. Existing law, the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, classifies controlled substances into 5 designated schedules, with the most restrictive limitations generally placed on controlled substances classified in Schedule I, and the least restrictive limitations generally placed on controlled substances classified in Schedule V. Existing law creates a Research Advisory Panel, as specified, to conduct hearings on, and in other ways study, research projects concerning controlled substances. Existing law authorizes the panel to approve research projects that have been registered with the Attorney General concerning the nature and effects of cannabis or hallucinogenic drugs and the treatment of abuse of controlled substances. Existing law authorizes a person who, under federal law, is entitled to use controlled substances for the purpose of research, instruction, or analysis, to lawfully obtain and use those controlled substances upon approval by the panel, as specified.This bill would revise and recast these provisions to require the panel to review research projects to be conducted in this state that require the administration of Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substances to human and animal research subjects. The bill would authorize the panel, until January 1, 2028, to expedite the review of projects that satisfy certain criteria, including, among others things, that have sought or received certain federal approvals and have proof of independent peer review of the study, as described. The bill would authorize the chairperson of the panel to assign 2 or more panel members to review the research project and to approve it, without a vote by the entire panel. The bill would authorize the panel to withdraw its approval for reasonable cause and would require the panel to provide notice and time for the concern to be cured by the project before withdrawing its approval.Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. Existing law, until January 1, 2027, authorizes the Research Advisory Panel to hold closed sessions for the purpose of discussing, reviewing, and approving research projects that contain sensitive and confidential information, including trade secrets, intellectual property, or proprietary information in its possession, the public disclosure of which is prohibited by law.This bill would extend the authorization to hold closed sessions to January 1, 2028.Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

CA AB 1105 - Sharon Quirk-Silva
Conservatorships.
05/20/2025 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD.
AB 1105, as amended, Quirk-Silva. Conservatorships. Existing law, the Guardianship-Conservatorship Law, generally establishes the standards and procedures for the appointment and termination of an appointment for a guardian or conservator of a person, an estate, or both. Existing law authorizes a conservator to authorize the placement of a conservatee in a secured perimeter residential care facility for the elderly upon a court making specific findings.This bill would also authorize a conservator to authorize the placement of a conservatee in a residential facility, an intermediate care facility, or a skilled nursing facility, as defined, that has a secured perimeter, a delayed egress lock, or both a secured perimeter and a delayed egress lock, as specified. The bill would require court approval for a subsequent placement of a conservatee in a different type of facility except if the change occurs as a result of an emergency. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Public Health to update regulations related to these provisions by January 1, 2027, and would authorize those departments to promulgate emergency regulations prior to that date.

CA AB 1115 - Leticia Castillo
Peace officers: mental health liaisons.
03/10/2025 - Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
AB 1115, as introduced, Castillo. Peace officers: mental health liaisons. The California Constitution authorizes local governments to make and enforce all police and sanitary ordinances and regulations within its limits that are not in conflict with general laws. Existing law requires the board of supervisors of a county and the governing body of a city to take measures necessary to preserve and protect the public health in its jurisdiction.This bill would authorize a local government to designate one or more existing employees specializing in counseling or mental health services as a law enforcement mental health liaison to facilitate mental health support for peace officers who serve the local jurisdiction.The bill would make related findings and declarations.

CA AB 1120 - Sade Elhawary
Foster care: rights of foster youth.
05/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
AB 1120, as introduced, Elhawary. Foster care: rights of foster youth. Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings and governs the provision of child welfare services, which is defined to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of specified purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and restoring to their families children who have been removed. Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including, among others, the right to receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health services, the right to receive grooming and hygiene products that respect the child’s culture, ethnicity, and gender identity and expression, the right to be informed of these rights in an age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate manner, and the right to receive a copy of these rights, at specified intervals.This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to provide to foster parents and others as appropriate educational resources related to grooming and hygiene products appropriate for the child’s culture and ethnicity.

CA AB 1144 - Tina McKinnor
Prisons: elderly employment.
05/23/2025 - In committee: Held under submission.
AB 1144, as amended, McKinnor. Prisons: elderly employment. The California Constitution prohibits involuntary servitude, but exempts from this provision any servitude that is a punishment for a crime. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to require each able-bodied inmate, including a condemned inmate, to work as prescribed by CDCR regulations. Existing CDCR regulations require each inmate to participate in 8 hours per day of programming, including labor, education, counseling, physical fitness, and other programs, 5 days per week.Existing law also authorizes a board of supervisors or city council, through an order, to require all persons confined in a county or city jail, industrial farm, or road camp, as specified, to perform labor on the public works or ways in the county or city, respectively, and to engage in the prevention and suppression of forest, brush, and grass fires upon lands within the county or city, respectively.Notwithstanding any other law, the California Constitution, as amended by Proposition 57 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, grants CDCR the authority to award credits earned for good behavior and approved rehabilitative or educational achievements.This bill would authorize inmates 55 years of age or older, or inmates with mental or physical disabilities, as defined, except those sentenced to death, in state prison or county jail to elect whether to continue to work, reduce the number of hours worked, or retire. The bill would prohibit CDCR from punishing the inmate, in specified ways including a change or reduction in privilege group assignment, based on their election.

CA AB 1162 - Mia Bonta
Challenges to housing and community-serving projects.
05/12/2025 - Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.
AB 1162, as amended, Bonta. Challenges to housing and community-serving projects. Existing law provides that in a civil action brought by a plaintiff to challenge a housing development project that meets or exceeds the requirements for low- or moderate-income housing, a defendant may seek an order requiring the plaintiff to furnish an undertaking as security for costs and damages that may be incurred by the defendant if the bringing of the action would result in preventing or delaying the project, as specified. Existing law authorizes the court to limit the amount of the undertaking or to decline to require the plaintiff to furnish an undertaking if the court determines that, based on evidence submitted by the plaintiff, furnishing an undertaking would cause the plaintiff to suffer undue economic hardship.This bill would expand the type of civil actions for which motions for undertaking may be filed to include actions that challenge a community-serving project, as defined.

CA AB 1170 - Diane B. Dixon
Maintenance of the codes.
05/07/2025 - Referred to Com. on JUD.
AB 1170, as introduced, Dixon. Maintenance of the codes. Existing law directs the Legislative Counsel to advise the Legislature from time to time as to legislation necessary to maintain the codes.This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in various provisions of the law to effectuate the recommendations made by the Legislative Counsel to the Legislature.

CA AB 1178 - Blanca Pacheco
Peace officers: confidentiality of records.
05/05/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
AB 1178, as amended, Pacheco. Peace officers: confidentiality of records. Existing law, the California Public Records Act, generally requires public records to be open for inspection by the public. Existing law provides numerous exceptions to this requirement. Under existing law, the personnel records of peace officers and custodial officers are confidential and not subject to public inspection. Existing law provides certain exemptions to this confidentiality, including the reports, investigations, and findings of certain incidents involving the use of force by a peace officer. Existing law authorizes an agency to redact the records disclosed for specified purposes including, among others, to remove personal data or information, as specified, and where there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe that disclosure of the record would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the peace officer, custodial officer, or another person.This bill would require a court, in determining whether to redact a record where there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe that disclosure of the record would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of a person, to consider whether a particular peace officer is currently operating undercover and their duties demand anonymity.Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA AB 1196 - James M. Gallagher
Health facilities: cardiac surgery.
05/23/2025 - In committee: Held under submission.
AB 1196, as amended, Gallagher. Health facilities: cardiac surgery. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law authorizes a general acute care hospital to be approved to offer special services, including, among others, cardiac surgery. Existing regulation requires, when a general acute care hospital is providing cardiovascular operative service, that a minimum of 3 surgeons constitute a surgical team if the procedure requires extracorporeal bypass.This bill would instead require, when a general acute care hospital is performing cardiac surgery, that the surgical team for all cardiovascular operative procedures that require extracorporeal bypass consist of a minimum of one surgeon and 2 additional individuals, each of whom is either a physician’s assistant or a registered nurse that meets specified requirements. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, to amend its regulations to be consistent with these provisions. By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2029, to update that regulation to reflect current professional standards of care relating to extracorporeal bypass surgery.

CA AB 1199 - Joe Patterson
Hospitals: employee identification.
05/22/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
AB 1199, as amended, Patterson. Hospitals: employee identification. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to license and regulate health facilities, including, among others, general acute care hospitals and acute psychiatric hospitals. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law requires a health care practitioner to disclose, while working, their name and license status on a name tag in at least 18-point type, subject to specified exceptions.This bill would require general acute care hospitals and acute psychiatric hospitals to develop and implement a policy that requires all employees who have patient contact to wear an identification tag while on duty that contains prescribed information. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 1201 - Corey A. Jackson
Family reunification services.
05/14/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
AB 1201, as amended, Jackson. Family reunification services. Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, including when the child suffered or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer serious physical harm, or a parent fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of the child’s parents or guardian, and requires the court to order the social worker to provide designated child welfare services, including family reunification services, as prescribed. Existing law provides that reunification services do not need to be provided to a parent or guardian when the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the parent or guardian of the child has been convicted of a violent felony, as defined.This bill would, in order for the court to refuse to provide reunification services in the case of a violent felony conviction, as described above, require the court to also find that, based on a prescribed individualized assessment, the violent felony for which the parent or guardian was convicted involved harm to the child or the parent or guardian poses a current and documented risk to the safety of the child. The bill would, before a court makes that finding, require the court to require a caseworker to conduct a trauma-informed assessment to evaluate the impact of separation and the denial of reunification services on the family, as specified. The bill would make these provisions applicable in counties with a population over 500,000 commencing January 1, 2026, and all remaining counties commencing January 1, 2027. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to submit semiannual and annual reports to the Legislature that detail the cost savings from these provisions, as specified. By expanding the scope of individuals requiring reunification services, the bill would impose additional duties on county child welfare departments, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.This bill would instead require the violent felony conviction to have occurred in the past 5 years, and would also require the court to find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more specified circumstances exist. The bill would require, if the court finds that the parent’s or guardian’s conviction does not disqualify them from receiving reunification services, the court to order reunification services unless the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, the reunification is not in the best interest of the child, or that the parent or guardian does not qualify for reunification services based upon another reason. By expanding the scope of individuals requiring reunification services, and creating additional duties on county child welfare departments, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 1279 - LaShae Sharp-Collins
Criminal procedure: sentencing.
04/30/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.
AB 1279, as amended, Sharp-Collins. Criminal procedure: sentencing. Existing law, added by Proposition 184, approved at the November 8, 1994, statewide general election, and amended by the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012, approved as Proposition 36 at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, commonly known as the Three Strikes Law, imposes additional years of imprisonment in state prison on a person who commits a serious or violent felony and has been convicted of, or who has a prior conviction for, a serious or violent felony. A prior juvenile adjudication constitutes a prior serious or violent felony conviction for purposes of this sentence enhancement if the juvenile was 16 years of age at the time and other requirements are met. The Legislature may directly amend these initiatives by a statute passed in each house by a 2/3 vote, or by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the voters.This bill would amend those initiative statutes by prohibiting a prior juvenile adjudication from being considered a prior serious or violent felony conviction for purposes of sentence enhancement. The bill would provide a means of vacating a prior juvenile adjudication and resentencing a defendant on any remaining counts, as specified. By requiring the participation of district attorneys and public defenders in the resentencing process, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA AB 1293 - Greg Wallis
Workers’ compensation: qualified medical evaluators.
05/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
AB 1293, as amended, Wallis. Workers’ compensation: qualified medical evaluators. Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries arising out of and in the course of their employment. Existing law establishes procedures for the resolution of disputes regarding the compensability of an injury, including the use of a qualified medical evaluator (QME) to perform a comprehensive medical-legal evaluation to address all contested medical issues arising from all injuries reported in a claim. Existing law requires all communications with a panel QME before a medical evaluation to be in writing served on the opposing party 20 days in advance of the evaluation, and any subsequent communication with the QME to be in writing and served on the opposing party when the communication is sent to the QME.This bill would require the administrative director to develop and make available a medical evaluation request form for communicating with a panel qualified medical evaluator in advance of an evaluation obtained pursuant to the above provisions. The bill would require the administrative director to develop and make available a template QME report form, which will include all necessary statutory and regulatory requirements for a complete QME report that constitutes substantial evidence. The bill would require the Division of Workers’ Compensation to adopt regulations to implement these provisions by January 1, 2027. The bill would also require the administrative director to promulgate regulations by January 1, 2027, to, among other things, establish a process by which a party to a case may submit a medical-legal report that is alleged to be inaccurate or incomplete to the medical director.

CA AB 1378 - Sasha Renée Pérez
Child welfare services: prevention services: Indian tribes.
05/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
AB 1378, as introduced, Rogers. Child welfare services: prevention services: Indian tribes. Existing law requires, upon an Indian tribe’s request, the State Department of Social Services to enter into an agreement with a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization regarding the care and custody of Indian children and jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings, and requires the department to negotiate in good faith with the Indian tribe, organization, or consortium in the state that requests development of an agreement with the state to administer all or part of the programs under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act on behalf of the Indian children who are under the authority of the tribe, organization, or consortium. Existing law makes an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium that is a party to an agreement eligible to receive allocations of child welfare services funds, in accordance with the agreement.Existing federal law, the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018, among other things, provides states with an option to use federal funds under Title IV of the federal Social Security Act to provide mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services and in-home parent skill-based programs to a child who is a candidate for foster care or a child in foster care who is a pregnant or parenting foster youth, as specified. Existing law establishes the Family First Prevention Services program, and requires the department to have oversight of the program. Existing law authorizes a county or Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that has entered into the above-described agreement with the state that elects to provide prevention services to provide those services for certain individuals for a certain period.This bill would provide that agreements between the department and a tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization regarding the care and custody of Indian children and jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings includes agreements that prevent entry into foster care, and would authorize such an agreement to be made for the sole purpose of the administration of prevention programs under the Family First Prevention Services program. The bill would also provide that the child welfare services funds an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium that is a party to an agreement is eligible to receive includes administrative funds to support the cost of legal representation for the agency, parent, guardian, and children’s advocates in cases under a tribe’s jurisdiction pursuant to the agreement.

CA AB 1386 - Jasmeet Kaur Bains
Health facilities: perinatal services.
05/23/2025 - In committee: Held under submission.
AB 1386, as introduced, Bains. Health facilities: perinatal services. Existing law establishes the licensure and regulation of health facilities by the State Department of Public Health, including, among others, general acute care hospitals. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Under existing law, a general acute care hospital is required to provide certain basic services, including medical, nursing, surgical, anesthesia, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, and dietary services. Existing law authorizes a general acute care hospital to provide various special or supplemental services if certain conditions are met. Existing regulations define a supplemental service as an organized inpatient or outpatient service that is not required to be provided by law or regulation.This bill would, beginning ____, include perinatal services as a basic service. The bill would require, on or before ____, the department to establish a process to approve or deny a “perinatal service compliance plan” to meet the requirement to provide perinatal services. The bill would require, on or before ____, any general acute care hospital that does not provide perinatal services to submit a “perinatal service compliance plan to the department, with specified information. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 1387 - Sharon Quirk-Silva
Mental health multidisciplinary personnel team.
05/22/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
AB 1387, as amended, Quirk-Silva. Mental health multidisciplinary personnel team. Existing law authorizes a county to establish a homeless adult and family multidisciplinary personnel team, as defined, with the goal of facilitating the expedited identification, assessment, and linkage of homeless individuals to housing and supportive services within that county and to allow provider agencies to share confidential information for the purpose of coordinating housing and supportive services to ensure continuity of care.This bill would authorize counties to also establish a mental health multidisciplinary personnel team, as defined, with the goal of facilitating the expedited identification, assessment, and linkage of a justice-involved person, as defined, diagnosed with a mental illness to supportive services within that county while incarcerated and upon release from county jail and to allow provider agencies and members of the personnel team to share confidential information, as specified, for the purpose of coordinating supportive services to ensure continuity of care. The bill would require the sharing of information permitted under these provisions to be governed by protocols developed in each county, as specified, and would require each county to provide a copy of its protocols to the State Department of Health Care Services.This bill would authorize the mental health multidisciplinary personnel team to designate a qualified person to be a member of the team for a particular case and would require every member who receives information or records regarding a justice-involved person in their capacity as a member of the team to be under the same privacy and confidentiality obligations and subject to the same confidentiality penalties as the person disclosing or providing the information or records. The bill would also require the information or records to be maintained in a manner that ensures the maximum protection of privacy and confidentiality rights.Existing law establishes the State Department of State Hospitals within the California Health and Human Services Agency and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the administration of the state hospitals, including, but not limited to, the execution of laws relating to care and treatment of persons with mental health disorders under the custody of the department.This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

CA AB 1429 - Jasmeet Kaur Bains
Behavioral health reimbursement.
05/23/2025 - In committee: Held under submission.
AB 1429, as amended, Bains. Behavioral health reimbursement. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, as defined, under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions.This bill would require the plan, as defined, to fully reimburse an enrollee who incurs out-of-pocket costs for behavioral health care services obtained from nonplan providers or facilities or mental health prescription medication obtained from a nonplan pharmacy or nonplan provider on or after May 1, 2022, until the department certifies to the Legislature that the plan has successfully completed implementation of the corrective action work plan resulting from its 2023 settlement agreement with the department. The bill would require an enrollee to submit specified documents for reimbursement and would require the plan to pay the reimbursement within 60 calendar days of an enrollee’s submission of documented expenses. If the plan fails to provide this reimbursement, the bill would require it to pay the original amount plus 10% per annum interest to the enrollee, as well as a $5,000 fine per incident. The bill would require the plan to establish specified procedures, and would require the plan to submit a monthly report to the department with specified information. Because a willful violation of the bill’s provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the specified plan.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 1432 - Josh Hoover
Homelessness Accountability, Recovery, and Treatment Act.
04/01/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D.
AB 1432, as amended, Hoover. Homelessness Accountability, Recovery, and Treatment Act. Existing law establishes and provides funding for various state programs in connection with assisting the homeless, including Housing First. Existing law establishes the core components of Housing First to include, among other things, tenant screening and selection practices that promote accepting applicants regardless of their sobriety or use of substances, completion of treatment, or participation in services.This bill, the Homelessness Accountability, Recovery, and Treatment Act, would authorize a state agency to use up to 40 percent of existing noncontinuously appropriated funds allocated to a homelessness program on recovery housing that does not meet the core components of Housing First.Existing law requires the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homeless to create partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, and specified nonprofit entities to arrive at specific strategies to end homelessness and collect, compile, and make publicly available specified financial data provided to the council from all state-funded homelessness programs.This bill would require a nonprofit that receives state or local government funding for homelessness programs to annually report to the relevant state agency or local government from which they receive funding specified standardized performance metrics. The bill would require a state agency, as defined, to develop a standardized reporting template and compile and publish an annual report summarizing the performance metrics. The bill would require a nonprofit to maintain records and documentation to support the performance metrics and make those records available for audit or review upon request by a local government or state agency. The bill would require a state agency, in collaboration with local governments, to establish procedures for certifying the accuracy of the performance metrics. To the extent that the bill would require a local government to cooperate fully with a state agency to establish those procedures, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require a state agency to provide technical assistance and resources to assist nonprofits, particularly smaller nonprofit organizations, in complying with these reporting requirements. The bill would require a state agency to adopt regulations to implement the act no later than January 1, 2027, and would require a nonprofit to begin reporting performance metrics beginning with the first full fiscal year following the adoption of regulations.This bill would define various terms for purposes of the act.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.Existing law requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, except as specified, to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. Existing law requires the Governor to create the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee the implementation of the Housing First guidelines and regulations and, among other things, to identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

CA AB 1433 - LaShae Sharp-Collins
Education finance: funding: noncredit instruction.
05/14/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
AB 1433, as introduced, Sharp-Collins. Education finance: funding: noncredit instruction. Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at the community college campuses they operate and maintain. Existing law provides for a formula for the calculation of general purpose apportionments of state funds to community colleges. Existing law provides a separate formula for the allocation of apportionments of state funds to community colleges, which uses the numbers of full-time equivalent students as its basis, for use for apportionments for noncredit instruction and instruction in career development and college preparation. Existing law specific the noncredit courses, noncredit classes, and support services that are eligible for state apportionment.This bill would require the board of governors to allocate base funding for designated categorical programs to noncredit colleges, as defined, and noncredit centers, as defined, that meet specified conditions. The bill would specify that the categorical programs eligible for those base funding allocations include, but are not limited to, disabled student programs and services, mental health services, and veteran resource centers. The bill would require the board of governors, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to determine the methodology for allocating the base funding.

CA AB 1439 - Robert Garcia
Public retirement systems: development projects: labor standards.
04/21/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
AB 1439, as amended, Garcia. Public retirement systems: development projects: labor standards. The California Constitution grants the retirement board of a public employee retirement system plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of moneys and administration of the retirement fund and system. These provisions qualify this grant of powers by reserving to the Legislature the authority to prohibit investments if it is in the public interest and the prohibition satisfies standards of fiduciary care and loyalty required of a retirement board.Existing law prohibits the boards of the Public Employees’ Retirement System and the State Teachers’ Retirement System from making certain new investments or renewing existing investments of public employee retirement funds, including in a thermal coal company, as defined. Existing law provides that a board is not required to take any action regarding those investments unless the board determines in good faith that the action is consistent with the board’s fiduciary responsibilities established in the California Constitution.This bill would prohibit the board of a public pension or retirement system from making any additional or new investments of public employee pension or retirement funds in development projects in California or providing financing for those projects with public employee pension or retirement funds unless those projects include labor standards protections, as defined. The bill would provide that a board is not required to take action pursuant to this provision unless it determines in good faith that the action is consistent with the board’s fiduciary responsibilities established in the California Constitution.Existing law authorizes the Judicial Council to sell specified property, at fair market value and upon terms and conditions subject to the reservations the Judicial Council deems in the best interests of the state, if specified conditions are met.This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this provision.

CA AB 1440 - Tri Ta
Pesticide testing.
05/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
AB 1440, as introduced, Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. Pesticide testing. Existing law requires the Director of Pesticide Regulation to adopt regulations relating to worker health in areas where pesticides are used so that pesticide residue levels are not a significant factor in cholinesterase depression or other health effects.Existing law requires that an employer who has an employee who regularly handles pesticides have an agreement with a medical supervisor who is registered with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). Existing law requires that a laboratory that performs tests ordered by a medical supervisor report specified information to the Department of Pesticide Regulation on, at a minimum, a monthly basis. Existing law requires that the reports be submitted via electronic media and formatted in a manner approved by the director. Existing law requires the Department of Pesticide Regulation to share information from cholinesterase reports with the OEHHA and the State Department of Public Health on an ongoing basis, in an electronic format. Existing law requires the registered medical supervisor ordering a cholinesterase test to note in the test order the name of the medical supervisor and the purpose of the test, and ensure that the person tested and the employer receive a copy of the cholinesterase test results and any recommendations from the medical supervisor based upon those results within 14 days of the medical supervisor’s receipt of the results. Existing law requires the medical supervisor to report any worker with cholinesterase depression indicating pesticide exposure to the local health officer within 24 hours. These provisions are operative until January 1, 2027.This bill would extend these provisions until January 1, 2029.

CA AB 1487 - Mark Gonzalez
Public health: the Two-Spirit, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Wellness and Equity Fund.
05/14/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
AB 1487, as amended, Addis. Public health: the Two-Spirit, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Wellness and Equity Fund. Existing law establishes the Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Wellness and Equity Fund under the administration of the State Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Equity, for purposes of funding grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to create programs, or funding existing programs, focused on coordinating trans-inclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex (TGI). Existing law makes the grants available to TGI-serving organizations, as specified. Existing law defines terms, including “health care” and “gender nonconforming,” for purposes of these provisions.This bill would rename the fund as the Two-Spirit, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex (2TGI) Wellness and Equity Fund. The bill would expand the availability of grant funds to 2TGI-serving organizations for purposes of providing workforce development training for 2TGI individuals, resettlement and social integration programs for 2TGI asylees and immigrants, and diversion programs for, and outreach to, transitional-age 2TGI youth. The bill would revise the definition of “health care” to include mental health services and define “Two-Spirit” for purposes of these provisions.

CA AB 1504 - Marc Berman
California Massage Therapy Council.
05/20/2025 - In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
AB 1504, as amended, Berman. California Massage Therapy Council. Existing law, the Massage Therapy Act, provides for the certification and regulation of massage professionals by the California Massage Therapy Council, which is a private nonprofit organization governed by a board of directors composed of 13 members. Existing law requires one member to be appointed by the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and authorizes the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools to appoint one member. Existing law requires one member to be a certified massage therapist or a certified massage practitioner who is a California resident who has practiced massage for at least 3 years before appointment and is selected by a specified professional society, association, or other entity the membership of which is composed of massage therapist professionals, and that chooses to participate in the council.This bill would remove the above-described appointment of one member by the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and would limit the appointment authority of the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools by requiring that their appointed member represent an approved massage school. The bill would add an additional member who is a certified massage therapist or a certified massage practitioner who is selected by a specified professional society, association, or other entity, as described above, and would make conforming changes related to that provision.Existing law authorizes the council to take any reasonable actions necessary to carry out the responsibilities and duties set forth in the Massage Therapy Act, including hiring staff.This bill would prohibit the total annual compensation for any individual employed or contracted by the council from exceeding the annual salary provided to certain state officers during that fiscal year.Existing law requires the council to issue a certificate to practice massage therapy to an applicant who meets specified qualifications, including that the applicant has successfully completed the curricula in massage and related subjects, as specified. Existing law requires the council to determine whether the school from which an applicant has obtained their education meets the requirement of the Massage Therapy Act. If the council has any reason to question whether or not the applicant received that education from the school or schools that the applicant is claiming, existing law requires the council to investigate the facts to determine that the applicant received the education before issuing the certificate.This bill would authorize, instead of require, the council to conduct that investigation, as described above.Existing law requires a certificate holder to notify the council within 30 days of any changes in the certificate holder’s home address or the address of any massage establishment or other location where the certificate holder provides massage for compensation, except as specified.This bill would also require a certificate holder to notify the council within 30 days of any changes in the certificate holder’s legal name.Existing law makes it a violation of the Massage Therapy Act for an applicant or certificate holder to commit certain acts, and makes the commission of those acts grounds for the council to deny an application for a certificate or to impose discipline on a certificate holder. Those acts include being convicted of any felony, misdemeanor, infraction, or municipal code violation, or being held liable in an administrative or civil action for an act, that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a certificate holder.This bill would specify that a plea or verdict of guilty, or a conviction after a plea of nolo contendere, is a conviction for purposes of the above-described provision. The bill would also include among those specified acts that are considered a violation the determination o

CA AB 225 - Mia Bonta
State hospitals for persons with mental health disorders: patient funds.
02/03/2025 - Referred to Com. on Health.
AB 225, as introduced, Bonta. State hospitals for persons with mental health disorders: patient funds. Existing law sets forth various functions and duties for the State Department of State Hospitals with respect to the administration of state institutions for the care and treatment of persons with mental health disorders. Existing law authorizes the Director of State Hospitals to deposit funds of patients in trust, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the hospital administrator, with the consent of the patient, to deposit the interest or increment on the funds of the patient in the state hospital in a special fund for each state hospital, designated the “Benefit Fund,” and requires the hospital administrator to be the trustee of the fund.Existing law authorizes the hospital administrator, with the approval of the Director of State Hospitals, to expend moneys in the fund for the education or entertainment of the patients of the institution. Existing law requires that the hospital administrator take into consideration the recommendations of representatives of patient government and recommendations submitted by patient groups before expending any moneys in the fund.This bill would additionally authorize the funds to be expended for the welfare of the patients of the institution. The bill would require the hospital administrator of a state hospital to notify patients, patient governments, and patient groups, in writing, about any newly authorized expenditure options for the benefit fund, when applicable.

CA AB 255 - Catherine Stefani
The Supportive-Recovery Residence Program.
01/17/2025 - From printer. May be heard in committee February 16.
AB 255, as introduced, Haney. The Supportive-Recovery Residence Program. Existing law establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations, and, among other things, identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. Existing law requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. Existing law specifies the core components of Housing First, including services that are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy that recognizes drug and alcohol use and addiction as a part of tenants’ lives and where tenants are engaged in nonjudgmental communication regarding drug and alcohol use.This bill would authorize state programs to fund supportive-recovery residences, as defined, that emphasize abstinence under these provisions as long as the state program meets specified criteria, including that the applicant for funding provides certification from the county in which the project is located indicating that the project would not result in supportive-recovery residence units exceeding 25% of the total inventory of permanent supportive housing within the county. The bill would require a county, upon request, to determine whether the aforementioned condition is satisfied using specified data and, if satisfied, provide the certification to the applicant. By imposing additional duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would specify requirements for applicants seeking funds under these programs and would require the state to perform periodic monitoring of select supportive-recovery residence programs to ensure that the supportive-recovery residences meet certain requirements, including that core outcomes of the supportive-recovery housing emphasize long-term housing stability and minimize returns to homelessness. The bill would also prohibit eviction on the basis of relapse, as specified. The bill would require, if a tenant is no longer interested in living in a supportive-recovery residence or is at risk of eviction, that the supportive-recovery residence provide assistance in accessing housing operated with harm-reduction principles that is also permanent housing.Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to license and regulate facilities that provide residential nonmedical services to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse or abuse, and who need alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug recovery treatment or detoxification services. Existing law also requires the department to certify alcohol and other drug treatment recovery services, as specified.This bill would require the department to adopt the most recent standards approved by the National Alliance for Recovery Residences, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or other equivalent standards as the minimum standard for supportive-recovery residences that receive public funds under these provisions. The bill would require the department to establish a separate process for determining if the supportive-recovery residence complies with the core components of Housing First. The bill would authorize the department to charge a fee for certification of a supportive-recovery residence in an amount not to exceed the reasonable cost of administering the program, not to exceed $1,000, and would establish the Supportive-Recovery Residence Program Fund for collection of the fee, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statuto

CA AB 290 - Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
Emergency services and care.
03/24/2025 - In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
AB 290, as amended, Bauer-Kahan. Emergency services and care. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health (department) to license and regulate each health facility, defined to mean a facility, place, or building that is organized, maintained, and operated for the diagnosis, care, prevention, and treatment of human illness, and includes, among others, a general acute care hospital and an acute psychiatric hospital.Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh Act), specifies that all persons within the jurisdiction of the state are free and equal, and no matter their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind.Existing law requires a health facility that maintains and operates an emergency department to provide emergency services and care, as defined, to any person requesting the services or care for any condition in which the person is in danger of loss of life, or serious injury or illness, as specified. Existing law prohibits the provision of emergency services and care from being based on or affected by, among other characteristics, a person’s ethnicity, citizenship, age, preexisting medical condition, insurance status, economic status, or a characteristic identified in the Unruh Act, as specified. Existing law requires a hospital to adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination in the provision of emergency services and care, and to prohibit physicians and surgeons who serve on an “on-call” basis to the hospital’s emergency room from refusing to respond to a call, based on the characteristics described above. If a hospital fails to timely adopt the required policies and protocols, in addition to denial or revocation of any of its licenses, existing law subjects the hospital to a fine not to exceed $1,000 for each day after 60 days’ written notice from the department that the hospital’s policies or protocols are inadequate, as specified.This bill would increase the fine for a hospital’s failure to adopt the policies and protocols required for the provision of emergency services and care to $1,000,000 per day.Existing law prohibits a hospital, governmental agency, or person from retaliating against, penalizing, or taking other specified actions against a physician or other personnel for reporting in good faith a violation of the requirements governing the provision of emergency services and care, or for refusing to transfer a patient when the physician determines that the transfer or delay caused by the transfer will create a medical hazard to the person, as specified. Existing law subjects a person who violates either of these prohibitions to a civil penalty of no more than $10,000 per violation.This bill would increase the maximum amount of that civil penalty to $1,000,000 per violation.Under existing law, a hospital found by the department to have committed or been responsible for a violation of the requirements governing the provision of emergency services and care is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $25,000 for each hospital violation, except as specified. A physician and surgeon found by the Medical Board of California to have committed or been responsible for a violation of those requirements is subject to a civil penalty by the board not to exceed $5,000. Existing law establishes a cumulative maximum limit of $30,000 for civil penalties against hospitals assessed under these provisions and under a specified federal provision governing emergency examination and treatment for emergency medical conditions and women in labor. Existing law requires the department, when determining the amount of a penalty for a hospital violation, to take into account factors including, but not limited to, civil fi

CA AB 3 - Diane B. Dixon
Alcohol and drug treatment facilities: local regulation.
02/03/2025 - Referred to Com. on Health.
AB 3, as introduced, Dixon. Alcohol and drug treatment facilities: local regulation. Existing law declares that it is the policy of the state that each county and city shall permit and encourage the development of sufficient numbers and types of alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities as are commensurate with local need. Existing law requires an alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility that serves 6 or fewer persons to be considered a residential use of property for the purposes of local regulation, regardless of whether or not unrelated persons are living together.This bill would exempt an alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility licensed on or after January 1, 2026, from being considered a residential use of property for the purposes of local regulation if the facility is located within 300 feet of another recovery or treatment facility, both facilities share the same owner or director or share programs or amenities, and the total number of residents in both facilities is greater than 6.

CA AB 308 - James C. Ramos
Mobile crisis teams or units: procedures.
03/25/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
AB 308, as amended, Ramos. Mobile crisis teams or units: procedures. Existing law sets forth various provisions relating to mobile crisis teams, including with regard to behavioral health crisis services under the Miles Hall Lifeline and Suicide Prevention Act, involuntary commitment under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, and community-based mobile crisis intervention services through a Medi-Cal behavioral health delivery system under the Medi-Cal program. Existing law sets forth related provisions for mobile crisis units.Existing law requires a regional center, which serves individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, to implement an emergency response system for, among other groups, consumers who receive mobile crisis services. Existing law requires a regional center and a county mental health agency to develop a general plan for crisis intervention for persons served by both systems. Existing law establishes an advisory council for purposes of developing recommendations for improving outcomes of interactions between law enforcement and people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or with mental health conditions.This bill, in the case of a county that operates, or that contracts for the operation of, a mobile crisis team or unit, would authorize the county behavioral health director to develop procedures for the mobile crisis team or unit that include the handling of an emergency situation, or a crisis incident, involving an individual with an intellectual or developmental disability or an individual with a behavioral health condition.The bill would require the procedures, if developed, to address certain items, including deescalation techniques. The bill would authorize the director to develop training, in conjunction with law enforcement, for those procedures.Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for the Family Urgent Response System, as defined, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster children or youth during moments of instability, as specified. Existing law requires the hotline to include, among other things, referrals to a county-based mobile response system, as specified, for further support and in-person response. Existing law requires the department to collect deidentified, aggregated data, including the number of current and former foster children or youth served through the statewide hotline and the disposition of each call, and requires the department to publish a report on its internet website, as specified.Existing law also requires county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county or region of counties, as specified, to establish a joint county-based mobile response system that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing supportive services to, among other things, address situations of instability, preserve the relationship of the caregiver and the child or youth, and stabilize the situation.This bill would authorize a county behavioral health director to develop procedures for the county’s mobile response system, which may include procedures for handling an emergency situation involving an individual with autism, a behavioral health issue, or another developmental disability. The bill would require those procedures to include, among other things, deescalation techniques for an individual that takes into account their specific circumstances to preserve their safety and well-being. This bill would authorize a county behavioral health director to create training for those procedures and would require that training to be developed in conjunction with law enforcement.

CA AB 322 - Christopher M. Ward
Pupil health: school-based health services and school-based mental health services.
03/13/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (March 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 322, as introduced, Ward. Pupil health: school-based health services and school-based mental health services. Existing law establishes the State Department of Education in state government, and vests the department with specified powers and duties relating to the state’s public school system, including encouraging and assisting school districts to improve and monitor the health of their pupils. Existing law requires the department, as part of that assistance, to provide information and guidance to schools that request the information and guidance to establish “Health Days” to provide screenings for common health problems among pupils.This bill would require the department to include county offices of education and charter schools in the above-described provisions. The bill would require the department to encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to participate in programs that offer reimbursement for school-based health services and school-based mental health services, as provided.

CA AB 341 - Joaquin Arambula
Oral Health for People with Disabilities Technical Assistance Center Program.
03/24/2025 - Re-referred to Coms. on Higher ED. and HUM. S. pursuant to Assembly Rule 96.
AB 341, as introduced, Arambula. Oral Health for People with Disabilities Technical Assistance Center Program. Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities and other conditions, and their families. Under existing law, the regional centers purchase needed services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities through approved service providers, or arrange for their provision through other publicly funded agencies. Existing law defines “services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities” to mean specialized services and supports or special adaptations of generic services and supports directed toward the alleviation of a developmental disability, or toward the social, personal, physical, or economic habilitation or rehabilitation of an individual with a developmental disability, or toward the achievement and maintenance of an independent, productive, and normal life. Under existing law, specialized medical and dental care are included within that definition.This bill would require the department, no later than July 1, 2027, to contract with a public California dental school or college to administer the Oral Health for People with Disabilities Technical Assistance Center Program to improve dental care services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities by reducing or eliminating the need for dental treatment using sedation and general anesthesia. The bill would authorize the contracted California dental school or college to partner with a public or private dental school or college, and would require the schools to meet certain criteria relating to location, accreditation, and a demonstrated record of working with regional centers. The bill would require the contracted school or partnership, among other responsibilities, to identify up to 10 regional centers to participate, provide practical experience, systems development, and expertise in relevant subject areas, to train, monitor, and support regional center and oral health personnel, and to collect and analyze program data with the support of participating regional centers and oral health providers. The bill would require the department to submit an annual report of the collected data to the Legislature, and to provide guidance and establish protocols to support the program, among other things. The bill also would specify regional center duties, including identifying consumers who can benefit from the program, and establishing vendor agreements with interested oral health professionals.

CA AB 37 -
Workforce development: mental health service providers: homelessness.
12/03/2024 - From printer. May be heard in committee January 2.
AB 37, as introduced, Elhawary. Workforce development: mental health service providers: homelessness. Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce.This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to expanding the workforce of those who provide mental health services to “homeless persons” or “homeless people,” as specified.

CA AB 371 - Matt Haney
Dental coverage.
03/17/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on Health.
AB 371, as amended, Haney. Dental coverage. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act’s requirements a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law prohibits a contract between a plan or insurer and a dentist from requiring a dentist to accept an amount set by the plan or insurer as payment for dental care services provided to an enrollee or insured that are not covered services under the enrollee’s contract or the insured’s policy. Existing law requires a plan or insurer to make specified disclosures to an enrollee or insured regarding noncovered dental services.Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer to comply with specified timely access requirements. For a specified plan or insurer offering coverage for dental services, existing law requires urgent dental appointments to be offered within 72 hours of a request, nonurgent dental appointments to be offered within 36 business days of a request, and preventive dental care appointments to be offered within 40 business days of a request, as specified. Existing law requires a contract between a health care service plan and health care provider to ensure compliance with network adequacy standards and to require reporting by providers to plans to ensure compliance. Under existing law, a health care service plan is required to annually report to the Department of Managed Health Care on this compliance. Existing law authorizes the Department of Insurance to issue guidance to insurers regarding annual timely access and network reporting methodologies.If a health care service plan or health insurer pays a contracting dental provider directly for covered services, this bill would require the plan or insurer to pay a noncontracting dental provider directly for covered services if the noncontracting provider submits to the plan or insurer a written assignment of benefits form signed by the enrollee or insured. The bill would require the plan or insurer to provide a predetermination or prior authorization to the dental provider and to reimburse the provider for not less than that amount, except as specified. The bill would require the plan or insurer to notify the enrollee or insured that the provider was paid and that the out-of-network cost may count towards their annual or lifetime maximum. The bill would require a noncontracting dental provider to make specified disclosures to an enrollee or insured before accepting an assignment of benefits.This bill would require specified plans and insurers that cover dental services to offer urgent dental appointments within 48 hours of a request, nonurgent dental appointments within 18 business days of a request, and preventive dental care appointments within 20 business days of a request, as specified. The bill would require dentists to be available within 15 miles or 30 minutes from an enrollee’s or insured’s residence or workplace. The bill would require plans and insurers to report comprehensive information regarding the networks that each dental provider serves, including the plan’s or insurer’s self-insured network. The bill would require the Department of Managed Health Care or the Department of Insurance to review the adequacy of an entire dental provider network, including the portions of the network serving plans and insurers not regulated by the respective department.Because a willful violation of the above-described provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimb

CA AB 38 - Tom Lackey
Crimes: serious and violent felonies.
02/03/2025 - Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
AB 38, as introduced, Lackey. Crimes: serious and violent felonies. Existing law classifies certain criminal offenses as a “violent felony” for the purposes of various provisions of the Penal Code, including sentencing enhancements for prior convictions, as well as numerous other provisions.Existing law includes among the list of violent felonies rape accomplished against a person’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear, or rape accomplished against the victim’s will by threat of violent retaliation, but does not include rape of a person unable to give consent due to disability, rape under false pretenses, or rape accomplished by threat of incarceration, arrest, or deportation.This bill would also include specified crimes involving the rape or sexual assault of a minor who has a developmental disability in the list of violent felonies. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 384 - Damon Connolly
Health care coverage: mental health and substance use disorders: inpatient admissions.
03/18/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on Health.
AB 384, as amended, Connolly. Health care coverage: mental health and substance use disorders: inpatient admissions. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer to ensure that processes necessary to obtain covered health care services, including, but not limited to, prior authorization processes, are completed in a manner that assures the provision of covered health care services to an enrollee or insured in a timely manner appropriate for the enrollee’s or insured’s condition, as specified. This bill, the California Mental Health Protection Act, would prohibit a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, that provides coverage for mental health and substance use disorders from requiring prior authorization (1) for an enrollee or insured to be admitted for medically necessary 24-hour care in inpatient settings for mental health and substance use disorders, as specified, and (2) for any medically necessary health care services provided to an enrollee or insured while admitted for that care. The bill would authorize the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care or the Insurance Commissioner, as applicable, to assess administrative or civil penalties, as specified, for violations of these provisions.Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services through various delivery systems, including managed care. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. This bill would prohibit requiring prior authorization under the Medi-Cal program (1) for admission for medically necessary 24-hour care in inpatient settings for mental health and substance use disorders, as specified, and (2) for any medically necessary health care services provided to a beneficiary while admitted for that care. The bill would authorize the Director of the State Department of Health Care Services to terminate a contract with, or impose sanctions on, an entity that violates these provisions. The bill would condition implementation of these provisions on the availability of federal financial participation and the receipt of any necessary federal approvals. For purposes of these provisions, this bill would provide that 24-hour care in inpatient settings includes, among other things, a general acute care hospital and an acute psychiatric hospital, as specified.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 393 - Dawn Addis
Personal services contracts: state employees: physician positions.
03/19/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (March 19). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 393, as introduced, Connolly. Personal services contracts: state employees: physician positions. Existing law, the State Civil Service Act, regulates employment with the state and vests in the Department of Human Resources all powers, duties, and authority necessary to operate the state civil service system. Existing law establishes standards for the use of personal services contracts by state agencies. Existing law permits personal services contracting to achieve cost savings when specified conditions are met, including that the contract does not cause the displacement of civil service employees. Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in state government, with jurisdiction over persons committed to the state prison. Existing law also establishes the State Department of State Hospitals within the California Health and Human Services Agency, with jurisdiction over specified facilities for the treatment of persons with mental health disorders. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the State Department of State Hospitals, before entering into a personal services contract to have a contractor fill a budgeted State Bargaining Unit 16 (BU-16) physician position, to take specified actions. Among others, these actions would include preparing an analysis comparing the hourly cost of a contractor to a civil service BU-16 physician. The bill would require these departments to submit an annual report detailing information about contractors and civil service physicians to BU-16 and specified legislative committees.

CA AB 395 - Jesse Gabriel
Holidays.
04/01/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on ED.
AB 395, as amended, Gabriel. Holidays. Existing law designates specific days as holidays in this state. Existing law designates holidays on which public schools are required to close.This bill would require the governing board of a school district or charter school, or a county office of education, to consider making efforts to avoid scheduling the first day of class and high school graduation, if applicable, on a date for which the governing board or county office of education knows, or has reason to know, that members of the public would be unable to participate or be present due to the ritual observance of a religious, cultural, or ancestral holiday, including, among others, Eid al-Adha, Rosh Hashanah, and Diwali. The bill would require the governing board or the county office of education, in considering and making a determination of which dates to avoid, to actively seek input from the affected community and consider any other relevant sources to ensure inclusive public participation.The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and functions of California’s public segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. The California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, are 3 of the segments. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by appropriate resolution, to make them applicable.This bill would require the California State University and the California Community Colleges, and would request the University of California, to make every reasonable effort, when developing academic calendars, to avoid commencing an academic term on a date for which the institution of higher education knows, or has reason to know, that members of the public would be unable to participate or be present due to the ritual observance of a religious, cultural, or ancestral holiday, including, among others, the holidays listed above.The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act require, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of specified governmental bodies be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. Existing law prohibits a state agency, as defined, or a legislative body of a local agency, as defined, from conducting any meeting, conference, or other function in any facility that prohibits the admittance of any person, or persons, on the basis of ancestry or a specified characteristic, that is inaccessible to disabled persons, or where members of the public may not be present without making a payment or purchase.This bill would require a state agency to make every reasonable effort to avoid conducting any meeting, conference, or other function on a date for which the state agency knows, or has reason to know, that members of the public would be unable to participate or be present due to the ritual observance of a religious, cultural, or ancestral holiday, including, among others, the holidays listed above. The bill would also encourage a legislative body of a local agency to consider making efforts to avoid conducting any meeting, conference, or other function on a date for which the legislative body knows, or has reason to know, that members of the public would be unable to participate or be present due to the ritual observance of a religious, cultural, or ancestral holiday, including, among others, the holidays listed above.By imposing new duties on school districts and community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of

CA AB 40 - Mia Bonta
Emergency services and care.
03/06/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on Health.
AB 40, as amended, Bonta. Emergency services and care. Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of health facilities by the State Department of Public Health and makes a violation of those provisions a crime. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a health facility to provide emergency services and care upon request or when a person is in danger of loss of life or serious injury or illness, and requires a health care service plan to reimburse providers for emergency services and care. Existing law defines “emergency services and care” for these purposes to mean medical screening, examination, and evaluation by a physician and surgeon, or other appropriate licensed persons under the supervision of a physician and surgeon, to determine if an emergency medical condition or active labor exists and, if it does, the care, treatment, and surgery, if within the scope of that person’s license, necessary to relieve or eliminate the emergency medical condition, within the capability of the facility, among other things.This bill would additionally define “emergency services and care” for the above-described purposes to mean reproductive health services, including abortion. By expanding the applicability of a crime with respect to health facilities and health care service plans, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

CA AB 408 - Marc Berman
Physician Health and Wellness Program.
03/24/2025 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on B. & P. Read second time and amended.
AB 408, as amended, Berman. Physician Health and Wellness Program. Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons and licensed midwives by the Medical Board of California. A violation of the act is a crime. Existing law authorizes the board to establish a Physician and Surgeon Health and Wellness Program to support a physician and surgeon in their rehabilitation from substance abuse to ensure the physician and surgeon remains able to practice medicine in a manner that will not endanger the public health and safety and that will maintain the integrity of the medical profession. Existing law requires the board to contract with a third party for the program’s administration in accordance with specified provisions of the Public Contract Code. Existing law provides that participation in the program shall not be a defense to any disciplinary action that may be taken by the board. Existing law requires the program to comply with the Uniform Standards Regarding Substance-Abusing Healing Arts Licensees adopted by the Substance Abuse Coordination Committee of the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law establishes the Physician and Surgeon Health and Wellness Program Account in the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California for the support of the program.This bill would revise and recast those provisions and would instead authorize the board to establish a Physician Health and Wellness Program to support, treat, monitor, and rehabilitate physicians and surgeons and other professionals licensed by the board with impairing physical and mental health conditions that may impact their ability to practice their profession in a reasonably safe, competent, and professional manner. The bill would require the administering entity to be a nonprofit entity and would require the contract with the administering entity to include procedures on specified topics. The bill would exempt the program from the Uniform Standards Regarding Substance-Abusing Healing Arts Licensees. The bill would exempt program records relating to program participants from disclosure under the California Public Records Act, except as specified. The bill would authorize the board to establish advisory committees to assist in carrying out the duties of the administering entity, and would establish duties and responsibilities authorized to be performed by a committee. The bill would rename the Physician and Surgeon Health and Wellness Program Account as the Physician Health and Wellness Program Account, and would authorize the board to seek and use grant funds and gifts from public or private sources to pay any cost associated with the program. The bill would require the board to annually report to the Legislature and make available to the public the amount and source of funds. The bill would require a licensee to report a license to the administering entity or the board if they believe the licensee is impaired. By expanding the scope of a crime under the Medical Practice Act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make a person who, in good faith, reports information or takes action in connection with the bill’s provisions immune from civil liability for reporting information or taking the action. The bill would make the program inapplicable to the Osteopathic Medical Board of California.Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimburs

CA AB 416 - Michael A. Gipson
Involuntary commitment.
04/02/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 1). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
AB 416, as introduced, Krell. Involuntary commitment. Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, authorizes the involuntary commitment and treatment of persons with specified mental disorders. Under the act, when a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to self or others, or gravely disabled, the person may, upon probable cause, be taken into custody by specified individuals, including, among others, by a peace officer and a designated member of a mobile crisis team, and placed in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Health Care Services for up to 72 hours for evaluation and treatment. Existing law exempts specified individuals, including a peace officer responsible for the detainment of a person under these provisions from criminal and civil liability for an action by a person who is released at or before the end of the period for which they were detained.This bill would additionally authorize a person to be taken into custody, pursuant to those provisions, by an emergency physician, as defined. The bill would also exempt an emergency physician who is responsible for the detainment of a person under those provisions from criminal and civil liability, as specified.

CA AB 423 - Laurie Davies
Alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment programs and facilities: disclosures.
04/03/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on Health.
AB 423, as amended, Davies. Alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment programs and facilities: disclosures. Existing law grants the sole authority in state government to the State Department of Health Care Services to certify alcohol or other drug programs and to license adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities. Existing law requires certified programs and licensed facilities to disclose to the department if any of its agents, partners, directors, officers, or owners own or have a financial interest in a recovery residence and whether it has contractual relationships with entities that provide recovery services to clients of certified programs or licensed facilities if the entity is not a part of a certified program or a licensed facility. Existing law defines “recovery residence” as a residential dwelling that provides primary housing for individuals who seek a cooperative living arrangement that supports personal recovery from a substance use disorder and that does not require licensure by the department or does not provide licensable services.This bill would require a business-operated recovery residence to register its location with the department. The bill would define a business-operated recovery residence as a recovery residence in which a business, in exchange for compensation, provides more than one service beyond those of a typical tenancy arrangement to more than one occupant, including, but not limited to, drug testing, supervision, scheduling, rule setting, rule enforcement, room assignment, entertainment, gym memberships, transportation, laundry, or meal preparation and coordination.Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment facilities by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law requires a licensee to provide recovery, treatment, or detoxification services. Existing law authorizes the department to adopt regulations requiring records and procedures that are appropriate for each of those services, including, among others, discharge and continuing care planning. This bill would instead require the department to adopt regulations requiring discharge and continuing care planning that are appropriate for each of the aforementioned services. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations requiring a licensee to, among other things, develop a plan to help the patient return to their home community at the conclusion of treatment, as specified, and schedule for the patient a follow-up meeting with a mental health or substance use disorder professional to occur no more than 7 days after discharge.

CA AB 432 - Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
Menopause.
03/10/2025 - Re-referred to Coms. on B. & P. and Health pursuant to Assembly Rule 96.
AB 432, as introduced, Bauer-Kahan. Menopause. (1) Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California and requires the board to adopt and administer standards for the continuing education of those licensees. Existing law requires the board, in determining its continuing education requirements, to consider including a course in menopausal mental or physical health. This bill would instead require the board, in determining its continuing education requirements, to include a course in menopausal mental or physical health. The bill would require physicians who have a patient population composed of 25% or more of women to complete a mandatory continuing medical education course in perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopausal care. (2) Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law sets forth specified coverage requirements for health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies.This bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy, except as specified, that is issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, to include coverage for evaluation and treatment options for perimenopause and menopause. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to annually provide clinical care recommendations, as specified, for hormone therapy to all contracted primary care providers who treat individuals with perimenopause and menopause. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 433 - Maggy Krell
Mental health diversion.
02/06/2025 - From printer. May be heard in committee March 8.
AB 433, as introduced, Krell. Mental health diversion. Existing law authorizes the court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant diagnosed with a mental disorder if the defendant satisfies certain eligibility requirements and if the court determines that the defendant is suitable for diversion. Existing law excludes a defendant from diversion for specified charged offenses, including, among others, murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, or continuous sexual abuse of a child, as specified.This bill would expand those exclusions to prohibit a defendant from being placed into a diversion program if they are charged with child abuse and endangerment, inflicting cruel or inhuman corporal punishment on a child resulting in an injury, assault of a child under 8 years of age resulting in the death of the child, human trafficking, and any crime that causes great bodily injury, as specified.

CA AB 46 - Melissa Hurtado
Diversion.
03/11/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
AB 46, as amended, Nguyen. Diversion. Existing law authorizes a court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant suffering from a mental disorder, on an accusatory pleading alleging the commission of a misdemeanor or felony offense, in order to allow the defendant to undergo mental health treatment. Existing law provides that a defendant is eligible for diversion if they have been diagnosed with certain mental disorders and the court finds that the mental disorder was a significant factor in the commission of the charged offense, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the disorder was not a motivating, causal, or contributing factor to the defendant’s involvement in the alleged offense. Existing law prohibits defendants charged with specified offenses, including murder, from being placed in this diversion program.This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to add attempted murder to the list of specified offenses that would prohibit a defendant from being placed in this diversion program.This bill would add attempted murder to the list of charged offenses that prohibit a defendant from being placed in this diversion program. The bill would disqualify a defendant from diversion if the defendant has been diagnosed, as specified, with a conduct disorder that causes or threatens physical harm to people and animals. The bill would delete the provision requiring the court to find a defendant, diagnosed with a mental disorder, eligible for diversion unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the disorder was not a motivating, causal, or contributing factor to the defendant’s involvement in the alleged offense.Existing law makes a defendant eligible for this diversion program if, among other criteria, the defendant will not pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety if treated in the community, as specified.The bill would instead require that the defendant not pose a risk of danger to public safety if treated in the community.

CA AB 461 - Patrick Ahrens
Truancy: CalWORKs: school attendance.
03/24/2025 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HUM. S. Read second time and amended.
AB 461, as amended, Ahrens. Truancy: CalWORKs: school attendance. (1) Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant program, state, and county funds. Under the CalWORKs program, certain recipients are required to participate in the welfare-to-work program, which includes the completion of various welfare-to-work activities, including, among others, unsubsidized employment, subsidized private sector employment, subsidized public sector employment, and self-employment.Existing law, the Compulsory Education Law, generally makes persons between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age subject to compulsory full-time education, unless exempted. Existing law also requires children in a CalWORKs assistance unit for whom school attendance is compulsory to attend school, except as specified. Under existing law, the needs of a child in the assistance unit who is 16 years of age or older are not considered in computing the specified grant of the family for any month in which the county is informed by a school district or a county school attendance review board that the child did not attend school, unless at least one of certain conditions is present.This bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, or the date when the State Department of Social Services has made a specified determination, whichever is later, repeal the requirement under CalWORKs for a child in an assistance unit to attend school and would repeal the prohibition against considering the needs of a child in an assistance unit who is 16 years of age or older who did not attend school, thereby allowing the needs of that child to be considered in computing the monthly family grant. The bill would, commencing on the date those provisions are repealed, if a county human services agency is informed that a child is not complying with the Compulsory Education Law, require the county human services agency to screen the family for family stabilization services and authorize the child, if they are 16 years of age or older, to voluntarily participate in the welfare-to-work program. By increasing the duties of county human services agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(2) Existing law makes a parent or guardian of a pupil of 6 years of age or more who is in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and subject to compulsory full-time or continuing education, whose child is a chronic truant, as defined, who has failed to reasonably supervise and encourage the pupil’s school attendance, and who has been offered support services to address the pupil’s truancy, guilty of a misdemeanor that is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000, or imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year, or both that fine and imprisonment.This bill would repeal that criminal offense.(3) Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the above provisions.(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to promote the participation of current and former foster youth in the development of state foster care and child welfare policy and, subject to the availability of funds, to contract with California Youth Connection to provide technical assistance and outr

CA AB 47 -
Elderly Parole Program.
12/03/2024 - From printer. May be heard in committee January 2.
AB 47, as introduced, Stephanie Nguyen. Elderly Parole Program. Existing law establishes the Elderly Parole Program for the purpose of reviewing the parole suitability of inmates who are 50 years of age or older and who have served a minimum of 20 years of continuous incarceration on their sentence. Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, when considering the release of qualifying inmates, to give special consideration to whether certain criteria have reduced the elderly inmate’s risk for future violence. Existing law excludes various persons from these provisions, including persons convicted of serious felonies or persons sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.This bill would additionally exclude persons required to register as sexual offenders, habitual sexual offenders, and persons convicted of various sexual offenses, including rape or sodomy.

CA AB 48 -
Education finance: postsecondary education facilities: College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2026.
12/03/2024 - From printer. May be heard in committee January 2.
AB 48, as introduced, Alvarez. Education finance: postsecondary education facilities: College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2026. (1) The California Constitution prohibits the Legislature from creating a debt or liability that singly or in the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities exceeds the sum of $300,000, except by an act that (A) authorizes the debt for a single object or work specified in the act, (B) has been passed by a 2/3 vote of all the Members elected to each house of the Legislature, (C) has been submitted to the people at a statewide general or primary election, and (D) has received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at that election.This bill would set forth the College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2026 as a state general obligation bond act that would provide $____ to construct and modernize education facilities, as specified. This bond act would become operative only if approved by the voters at the ____, statewide primary election. The bill would also provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at that election.(2) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to impose, as specified, an alternative fee, charge, dedication, or requirement on developers to fund school facilities, until the date new construction bond proceeds authorized by the Preschool-College Public Education Bond Act of 2016 are expended, or December 31, 2020, whichever is earlier.This bill would remove this authority beginning the earlier of an unspecified date or the date new construction bond proceeds authorized by the 2016 bond act are expended or apportioned, until an unspecified date. The bill would also exempt multifamily housing developments that are located no further than 1/2 mile from a major transit stop, and reduce by 20% from specified amounts for any other multifamily housing developments, as specified, from any fee, charge, dedication, or other requirement for the construction or reconstruction of school facilities, as provided.(3) This bill, except for the provision making the provisions of the bill severable, would become effective upon the adoption of the College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2026 by the voters at the ____, statewide primary election.

CA AB 487 - House Insurance Committee
Insurance.
04/02/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (April 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 487, as amended, Committee on Insurance. Insurance. (1) Existing law establishes the powers and duties of the Department of Insurance and the Insurance Commissioner. Existing law requires an application for specified licenses, including a production agency license, to be automatically denied without prejudice to the filing of a new application for the license, except in specified circumstances, if the applicant does not fully qualify for and receives the license on a permanent basis or is denied the issuance of the license, as specified.This bill would additionally include applications for bail, insurance adjuster, or public insurance adjuster licenses.(2) Existing law requires an insurance licensee or applicant for a license to notify the commissioner when any of their background information changes after the application has been submitted or the license has been issued. For this purpose, existing law defines “background information” to include an administrative action regarding a professional or occupational license, among other things.This bill would expand the definition for “background information” to also include an administrative action regarding conduct or activity for which a professional or occupational license was required, but not possessed, and an administrative or civil action filed by, or on behalf of, a government or regulatory agency alleging any unlawful conduct, activity, or omission.(3) Existing law permits blanket insurance to be issued to a college, school, or other institution of learning, or a sports team, camp, sponsor, or proprietor of a sports team, providing benefits to students, teachers, or employees, or sports team participants, campers, employees, officials, supervisors, or persons responsible for their support, for death or dismemberment resulting from accident, or for hospital, medical, surgical, or nursing expenses resulting from accident or sickness, as specified. Existing law defines “blanket insurance” for purposes of these provisions.This bill would expand the groups for which blanket insurance may be issued to include coverage of volunteers for the entities described above.(4) Existing law prohibits knowingly employing runners, cappers, steerers, or other persons to procure clients or patients to perform or obtain services or benefits under workers’ compensation coverage or a contract of insurance or that will be the basis for a claim against an insured individual or their insurer. Existing law authorizes a district attorney, the Insurance Commissioner, or an interested person to bring a civil action for a violation of that provision. Existing law requires the district attorney or commissioner, for actions brought by an interested person, to either proceed with the action, in which case the action would be conducted by the district attorney or commissioner or to notify the court that it declines to take over the action, in which case the person bringing the action has the right to conduct the action. Existing law prohibits a court from having jurisdiction over an action under these provisions based upon the public disclosure of allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing in a legislative or administrative report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, unless the action is brought by the Attorney General or the person bringing the action is an original source of the information.This bill would instead prohibit a court from having jurisdiction, unless the action is brought by the district attorney or commissioner, the district attorney or commissioner proceeds with an action brought by an interested person, or the person bringing the action is an original source of the information.(5) This bill would make additional technical changes to eliminate outdated references and correct other errors.

CA AB 520 - Leticia Castillo
Homelessness and mental health: state funding information.
03/17/2025 - Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and HUM. S.
AB 520, as introduced, Castillo. Homelessness and mental health: state funding information. Existing law provides funding for homelessness prevention and mental health services through various state programs, such as Housing First, and the Early Psychosis Intervention Plus Program. Existing law establishes the State Department of Health Care Services and, among other things, requires the department to implement certain mental health services through contracts with a county or counties acting jointly. Existing law requires the Governor to create a California Interagency Council on Homelessness to serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California, among other things. Existing law requires the council to create a statewide data system with a goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs.This bill would require the Controller, by January 1, 2027, in collaboration with the department and the council to develop, publish, and maintain an online search portal that contains specified information relating to state funding for programs as described above. The bill would require the portal to include funding amounts provided in the current fiscal year and the previous 10 fiscal years, as well as specified information about the state program that received the funds and the department or agency that administers the program. The bill would require the Controller, the department and the council to each include a link to the online portal on their internet websites. The bill would authorize the Controller, the department and the portal to request any relevant information from a state agency or department for the purpose of reporting accurate information within the portal.

CA AB 562 - Isaac Bryan
Foster care: placement: family finding.
04/09/2025 - From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 9).
AB 562, as introduced, Solache. Foster care: placement: family finding. Existing law requires a county social worker to investigate the circumstances of each child taken into temporary custody by a peace officer under specified circumstances. Existing law requires the social worker to conduct an investigation, within 30 days of the child’s removal, to identify and locate adult relatives of the child, as specified, and to provide them with a notification that the child has been removed from the custody of the child’s parents, guardians, or Indian custodian, and an explanation of the various options to participate in the care and placement of the child.This bill, the Justice through Placing Foster Children with Families Act, would require, beginning January 1, 2027, each county to review publicly available data comparing the statewide national average rate of placing children with relatives in the prior year for comparison with the county’s placement rate during the same period, and, in the case of Indian children, the statewide average rate according to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 placement preferences, as specified. The bill would require that, if the county’s placement rate is less than the statewide average, the county welfare director, or their designee, to consult with the Center for Excellence in Family Finding, Engagement, and Support to identify best practices that may be adopted by the county to improve its placement rate, as specified.The bill would also require, each year that a county has a placement rate that is less than the statewide average, or, in the case of Indian children, the statewide average rate according to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 placement preferences, the board of supervisors for that county to, at least once, include the topic for discussion on the agenda of a regularly noticed meeting of the full board. The bill would authorize, if a board of supervisors has a social services committee or similar committee assigned to hear child welfare matters, the topic to be placed on the agenda for discussion by the committee rather than the full board. By increasing the duties of county welfare departments and county boards of supervisors, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make related findings and declarations.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 575 - Joaquin Arambula
Obesity Prevention Treatment Parity Act.
03/13/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on Health.
AB 575, as amended, Arambula. Obesity Prevention Treatment Parity Act. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act’s requirements a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of disability and health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law sets forth specified coverage requirements for plan contracts and insurance policies.This bill, the Obesity Prevention Treatment Parity Act, would require an individual or group health care service plan contract or health insurance policy that provides coverage for outpatient prescription drug benefits, as specified, and is issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, to include coverage for at least one specified anti-obesity medication and intensive behavioral therapy for the treatment of obesity without prior authorization. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 579 - Leticia Castillo
Yaeli’s Law.
02/13/2025 - From printer. May be heard in committee March 15.
AB 579, as introduced, Castillo. Yaeli’s Law. (1) Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, establishes procedures for the reporting and investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect. The act requires certain professionals, including specified health practitioners and social workers, known as “mandated reporters,” to report known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect to a local law enforcement agency or a county welfare or probation department, as specified. Failure by a mandated reporter to report an incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect is a misdemeanor. Existing law defines “neglect” for these purposes as the negligent treatment or the maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for the child’s welfare under circumstances indicating harm or threatened harm to the child’s welfare. Existing law defines “severe neglect” for these purposes as the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically diagnosed nonorganic failure to thrive. Existing law also defines “severe neglect” to mean those situations of neglect where a person having the care of custody of a child willfully permits the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation such that their person or health is endangered, as defined.This bill, Yaeli’s Law, would clarify that certain actions, including, among other things, using a child’s legal name, referring to a child by a pronoun consistent with their sex as recorded at birth, or refusing to consent to, or provide, gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care, are not child abuse or neglect, do not constitute unjustifiable physical pain, mental suffering, or endangerment of health, and do not constitute serious emotional damage or a substantial risk factor of suffering serious emotional damage. The bill would create a private right of action for a parent or guardian who is investigated by a police department, sheriff’s department, or any agency against an individual or entity, as specified. The bill would authorize the court to award, in addition to damages and equitable relief, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party.(2) Existing law governs the determination of child custody and visitation in contested proceedings. Existing law requires the court, for purposes of deciding custody, to determine the best interests of the child based on certain factors, including the nature and amount of contact with both parents, and consistent with specified findings, including that the court’s primary concern must be to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the child.This bill would specify that the health, safety, and welfare of a child does not include certain actions, including, among other things, using a child’s legal name, referring to a child by a pronoun consistent with their sex as recorded at birth, or refusing to consent to, or provide, gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.(3) Existing law, the Guardianship-Conservatorship Law, generally establishes the standards and procedures for the appointment and termination of an appointment for a guardian or conservator of a person, an estate, or both. Existing law places a ward in the care, custody, and control of a guardian, as specified. Existing law gives a guardian the same rights to consent to medical treatment as a parent having legal custody of a child. Under existing law, a guardian may consent to surgery to be performed on their ward, as specified.This bill would specify that certain actions, including, among other things, using a ward’s legal name, referring to a ward by a pronoun consistent with their sex as recorded at birth, or refusing to consent to, or provide, gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care, do not constitute omission of necessary medical attendance or remedial care, the cause of, or infliction of, unjustif

CA AB 594 - Jose Luis Solache
Student health insurance.
03/28/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on Health.
AB 594, as amended, Solache. Student health insurance. Existing law, for policy years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, requires student health insurance coverage, as defined, to be considered individual health insurance coverage. Existing law, except as specified, requires a blanket disability insurance policy that meets the definition of student health insurance coverage to comply with insurance provisions that are applicable to nongrandfathered individual health insurance, including, among others, essential health benefits requirements and annual limits on out-of-pocket expenses. Existing law exempts student health insurance coverage from certain requirements otherwise applicable to health insurers and health benefit plans, including the establishment of specified enrollment periods, guaranteed availability and renewability, specified coverage level requirements, and single risk pool rating requirements. Existing law requires a notice to be provided in the student health insurance enrollment materials stating that California requires residents and their dependents to obtain and maintain health coverage, either through student health insurance, or through a different method, including Medi-Cal, Covered California, or, if under 26 years of age, their parents coverage.This bill would authorize a student certificate holder to request to terminate their student health insurance coverage during the policy year if the student graduates or is no longer enrolled at the institution of higher education. The bill would require the request to be provided to the institution of higher institution at least 30 days before the effective date of termination and would authorize the student to pay only the premium through the date of the termination. The bill would, if a student requests a waiver from student health insurance, require the waiver to be granted if the student obtains or maintains health coverage through one of the alternative methods described in the required notice included in the student health insurance enrollment materials. The bill would prohibit charging the student a fee or premium if the waiver is granted.Existing law requires a health insurer to file with the Department of Insurance all required rate information for grandfathered individual and specified group health insurance policies at least 120 days before implementing any rate change.This bill would authorize the department to prohibit a requested rate change if the insurer fails to comply with the above-described timelines.This bill would also authorize the Insurance Commissioner to exercise their existing authority to enforce the above-described provisions and prohibits a civil penalty, if assessed, from exceeding $5,000 for each violation, or $10,000 for a willful violation. The bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to encourage self-funded student health coverage offered by the University of California Student Health Insurance Plan and the University of California Voluntary Dependent Plan to maintain or exceed coverage standards of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and to comply with the above described provisions.

CA AB 618 - Maggy Krell
Medi-Cal: behavioral health: data sharing.
04/02/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 618, as introduced, Krell. Medi-Cal: behavioral health: data sharing. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, through fee-for-service or managed care delivery systems. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions.Under existing Medi-Cal provisions, behavioral health services, including specialty mental health services and substance use disorder treatment, are provided under the Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services Program, the Drug Medi-Cal Treatment Program, and the Drug Medi-Cal organized delivery system (DMC-ODS) program, as specified.This bill would require each Medi-Cal managed care plan, county specialty mental health plan, Drug Medi-Cal certified program, and DMC-ODS program to electronically provide data for members of the respective entities to support member care. The bill would require the department to determine minimum data elements and the frequency and format of data sharing through a stakeholder process and guidance, with final guidance to be published by January 1, 2027, in compliance with privacy laws.

CA AB 627 - Catherine Stefani
California Health Facilities Financing Authority Act.
04/08/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 627, as amended, Stefani. California Health Facilities Financing Authority Act. The California Health Facilities Financing Authority Act authorizes the California Health Facilities Financing Authority to, among other things, make loans from the continuously appropriated California Health Facilities Financing Authority Fund to participating health institutions for financing or refinancing the acquisition, construction, or remodeling of health facilities. Under existing law, participating health institutions are specified entities authorized by state law to provide or operate a health facility and undertake the financing or refinancing of the construction or acquisition of a project or of working capital, as defined. Existing law defines “working capital” as moneys to be used by, or on behalf of, a participating health institution for specified expenses in connection with the ownership or operation of a health facility, including interest not to exceed 2 years on any loan for working capital made pursuant to these provisions. Existing law requires a participating health institution that is a private nonprofit corporation or association and that borrows money to finance working capital to repay and discharge the loan within 24 months of the loan date.This bill would change the definition of “working capital” to remove the 2-year cap on interest on any loan for working capital. The bill would delete the provision requiring a participating health institution that is a private nonprofit corporation or association to repay and discharge a loan for working capital within 24 months. Existing law requires the authority to establish financial eligibility standards by studying the creditworthiness and earning capacity of each project, together with the amount of pledged revenues, debt service coverage, and basic security.The bill would also require the authority to establish financial eligibility standards for working capital loans by studying the creditworthiness of a participating health institution, along with the amount of pledged venues, debt service coverage, and basic security. The bill would prohibit a participating health institution that is determined to be in financial distress from being deemed financially eligible.By expanding the purpose for which the above-described continuously appropriated fund may be used, the bill would make an appropriation from that fund. The bill would make legislative findings relating to the purpose of the bill.

CA AB 641 - Jeff Gonzalez
Drug-Induced Movement Disorder Awareness Program.
04/10/2025 - Read second time and amended.
AB 641, as amended, Jeff Gonzalez. Drug-Induced Movement Disorder Awareness Program. Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health is responsible for the administration and oversight of various health care programs. Existing law, the California Osteoporosis Prevention and Education Act, states the intent of the Legislature to raise awareness of the causes of and options for the prevention of osteoporosis, to educate the public regarding the prevention and management of osteoporosis, and to improve management of osteoporosis, thereby minimizing its impact. Existing law sets forth the requirements for administration of the program.Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to conduct various programs related to disease prevention and health promotion, including a program for identifying, screening, and providing followup care related to exposure to diethylstilbestrol while pregnant, which can cause fetal abnormalities. Existing law states the intention of the Legislature to fund this program in subsequent fiscal years through the normal budgetary process.This bill would direct, upon appropriation of funds, as specified, the State Department of Public Health, by January 1, 2028, to develop and administer a program related to drug-induced movement disorder awareness, as specified. The bill would repeal the program on January 1, 2032. The bill would include related findings and declarations.

CA AB 651 - Jose Luis Solache
Juveniles: dependency: incarcerated parent.
04/10/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
AB 651, as amended, Bryan. Juveniles: dependency: incarcerated parent. Existing law requires notice of, and the opportunity for an incarcerated parent to be physically present in, proceedings terminating their parental rights or seeking to adjudicate the child of a prisoner a dependent child of the court. Existing law prohibits these proceedings from being adjudicated without the physical presence of the parent unless the court receives a knowing waiver from the parent of their right to be physically present at the proceedings, or an affidavit signed by a person in charge of the incarcerating institution that the prisoner does not intend to appear at the proceeding. Existing law authorizes, in the court’s discretion, an incarcerated parent who has waived the right to be physically present at those proceedings to be given the opportunity to participate in the proceeding by videoconference, if that technology is available. Existing law authorizes, if videoconferencing technology is not available, the use of teleconferencing.This bill would also require notice of, and the opportunity for an incarcerated parent to be physically present in, specified additional dependency hearings relating to their child. The bill would additionally require an incarcerated parent who has waived the right to be physically present to be given the opportunity to participate in those proceedings by videoconference, and, if videoconferencing technology is not available, require the use of teleconferencing. By increasing the duties of local county jail officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.Existing law entitles a minor who is the subject of a juvenile court hearing to be present at that hearing and specifies that the minor has the right to be represented at the hearing by counsel of their choice. Existing law requires the court to inform the minor, if the minor is present at the hearing, of their right to address the court and participate in the hearing. Existing law requires the court, if the minor is 10 years of age or older and not present at the hearing, to determine whether the minor was properly notified of their right to attend the hearing and inquire whether they were given an opportunity to attend. Existing law generally requires the court to continue the hearing to allow the minor to be present, if they were not properly notified or if they wished to present, but were not given the opportunity. Existing law requires the court to continue the hearing only for the period of time necessary to provide the child notice and secure their presence.This bill would expand the above provisions to include nonminor dependents.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA AB 669 - Matt Haney
Substance use disorder coverage.
04/24/2025 - From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (April 22).
AB 669, as amended, Haney. Substance use disorder coverage. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law generally authorizes a health care service plan or health insurer to use prior authorization and other utilization management functions, under which a licensed physician or a licensed health care professional who is competent to evaluate specific clinical issues may approve, modify, delay, or deny requests for health care services based on medical necessity. Existing law requires health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies that provide hospital, medical, or surgical coverage and are issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions, as specified.On and after January 1, 2027, this bill would prohibit concurrent or retrospective review of medical necessity of in-network health care services and benefits (1) for the first 28 days of an inpatient substance use disorder stay during each plan or policy year or (2) for outpatient substance use disorder visits, except as specified. On and after January 1, 2027, the bill would prohibit retrospective review of medical necessity for the first 28 days of intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization services for substance use disorder, but would require specified review for day 29 and days thereafter of that stay or service. On and after January 1, 2027, the bill would prohibit the imposition of prior authorization or other prospective utilization management requirements for in-network coverage of outpatient prescription drugs to treat substance use disorder that are determined medically necessary by the enrollee’s or insured’s physician or psychiatrist. Because a willful violation of the bill’s requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 688 - Mark Gonzalez
Telehealth for All Act of 2025.
03/03/2025 - Referred to Com. on Health.
AB 688, as introduced, Mark González. Telehealth for All Act of 2025. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions.Under existing law, in-person, face-to-face contact is not required under the Medi-Cal program when covered health care services are provided by video synchronous interaction, asynchronous store and forward, audio-only synchronous interaction, remote patient monitoring, or other permissible virtual communication modalities, when those services and settings meet certain criteria.Existing law required the department, on or before January 1, 2023, to develop a research and evaluation plan that, among other things, proposes strategies to analyze the relationship between telehealth and access to care, quality of care, and Medi-Cal program costs, utilization, and program integrity. The department created that plan in December of 2022 and published the Biennial Telehealth Utilization Report in April of 2024.This bill, the Telehealth for All Act of 2025, would require the department, commencing in 2028 and every 2 years thereafter, to use Medi-Cal data and other data sources available to the department to produce analyses in a publicly available Medi-Cal telehealth utilization report. The bill would authorize the department to include those analyses in each of the department’s Biennial Telehealth Utilization Reports, as specified.The bill would require the analyses to address telehealth access and utilization data, including various metrics on telehealth visits and claims, disaggregated by geographic, demographic, and social determinants of health categories to identify disparities. The bill would require the department to identify additional data elements for inclusion in future reports to help to identify and address access-to-care issues or provide greater insight into utilization of telehealth modalities.

CA AB 727 - Jose Luis Solache
Pupil and student safety: identification cards.
04/21/2025 - Read second time and amended.
AB 727, as amended, Mark González. Pupil and student safety: identification cards. Existing law, commencing July 1, 2025, requires a public or private school that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards to have printed on the identification cards the number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Existing law requires a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards to have printed on either side of the student identification cards the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.This bill, commencing July 1, 2026, would require public schools that serve pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and public or private institutions of higher education that issue pupil identification cards to additionally have printed on the identification cards the telephone number and text line for a specified suicide hotline that is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, as provided.Existing law, the Safe Place to Learn Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post, and annually update, on the State Department of Education’s internet website, and notify school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools of the availability of, a list of statewide resources that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, including school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of neurodiversity, religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity, or perceived neurodiversity, religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity, as provided.This bill would additionally require that list to include resources that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

CA AB 73 - Corey A. Jackson
Mental Health: Black Mental Health Navigator Certification.
02/03/2025 - Referred to Com. on Health.
AB 73, as introduced, Jackson. Mental Health: Black Mental Health Navigator Certification. Existing law establishes, within the Health and Welfare Agency, the Department of Health Care Access and Information, which is responsible for, among other things, administering various health professions training and development programs. Existing law requires the department to develop and approve statewide requirements for community health worker certificate programs. Existing law defines “community health worker” to mean a liaison, link, or intermediary between health and social services and the community to facilitate access to services and to improve the access and cultural competence of service delivery.This bill would require the department to develop criteria for a specialty certificate program and specialized training requirements for a Black Mental Health Navigator Certification, as specified. The bill would require the department to collect and regularly publish data, not less than annually, including, but not limited to, the number of individuals certified, including those who complete a specialty certificate program, as specified, and the number of individuals who are actively employed in a community health worker role. The bill would make these provisions subject to an appropriation by the Legislature.

CA AB 749 - Sharon Quirk-Silva
Youth Sports for All Act.
05/07/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
AB 749, as amended, McKinnor. Youth Sports for All Act. Existing law authorizes public and private secondary schools to participate in interscholastic sports, and authorizes schools to enter into associations or consortia to enact and enforce rules relating to eligibility for, and participation in, these activities. Existing law recognizes the California Interscholastic Federation to be a voluntary organization that consists of school and school-related personnel with responsibility for administering interscholastic athletic activities in secondary schools.Existing law provides various programs for youth and adolescent health, including requiring a youth sports organization that elects to offer an athletic program to ensure athletes have access to an automated external defibrillator during official practice and regulating youth football. Existing law also authorizes a community youth athletic program to request state and federal level criminal history information for volunteer or hired coach candidates.This bill, the Youth Sports for All Act, would require the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and other relevant agencies or departments as determined by the Secretary, to, on or before March 1, 2026, establish and convene the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Development of a California Department of Youth Sports or an Equivalent Centralized Entity to conduct a comprehensive study on the need for and feasibility of creating a centralized entity charged with supporting and regulating youth sports, as provided. The bill would require the commission to, on or before January 1, 2027, submit the study to the Legislature and the Governor. The bill would make its provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature or upon the California Health and Human Services Agency obtaining sufficient funds from federal, non-profit, or private sources. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2029.

CA AB 767 - Juan Alanis
Sexually violent predators: schools.
03/19/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
AB 767, as amended, Alanis. Sexually violent predators: schools. Existing law provides for the civil commitment of a person who is determined to be a sexually violent predator. Existing law establishes a procedure by which a person committed as a sexually violent predator may petition for conditional release and requires the court, if it makes a specified determination, to place the person on conditional release. Existing law generally requires that a person released on conditional release pursuant to these provisions be placed in the person’s county of domicile prior to their incarceration unless extraordinary circumstances exist requiring placement outside the county, as specified. Existing law prohibits a person being released under these provisions from being placed within 1/4 mile of any public or private school, as specified, if the person has previously been convicted of specified sexual misconduct of a child or if the court finds that the person has a history of improper sexual conduct with children.This bill would additionally prohibit a person being released under the above-described provisions from being placed within 1/4 mile of a child daycare facility, as defined. The bill would define private school to mean a facility or home that has filed a private school affidavit with the State Department of Education and provides private school instruction at the elementary or high school level.

CA AB 785 - Lori D. Wilson
Community Violence Interdiction Grant Program.
05/07/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
AB 785, as amended, Sharp-Collins. Community Violence Interdiction Grant Program. Existing law establishes the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program, administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections, to award competitive grants for the purpose of violence intervention and prevention. Existing law establishes the Youth Reinvestment Grant Program within the Board of State and Community Corrections to grant funds, upon appropriation, to local jurisdictions and Indian tribes for the purpose of implementing trauma-informed diversion programs for minors, as specified.Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to give diligent care to the health and physical development of pupils and authorizes the governing board of a school district to employ properly certified persons for the work. Existing law requires a school of a school district or county office of education and a charter school to notify pupils and parents or guardians of pupils no less than twice during the school year on how to initiate access to available pupil mental health services on campus or in the community, or both, as provided. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, in cooperation with the State Department of Education, to establish a Public School Health Center Support Program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to assist school health centers, which are defined as centers or programs, located at or near local educational agencies, that provide age-appropriate health care services at the program site or through referrals, as specified.This bill would create the Community Violence Interdiction Grant Program to be administered by the California Health and Human Services Agency to provide funding to local community programs for community-driven solutions to decrease violence in neighborhoods and schools. The bill would specify the types of programs the grant funds may be used for, including, but not limited to, programs that create and enhance recreation- and health-based interventions for youth during peak times of violence and the creation and operation of school-based health centers. The bill would require the agency to develop an application process and criteria for funding and would require the agency to administer the grant program, as specified. The bill would require, beginning July 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Director of Finance and the Legislative Analyst’s Office to calculate the savings to the state from the closure of state prisons, as specified, and would require the Director of Finance to certify the results of the calculation to the Controller no later than August 1 of each fiscal year. The bill would create the Community Violence Interdiction Grant Fund and would require moneys in the fund to be made available, only upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the agency for the purposes of the Community Violence Interdiction Grant Program. The bill would require that the Controller, before August 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, upon appropriation by the Legislature, transfer from the General Fund to the Community Violence Interdiction Grant Fund the total amount of savings from the closure of state prisons so calculated.

CA AB 787 - Diane Papan
Provider directory disclosures.
04/24/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
AB 787, as amended, Papan. Provider directory disclosures. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires specified health care service plans and health insurers to publish and maintain a provider directory or directories with information on contracting providers that deliver health care services to enrollees or insureds, and requires a health care service plan or health insurer to regularly update its printed and online provider directory or directories, as specified. Existing law requires provider directories to include specified information and disclosures.This bill would require a full service health care service plan, specialized mental health plan, health insurer, or specialized mental health insurer to include in its provider directory or directories a statement at the top of the directory advising an enrollee or insured to contact the plan or insurer for assistance in finding an in-network provider. The bill would require the plan or insurer to respond within one business day if contacted for that assistance, and to provide a list of in-network providers confirmed to be accepting new patients within 2 business days. Because a violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 788 - Sharon Quirk-Silva
Prisons: facilities for female offenders.
04/23/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.
AB 788, as amended, Quirk-Silva. Prisons: facilities for female offenders. Existing law creates within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, under the Undersecretary for Operations, the Division of Adult Institutions, among others, and requires each division to be headed by a director, who is appointed by the Governor, as specified. Existing law also requires the Governor to appoint 4 subordinate officers to the division, as specified. Existing law requires each subordinate officer appointed to oversee an identified category of adult institutions, one of which oversees female offender facilities.This bill would instead require the Governor to appoint 3 subordinate officers, as specified, who would oversee an identified category of male adult institutions, and one subordinate officer, as specified, who would oversee female adult institutions. The bill would create within the department, and under the Undersecretary for Operations, the Division of Female Programs and Services. The bill would require the director of this division to be responsible solely for female adult institutions and community facilities housing female offenders. The bill would require the director to report to the undersecretary and to have a minimum of 5 years of experience serving the female correctional population. The bill would also require this new division to manage and provide oversight of adult female programs, including prisons, conservation camps, and parole and community programs and to develop gender-responsive, trauma-informed, culturally sensitive approaches to program and policy development.Existing law requires the department to create a Female Offender Reform Master Plan and present it to the Legislature by a specified date. Existing law requires the department to, among other things, create policies and operational practices that are designed to ensure a safe and productive institutional environment for female offenders. Existing law also requires the department to contract with nationally recognized gender-responsive experts in prison operational practices staffing, classification, substance abuse, trauma treatment services, mental health services, transitional services, and community corrections to, among other things, develop programs and training for department staff in correctional facilities.This bill would require the department to provide a report to the Legislature on the implementation of the plan, and update statistics contained in the plan, by March 1, 2026, and every 3 years thereafter. The bill would also require the department to post the plan, any reports, and any updates to the plan to the department’s internet website. The bill would require the department to establish the Gender Responsive Strategies Commission to develop active partnerships, involving the community, treatment experts, and related agencies in its efforts toward gender-responsive practice.Existing law requires the secretary of the department to expand the existing prison ombudsperson program to ensure the comprehensive deployment of ombudspersons throughout the state prison system with specific focus on the maximum security institutions.This bill would instead require the Undersecretary for Operations to perform this duty and would require the undersecretary to appoint an ombudsperson solely assigned to adult female institutions.

CA AB 79 - Joaquin Arambula
Public social services: higher education.
01/06/2025 - Read first time.
AB 79, as introduced, Arambula. Public social services: higher education. Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts, locations of the California State University, and campuses of the University of California throughout the state.Existing law requires each California Community College to designate a staff person as the basic needs coordinator to, among other things, act as a broker in identifying, supporting, and linking students to on- and off-campus housing, food, mental health, and other basic needs services and resources.Existing law establishes the State Department of Social Services and requires the department and the counties to administer public social services programs. Existing law requires a county human services agency to designate at least one employee as a staff liaison to serve as a point of contact for academic counselors and other professional staff at a campus of an institution of public higher education located within the county. Existing law requires a county human services agency, with input from the public institutions of higher learning in the county, to develop protocols for engagement between the agency and a campus of an institution of public higher education located within the county and encourages those entities to consult with specified stakeholders in the development of those protocols.This bill would require a county human services agency to additionally receive input from basic needs directors, basic needs coordinators, or designated staff, as specified, when developing the above-described protocols for engagement between the county human services agency and institutions of public higher education. The bill would require the department, in consultation with staff liaisons and basic needs directors or basic needs coordinators, to develop a training to be available for basic needs directors, staff of a campus basic needs center, other designated professional staff from each campus of an institution of higher education, and eligibility workers. The bill would require the department to convene a workgroup that includes all 58 county staff liaisons and representatives from the segments of postsecondary education, as specified. By imposing additional duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the department, on or before May 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter, to submit a report to the Legislature with findings and recommendations relating to enrollment success trends and services offered by the department that may be available to students attending a campus of an institution of public higher education. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA AB 796 - Josh Lowenthal
Social media platforms: advertising: tax.
04/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on REV. & TAX. (Ayes 8. Noes 4.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.
AB 796, as amended, Lowenthal. Social media platforms: advertising: tax. Existing law imposes various taxes, including a tax on income, the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property, and real property.This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, impose a tax on a social media platform provider, as defined, equal to an unspecified percentage of the annual gross receipts derived from the purchase of advertisements for distribution on the provider’s social media platform, as provided.This bill would create the Social Media Safety Trust Fund within the State Treasury and would require all moneys raised pursuant to these taxes be deposited into the fund. The bill would establish various accounts within the fund and would allocate moneys into those accounts for expenditure according to specified purposes, including an Education Account, Mental Health Care Account, Research and Development Account, and Social Services Account. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to administer those provisions. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2031.Existing property tax law defines improvements for the purposes of property taxation.This bill makes nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

CA AB 81 - Tri Ta
Veterans: mental health.
02/03/2025 - Referred to Com. on M. & V.A.
AB 81, as introduced, Ta. Veterans: mental health. Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs. The department, among other services, provides veterans and their dependents and survivors with assistance in processing service-related disability claims, assistance in obtaining affordable housing, and information about health ailments associated with military service.This bill would require the department to establish a program to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, an academic study of mental health among women veterans in California, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit a report that summarizes the findings and recommendations of the study to the Legislature no later than June 30, 2029. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.

CA AB 829 - LaShae Sharp-Collins
Parkinson’s disease research grant program: Parkinson’s Disease Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund.
05/05/2025 - Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 829, as amended, Sharp-Collins. Parkinson’s disease research grant program: Parkinson’s Disease Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund. (1) Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health within the California Health and Human Services Agency. Existing law requires the department to, among other things, administer various grant programs, including programs to make funds available for public health-related research projects such as agricultural pest control research. This bill would require the department to establish a grant program to further research into Parkinson’s disease. The bill would require the program to provide competitive grants to universities, research institutions, and medical centers, and prioritize research into therapies and projects aimed at finding a cure to the disease, as well as programs that support individuals living with Parkinson’s disease. The bill would establish the California Parkinson’s Disease Research Fund to provide funding for these grants upon appropriation by the Legislature. (2) Existing law allows an individual taxpayer to contribute amounts in excess of their personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds and accounts, including, among others, to the California Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund. This bill would also allow an individual to designate on their tax return that a specified amount in excess of their tax liability be transferred to the continuously appropriated Parkinson’s Disease Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, which would be created by this bill. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to revise the tax return form to include a space for the designation of contributions to the fund when another voluntary designation is removed from the form or there is space, whichever occurs first. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

CA AB 835 - Lisa Calderon
Medi-Cal: skilled nursing facility services.
04/23/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
AB 835, as amended, Calderon. Medi-Cal: skilled nursing facility services. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions.Existing law, the Medi-Cal Long-Term Care Reimbursement Act, requires the department, subject to any necessary federal approvals, for managed care rating periods that begin between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2026, inclusive, to establish and implement the Workforce and Quality Incentive Program. Under that program, a network provider furnishing skilled nursing facility services to a Medi-Cal managed care enrollee is authorized to earn performance-based directed payments from the Medi-Cal managed care plan with which they contract, as specified, in addition to other certain payments.This bill would remove from the above-described provision the qualification that the provider be within the network. The bill would make conforming changes to related provisions. Under the bill, pursuant to conditions of eligibility for directed payments under certain federal regulations, payments made under the Workforce and Quality Incentive Program would be retroactively calculated and paid based on the total number of days, effective July 9, 2024, during which the facility provided services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, regardless of whether the facility was a network provider.Existing law authorizes a peace officer to take a minor into temporary custody without a warrant in certain circumstances, including when the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the minor may be subject to the dependency jurisdiction of the juvenile court and that the minor has an immediate need for medical care, the minor is in immediate danger of physical or sexual abuse, or the physical environment or the fact that the minor is left unattended poses an immediate threat to the minor’s health or safety. Under existing law, an officer who takes a minor into temporary custody under that authority is authorized to take the minor to a community service program for abused or neglected children if it is in the best interest of the minor and the public.This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

CA AB 847 - LaShae Sharp-Collins
Peace officers: confidentiality of records.
05/05/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
AB 847, as amended, Sharp-Collins. Peace officers: confidentiality of records. Existing law, the California Public Records Act, authorizes the inspection and copying of any public record except where specifically prohibited by law. Existing law, with specified exemptions, makes confidential the personnel records of peace officers and custodial records and certain other records maintained by their employing agencies. Existing law provides that this exemption from disclosure does not apply to investigations of these officers or their employing agencies and relating proceedings conducted by a grand jury, a district attorney’s office, or the Attorney General’s office.This bill would additionally grant access to the confidential personnel records of peace officers and custodial officers and records maintained by their employing agencies, as specified, to civilian law enforcement oversight boards or commissions during investigations or proceedings concerning the conduct of those officers. The bill would require those oversight boards to maintain the confidentiality of those records, and would authorize them to conduct closed sessions, as specified, to review confidential records. The bill would additionally authorize a county inspector general to access those personnel records, as specified.

CA AB 877 - Diane B. Dixon
Health care coverage: substance use disorder: residential facilities.
04/21/2025 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.
AB 877, as amended, Dixon. Health care coverage: substance use disorder: residential facilities. Existing law provides for the regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or disability insurance policy to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, as defined, under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions.Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive medically necessary health care services, including specified mental health and substance use disorder services, pursuant to a schedule of benefits. Existing law provides for the regulation of community care facilities that provide nonmedical care, including residential facilities, short-term residential therapeutic programs, and group homes by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law requires the care and supervision provided by a short-term residential therapeutic program or group home to be nonmedical, except as otherwise permitted by law. This bill would require the Department of Managed Health Care, the Department of Insurance, and the State Department of Health Care Services to prepare and send one letter to each chief financial officer of a health care service plan, health insurer, or Medi-Cal managed care plan that provides coverage, including out-of-network benefits, in California for substance use disorder in residential facilities, as defined. The bill would require the letter to include, among other things, a statement informing the plan or insurer that substance use disorder treatment in licensed or unlicensed residential facilities is almost exclusively nonmedical, with rare exceptions. The bill would authorize the Department of Managed Health Care, the Department of Insurance, and the State Department of Health Care Services to consult with each other, and would require those departments to consult with the State Department of Social Services, when preparing the contents of the letter. The bill would require the letters to be sent on or before October 1, 2026.The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2027.

CA AB 896 - Robert A. Rivas
Foster care: placement transition planning.
05/08/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
AB 896, as amended, Elhawary. Foster care: placement transition planning. Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings. Existing law requires, prior to making a change in the placement of a dependent child, a social worker or placing agency to develop and implement a placement preservation strategy to preserve the dependent child’s placement.This bill would, among other things, require each county child welfare agency to adopt a placement transition planning policy for supporting foster children who are transitioning between placement settings and who are transitioning from foster care to reunification, and requires that the policy ensures that foster children are provided the opportunity to provide input on their placement transition and provides guidance to social workers for obtaining input and sharing information in placement transition planning. The bill would require, if a child’s placement cannot be preserved, the social worker to ensure that there is appropriate placement transition planning, consistent with the county’s adopted policy. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to issue guidance to county child welfare agencies to describe best practices and strategies for successful placement transition planning, and would require county child welfare agencies to submit to the department its placement transition planning policy, as specified. By imposing new duties on counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.Existing law requires the state, through the State Department of Social Services and county welfare departments, to establish and support a public system of statewide child welfare services to be developed as rapidly as possible and to be available in each county of the state. Existing law requires all counties to establish and maintain specialized organizational entities within the county welfare department, having sole responsibility for the operation of the child welfare services program.This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

CA AB 923 - Sharon Quirk-Silva
Detention and incarceration of pregnant and postpartum defendants.
05/23/2025 - In committee: Held under submission.
AB 923, as introduced, Quirk-Silva. Detention and incarceration of pregnant and postpartum defendants. Existing law gives a judge discretion when deciding various matters in a criminal proceeding, including, among other things, issuing bail or releasing a defendant on their own recognizance, accepting a diversion or deferred entry of judgment agreement, and imposing sentences and granting probation.This bill would, when a court is exercising its discretion with regard to these matters, make a rebuttable presumption against detention and incarceration of a pregnant or postpartum defendant, as defined, if the defendant provides the court and district attorney with notice of the defendant’s status as a pregnant or postpartum defendant at each applicable stage of the proceedings. The bill would require a court that decides to detain or incarcerate a defendant after this consideration to make specific findings on the record that the risk to public safety or any other factor the court is required to consider is substantial enough to outweigh the risk of incarceration, as specified.The bill would authorize a person who may be pregnant or postpartum and who is arrested or in custody in a county jail to request a pregnancy test upon or following admission to the county jail and would require the county jail to provide a pregnancy test upon request and allow the person to take the pregnancy test within 24 hours after the request. The bill would require a county jail to keep a record of specified information, including the total number of incarcerated pregnant people at that county jail. By imposing additional duties on county jails, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The bill would authorize a pregnant or postpartum defendant to request a stay of execution of their sentence by filing a written request to the court if the pregnant or postpartum defendant is detained or incarcerated in a county jail for any period of time through the end of the pregnancy or the postpartum period, except as specified. The bill would require the court to apply the rebuttable presumption above when considering whether to grant that stay of execution. The bill would authorize a court to order a stay of execution of the sentence for any period of time through the end of the pregnancy or the postpartum period.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA AB 951 - Tri Ta
Health care coverage: behavioral diagnoses.
05/07/2025 - Referred to Com. on HEALTH.
AB 951, as introduced, Ta. Health care coverage: behavioral diagnoses. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to provide coverage for behavioral health treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism.This bill would prohibit a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, from requiring an enrollee or insured previously diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder or autism to receive a rediagnosis to maintain coverage for behavioral health treatment for their condition. The bill would require a treatment plan to be made available to the plan or insurer upon request. Because a willful violation of this provision by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 962 - Josh Hoover
Pupil safety: comprehensive school safety plans: use of smartphones.
05/07/2025 - Referred to Com. on ED.
AB 962, as introduced, Hoover. Pupil safety: comprehensive school safety plans: use of smartphones. Existing law provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that all public schools, teaching kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, operated by a school district, in cooperation with specified entities and individuals, develop a comprehensive school safety plan, as provided. Existing law provides that school districts and county offices of education are responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of its schools, as provided. Existing law requires a comprehensive school safety plan to, among other things, identify appropriate strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a high level of school safety and address the school’s procedures for complying with existing laws related to school safety.Existing law requires the governing body of a school district, a county office of education, or a charter school to, by July 1, 2026, develop and adopt a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that school district, county office of education, or charter school. Existing law, however, specifies circumstances in which a pupil may not be prohibited from possessing or using a smartphone, including, among others, in the case of an emergency or in response to a perceived threat of danger.This bill would expressly prohibit, if one or more parts of a comprehensive school safety plan address the use of smartphones by pupils, those parts from prohibiting a pupil from possessing or using a smartphone under those specified circumstances.

CA AB 980 - Joaquin Arambula
Health care: medically necessary treatment.
04/21/2025 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.
AB 980, as amended, Arambula. Health care: medically necessary treatment. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions, as specified. Existing law generally authorizes a health care service plan or health insurer to use utilization review to approve, modify, delay, or deny requests for health care services based on medical necessity.This bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of physical conditions and diseases under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions, as specified. The bill would require the delivery of medically necessary services out of network if those services are not available within geographic and timely access standards. The bill would require a plan or insurer to apply specified clinical criteria and guidelines in conducting utilization review of the covered health care services and benefits for physical conditions and diseases. The bill would authorize the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care or the Insurance Commissioner, as applicable, to assess administrative or civil penalties, as specified, for violation of the requirements relating to utilization review. Because a willful violation of these requirements relative to health care service plans would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.Under existing law, a health care service plan or managed care entity has a duty of ordinary care to arrange for the provision of medically necessary health care services to its subscribers or enrollees and is liable for all harm legally caused by its failure to exercise that ordinary care when the failure resulted in the denial, delay, or modification of the health care service recommended for, or furnished to, a subscriber or enrollee and the subscriber or enrollee suffers substantial harm, as defined.This bill would define “medically necessary health care service” for purposes of the above-described provision to mean legally prescribed medical care that is reasonable and comports with the medical community standard.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA AB 991 - Bill Essayli
Sentencing: dismissal of enhancements.
03/26/2025 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
AB 991, as introduced, Essayli. Sentencing: dismissal of enhancements. Existing law generally authorizes a court to dismiss an action in the furtherance of justice. Existing law requires a court to dismiss an enhancement if it is in the furtherance of justice to do so, except if dismissal of that enhancement is prohibited by any initiative statute.This bill would make the provision relating to the dismissal of enhancements inapplicable to firearms-related enhancements, but would allow the court to dismiss these firearm-related enhancements pursuant to the court’s general authority to dismiss an action, as specified.

CA SB 16 - Catherine S. Blakespear
Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program: housing element: unsheltered and chronic homelessness: assessment and financing plan.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 16, as amended, Blakespear. Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program: housing element: unsheltered and chronic homelessness: assessment and financing plan. (1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law requires the housing element to consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. Existing law requires the housing element to include, among other things, an assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to meeting these needs. Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (HHAP) for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified.For a local government that does not receive funding pursuant to HHAP, this bill would require the assessment to include, among other things, the most up-to-date data on the number of individuals who are unhoused and a description of key actions that will be taken to reduce the number of individuals who are unhoused based on the data. By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(2)Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (HHAP) for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care, cities, counties, and tribes in 6 rounds, which are administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development.Upon appropriation by the Legislature, this bill would establish Round 7 of the HHAP program. To be eligible for a Round 7 base program allocation, the bill would require specified jurisdictions to apply as part of a region and be signatory to a Round 7 regionally coordinated homeless action plan that has been approved by the department. The bill would require the plan to include an inventory of existing and planned city-operated shelters, the expected cost for those shelters, and a commitment by counties to contribute 50% of the expected costs, as specified.On or before the end of the 2025–26 fiscal year, the bill would require a grantee to submit to the department an update on its regionally coordinated homeless action plan activities for department review, as specified. The bill would authorize a board of supervisors of a county to adopt a resolution determining that contributing 50% of expected costs is financially infeasible, as specified. If a county adopts the resolution, the bill would require the department to determine the contribution percentage of the county, as specified. On or before the end of the 2025–26 fiscal year, the bill would require cities to submit to the department the actual operating cost of city-operated shelters and require counties to reimburse cities for any excess contributions. The bill would authorize the department to withhold 50% of funds from a grantee until the department has approved the update.(3)Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, funds a system of county mental health plans for the provision of mental health services, as specified. Existing law authorizes the MHSA to be amended by a 23 vote of the Legislature if the amendments are consistent with and further the intent of the MHSA. Existing law authorizes the Legislature to add provisions to clari

CA SB 230 - John Laird
Workers’ compensation: firefighters.
05/12/2025 - Referred to Com. on INS.
SB 230, as amended, Laird. Workers’ compensation: firefighters. Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, to compensate an employee, as defined, for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Existing law creates a rebuttable presumption that specified injuries, such as cancer or post-traumatic stress disorder, developed or manifested in the course of employment of a specified member of law enforcement or a specified first responder arose out of and in the course of employment. Existing law makes these provisions applicable to certain active firefighting members, including active firefighting members of a fire department that serves a United States Department of Defense installation or active firefighting members of a fire department that serves a National Aeronautics and Space Administration installation.This bill would additionally apply these provisions to active firefighting members of a fire department that provides fire protection to a commercial airport, as specified.Existing law creates a rebuttable presumption that other injuries, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, or meningitis, developed or manifested in the course of employment of a specified member of law enforcement or a specified first responder arose out of and in the course of employment. Existing law makes these provisions applicable to certain active firefighting members, including volunteers who are partly paid or fully paid by, among others, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or a county forestry or firefighting unit.The bill would also apply these provisions to active firefighting members of a fire department that provides fire protection to a commercial airport, National Aeronautics and Space Administration installation, or United States Department of Defense installation.

CA SB 257 - Aisha Wahab
Pregnancy As a Recognized Event for Nondiscriminatory Treatment (PARENT) Act.
05/12/2025 - May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 257, as introduced, Wahab. Pregnancy As a Recognized Event for Nondiscriminatory Treatment (PARENT) Act. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of disability insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or disability insurer to allow an individual to enroll in or change their health benefit plan as a result of a specified triggering event. Existing law prohibits a health care service plan contract or disability insurance policy issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after July 1, 2003, from imposing a copayment or deductible for specified maternity services that exceeds the most common amount of the copayment or deductible imposed for services provided for other covered medical conditions.This bill, the Pregnancy As a Recognized Event for Nondiscriminatory Treatment (PARENT) Act, would make pregnancy a triggering event for purposes of enrollment or changing a health benefit plan. The bill would prohibit a health care service plan contract or disability insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, that provides coverage for maternity services or newborn and pediatric care services from taking specified actions based on the circumstances of conception, including denying, limiting, or seeking reimbursement for maternity services or newborn and pediatric care services because the enrollee or insured is acting as a gestational carrier. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 258 - Susan Rubio
Crimes: rape.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 258, as amended, Wahab. Crimes: rape. Existing law defines rape as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished under certain circumstances, including with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator where the person is incapable of giving legal consent because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability. This bill would remove the spousal exception from this definition of rape. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 27 - Thomas J. Umberg
Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program.
04/10/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 27, as introduced, Umberg. Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program. Existing law, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, authorizes specified adult persons to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services, to adults who are currently experiencing a severe mental illness and have a diagnosis identified in the disorder class schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and who meet other specified criteria. Existing law authorizes a specified individual to commence the CARE process, known as the original petitioner. Existing law authorizes the court to dismiss a case without prejudice when the court finds that a petitioner has not made a prima facie showing that they qualify for the CARE process. Existing law requires the court to take prescribed actions if it finds that a prima facie showing has been made, including, but not limited to, setting the matter for an initial appearance on the petition.This bill would allow the court to conduct the initial appearance on the petition at the same time as the prima facie determination if specified requirements are met.This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

CA SB 271 - Eloise Gomez Reyes
Public postsecondary education: students with dependent children: childcare services, resources, and programs.
04/21/2025 - April 21 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 271, as amended, Reyes. Public postsecondary education: students with dependent children: childcare services, resources, and programs. Existing law establishes the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state.Existing law requires each community college campus and each California State University campus, and requests each University of California campus, to establish the position of the Basic Needs Coordinator to assist students, among other responsibilities, with basic needs services and resources, including childcare, and to establish a Basic Needs Center where basic needs services, resources, and staff are made available to students, as provided. Existing law requires each Basic Needs Center to, among other things, connect students to the financial aid department or financial aid office, as appropriate, to ensure that students are receiving all available financial aid.This bill would expand the definition of basic needs services and resources to include childcare services and resources, as defined. The bill would also explicitly state that all available financial aid includes supplemental awards such as the Cal Grant award for students with dependent children.Existing law requires each campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges, and requests each campus of the University of California, to host on its internet website a student parent internet web page that contains information that clearly lists all on- and off-campus student parent services and resources, as specified.This bill would require the financial aid office of each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and request the financial aid office of each campus of the University of California, to provide students with dependent children information on the campus’ childcare development center and childcare offerings, if applicable, a referral to the campus Basic Needs Center, and information on supplemental awards such as the Cal Grant award for students with dependent children, as provided.Existing law authorizes public postsecondary institutions to establish and maintain child development programs on or near their campuses.This bill would require child development programs or preschools established by the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and request child development programs or preschools established by the University of California, to provide students with dependent children seeking childcare with a referral to the campus Basic Needs Center and the campus’ financial aid office, as specified.By imposing additional duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA SB 28 - Maggy Krell
Treatment court program standards.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
SB 28, as amended, Umberg. Treatment court program standards. Existing law, the Drug Court Programs Act, authorizes counties to implement a drug court program, that, if implemented, requires a county alcohol and drug program administrator and the presiding judge in the county to develop a plan that includes, among other things, drug courts for juvenile offenders and drug courts for parents of children in certain family law cases. Existing law requires counties and courts that opt to have treatment court programs to design and operate the programs in accordance with state and national guidelines. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to, by no later than January 1, 2026, revise the standards of judicial administration to reflect state and nationally recognized best practices and guidelines for collaborative programs including those described in these provisions.Existing law, the Treatment-Mandated Felony Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 36 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorizes certain defendants convicted of specified felonies or misdemeanors to participate in a treatment program, upon court approval, in lieu of a jail or prison sentence, or grant of probation with jail as a condition of probation, if specified criteria are met. The Legislature may amend this initiative by a statute passed in each house by a rollcall vote entered in the journal, 2/3 of the membership concurring, or by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the voters.This bill would instead require that treatment court programs be available to all eligible California defendants. The bill would include a new standard that, as part of the treatment court program, a drug addiction expert, as defined, conducts a substance abuse and mental health evaluation of the defendant, and submits the report to the court and the parties. The bill would remove the requirement that the Judicial Council revise the standards of judicial administration. The bill would require that a treatment program that complies with existing judicial standards be offered to a person that is eligible for treatment pursuant to the Treatment-Mandated Felony Act. By requiring the court to implement a treatment program that complies with existing judicial standards, the bill would amend that initiative statute.This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

CA SB 31 - Susan Rubio
Water quality: recycled water.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 31, as amended, McNerney. Water quality: recycled water. (1) The Water Recycling Law generally provides for the use of recycled water. Existing law requires any person who, without regard to intent or negligence, causes or permits an unauthorized discharge of 50,000 gallons or more of recycled water in or on any waters of the state to immediately notify the appropriate regional water board.This bill would, for the purposes of the above provision, redefine “recycled water” and provide that water discharged from a decorative body of water during storm events is not to be considered an unauthorized discharge if recycled water was used to restore levels due to evaporation.(2) Existing law regulating the use of recycled water prohibits the use of prescribed potable water by state and local agencies for any nonpotable uses, including cemeteries, golf courses, parks, and highway landscaped areas if prescribed recycled water is available, and deems use of the recycled water in lieu of the potable water to constitute a reasonable beneficial use of that water.The bill would provide that incidental amounts of spray, mist, or runoff are to be permitted to enter outdoor eating areas of parks and open spaces when irrigated with disinfected tertiary treated recycled water that complies with a specified regulation regarding irrigation.(3) Existing law authorizes any public agency, including a state agency, city, county, city and county, district, or any other political subdivision of the state, to require the use of recycled water for irrigation of residential landscaping, as specified.The bill would provide that outdoor landscape irrigation of common areas operated by a homeowners association, as specified, is not to be considered a dual-plumbed system and would require recycled water used for this purpose to comply with specified provisions.(4) Existing law authorizes any public agency, including a state agency, city, county, city and county, district, or any other political subdivision of the state, to require the use of recycled water for toilet and urinal flushing in structures, as specified. Existing law defines “structures” for the purposes of these provisions.This bill would include food handling and processing facilities as part of the definition of “structures.” The bill would authorize the use of recycled water for toilet or urinal flushing or outdoor irrigation in and around food handling or processing facilities, commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings, and cafeterias, provided the recycled water does not enter the room where food handling or processing occurs, as specified.

CA SB 319 - Angelique V. Ashby
Criminal justice statistics: reporting.
05/05/2025 - May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 319, as amended, Ashby. Criminal justice statistics: reporting. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to collect and maintain statistics, and to publish them at least on a yearly basis, about the compliance of the superior court of each county and each branch court with the standards for the timely disposition of cases, as specified.Existing law requires criminal justice agencies to compile records and data, including a summary of arrests, pretrial proceedings, the nature and disposition of criminal charges, sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation, and release, about criminal offenders. Existing law requires agencies to report this information to the Department of Justice for each arrest made.This bill would require the Department of Justice to collect and publish, as specified, on its internet website annual statistical reports providing monthly information for each county related to convictions of certain statutes pertaining to, among other things, petty theft and possession of a hard drug, including, by month, the number of people convicted of these statutes and, for each conviction, whether the conviction was classified as a misdemeanor or a felony.This bill would also require every county to submit to the department specified data and information, including the county’s annual allocation and expenditure of state and federal funds on sheriff, probation, and court activities, by category and specific grant program, including reimbursement. The bill would require the department, commencing on January 1, 2027, to post this data and information on its internet website.This bill would require, for each person charged under a certain statute pertaining to possession of a hard drug, each superior court to submit specified metrics to the Judicial Council. For each person charged under the above provisions, the bill would require each superior court to submit the outcomes of judicial review proceedings mandated by those statutes, as specified, to the Judicial Council. Commencing January 1, 2027, the bill would require the Judicial Council to publish an annual report related to the specified metrics on its internet website.By requiring counties to submit specified data to the Department of Justice, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA SB 331 - Caroline Menjivar
Substance abuse.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
SB 331, as amended, Menjivar. Substance abuse. (1) Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act, authorizes the involuntary commitment and treatment of persons with specified mental disorders. Under the act, when a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to themselves or others, or is gravely disabled, the person may, upon probable cause, be taken into custody by specified individuals, including, among others, a peace officer and a designated member of a mobile crisis team, and placed in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Health Care Services for up to 72 hours for evaluation and treatment. For the purposes of these provisions, existing law defines “gravely disabled” as a condition in which a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, a severe substance use disorder, or a co-occurring mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder, is unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, shelter, personal safety, or necessary medical care.This bill would include in the definition of “gravely disabled” for purposes of the above provisions an individual who is unable to provide for their basic personal needs due to chronic alcoholism, as defined. The bill would further define a “mental health disorder” as a condition outlined in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.(2)Existing law establishes the State Department of Health Care Services to administer and license various health-related programs and health professionals, including, among others, programs and professionals supporting mental health, providing basic health care, and addressing substance use disorders.The bill would require the department to establish and implement training guidelines for counties regarding the electronic submission of evaluation orders submitted pursuant to the LPS Act.(3)(2) Existing law requires the Director of Health Care Services to oversee the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act. Existing law authorizes specified adult persons to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services, to adults who are currently experiencing a qualifying severe mental illness and who meet other specified criteria, including that the person is not clinically stabilized in ongoing voluntary treatment and is either unlikely to survive safely in the community without ongoing supervision and the person’s condition is substantially deteriorating or the person is in need of services and supports to prevent a relapse or deterioration that would likely result in grave disability, or serious harm to the person or others.Existing law authorizes specified individuals to file a petition to commence the CARE process, including, but not limited to, a person with whom the respondent resides or a spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandparent, or an individual who stands in loco parentis to the respondent. Existing law requires the court to issue an order relieving the original petitioner if the petitioner is someone other than the director of a county behavioral health agency or their designee and appoint the director or their designee as the successor petitioner. Existing law requires the original petitioner to have specified rights if they are a parent or family member or the person with which the respondent resides. Existing law also requires certain notice and service requirements to the respondent, respondent’s counsel, and the supporter, as well as requires the court to order county behavioral health agencies to work with the respondent, among other specified entities, to enter into CARE agreements, among other things.The bill would also include the original petitioner, and in specified circum

CA SB 337 - Caroline Menjivar
Prisons.
05/12/2025 - May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 337, as amended, Menjivar. Prisons. (1) Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (department) and sets forth its powers and duties regarding the administration of correctional facilities and the care and custody of inmates. Existing law requires law enforcement agencies to consider specified best practices when establishing policies and procedures for downloading and storing data from body-worn cameras, including, among other things, prohibiting the unauthorized use, duplication, or distribution of the data, and establishing storage periods for evidentiary and nonevidentiary data, as defined.This bill would require the department to establish policies and procedures that include circumstances under which a body-worn camera may be deactivated and would require the department to ensure that those policies and procedures prohibit a body-worn camera from being deactivated only because there is no incarcerated person present or if the correctional staff member is not interacting with an incarcerated person. The bill would require the department’s policies and procedures to authorize deactivation of a body-worn camera during specified confidential interactions and would require staff to inform the subject the reason for the deactivation and to document the time of the deactivation, the reason for the deactivation, and the time of reactivation.(2) Under existing law, a person sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison for a felony offense, as specified, may, during that period of confinement, be deprived only of those rights as is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law enumerates certain civil rights of these prisoners.This bill would entitle a person incarcerated in a state prison to request the presence of an advocate during a physical or visual body cavity search, strip search, or body scan. The bill would require the department to document specified information, including whether the presence of an advocate was requested by the incarcerated individual, when an individual incarcerated in state prison is subject to any physical or visual body cavity search, strip search, or body scan of their person using a contraband or metal detection device or an electronic drug detection device. The bill would also require the department to document specified information if, during a medical appointment, an individual incarcerated in state prison requests the presence of an advocate who is not an employee of the department.(3) Existing law requires members of the department’s Office of Internal Affairs to possess certification from the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training for investigators, except as specified. Existing law requires the department to conduct a complete and thorough background check prior to training a peace officer who is selected to conduct internal affairs investigations and requires each person to satisfactorily pass the background check. Existing law states that any person who has been the subject of a sustained, serious disciplinary action, as specified, shall not pass the background check.This bill would require an investigator to disclose an actual or potential conflict of interest they may have in an investigation in which they are participating. The bill would require the department to take appropriate action to remedy that conflict. The bill would require an investigator to recuse themselves from participating in an investigation or a decision related to an investigation if they have a conflict of interest involving a staff member with whom they have a personal relationship, as defined.(4) Existing law authorizes the secretary of the department to prescribe and amend rules and regulations for the administration of prisons. Under existing law, the State Civil Service Act, certain acts, including convictions of certain crimes, are cause for discipline of a state employee or of a person whose name appears on an employment list.This bill woul

CA SB 338 - Josh Becker
Virtual Health Hub for Rural Communities Pilot Program.
05/12/2025 - May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 338, as amended, Becker. Virtual Health Hub for Rural Communities Pilot Program. Existing law establishes various programs to address the needs of migrant agricultural families. Existing law also provides funding to enhance and maintain rural health services.This bill would establish the Virtual Health Hub for Rural Communities Pilot Program, and require the State Department of Public Health to administer the program to expand access to health services for farmworkers in rural communities. The bill would require the department to fund grants to a community organization or organizations to administer the program and to provide technical assistance to the organization or organizations for any licensing or reporting requirements necessary to fulfill the program obligations. The bill would require the organization awarded a grant, among other things, to deploy virtual health hubs, as defined, in 2 rural communities based on farmworker population and access to health care. Under the bill, the virtual health hubs would include, at a minimum, computers, Wi-Fi, cubicles for virtual visits, and exam rooms for telemedicine. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, to report the outcomes of the program to the Legislature. The bill would create the Farmworkers Health Equity Fund and would condition implementation of these provisions on no General Fund moneys being used.The bill would make findings and declarations in support of its provisions.

CA SB 363 - Scott D. Wiener
Health care coverage: independent medical review.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
SB 363, as amended, Wiener. Health care coverage: independent medical review. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law establishes the Independent Medical Review System within each department, under which an enrollee or insured may seek review if a health care service has been denied, modified, or delayed by a health care service plan or health insurer and the enrollee or insured has previously filed a grievance that remains unresolved after 30 days.This bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to annually report to the appropriate department the total number of claims processed by the health care service plan or health insurer for the prior year and its number of treatment denials or modifications, separated and disaggregated as specified, commencing on or before June 1, 2026. The bill would require the departments to compare the number of a health care service plan’s or health insurer’s treatment denials and modifications to (1) the number of successful independent medical review overturns of the plan’s or insurer’s treatment denials or modifications and (2) the number of treatment denials or modifications reversed by a plan or insurer after an independent medical review for the denial or modification is requested, filed, or applied for. The bill would make a health care service plan or health insurer liable for an administrative penalty, as specified, if more than 50% of the independent medical reviews filed with a health care service plan or health insurer result in an overturning or reversal of a treatment denial or modification in any one individual category of specified general types of care. The bill would make a health care service plan or health insurer liable for additional administrative penalties for each independent medical review resulting in an additional overturned or reversed denial or modification in excess of that threshold. The bill would require the departments to annually include data, analysis, and conclusions relating to these provisions in specified reports.Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.Existing law creates the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund in the State Treasury for the deposit of fines and administrative penalties collected pursuant to provisions licensing and regulating health care service plans.This bill would create the Managed Care Independent Medical Review Administrative Penalties Subaccount in the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund for the receipt and deposit of moneys generated from the administrative penalties described above with respect to health care service plans. The bill would create the Health Insurance Independent Medical Review Administrative Penalties Fund in the State Treasury for the receipt and deposit of moneys generated from the administrative penalties described above with respect to health insurers. The bill would authorize the moneys in the Managed Care Independent Medical Review Administrative Penalties Subaccount and Health Insurance Independent Medical Review Administrative Penalties Fund to be expended, as specified, upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would declare that its provisions are severable.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 367 - Henry I. Stern
Mental health.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 367, as amended, Allen. Mental health. (1) Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act, authorizes the involuntary commitment and treatment of persons with specified mental disorders. Under the act, when a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to themselves or others, or is gravely disabled, the person may, upon probable cause, be taken into custody by specified individuals, including, among others, a peace officer and a designated member of a mobile crisis team, and placed in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Health Care Services for up to 72 hours for evaluation and treatment. Existing law defines “assessment” for those purposes to mean the determination of whether a person shall be evaluated and treated.This bill would require an assessment to consider reasonably available, relevant information as specified. The bill would also authorize an assessment to be used to assist specified individuals in developing an aftercare plan for an individual, if that individual has agreed to an aftercare plan and can be properly served without being detained.(2) Existing law provides a procedure for the appointment of a conservator for a person who is determined to be gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder or an impairment by chronic alcoholism (hereafter LPS conservatorship). Under existing law, a professional person in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment may recommend a LPS conservatorship for a gravely disabled person in their care if the professional person determines that the person is unwilling to accept, or is incapable of accepting, treatment voluntarily. Under existing law, a professional person in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment or a professional person in charge of providing mental health treatment at a county jail, or their designee, may recommend a conservatorship for a gravely disabled person without that person being an inpatient in a facility providing comprehensive evaluation or intensive treatment if specified conditions are met.This bill would additionally authorize recommendations for an LPS conservatorship if a determination is made that the gravely disabled person has demonstrated an inability to accept voluntary treatment due to apparent incapacity. The bill would expand the list of individuals or entities that may recommend a conservatorship for a gravely disabled person without that person being an inpatient in a facility providing comprehensive evaluation or intensive treatment to include, among others, the county agency providing investigations for conservatorships of the person.(3) Existing law separately provides for the establishment of a conservatorship for a person who is unable to properly provide for their personal needs or is substantially unable to manage their finances (hereafter probate conservatorship).Existing law requires the officer providing conservatorship investigation, if they concur with the recommendation of the professional person or facility, to petition the superior court in the patient’s county of residence to establish a conservatorship. Existing law requires the officer providing conservator investigation to investigate all available alternatives to conservatorship, including, among other things, assisted outpatient treatment, as specified, and the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act program. Existing law requires the officer to recommended conservatorship to the court only if no suitable alternatives are available. Existing law requires the officer to render to the court a comprehensive written report of investigation prior to the hearing and to set forth all alternatives available if the officer recommends either for or against conservatorship.This bill would specify probate conservatorships with or without major neurocognitive disorder powers in the list o

CA SB 379 - Brian W. Jones
Sexually violent predators.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 379, as introduced, Jones. Sexually violent predators. Existing law provides for the civil commitment of a person who is determined to be a sexually violent predator. Existing law establishes a procedure by which a person committed as a sexually violent predator may petition for conditional release and requires the court, if it makes a specified determination, to place the person on conditional release. Existing law generally requires that a person released on conditional release pursuant to these provisions be placed in the person’s county of domicile prior to their incarceration unless extraordinary circumstances exist requiring placement outside the county, as specified. Existing law also prohibits the placement of a person released on conditional release within 1/4 mile of any public or private school, as specified.Existing law defines a sexually violent predator as a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense and has a diagnosed mental disorder that makes the person a danger to others in that they are likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior. Existing law requires the State Department of State Hospitals to notify the sheriff or chief of police, or both, the district attorney, or the county’s designated counsel under specific circumstances, including when it makes a recommendation to the court for community outpatient treatment for a person committed as a sexually violent predator.This bill, the Sexually Violent Predator Accountability, Fairness, and Enforcement Act, would require the State Department of State Hospitals to ensure department vendors consider public safety in the placement of a conditionally released sexually violent predator and approve a potential placement before a department employee or vendor signs a lease or rental agreement for the placement of a sexually violent predator, as specified.This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

CA SB 38 - Thomas J. Umberg
Second Chance Program.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 38, as amended, Umberg. Second Chance Program. Existing law establishes the Second Chance Program to support mental health treatment, substance use treatment, and diversion programs for persons in the criminal justice system with an emphasis on programs that reduce recidivism of persons convicted of less serious crimes and persons who have substance use and mental health problems. Existing law requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to administer a grant program to carry out the purposes of the Second Chance Program. Existing law requires the grant program to, among other things, restrict eligibility to proposals that offer mental health services, substance use disorder treatment services, misdemeanor diversion programs, or a combination thereof. Existing law also establishes the Second Chance Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, which is administered by the board.Existing law, the Treatment-Mandated Felony Act, makes it a crime for a person, who has 2 or more prior convictions for a felony or misdemeanor violation of specified controlled substances crimes, to possess a hard drug, as defined, unless it has been prescribed by a doctor, among others. Under existing law, a defendant who has been charged with this crime can elect treatment, in lieu of a jail or prison sentence or probation, by pleading guilty or no contest and admitting the alleged prior convictions, waiving time for sentencing and the pronouncement of judgment, and agreeing to participate in, and complete, a detailed treatment program developed by a drug addiction expert and approved by the court.This bill would require the Second Chance grant program to authorize eligibility for proposals that offer mental health or behavioral health services and drug court or collaborative court programs, including the treatment program under the Treatment-Mandated Felony Act. By expanding the purpose of a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

CA SB 396 - Henry I. Stern
Corrections: supervision.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 396, as amended, Stern. Corrections: supervision. Existing law requires prisoners sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison to serve time on parole or community supervision after their release from prison. Existing law authorizes courts to suspend the imposition or execution of punishments in specified criminal cases and instead enforce terms of probation or mandatory supervision.This bill would prohibit a supervision authority, as defined, from imposing a condition of supervision that prohibits a person on supervision from being in contact with any family member. The bill would authorize the supervision authority to prohibit contact if the family member is a victim of the crime for which the person on supervision was convicted, and it is deemed necessary for public safety. The bill would require the supervision authority prohibiting contact to provide a written explanation of why the public safety and rehabilitative benefits of prohibiting contact outweigh the rights to familial association, any rehabilitative benefits from contact, and any harms to either person from prohibiting contact. By increasing duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would exclude courts from the definition of a supervision authority.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.Existing law prohibits a person from being tried or adjudged to punishment while that person is mentally incompetent. Existing law establishes a process by which a defendant’s mental competency is evaluated and if the defendant is found incompetent to stand trial. Existing law, in the case of a misdemeanor charge in which the defendant is found incompetent, requires the court to hold a hearing to determine if the defendant is eligible for diversion within 30 days after the finding of incompetence. Under existing law, if the hearing is delayed beyond 30 days, the court is required to release the defendant on their own recognizance pending the hearing.This bill would instead require that hearing to be held within 29 days and would require, if the hearing is delayed beyond 29 days, the court to release the defendant on their own recognizance pending the hearing.

CA SB 402 - Suzette Martinez Valladares
Health care coverage: autism.
04/22/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 402, as introduced, Valladares. Health care coverage: autism. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy to provide coverage for behavioral health treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism and defines “behavioral health treatment” to mean specified services and treatment programs, including treatment provided pursuant to a treatment plan that is prescribed by a qualified autism service provider and administered either by a qualified autism service provider or by a qualified autism service professional or qualified autism service paraprofessional. Existing law defines “qualified autism service provider,” “qualified autism service professional,” and “qualified autism service paraprofessional” for those purposes. Those definitions are contained in the Health and Safety Code and the Insurance Code.This bill would move those definitions to the Business and Professions Code. The bill would also make technical and conforming changes.

CA SB 452 - Akilah Weber Pierson
Child welfare services: prevention legal services.
05/05/2025 - May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 452, as amended, Weber Pierson. Child welfare services: prevention legal services. Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, including when the child suffered or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer serious physical harm, or a parent fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law also establishes a system of child welfare services provided to children alleged to be the victims of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation, and defines “child welfare services” for these purposes to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of various purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, and includes, among other services, emergency response services and family maintenance services.This bill would, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, require the State Department of Social Services to establish and implement the Family Advocacy Pilot Program for 3 years to provide grants to qualified organizations, as defined, to provide (1) prevention legal services designed to prevent the filing of a petition in a juvenile court or stabilize a family who is at risk of receiving child welfare services, or in cases in which a report regarding a family has been made to the county child welfare department or a tribal agency, as specified, (2) direct assistance by an interdisciplinary team for families who are at risk of child welfare services or in cases in which a report regarding a family has been made to the county child welfare department or a tribal agency and (3) legal training or technical assistance to other qualified organizations providing prevention legal services or direct assistance by an interdisciplinary team. The bill would require the department to submit a report to the Legislature evaluating the effectiveness of the program, as specified.

CA SB 459 - Timothy S. Grayson
Peace officers: confidential communications: group peer support services.
05/15/2025 - In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
SB 459, as amended, Grayson. Peace officers: confidential communications: group peer support services. Existing law, the Law Enforcement Peer Support and Crisis Referral Services Program, authorizes a local or regional law enforcement agency to establish a peer support and crisis referral program to provide an agencywide network of peer representatives available to aid fellow employees on emotional or professional issues. Under existing law, a law enforcement personnel has a right to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication between the law enforcement personnel and a peer support team member while the peer support team member was providing peer support services, or a confidential communication made to a crisis hotline or crisis referral service, except under limited circumstances.This bill would additionally give a law enforcement personnel the right to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication between the law enforcement personnel and a peer support team member while the peer support team member was providing group peer support services, as defined. The bill would also prohibit a recipient of peer support services from being examined as to any knowledge gained from other recipients of group peer support services without the consent of the person to whom the information relates.

CA SB 476 - Suzette Martinez Valladares
Short-term residential therapeutic programs.
02/26/2025 - Referred to Com. on RLS.
SB 476, as introduced, Valladares. Short-term residential therapeutic programs. Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, including short-term residential therapeutic programs, by the State Department of Social Services, and defines a short-term residential therapeutic program as a residential facility licensed by the department and operated by any public agency or private organization that provides an integrated program of specialized and intensive care and supervision, services and supports, treatment, and short-term, 24-hour care and supervision to children that is trauma-informed. Existing law requires a short-term residential therapeutic program to prepare and maintain a current, written plan of operation that includes a program statement containing, among other things, a description of how the short-term residential therapeutic program will meet specified standards established by the department in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law requires a short-term residential therapeutic plan to ensure the availability of licensed nursing staff, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

CA SB 477 - Catherine S. Blakespear
California Fair Employment and Housing Act: enforcement procedures.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 477, as amended, Blakespear. California Fair Employment and Housing Act: enforcement procedures. Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), establishes the Civil Rights Department to enforce civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment and to protect and safeguard the right of all persons to obtain and hold employment without discrimination based upon specified characteristics or status. The FEHA makes certain discriminatory employment and housing practices unlawful, and authorizes a person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unlawful practice to file a verified complaint with the department. The FEHA requires the department to make an investigation in connection with a filed complaint alleging facts sufficient to constitute a violation of the FEHA, and requires the department to endeavor to eliminate the unlawful practice by conference, conciliation, and persuasion. Existing law authorizes a complaint to be filed by an aggrieved person or the department on behalf and as representative of a group or class if the alleged unlawful practice adversely affects, in a similar manner, a group or class of persons of which the aggrieved person is a member.This bill would define the term “group or class complaint” for purposes of the FEHA.Existing law tolls the time for a complainant to file a civil action alleging a violation of specified civil rights provisions commencing with the filing of a complaint with the department until the department files a civil action for the alleged violation or until one year after the department issues written notice that it has closed its investigation without filing a civil action.This bill would additionally toll the time for a complainant to file a civil action if the complainant timely appeals to the department the closure of their complaint until one year after the department issues written notice that it remains closed following the appeal.Existing law authorizes the director to bring a civil action in the name of the department, acting in the public interest, on behalf of an aggrieved person if conference, conciliation, mediation, or persuasion fails to eliminate an unlawful practice. Existing law imposes a deadline of one or 2 years for the department to bring a civil action, as specified. Existing law requires those deadlines to be tolled during a dispute resolution proceeding.This bill would additionally require those deadlines to be tolled pursuant to a written agreement by the complainant and the department, during the pendency of a petition to compel, and for the duration of an appeal to the department for the closure of a complaint.Under existing law, if the department does not file a civil action, the department is required to promptly issue the person claiming to be aggrieved a right-to-sue notice upon request, as specified, or upon completion of its investigation and not later than one year after the filing of the complaint. For a complaint treated as a group or class complaint, existing law requires the department to issue a right-to-sue notice upon completion of its investigation and not later than 2 years after the filing of the complaint. Existing law requires these deadlines to be tolled during a dispute resolution proceeding.Under this bill, if the department determines that an aggrieved person’s complaint relates to a complaint filed in the name of the director or a group or class complaint, as specified, the department would be required to issue a right-to-sue notice after the director’s or group or class complaint has been fully and finally disposed of and all administrative proceedings, civil actions, appeals, or related proceedings have terminated. The bill would require this deadline and the above-described deadlines relating to issuing a right-to-sue notice to additionally be tolled pursuant to a written agreement by the complainant and the department, during the pendency of a petition to compel, and for the duration of an appeal

CA SB 483 - Henry I. Stern
Mental health diversion.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
SB 483, as introduced, Stern. Mental health diversion. Existing law authorizes the court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant diagnosed with a mental disorder if the defendant satisfies certain eligibility requirements and if the court determines that the defendant is suitable for diversion. Existing law provides that a defendant is suitable for pretrial diversion if certain criteria are met, including, that the defendant agrees to comply with the treatment as a condition of diversion, among others.This bill would additionally require that the court be satisfied that the recommended mental health treatment program is consistent with the underlying purpose of mental health diversion and will meet the specialized mental health treatment needs of the defendant.

CA SB 497 - Scott D. Wiener
Legally protected health care activity.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
SB 497, as amended, Wiener. Legally protected health care activity. The United States Constitution generally requires a state to give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. Existing law generally authorizes a California court or attorney to issue a subpoena if a foreign subpoena has been sought in this state, but prohibits the issuance of a subpoena based on another state’s law that interferes with a person’s right to allow a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care. Existing law generally prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from disclosing medical information regarding a patient, enrollee, or subscriber without first obtaining an authorization, unless an exception applies, including that the disclosure is in response to a subpoena. Existing law prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from releasing medical information related to a person or entity allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care in response to a civil action, including a foreign subpoena, based on another state’s law that authorizes a person to bring a civil action against a person or entity that allows a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.This bill would additionally prohibit a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from releasing medical information related to a person seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care in response to a criminal or civil action, including a foreign subpoena, based on another state’s law that interferes with an individual’s right to seek or obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care. The bill would also prohibit a provider of health care, health care service plan, contractor, or employer from cooperating with or providing medical information to an individual, agency, or department from another state or, to the extent permitted by federal law, to a federal law enforcement agency that would identify an individual and that is related to an individual seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care, as specified. The bill would prohibit these entities from releasing medical information related to sensitive services, as defined, in response to a foreign subpoena that is based on a violation of another state’s laws authorizing a criminal action against a person or entity for provision or receipt of legally protected health care activity, as defined. The bill would also generally prohibit the issuance of a subpoena based on a violation of another state’s law that interferes with a person’s right to seek or obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care, as specified. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain the Controlled Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) for the electronic monitoring of the prescribing and dispensing of certain controlled substances by a health care practitioner authorized to prescribe, order, administer, furnish, or dispense those controlled substances. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into an agreement with an entity operating an interstate data sharing hub, or an agency operating a prescription drug monitoring program in another state, for purposes of interstate data sharing of prescription drug monitoring program information. Existing law limits the entities to which data may be provided from CURES, as well as the type of data that may be released and the uses to which it may be put.This bill would prohibit a state or local agency or employee, appointee, officer, contractor, or official or any other person acting on behalf of a public agency from knowingly providing any CURES data or knowingly expending any resources in furtherance of any inter

CA SB 50 - Angelique V. Ashby
Connected devices: device protection requests.
01/06/2025 - Read first time.
SB 50, as introduced, Ashby. Connected devices: device protection requests. Existing law authorizes a court to issue a restraining order to a person to prevent abuse, as specified, based on reasonable proof of a past act or acts of abuse. Existing law authorizes the order to be issued solely on the affidavit or testimony of the person requesting the restraining order.Existing law requires a manufacturer of a connected device to equip the device with a reasonable security feature or features that are appropriate to the nature and function of the device, appropriate to the information it may collect, contain, or transmit, and designed to protect the device and information contained in the device from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure.This bill would require an account manager, as defined, to terminate or disable a connected device or account access to a perpetrator, as defined, commencing no later than 2 days after a device protection request is submitted to the account manager by a survivor of that perpetrator. The bill would specify the requirements for a survivor to submit a device protection request and would impose certain requirements on an account manager regarding the process for submitting a request. By providing that a survivor may include a copy of a signed affidavit to submit a device protection request, and thus expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.This bill would require the account manager to notify the survivor of specified information and require an account manager and any officer, director, employee, vendor, or agent thereof to treat any information submitted by a survivor as confidential and securely dispose of the information, as provided.This bill would authorize enforcement of these provisions by injunction or civil penalty in any court action by any person injured by a violation of those provisions, the Attorney General, a district attorney, county counsel, a city attorney, or a city prosecutor, against an account manager or perpetrator, as provided. The bill would prohibit a waiver of these prohibitions and would declare that these provisions are severable.Existing law authorizes a court to issue an ex parte order for, among other things, disturbing the peace of the other party. Existing law provides that disturbing the peace of the other party may be committed directly or indirectly, including through the use of a third party, and by any method or through any means including, but not limited to, telephone, online accounts, text messages, internet-connected devices, or other electronic technologies.This bill would provide that, for purposes of those provisions, an internet-connected device includes a connected device as described in the bill.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 504 - John Laird
Communicable diseases: HIV reporting.
05/05/2025 - From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.
SB 504, as amended, Laird. Communicable diseases: HIV reporting. Existing law requires all health care providers and laboratories to report cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to the local health officer and requires the local health officer to report unduplicated HIV cases to the State Department of Public Health. Existing law requires public health records related to HIV or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), containing personally identifying information, that were developed or acquired by a state or local public health agency, or an agent of that agency, to be confidential and not disclosed, except as otherwise provided by law for public health purposes or pursuant to a written authorization by the person who is the subject of the record or by their guardian or conservator. Existing law authorizes certain state or local public health officials to disclose those records to other local, state, or federal public health agencies or to medical researchers when the confidential information is necessary to carry out specified duties of the agency or researcher, including in the investigation, control, or surveillance of disease.This bill would additionally authorize a health care provider of a patient with an HIV infection that has already been reported to a local health officer as described above to communicate with a local health officer or the department to provide additional information required by law or public health guidelines in order to complete or supplement an HIV case report. The bill would prohibit a provider from disclosing personally identifying confidential information about a patient to a local health jurisdiction or the department unless the disclosure is necessary for the jurisdiction or the department to carry out specified duties. The bill would make conforming changes to related provisions.

CA SB 510 -
Pupil instruction: treatment of African Americans.
05/13/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 510, as amended, Richardson. Pupil instruction: treatment of African Americans. Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include certain areas of study, including, among others, English, mathematics, social sciences, science, and visual and performing arts, as specified.Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the commission, when the history-social science curriculum framework is next revised, on or after January 1, 2025, to consider providing for inclusion, in that curriculum framework, related evaluation criteria, and accompanying instructional materials, of instruction on the treatment and perspectives of Native Americans during the Spanish colonization of California and the Gold Rush Era.This bill would require the commission, when the state board next revises the history-social science curriculum framework or adopts new instructional materials, on or after January 1, 2026, to consider including content on the historical, social, economic, and political contributions of African Americans during the Spanish colonization of California, the Gold Rush Era, and Antebellum, as provided.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA SB 523 - Kelly Seyarto
California Earthquake Authority: commission.
03/24/2025 - From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
SB 523, as amended, Seyarto. California Earthquake Authority: commission. Existing law establishes the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), administered under the authority of the Insurance Commissioner and governed by a 3-member governing board, to transact insurance in this state as necessary to sell policies of basic residential earthquake insurance. Under existing law, the CEA’s governing board is advised by an appointed advisory panel. This bill would require the CEA to establish a commission, to convene no later than April 1, 2026, to consider expanding the authority. The bill would require the commission to be composed of the board members or their designees. The bill would also require the commission to explore specified topics, including financial estimates for statewide earthquake threats. The bill would require the commission to conclude its work no later than April 1, 2027, and to submit a report to the Legislature no later than June 1, 2027, on the feasibility of creating a disaster insurance program in California. The bill would repeal these provisions on June 1, 2031.Existing law provides that individuals with disabilities, as defined, or medical conditions, as defined, have the same right as the general public to the full and free use of the streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, medical facilities, including hospitals, clinics, and physicians’ offices, public facilities, and other public places.This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

CA SB 531 - Susan Rubio
Course of study: mental health education.
05/01/2025 - April 30 set for second hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 0. Noes 2.) Reconsideration granted.
SB 531, as introduced, Rubio. Course of study: mental health education. Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, to include certain areas of study, including, among others, health. Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study, including, among others, English, social sciences, and mathematics.This bill, with respect to the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, would require the health area of study to also include mental health education, as provided. The bill, with respect to the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, would add mental health education, as provided, to the adopted course of study. To the extent this bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies or local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA SB 535 -
Obesity Treatment Parity Act.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 535, as introduced, Richardson. Obesity Treatment Parity Act. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act’s requirements a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of disability and health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law sets forth specified coverage requirements for plan contracts and insurance policies.This bill, the Obesity Treatment Parity Act, would require an individual or group health care service plan contract or health insurance policy that provides coverage for outpatient prescription drug benefits and is issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, to include coverage for intensive behavioral therapy for the treatment of obesity, bariatric surgery, and at least one antiobesity medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 548 - Eloise Gomez Reyes
California Overdose Death and Addiction Reduction Act of 2025.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 548, as amended, Reyes. California Overdose Death and Addiction Reduction Act of 2025. Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, which includes departments charged with the administration of health, social, and other human services. Under existing law, the Legislature finds that state government has an affirmative role in alleviating problems related to the inappropriate use of alcoholic beverages and other drug use and that its major objective is protection of the public health and safety, particularly where problems related to inappropriate alcohol use and other drug use are likely to cause harm to individuals, families, and the community. The agency convened the Behavioral Health Task Force to inform its work on behavioral health issues across the state.This bill, the California Overdose Death and Addiction Reduction Act of 2025, would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, on or before January 1, 2028, to direct the task force, or a successor group, to create a set of recommendations to support an implementation plan for reducing alcohol- and drug-related addiction deaths by 50% on or before 5 years from the date the task force provides the recommendations to the agency, but no later than January 1, 2033. The bill would authorize the task force to include additional members as deemed appropriate by the agency, including representatives from specified entities, experts, and providers, among others. The bill would require the agency to adopt the recommendations provided by the task force and require the agency to consider specified information, including quality and performance measures to establish minimum standards for effective delivery of services.The bill would require the agency, on or before July 1, 2033, to provide the Governor and the Legislature a report of the findings and recommendations related to the extent that the 2033 goal was met and how effective the recommendations of the task force were, and recommendations for beyond 2033 that will continue to reduce overdose deaths and addiction.The bill would also make related findings and declarations.

CA SB 551 - David D. Cortese
Corrections and rehabilitation: state policy.
05/06/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 551, as amended, Cortese. Corrections and rehabilitation: state policy. Under existing law, the Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of sentencing is public safety achieved through punishment, rehabilitation, and restorative justice, and that programs should be available for incarcerated persons, including educational, rehabilitative, and restorative justice programs that are designed to promote behavioral change and to prepare all incarcerated persons for successful reentry into the community. Existing law directs the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to maintain a mission statement consistent with these principles.This bill would make legislative findings and declarations relating to corrections and rehabilitation, including, among others, that the Legislature recognizes that life in prison can never be the same as life in a free society, and that active steps should be taken to make conditions in prison as close to normal life as possible, aside from loss of liberty, to ensure that this normalization does not lead to inhumane prison conditions. The bill would direct the department to maintain a mission statement consistent with the principles of normalization and dynamic security.Existing law provides that the primary objective of adult incarceration is to facilitate the successful reintegration of the individuals in the department’s care back to their communities equipped with the tools to be drug-free, healthy, and employable members of society by providing education, treatment, and rehabilitative and restorative justice programs in a safe and humane environment.This bill would include that the primary objective of adult incarceration is to promote personal growth for all residents in the department’s care.

CA SB 577 - Benjamin J. Allen
State Government.
05/12/2025 - May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 577, as amended, Laird. State Government. (1) Existing law authorizes a trial court to order a party, the party’s attorney, or both, to pay the reasonable expense incurred by another party as a result of bad-faith actions or tactics, as defined. Existing law provides the court may also award sanctions, as specified. Existing law provides that where the bad faith actions or tactics involve the filing of a pleading that can be withdrawn or corrected, the filing party shall be provided 21 days in order to do so, prior to award of sanctions against the filing party, as specified.This bill would provide that bad-faith actions or tactics used on or after January 1, 2026, in certain civil actions against public entities, do not benefit from the 21-day safe harbor period to withdraw or correct the bad-faith filings prior to the award of sanctions.(1)(2) Existing law requires that specified actions for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault that occurred before January 1, 2024 be commenced within 22 years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 5 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual assault, whichever period expires later. Existing law provides that there is no time limit for commencement of such actions for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault which occurred on or after January 1, 2024. Actions subject to these time limits include actions for liability against any person or entity who owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and an action for liability against any person or entity for an intentional act that was the legal cause of the childhood sexual assault. Existing law provides that in actions against entities for violation of a duty of care, the plaintiff must establish that the entity acted wrongfully or negligently.This bill would prohibit a plaintiff from refiling an action of the type described above that was dismissed without prejudice if more than 5 years have passed since the filing date of the dismissed action.This bill would shorten the amount of time a victim of childhood sexual assault that occurred before January 1, 2024 would have to file a specified action to 22 years from the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 3 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual assault, whichever period expires later. This bill would, for actions filed on or after April 15, 2025, against a public entity by a plaintiff who is 40 years of age or older, increase the standard of liability to gross negligence. For all cases against a public entity filed on or after April 15, 2025, this bill would provide factors that courts must consider when reviewing motions for remittitur and would authorize a court to structure judgments against public entities so that they could be paid over time.This bill would require all cases filed by victims of childhood sexual assault that occurred at the MacLaren Children’s Center or any juvenile probation facility or detention center operated by the Los Angeles County Probation Department that was closed before or on January 1, 2020, be filed on or before January 1, 2026. This bill specifies that the procedural requirements that typically apply to such causes of action, including the requirement that plaintiffs who file their claims at the age of 40 or greater file a certificate of merit, as specified, also apply to these specific cases. This bill would require that in these cases, certificates of merit along with additional information shall be provided to a court-appointed special master. This bill would prohibit a special master from distributing funds pursuant to a settlement agreement until all of those requirements have been satisfied

CA SB 579 - Steve Padilla
Mental health and artificial intelligence working group.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 579, as amended, Padilla. Mental health and artificial intelligence working group. Existing law establishes the Government Operations Agency, which consists of several state entities, including, among others, the State Personnel Board, the Department of General Services, and the Office of Administrative Law. Under existing law, the Government Operations Agency is under the direction of an executive officer known as the Secretary of Government Operations, who is appointed by, and holds office at the pleasure of, the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate.This bill would require the secretary, by July 1, 2026, to appoint a mental health and artificial intelligence working group, as specified, that would evaluate certain issues to determine the role of artificial intelligence in mental health settings. The bill would require the working group to take input from various stakeholder groups, including health organizations and academic institutions, and conduct at least 3 public meetings. The bill would require the working group to produce a report of its findings to the Legislature by July 1, 2028, and issue a followup report by January 1, 2030, as specified. The bill would repeal its provisions on July 1, 2031.

CA SB 59 - Scott D. Wiener
Change of gender and sex identifier.
05/05/2025 - May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 59, as amended, Wiener. Change of gender and sex identifier. Existing law authorizes a person to file a petition with the superior court seeking a judgment recognizing their change of gender to female, male, or nonbinary, including a person who is under 18 years of age. Existing law authorizes a person to file a single petition to simultaneously change the petitioner’s name and recognize the change to the petitioner’s gender and sex identifier, as specified. Existing law requires a petition for a change of gender and sex identifier or a single petition for change to the petitioner’s name and to recognize the change of the petitioner’s gender and sex identifier filed by a person under 18 years of age, and any papers associated with the proceeding, to be kept confidential by the court. Existing law requires the court to limit access to these records to specified individuals, including, among others, the minor, the minor’s parents, and their attorneys.This bill would expand that confidentiality to apply to all filed petitions, regardless of the age of the petitioner, and any papers associated with a proceeding for a change of gender and sex identifier, for a single petition for change to the petitioner’s name and to recognize the change to the petitioner’s gender and sex identifier, or for a change of name to conform the petitioner’s name to the petitioner’s gender identity, as specified. This bill would make these confidentiality requirements retroactive and require the Judicial Council to ensure that all courts have implemented a method to ensure the court maintains the confidentiality of these petitions and associated papers that were filed prior to the effective date of this act. The bill would authorize, if a person or entity discovers that a court record is not being kept confidential by the court, a person or entity to apply ex parte and without a fee to the court for an order to make those records confidential. The bill would prohibit those records from being posted publicly, on the internet or otherwise, by anyone other than the petitioner.This bill would make a violation of these confidentiality requirements an injury and, commencing 6 months after the effective date of this act, would authorize a person or entity to institute proceedings for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or a writ of mandate to enforce them. The bill would require a court to award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to a plaintiff who prevails on a cause of action against a private party pursuant to this authority.This bill would also authorize a petitioner who has been harmed by a disclosure or continuing disclosure of records, as specified, to, commencing 6 months after the effective date of this act, bring a civil action against the private person or entity that caused the harm. The bill would require a private person or entity found liable to pay actual damages or liquidated damages, punitive damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, as specified.This bill would require the court, without a public hearing, to seal these types of petitions, as specified, and all court records and papers associated with that proceeding, upon the request of the petitioner and a finding that a petitioner has met the criteria set forth in a specific California Rule of Court.This bill would make legislative findings and declarations in support of its provisions.This bill would declare that its provisions are severable.Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

CA SB 601 - Benjamin J. Allen
Water: waste discharge.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
SB 601, as amended, Allen. Water: waste discharge. (1) Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality and prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (act) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. Existing law requires, when applying to a city or a county for an initial business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, or renewal thereof, a person who conducts a business operation that is a regulated industry, as defined, to demonstrate enrollment with the NPDES permit program by providing specified information, under penalty of perjury, on the application. Existing law includes in this specified information, among other things, the Standard Industrial Classification Codes for the business, and a Waste Discharger Identification number (WDID), as specified. This bill would revise the above-described requirement to demonstrate enrollment with NPDES to instead require demonstrating enrollment with NPDES or the Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) permit programs by providing the specified information. The bill would require, when applying to a city or a county for a building or construction permit, a person who conducts a business operation that is a regulated industry and seeks permission for construction activities over one acre to demonstrate enrollment with the NPDES or WDR permit programs by providing specified information under penalty of perjury on the initial building or construction permit application, or renewal thereof. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include in this specified information, among other things, the total planned disturbed acreage and WDID or WDID application number issued for the construction or land disturbance activity by the State Water Resources Control Board. By increasing the duties of local officials to administer licenses and permits, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Under the act, the State Water Resources Control Board is authorized to adopt water quality control plans for waters for which quality standards are required by the federal Clean Water Act, as specified, and that in the event of conflict, those plans supersede regional water quality control plans for the same waters.This bill would delete the limitation on the state board’s authorization, and instead would authorize the state board to adopt water quality control plans for any waters of the state, which would include nexus waters, which the bill would define as all waters of the state that are not also navigable, except as specified. The bill would require any water quality standard applicable to nexus waters, which was submitted to, and approved by, or is awaiting approval by, the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the state board as of January 19, 2025, to remain in effect, except where the state board, regional board, or United States Environmental Protection Agency adopts a more stringent standard. The bill would require the state board and regional boards to include nexus waters in all processes pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act, including, but not limited to, the California Integrated Report and the establishment of total maximum daily loads, as specified.(3) Existing law requires a regional board, after any necessary hearing, to prescribe requirements as to the nature of any proposed discharge, existing discharge, or material change in an existing discharge, except discharges into a community sewer system, with relation to the conditions existing in the disposal area or receiving waters upon, or into which, the discharge is made or proposed and sets forth what the requirements are to include.This bill would require the above-described discharge requirements to, among other things, implement state policies for water quality

CA SB 62 - Caroline Menjivar
Health care coverage: essential health benefits.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 62, as amended, Menjivar. Health care coverage: essential health benefits. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, requires the Department of Managed Health Care to license and regulate health care service plans and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires the Department of Insurance to regulate health insurers. Existing law requires an individual or small group health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2017, to include, at a minimum, coverage for essential health benefits pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to cover the same health benefits that the benchmark plan, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Small Group HMO 30 plan, offered during the first quarter of 2014, as specified.This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to review California’s essential health benefits benchmark plan and establish a new benchmark plan for the 2027 plan year. The bill would require, commencing January 1, 2027, if the United States Department of Health and Human Services approves a new essential health benefits benchmark plan for the state, as specified, the benchmark plan to include certain additional benefits, including coverage for specified fertility services and specified durable medical equipment. Because a violation of the bill by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 626 - Sabrina Cervantes
Perinatal health screenings and treatment.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 626, as amended, Smallwood-Cuevas. Perinatal health screenings and treatment. Existing law requires a licensed health care practitioner who provides prenatal, postpartum, or interpregnancy care for a patient to offer to screen or appropriately screen a mother for maternal mental health conditions. For purposes of that requirement, existing law defines “maternal mental health condition” to mean a mental health condition that occurs during pregnancy, the postpartum period, or interpregnancy, as specified.This bill would modify the term “maternal mental health condition” to “perinatal mental health condition” and additionally include in its definition a mental health condition that occurs during the perinatal period. The bill would require a licensed health care practitioner who provides perinatal care for a patient to screen, diagnose, and treat the patient for a perinatal mental health condition in accordance with applicable clinical guidelines or standards appropriate to the provider’s license, training, and scope of practice, as specified.Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer to develop a maternal mental health program designed to promote quality and cost-effective outcomes. Existing law requires the program to, among other things, conduct specified maternal mental health screenings during pregnancy and the postpartum period. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines “maternal mental health” to mean a mental health condition that occurs during pregnancy or during the postpartum period, as specified.This bill would modify the term “maternal mental health” to “perinatal mental health” and additionally include in its definition a mental health condition that occurs during the perinatal period, as specified. The bill would instead require the above-described program to include perinatal mental health screening to be conducted during pregnancy and during the postpartum and perinatal periods in accordance with applicable clinical guidelines or standards appropriate to the provider’s license, training, and scope of practice, as specified. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to provide case management and care coordination for an enrollee or insured during the perinatal period. The bill would require a plan or an insurer to annually report the utilization and outcomes of case management services to the appropriate department and to post that reported information to its internet website. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 632 - Jesse Arreguin
Workers’ compensation: hospital employees.
04/28/2025 - April 28 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 632, as amended, Arreguín. Workers’ compensation: hospital employees. Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Existing law creates a rebuttable presumption that specified injuries sustained in the course of employment of a specified member of law enforcement or a specified first responder arose out of and in the course of employment. Prior existing law, until January 1, 2024, created a rebuttable presumption of injury for various employees, including an employee who works at a health facility, as defined, that included an illness or death resulting from COVID-19, if specified circumstances applied.This bill would define “injury,” for a hospital employee who provides direct patient care in an acute care hospital, to include infectious diseases, cancer, musculoskeletal injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, and respiratory diseases. The bill would include the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, among other conditions, in the definitions of infectious and respiratory diseases. The bill would create rebuttable presumptions that these injuries that develop or manifest in a hospital employee who provides direct patient care in an acute care hospital arose out of and in the course of the employment. The bill would extend these presumptions for specified time periods after the hospital employee’s termination of employment.

CA SB 672 - Susan Rubio
The Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act.
05/05/2025 - May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 672, as amended, Rubio. The Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act. Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings to conduct a youth offender parole hearing for offenders sentenced to state prison who committed specified crimes when they were under 25 years of age. Existing law makes a person who was convicted of a controlling offense that was committed when the person was under 18 years of age and for which the sentence is life without the possibility of parole eligible for release on parole at a youth offender hearing by the board during the person’s 25th year of incarceration.Under existing law, a murder perpetrated by specified means or under certain circumstances is defined as murder of the first degree. Existing law, as added by Proposition 7, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 7, 1978, statewide general election, requires that a person convicted of first-degree murder be subject to death or confinement in prison for a term of life without the possibility of parole in any case in which specified special circumstances are charged and found to be true. Proposition 7 does not provide for amendment by the Legislature.This bill, the Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act, would instead make a person who was convicted of a controlling offense that was committed when the person was 25 years of age or younger and for which they were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole eligible for parole after their 25th year of incarceration, except as specified. The bill would require the board to complete, by January 1, 2028, all hearings for individuals who are or will be entitled to have their parole suitability considered at a youth offender parole hearing by these provisions.

CA SB 686 - Christopher M. Ward
Housing programs: financing.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 686, as introduced, Reyes. Housing programs: financing. Existing law, the Zenovich-Moscone-Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act, among other things, establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development and requires it to administer various programs intended to promote the development of housing and to provide housing assistance and home loans. Existing law sets forth various general powers of the department in implementing these programs, including authorizing the department to enter into long-term contracts or agreements of up to 30 years for the purpose of servicing loans or grants or enforcing regulatory agreements or other security documents.Existing law, unless an extension of a department loan, the reinstatement of a qualifying unpaid matured loan, the subordination of a department loan to new debt, or an investment of tax credit equity would result in a rent increase for tenants of a development, authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development to approve an extension, reinstatement, subordination, or investment pursuant to specified rental housing finance programs, as specified, or if the department determines that a project has, or will have after rehabilitation or repairs, a potential remaining useful life equal to or greater than the term of the restructured loan. Existing law authorizes the department to charge a monitoring fee to cover the aggregate monitoring costs in years the loan is extended and a transaction fee to cover its costs for processing restructuring transactions, and requires developer fee limitations to be consistent with specified laws and regulations, including regulations by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.This bill would revise and recast these provisions, including additionally authorizing the department to approve the payoff of a department loan in whole or part before the end of its term and the extraction of equity from a development for purposes approved by the department. The bill would specify eligible uses of loan and equity sources, if the department determines that a project has, or will have after rehabilitation or repairs, a potential remaining useful life equal to or greater than the term of the department’s regulatory agreement for purposes of approving an extension, reinstatement, subordination, payoff, extraction, or investment, as described above. The bill would prohibit the extension, reinstatement, subordination, payoff, extraction, or investment, as described above, if it would result in a rent increase for tenants of a development over and above the annual adjustment to the tenants’ rents under the department’s regulatory agreement.This bill would recast certain provisions related to regulatory agreements, including authorizing the department to add another regulatory agreement and authorizing the department to waive specified requirements in the regulatory agreement if the loan is paid off, including requiring occupancy and financial reports. The bill would authorize the department to charge additional fees as necessary to cover its costs for processing restructuring transactions, and would provide that the monitoring fees continue until the end of the term of the department’s regulatory agreement, as specified. The bill would limit developer fees to the amount allowed by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee or to 25% of actual rehabilitation costs, as applicable. Existing law, known as the No Place Like Home Program, requires the department to award up to $2,000,000,000 among counties to finance capital costs, including, but not limited to, acquisition, design, construction, rehabilitation, or preservation, and to capitalize operating reserves, of permanent supportive housing for the target population, as specified.This bill would define “capitalized operating reserves” for purposes of the Zenovich-Moscone-Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act and the No Place Like Home Program.

CA SB 692 - Jesse Arreguin
Vehicles: homelessness.
05/05/2025 - May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 692, as amended, Arreguín. Vehicles: homelessness. Existing law makes it unlawful for a peace officer or an unauthorized person to remove an unattended vehicle from a highway, except as provided. Under existing law, the removal of a vehicle is a seizure, subject to the limits set forth in jurisprudence for the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to adopt an ordinance establishing procedures for the abatement and removal, as public nuisances, of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles or parts of vehicles from private or public property. Existing law requires that any ordinance for the removal of abandoned vehicles contain certain provisions, including a provision exempting vehicles under certain circumstances, and a provision providing no less than a 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance, unless the property owner and the owner of the vehicle sign releases. Existing law also exempts from the 10-day notice prior to removal provision, a vehicle meeting specified requirements, including being valued at less than $200 and being determined to be a public nuisance, if the property owner has signed a release.This bill would additionally authorize a city, county, or city and county to adopt an ordinance for the abatement and removal of vehicles formerly used as shelter by a person. The bill would require an ordinance establishing procedures for the removal of abandoned vehicles to contain a provision making the ordinance applicable to public agencies operating certain vehicle buyback programs, as specified. The bill would also specifically authorize a local government to perform emergency summary abatement of vehicles creating imminent health and safety hazards. The bill would modify the exemption from prior 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove a vehicle to no longer require that both the vehicle be determined to be a public nuisance and that the property owner sign a release.Existing law authorizes vehicles or parts thereof to be disposed of by removal to, among other places, a scrapyard or automobile dismantler’s yard.The bill would authorize specified vehicles to be scrapped and dismantled in place and disposed of at a suitable site operated by a local authority.Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program, administered by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care, cities, counties, and tribes in rounds and establishes round 5 for the purpose of creating and implementing regionally coordinated plans that organize and deploy the full array of homelessness programs and resources comprehensively and effectively. Existing law authorizes the use of those funds for services for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, including, among other things, street outreach, and specified programs funded by the Encampment Resolution Grant. Existing law establishes round 6 for the purpose of, among other things, expeditiously reducing unsheltered homelessness through homelessness prevention activities and sustaining existing interim housing solutions. Existing law authorizes the use of those funds for, among other things, permanent housing solutions that can prevent or serve those experiencing unsheltered homelessness, as specified.This bill would additionally authorize the use of funds from rounds 5 and 6 for vehicle buyback programs for persons experiencing vehicular homelessness, if the buyback offer is paired with an offer of interim or permanent housing.

CA SB 734 - Anna Marie Caballero
Criminal procedure: discrimination.
05/12/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 734, as amended, Caballero. Criminal procedure: discrimination. Existing law, the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act, grants certain employment rights to public safety officers, as defined. The act prohibits, among other things, any punitive action against a public safety officer, denial of promotion on grounds other than merit, or threat of such treatment, because of the lawful exercise of the rights granted under the act, or the exercise of any rights under any existing administrative grievance procedure. Existing law, the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, prohibits the state from seeking a criminal conviction or sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Existing law authorizes a defendant to file a motion in the trial court or, if judgment has been imposed, to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus to allege a violation of this prohibition.Existing law authorizes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to revoke the certification of a peace officer if the officer has, while employed as a peace officer, engaged in serious misconduct including, among other things, demonstrating bias on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender identity or expression, housing status, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or other protected status in violation of law or department policy or inconsistent with a peace officer’s obligation to carry out their duties in a fair and unbiased manner.This bill would prohibit a punitive action, denial of promotion on grounds other than merit, or a revocation of certification proceeding from being undertaken against any public safety officer on the basis of a court finding made in a challenge brought under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, and would prohibit those court findings from being introduced for any purpose in any administrative appeal of a punitive action. The bill would require, if the defendant is represented by an attorney in a case brought under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, in the prosecution of a writ of habeas corpus, or in the filing of a motion to vacate a conviction or sentence based on a violation of the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, and the motion or petition is based, in whole or in part, on the conduct of a law enforcement officer, the attorney to serve a copy of the motion on the law enforcement agency employing the officer.

CA SB 747 - Scott D. Wiener
Wages: behavioral health and medical-surgical employees.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 747, as amended, Wiener. Wages: behavioral health and medical-surgical employees. Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and sets forth the functions of the department, which include, among others, fostering, promoting, and developing the welfare of the wage earners of California and improving their working conditions. Existing law establishes within the department the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, headed by the Labor Commissioner, for the purposes of enforcing labor laws. Existing law prohibits an employer from paying any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions, unless the employer demonstrates that one or more specific factors, reasonably applied, account for the entire wage differential. Existing law also similarly prohibits an employer from paying any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of another race or ethnicity for substantially similar work. Under existing law, a violation of the laws relating to payment of wages, hours, and working conditions is a misdemeanor. This bill would require a covered employer to report to the department the compensation it provides to behavioral health employees and to medical-surgical employees. The bill would authorize the department, if it does not receive a report from a covered employer pursuant to these provisions, to seek an order requiring the employer to comply with the requirement and would entitle the department to recover the costs associated with seeking the order. The bill would authorize a court, upon request by the department, to impose a civil penalty, as prescribed.The bill would require any data regarding the compensation of behavioral health employees and medical-surgical employees reported by a covered employer to be exclusively available to certain departments, including the department, and to be confidential and not made publicly available. The bill would, notwithstanding that provision, require the department to consult with certain departments, including the Department of Health Care Access and Information, regarding the data, and thereafter to, among other things, incorporate the data into a report that identifies any compensation disparities between behavioral health employees and similarly situated medical-surgical employees. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, to submit the above-described report to the Legislature, as specified. The bill would specify that a violation of its provisions does not constitute a misdemeanor, and would define various terms for these purposes.Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

CA SB 748 -
Encampment Resolution Funding program: safe parking sites: reporting.
05/12/2025 - From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
SB 748, as amended, Richardson. Encampment Resolution Funding program: safe parking sites: reporting. Existing law establishes the Encampment Resolution Funding program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, to increase collaboration between the department, local jurisdictions, and continuums of care for, among other things, providing encampment resolution grants to local jurisdictions and continuums of care to resolve critical encampment concerns and transition individuals into safe and stable housing. This bill would additionally include, as purposes of the program, assisting local jurisdictions that are urban communities within a county with operating safe parking sites while locating interim or permanent housing.Existing law requires the department to report to the chairs of the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on the outcomes, learnings, and best practices models identified through the program.This bill would additionally include assisting specified local jurisdictions with, among other things, removing and storing cars and recreational vehicles, as specified, acquiring property for safe parking sites, and increasing safe parking site hours, as purposes of the program.Beginning on April 1, 2026, and quarterly thereafter, the bill would require the department to report to the chairs of certain Senate and Assembly committees on the funding distributed for each of the program’s purposes, as specified.

CA SB 751 - Josh Lowenthal
Veterans and Former First Responders Research Pilot Program.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 751, as amended, Becker. Veterans and Former First Responders Research Pilot Program. Existing law makes it a crime to possess, cultivate, and administer specified controlled substances, including psilocybin and psilocyn. Existing law makes it a crime for a person to rent, lease, or make available for use any building or room for the purpose of storing or distributing any controlled substance.This bill would, until January 1, 2031, request the University of California to establish local pilots in up to 5 counties to allow for the research and development of psilocybin services for veterans and former first responders as part of the Veterans and Former First Responders Research Pilot Program (”Pilot Program“). The bill would require these university partners, overseeing each Pilot Program to be responsible for protocol design, institutional review board approvals, training of psilocybin facilitators, data collection, and reporting. The bill would require each local pilot to partner with licensed health care and licensed community-based providers that provide services and care to the target population. The bill would require psilocybin to be provided by or under the supervision of a practitioner who has experience in providing or overseeing psilocybin or other psychedelic therapy services. The bill would require that each person being considered for the Pilot Program meet specified criteria, including that they are 21 years of age or older and have been given specified assessments.This bill would request the University of California to report specified information about the Pilot Program to the Legislature, the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, and the Governor by January 15, 2030. The bill would establish the Veterans and Former First Responders Research Pilot Special Fund and would continuously appropriate the fund to the University of California for the purposes of these provisions. The bill would request the University of California to apply for and accept grants, donations, and federal funding for the purposes of the Pilot Program, and would require those moneys to be deposited in the fund.

CA SB 758 - Thomas J. Umberg
Juries: peremptory challenges.
04/08/2025 - April 8 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.
SB 758, as introduced, Umberg. Juries: peremptory challenges. Existing law provides for the exclusion of a prospective juror from a trial jury by peremptory challenge. Existing law prohibits a party from using a peremptory challenge to remove a prospective juror on the basis of an assumption that the prospective juror is biased merely because of the sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, or sexual orientation of the prospective juror, or on similar grounds. Under existing law, a peremptory challenge for specified reasons, including a prospective juror expressing a distrust of or having a negative experience with law enforcement or the criminal legal system, expressing a belief that law enforcement officers engage in racial profiling or that criminal laws have been enforced in a discriminatory manner, or having a close relationship with people who have been stopped, arrested, or convicted of a crime, are presumed to be invalid unless the party exercising the peremptory challenge meets specified requirements.This bill would, in cases where a law enforcement officer is a defendant or alleged victim, remove the presumption of invalidity for a peremptory challenge for a prospective juror’s expressing a distrust of or having a negative experience with law enforcement or the criminal legal system, expressing a belief that law enforcement officers engage in racial profiling or that criminal laws have been enforced in a discriminatory manner, or having a close relationship with people who have been stopped, arrested, or convicted of a crime.

CA SB 759 - Bob J. Archuleta
Crimes: supervised release.
05/05/2025 - May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 759, as introduced, Archuleta. Crimes: supervised release. (1) Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide specified information to local law enforcement agencies regarding an inmate released by the department to the agency’s jurisdiction on parole or postrelease community supervision, including a record of the offense for which the inmate was convicted that resulted in parole or postrelease community supervision.This bill would require the department to also provide the local law enforcement agency with copies of the record of supervision during any prior period of parole.(2) Existing law requires the department to be the agency primarily responsible for the Law Enforcement Automated Data System and requires county agencies supervising inmates released from prison on postrelease community supervision to provide any information requested by the department to ensure the availability of accurate information regarding inmates released from state prison. Under existing law, this information may include the issuance of warrants, revocations, or the termination of postrelease community supervision.This bill would require the county to provide the department, upon request, with all records of supervision. By imposing additional duties on county agencies administering postrelease community supervision, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(3) Existing law requires the county agency supervising the release of a person on postrelease community supervision to petition a court to revoke, modify, or terminate postrelease community supervision if the agency determines, following application of its assessment processes, that intermediate sanctions are not appropriate.This bill would require the county agency supervising the release of a person on postrelease community supervision to also petition a court to revoke, modify, or terminate postrelease community supervision if the person has violated the terms of their release for a 3rd time and the person has committed a new felony or misdemeanor. The bill would allow a peace officer to arrest a person without warrant who fails to appear at a hearing to revoke, modify, or terminate postrelease community supervision. By imposing additional duties on county agencies administering postrelease community supervision, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(4) Existing law allows each county agency responsible for postrelease supervision to determine appropriate responses to alleged violations, which can include a one to 10 consecutive day period of one to 10 consecutive days of flash incarceration.This bill would require the probation department to notify the court, public defender, district attorney, and sheriff of each imposition of flash incarceration. By imposing additional duties on county agencies administering postrelease community supervision, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 775 - Angelique V. Ashby
Board of Psychology and Board of Behavioral Sciences.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
SB 775, as amended, Ashby. Board of Psychology and Board of Behavioral Sciences. (1) Existing law, the Psychology Licensing Law, establishes the Board of Psychology to license and regulate psychologists and the practice of psychology. Existing law repeals the provision establishing the board on January 1, 2026.This bill would extend operation of the board to January 1, 2030.Existing law establishes qualifications for registration as a psychological testing technician, including proof of completion of a bachelor’s degree or graduate degree, or proof of current enrollment in a graduate degree program in psychology or in education with a field of specialization in educational psychology, counseling psychology, or school psychology. Existing law also establishes various fees relating to the licensure and regulation of the practice of psychology.This bill would expand the list of authorized areas of study for registration as a psychological testing technician to include neuroscience, cognitive science, or behavioral science, and would specify that the board shall make the final determination as to whether a degree or degree program meets the educational requirements. The bill would establish a fee of $25 to add or change a supervisor for a psychological testing technician.Existing law provides that a psychologist’s license shall be suspended automatically during any time the holder of the license is incarcerated after conviction of a felony, and provides for the continued suspension of the license if, after a hearing, it is determined in the hearing that the felony for which the licensee was convicted is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a licensee. Existing law requires any discipline ordered to cease if the conviction is overturned on appeal. This bill would revise and recast those provisions, including authorizing the board to decline to set aside the suspension when it appears to be in the interest of justice to do so. The bill would revise and recast provisions relating to suspended, revoked, and surrendered licenses and obtaining a new license after a license is void after not being renewed within 3 years. The bill would make various technical and other changes to the Psychology Licensing Law, including defining the terms “license,” “licensee,” and “client.”Existing(2) Existing law establishes the Board of Behavioral Sciences in the Department of Consumer Affairs to regulate licensees under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, the Educational Psychologist Practice Act, the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, and the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act. Existing law repeals the provision establishing the board on January 1, 2026. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes a person who holds a license in another jurisdiction of the United States as a marriage and family therapist, a clinical social worker, or a professional clinical counselor to provide those services in this state for a period not to exceed 30 days.This bill would extend the date of the operation of the board to January 1, 2030, and would extend the date on which the provision authorizing a person who is licensed out-of-state as a marriage and family therapist, a clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor to practice in this state to January 1, 2030. The bill would entitle the provisions providing for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists as the Marriage and Family Therapist Practice Act.Existing law requires certain applicants for registration or licensure as a marriage and family therapist who completed graduate study on or before December 31, 2018, to submit to the board a certification by the applicant’s educational institution that the institution’s required curriculum for graduation and associated coursework includes certain instruction in alcoholism and other chemical substance dependency and in spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, and interv

CA SB 81 - Caroline Menjivar
Health and care facilities: information sharing.
05/12/2025 - May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 81, as amended, Arreguín. Health and care facilities: information sharing. (1) The Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, a contractor, or a corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliates from intentionally sharing, selling, using for marketing, or otherwise using any medical information, as defined, for any purpose not necessary to provide health care services to a patient, except as provided. The CMIA authorizes a provider of health care, health care service plan, or contractor to disclose medical information regarding a patient of the provider of health care or an enrollee or subscriber of a health care service plan with authorization from the patient or pursuant to a search warrant lawfully issued to a governmental law enforcement agency. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions that results in economic loss or personal injury to a patient punishable as a misdemeanor.This bill would revise the definition of “medical information” to include immigration status, including current and prior immigration status, and place of birth, and would define “immigration enforcement” to mean any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal civil immigration law, and also includes any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal criminal immigration that penalizes a person’s presence in, entry or reentry to, or employment in, the United States. The bill would specify that a provider of health care, health care service plan, or contractor may disclose medical information regarding a patient of the provider of health care or an enrollee or subscriber or a health care service plan pursuant to a valid search warrant issued by a judicial officer, including a magistrate, to a governmental law enforcement agency. The bill would also prohibit, except to the extent expressly authorized by a patient, enrollee, or subscriber, or as otherwise required, a provider of health care, health care service plan, contractor, or corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliates from disclosing medical information for immigration enforcement. Because the bill would expand the scope of a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program.(2) Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health is responsible for the licensing and regulation of various facilities and settings that provide health care services, as specified. Existing law makes a willful violation of these provisions a crime.This bill would require health care provider entities, as defined, to establish or amend procedures for monitoring and receiving visitors to health care provider entities to the extent possible. The bill would require, when circumstances allow, health care provider entity personnel to immediately notify health care provider entity management, administration, or legal counsel of any request for access to a health care provider entity site or patient for immigration enforcement, and to provide any requests for review of health care provider entity documents, as prescribed. The bill would prohibit, to the extent permitted by state and federal law, a health care provider entity and its personnel from granting access to nonpublic areas of the provider’s facilities for immigration enforcement without a valid judicial warrant or court order. The bill would require health care provider entities to inform staff and relevant volunteers on how to respond to requests relating to immigration enforcement that grants access to health care provider entity sites or to patients. The bill would require that health care provider entities comply with these provisions within 45 days from their effective date. By expanding the scope of a crime and increasing duties on local health officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to re

CA SB 812 - Benjamin J. Allen
Qualified youth drop-in center health care coverage.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 812, as amended, Allen. Qualified youth drop-in center health care coverage. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2024, that provides coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders to cover the provision of those services to an individual 25 years of age or younger when delivered at a schoolsite.This bill would additionally require a contract or policy that provides coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders to cover the provision of those services to an individual 25 years of age or younger when delivered at a qualified youth drop-in center. Because a violation of this requirement relative to health care service plans would be a crime, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law requires a Medi-Cal managed care plan or Medi-Cal behavioral health delivery system to reimburse providers of medically necessary outpatient mental health or substance use disorder treatment provided at a schoolsite to a student 25 years of age or younger who is an enrollee of the plan or delivery system, as specified.This bill would expand the above-described reimbursement requirement to those services when provided at a qualified youth drop-in center, as specified.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CA SB 814 - Susan Rubio
Homelessness.
05/12/2025 - May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 814, as introduced, Rubio. Homelessness. Existing law requires the Governor to create a California Interagency Council on Homelessness for specified purposes, including to create partnerships among various entities, like participants in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program, and to identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.Existing law requires the council to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California, as specified. The bill would require initial goals to be established by January 1, 2025, and those goals to be evaluated at least every 2 years to determine whether updated goals are needed. This bill would instead require the council to evaluate the above-described goals at least every year.

CA SB 820 - Henry I. Stern
Inmates: psychiatric medication: administration.
05/01/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 820, as introduced, Stern. Inmates: psychiatric medication: administration. Existing law prohibits a person from being tried or adjudged to punishment while that person is mentally incompetent. Existing law establishes a process by which a defendant’s mental competency is evaluated. Existing law, in the case of a misdemeanor charge in which the defendant is found incompetent, requires the court to hold a hearing to determine if the defendant is eligible for diversion. Existing law requires, if the defendant is not eligible for diversion, the court to hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant will be referred to outpatient treatment, conservatorship, or the CARE program, or if the defendant’s treatment plan will be modified. Existing law requires the court to dismiss the case if a defendant does not qualify for the above-described services.Existing law prohibits, except as specified, a person confined in a county jail from being administered any psychiatric medication without prior informed consent. Existing law authorizes a county department of mental health, or other designated county department, to involuntarily administer psychiatric medication to an inmate on a nonemergency basis only after the inmate is provided, among other things, a hearing before a superior court judge, a court-appointed commissioner or referee, or a court-appointed hearing officer. Existing law also provides for the involuntary administration of psychiatric medication to an inmate in an emergency situation. Existing law limits the duration during which an inmate can be involuntarily administered psychiatric medication on an emergency basis and requires that, except as specified, the inmate be provided the same due process protections they would be entitled to when psychiatric medication is involuntarily administered on a nonemergency basis. Existing law specifies that an emergency exists for these purposes when there is a sudden and marked change in an inmate’s mental condition so that action is immediately necessary for the preservation of life or the prevention of serious bodily harm to the inmate or others and it is impractical, due to the seriousness of the emergency, to first obtain informed consent. This bill would, if a defendant has been found incompetent to stand trial after having been charged with a misdemeanor, additionally authorize a psychiatrist to administer psychiatric medication to the defendant without their informed consent on an emergency basis when treatment is immediately necessary for the preservation of life or the prevention of serious bodily harm and it is impracticable to first gain consent. The bill would specify that a determination made pursuant to these provisions is valid for one year after the date of the initial determination of the emergency, 90 days after the date the defendant is referred to one of the programs described above, or upon order of any court with jurisdiction over the defendant, whichever occurs first. The bill would also authorize a psychiatrist to involuntarily administer psychiatric medication to those defendants upon a court’s determination that the defendant does not have the capacity to refuse treatment and is gravely disabled on the basis that they, as a result of a mental health disorder, a severe substance use disorder, or a co-occurring mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder, are unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, shelter, personal safety, or necessary medical care. The bill would establish various procedures to be followed when psychiatric medication is involuntarily administered pursuant to these provisions.

CA SB 821 - Jesse Arreguin
Criminal procedure: arraignment.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 821, as amended, Arreguín. Criminal procedure: arraignment. Existing law requires a person arrested without a warrant to be taken before the nearest magistrate in the county in which the offense is triable without delay. Existing law also authorizes a peace officer to release the arrested person from custody instead of taking them before a magistrate under certain specified circumstances, including if the person was arrested for intoxication only. Existing law requires the court, during the in-custody appearance of a person charged with a misdemeanor, to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that a public offense has been committed.This bill would require the court to promptly, but no later than 48 hours after a warrantless arrest, review the basis for the arrest and make an initial determination whether probable cause exists that an offense has been committed and that the arrested person committed it if the defendant remains in custody, as specified. The bill would require that if the court makes an initial finding of no probable cause, the court to order the person to be released immediately and provide notice to both the arrested person and the person having custody of the arrested person.Existing law similarly requires a juvenile that has been arrested to be released with 48 hours, excluding judicial holidays, unless a petition has been filed to make the minor a ward of the court or charges have been filed charging the minor as an adult.This bill would require the court to promptly, but no later than 48 hours after a juvenile is taken into custody, make a determination whether an offense has been committed and whether the juvenile in custody committed it, as specified. The bill would require that if the court makes an initial finding of no probable cause, the court to order the juvenile to be released immediately and provide notice to the juvenile, the person or entity having custody of the juvenile, and the public defender or indigent defense provider.Existing law requires any decision to detain a juvenile who is in custody under the belief that the juvenile has committed a misdemeanor, as specified, for more than 24 hours to be subject to written review and approval by a probation officer, as specified.This bill would expand the above-described requirement for the written review and approval by the probation officer to all crimes for which the juvenile is in custody for more than 24 hours.By imposing a higher level of service on prosecutors, public defenders, police, jails, and courthouses, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA SB 823 - Henry I. Stern
Mental health: the CARE Act.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 823, as introduced, Stern. Mental health: the CARE Act. Existing law, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, authorizes specified adult persons to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services, to adults who are currently experiencing a severe mental illness and have a diagnosis identified in the disorder class schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and who meet other specified criteria.This bill would include bipolar I disorder in the criteria for a person to receive services under the CARE Act. By increasing the duties on the county behavioral health agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA SB 824 - Caroline Menjivar
Secure youth treatment facilities.
05/05/2025 - May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
SB 824, as amended, Menjivar. Secure youth treatment facilities. Existing law authorizes a court to order a ward who is 14 years of age or older to be committed to a secure youth treatment facility, operated by the county of commitment, for a period of confinement if the ward is adjudicated and found to be a ward based on the commitment of a specified serious offense committed when the juvenile was 14 years of age or older, that adjudication is the most recent offense for which the ward has been adjudicated, and the court has made a finding on the record that a less restrictive, alternative disposition for the ward is unsuitable. Existing law requires, within 30 judicial days of making an order of commitment to a secure youth treatment facility, the court to receive, review, and approve an individual rehabilitation plan that includes specific components, including, among others, a description of the programming, treatment, and education to be provided to the ward in relation to their identified needs during the commitment period. Existing law requires the court to schedule and hold a review hearing every 6 months during the term of commitment. Existing law also authorizes the court, upon a motion from the probation department or the ward, to order that the ward be transferred from a secure youth treatment facility to a less restrictive program, such as a halfway house, a camp or ranch, or a community residential or nonresidential service program, if the court determines that the ward has made substantial progress toward the goals of the individual rehabilitation plan.This bill would require the individual rehabilitation plan to also describe how the programming, treatment, and education to be provided to the ward is designed to facilitate the ward’s potential transition to a less restrictive program, and would require the description to include, among other things, how the individual rehabilitation plan will be implemented to facilitate the ward’s progress toward transfer to a less restrictive program when the ward has met the criteria for transfer. The bill would require the court, prior to approving the individual rehabilitation plan, to hold a hearing on the matter, and would require the prosecutor and the counsel for the ward to be provided a copy of the individual rehabilitation plan at least 2 days prior to that hearing. The bill would also require the court, at each review hearing, to assess the ward’s progress toward transferring to a less restrictive program and would authorize the court to make or modify orders for the purpose of improving and prioritizing that progress. The bill would require the court to order that the ward be transferred to a less restrictive program if it makes the determination described above and finds that it is reasonably likely that transferring the ward to a less restrictive program will better facilitate fulfillment of the goals in the individual rehabilitation plan than would the ward’s continued confinement in a secure youth treatment facility.By imposing new duties on county probation departments relating to the development of an individual rehabilitation plan, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

CA SB 83 - Thomas J. Umberg
State Department of Health Care Services: substance abuse treatment: disclosures.
05/06/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 83, as amended, Umberg. State Department of Health Care Services: substance abuse treatment: disclosures. Existing law grants the State Department of Health Care Services the sole authority in state government to license adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities and authorizes the department to issue a license to specified types of facilities if certain criteria are met. Existing law requires an operator of a licensed alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility or certified alcohol or other drug program to include on its internet website and intake form paperwork a disclosure that an individual may check the internet website of the department to confirm whether the facility’s license or program’s certification has been placed in probationary status, been subject to a temporary suspension order, been revoked, or the operator has been given a notice of operation in violation of law. Existing law requires the disclosure to include a link to the department’s internet website that contains the Probationary Status, Temporary Suspension Order, Revoked and Notice of Operation in Violation of Law Program List.This bill would require the department to indicate on its internet website containing the above-described list, in a location and font that is easy to see and read, that notices to recovery residences issued for a specified violation are not included in that list. The bill would also require the department to post on its internet website, in a specified manner, an identification and summary of each violation the department has issued for the above-described facilities and programs. The bill would require the department to implement this requirement to protect the public it serves by providing sufficient information regarding those who violate the state laws it administers without posting information that violates privacy rights and protections provided by state or federal law.Existing law establishes the State Department of Health Care Services to administer and license various health-related programs and health professionals, including, among others, programs and professionals supporting mental health, providing basic health care, and addressing substance use disorder. Existing law requires the department to post certain information regarding these programs and professionals on its internet website, including reports and data regarding individuals served under its administered programs.This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to post on its internet website, in a specified manner, an identification and summary of each violation the department has issued for every program administered by the department. The bill would further require the department to implement this requirement to protect the public it serves by providing sufficient information regarding those who violate the state laws it administers without posting information that violates privacy rights and protections provided by state or federal law.

CA SB 835 - Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Pupil instruction: Cambridge International Education programs.
05/22/2025 - Ordered to second reading.
SB 835, as amended, Ochoa Bogh. Pupil instruction: Cambridge International Education programs. (1) Existing law authorizes a school district to evaluate a principal annually for the principal’s first and 2nd year of employment as a new principal and authorizes additional evaluations, as specified. Existing law authorizes the criteria for school principal evaluations to be based upon the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders and to include evidence of, among other things, pupil academic growth. Existing law authorizes pupil academic growth to be evaluated pursuant to local and state academic assessments, including, among others, state standardized assessments and performance assessments.This bill would explicitly add the Cambridge International Level examinations to the list of authorized assessments that may be used to measure pupil academic growth for a principal evaluation.(2) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to provide access to a comprehensive educational counseling program for all pupils enrolled in the school district. For schools that enroll pupils in grades 6 to 12, inclusive, existing law defines educational counseling to include, among other things, counseling to encourage participation in advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs.This bill would expand the definition of an educational counseling program to explicitly include encouraging participation in Cambridge International programs.(3)This bill also would authorize a school district that offers Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), or AS or A level courses and examinations, to help pay the test fees for pupils in need of financial assistance.

CA SB 848 - Sasha Renée Pérez
Pupil safety: school employee misconduct: child abuse prevention.
05/23/2025 - Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
SB 848, as amended, Pérez. Pupil safety: school employee misconduct: child abuse prevention. (1) Under existing law, each school district and county office of education is responsible for the overall development, as specified, of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law requires that the plan include, among other things, child abuse reporting procedures, as specified. Existing law prohibits a chartering authority from denying a petition for the establishment of a charter school unless it makes written factual findings supporting at least one of specified bases for denial, including, among other bases for denial, that the petition does not contain a reasonably comprehensive description of the development of a school safety plan that includes the same safety topics required in school district and county office of education comprehensive school safety plans.This bill would additionally require, when a comprehensive school safety plan or charter school’s school safety plan is next reviewed and updated, or by no later than July 1, 2026, those plans to include procedures specifically designed to address the supervision and protection of children from child abuse and sex offenses. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.Existing law requires school district and county office of education comprehensive school safety plans, but not a charter school’s school safety plan, to include assessing school crime committed on school campuses and at school-related functions.This bill would require school district and county office of education comprehensive school safety plans to instead include assessing all crime, not just school crime, committed on school campuses and at school-related functions. The bill would require, when a charter school’s school safety plan is next reviewed and updated, or by no later than July 1, 2026, the plan to include assessing the current status of crime committed on the charter school’s campus and at school-related functions. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.Existing law authorizes a principal or their designee, when they verify through local law enforcement officials that a report has been filed of the occurrence of a violent crime on the schoolsite of an elementary or secondary school at which they are the principal, to send to each pupil’s parent or legal guardian and each school employee a written notice of the occurrence and general nature of the crime, as specified. Existing law provides that these provisions do not create any liability in a school district or its employees.This bill would (A) revise and expand the definition of “violent crime” for these purposes, (B) authorize a principal or their designee to also provide that same notification for sex crimes, as defined, (C) authorize charter school principals and their designees to provide the same notifications, and (D) provide that these provisions also do not create any liability in a charter school or its employees.(2) Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other things, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to deny an application for the issuance of a credential or for the renewal of a credential, or to revoke a credential, for any person convicted of a sex offense, as defined. Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from employing or retaining in employment persons in public school service who have been convicted, or who have been convicted following a plea of nolo contendere to charges, of any sex offense, and prescribes numerous provisions, including required actions, relating to suspensions, dismissals, and leaves of absences of public school empl

CA SB 850 - Angelique V. Ashby
Prisons.
05/23/2025 - May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
SB 850, as amended, Ashby. Prisons. (1) Existing law, the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013, establishes various limits on retirement benefits generally applicable to a public employee retirement system, as specified. Existing law requires a public employee who is a member of a public retirement system to forfeit accrued rights and benefits in the public retirement system if the individual is convicted of certain felonies, including for conduct arising out of or in the performance of their official duties, relating to salary, disability retirement, service retirement, or other benefits, or that is committed against a child, as specified. Existing law limits this forfeiture to rights and benefits earned or accrued from the earliest date of the commission of the felony. This bill would require a correctional officer or other prison staff member employed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who is a current member of a public retirement system, convicted of sexually assaulting an inmate within the prison system, to forfeit all rights and benefits in the public retirement system, as prescribed. The bill would also require a correctional officer or other prison staff member employed by the department who first becomes a member of a public retirement system on or after January 1, 2026, who is convicted of sexually assaulting an inmate within the state prison system, to forfeit all rights and benefits in the retirement system. The bill would establish procedures governing the forfeiture process, including authorizing a public retirement system to assess a public employer a reasonable amount for reimbursement of specified costs. The bill would require a public retirement system to implement these provisions in a manner that protects an innocent or former spouse and is consistent with existing law governing the division of community property.(2) Existing law provides the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with jurisdiction over prisons and institutions, including, among others, the California Correctional Institution in the City of Tehachapi and the Central California Women’s Facility, and sets forth its powers and duties regarding the administration of correctional facilities and the care and custody of inmates. Existing law also authorizes the secretary of the department to construct and equip suitable buildings, structures, and facilities for, among others, the California Correctional Institution in the City of Tehachapi for the confinement of males under the custody of the secretary.This bill would require the department to construct and establish one new building with 100 additional single-cell housing units at the Central California Women’s Facility state prison located in the City of Chowchilla for the confinement of women under the custody of the secretary. The bill would also require the department to install fixed cameras by January 1, 2028, in all designated locations that have been ordered by the court or the Legislature, install thermal sensor cameras that track body movements in inmate bathrooms, and eliminate solo shifts for correctional officers, in women’s state prison facilities. The bill would also authorize a correctional lieutenant on the site of a state prison facility to grant permission to an inmate, upon the inmate’s request, to be transferred to restrictive housing.

CA SB 857 - Senate Public Safety Committee
Public safety omnibus.
05/15/2025 - In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
SB 857, as amended, Committee on Public Safety. Public safety omnibus. Existing(1) Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California’s adult and juvenile criminal justice system. The duties of the board, among others, include establishing standards for local correctional facilities and correctional officers. Under existing law, the board is composed of 15 members, as specified, and 7 members constitutes a quorum.This bill would instead require 8 members to constitute a quorum.(2) Existing law creates within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation the Prison Industry Authority.This bill would rename the Prison Industry Authority as the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Authority, would rename the Prison Industry Board as the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Board, would rename the Prison Industries Revolving Fund as the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Revolving Fund, and would require that any reference to the Prison Industry Authority be deemed a reference to the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Authority. (3) Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court over minors who are between 12 and 17 years of age, who have violated a federal, state, or local law or ordinance, as specified, and over minors under 12 years of age who have been alleged to have committed specified crimes. Existing law authorizes a juvenile court to adjudge a person under these circumstances to be a ward of the court. Existing law authorizes the juvenile court to permit a person adjudged a ward of the juvenile court, or placed on probation by the juvenile court, to reside in a county other than their county of legal residence. Existing law authorizes a ward who is permitted to reside in a county other than their county of legal residence to be supervised by the probation officer of the county of actual residence, with the consent of that probation officer.This bill would clarify that these provisions apply to wards discharged to probation supervision after having been confined in a secure youth treatment facility, or after having been transferred to a less restrictive program from a secure youth treatment facility.(4) Existing law authorizes any county or court to implement a “comprehensive collection program” as a separate revenue collection activity, and requires the program to meet certain criteria, one of which is that the program engages in specified activities in collecting fines or penalties, including, among other things, initiating a driver’s license suspension or hold, as specified.This bill would delete initiating suspensions or holds for driver’s licenses from the list of activities in which the program may engage. (5) Various provisions of the Health and Safety Code, Penal Code, and Welfare and Institutions Code, among others, refer to training and other requirements related to “deescalation techniques.” This bill would revise all references to “deescalation” to “de-escalation.”(6) The bill would also make other technical changes, both conforming and nonsubstantive.

CA SB 862 - Senate Health Committee
Health.
05/23/2025 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
SB 862, as amended, Committee on Health. Health. (1) Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, established the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to oversee the implementation of the MHSA. Existing law specifies the composition of the 16-member commission, including the Attorney General or their designee, the Superintendent of Public Instruction or their designee, specified members of the Legislature, and 12 members appointed by the Governor, as prescribed.Existing law, the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 1 at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election, recast the MHSA by, among other things, renaming the commission to the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission and changing its composition and duties.This bill would make technical changes to reflect the correct name of the commission.(2) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law requires a health facility to develop, implement, and comply with a patient safety plan to improve the health and safety of patients and to reduce preventable patient safety events. Existing law requires a patient safety plan to contain specified elements, including, but not limited to, a reporting system for patient safety events that allows anyone involved to make a report of a patient safety event to the health facility and a process for a team of facility staff to conduct analyses related to root causes of patient safety events. Existing law, commencing January 1, 2026, and biannually thereafter, requires a health facility to submit a patient safety plan to the department. A violation of these provisions is a crime.This bill would instead require a health facility to submit a patient safety plan to the department biennially. The bill would also make technical corrections to those provisions. By changing the frequency that a health facility is required to submit a patient safety plan, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(3) Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties to license and administer health facilities, as defined, including skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities. Existing law requires the department to prepare and maintain a list of approved training programs for nurse assistant certification, which are required to include a precertification training program consisting of at least 60 classroom hours of training on basic nursing skills, patient safety and rights, the social and psychological problems of patients, and elder abuse recognition and reporting and at least 100 hours of supervised and on-the-job training clinical practice. Existing law requires at least 2 hours of the 60 hours of classroom training and at least 4 hours of the 100 hours of the supervised clinical training to address the special needs of persons with developmental and mental disorders, including intellectual disability, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and mental illness. A violation of these provisions is a crime.This bill would require that at least 2 of the 60 hours of classroom training address the special needs of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(4) Existing law authorizes the State Public Health Officer, to the extent allowable under federal law, and upon the availability of funds, to expend moneys from the continuously appropriated AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Rebate Fund for a program to cover the costs of prescribed ADAP formulary medications for the prevention of HIV infection and