FLOOR SESSION AGENDA - Regular Session: 1:00 p.m.

SB 268, as it passed the Senate, included the crime of rape of an intoxicated person wherein the defendant drugged the victim, as a “violent felony” for the purposes of provisions related to sentencing enhancements for prior convictions and other provisions of the Penal Code.

The Assembly amendments add coauthors and make a technical, nonsubstantive change.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: no.

SB 892, as it passed the Senate, required the Department of Technology to develop and adopt regulations to create an artificial intelligence (AI) risk management standard, consistent with specified publications regarding AI risk management. SB 892, as it passed the Senate, required the AI risk management standard to include, among other things, a detailed risk assessment procedure for procuring automated decision systems (ADS), as defined, that analyzes specified characteristics of the ADS, methods for appropriate risk controls, as provided, and adverse incident monitoring procedures. SB 892, as it passed the Senate, required the department to collaborate with specified organizations to develop the AI risk management standard. SB 892, as it passed the Senate, prohibited, commencing 6 months after the date on which regulations are approved and final, a state agency from entering into a contract for an ADS, or any service that utilizes an ADS, unless the contract includes a clause that, among other things, provides a completed risk assessment of the relevant ADS, requires adherence to appropriate risk controls, and provides procedures for adverse incident monitoring.

The Assembly amendments instead require the department to develop and adopt regulations to create an ADS procurement standard and require the department to consider principles and industry standards addressed in specified publications regarding AI risk management in developing those standards. The Assembly amendments additionally require the ADS procurement standard to include, among other things, a detailed equity assessment, as specified, an assessment that analyzes the level of human oversight associated with the use of ADS, and adherence to data minimization standards, as specified. The Assembly amendments additionally require the department, in developing the ADS procurement standard, to consult with the California Privacy Protection Agency, solicit public comment on the ADS procurement standard, and annually review and update the ADS procurement standard and related regulations, as specified. The Assembly amendments instead prohibit, commencing January 1, 2027, a state agency from procuring an ADS, entering into a contract for an ADS, or entering into a contract for any service that utilizes an ADS, as specified, until the department has adopted regulations creating an ADS procurement standard. The Assembly amendments instead authorize, commencing January 1, 2027, a state agency to enter into a contract for an ADS, or a service that utilizes an ADS, only if the department has adopted regulations and only if the contract includes a clause that, among other things, provides a termination right in the event of a significant breach of responsibility or violation by the vendor.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1456, as it passed the Senate, required the Advisory Committee on Medical and Safety Standards within the State Athletic Commission to include at least one licensed physician and surgeon certified in neurology by a specialty board that is a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties.

The Assembly amendments also extend the operation of provisions relating to the establishment and composition of the commission to January 1, 2029. The Assembly amendments require the commission to establish a review and approval process for applicants or licensees under the Boxing Act who test positive for hepatitis C pursuant to required blood tests, as specified, and authorize the commission to consult with the above-described committee to establish that review and approval process. The Assembly amendments require a professional fighter licensed under the act to be entitled to a minimum purse of $200 per round fought and authorize the commission to raise that amount by regulation. If a professional or amateur fighter requires immediate medical care as ordered by a ringside physician, the Assembly amendments require the onsite ambulance to transport that fighter to a trauma center without delay. The Assembly amendments revise existing provisions governing the method of financing the Boxers’ Pension Fund to include an assessment in the amount of $1 on each ticket sold for a professional boxing contest held in the state, up to a maximum contribution of $10,000 per contest. By imposing additional requirements under the Boxing Act, the violation of which is a crime, the Assembly amendments impose a state-mandated local program.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 59, as it passed the Senate, required all women’s restrooms, all-gender restrooms, and at least one men’s restroom in a building owned and used by the state to be stocked with menstrual products, as defined, available and accessible to employees and the public, free of cost, at all times.

The Assembly amendments instead authorize the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), in consultation with the State Air Resources Board and the Public Utilities Commission, to require any weight class of battery electric vehicle to be bidirectional capable, as defined, if it determines there is a sufficiently compelling beneficial bidirectional-capable use case to the battery electric vehicle operator and electrical grid. The Assembly amendments require the Energy Commission, in its analysis, to consider vehicle readiness and duty cycles required of vehicles operated by essential service providers. The Assembly amendments authorize the state board and the Energy Commission to each periodically update the definitions of specified terms the bill defines for these purposes to ensure that the definitions align with current technologies in bidirectional charging and account for ongoing innovation.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 399, as it passed the Senate, prohibited an employer from taking adverse action against an employee because the employee declines to attend a meeting or receive communication from the employer or its agents about the employer’s opinion on religious or political matters, as specified. SB 399, as it passed the Senate, created various exceptions to the prohibition and required the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within the Department of Industrial Relations to enforce its provisions.

The Assembly amendments, among other things, create additional exceptions to the above-described prohibition, remove the above-described enforcement requirement on the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, and, instead, authorize the Labor Commissioner to enforce the bill’s provisions.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 549, as it passed the Senate, required the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, in an effort to expedite the teaching credential application process for teachers prepared in other states or territories outside of California, to assess the credential standards of other states and territories to identify (1) states and territories and credentials that require a bachelor’s degree, as specified, and (2) states and territories with teacher induction program standards that are comparable to the teacher induction program standards in California. SB 549 required the commission to then recognize those items from those states or territories for purposes of satisfying California’s out-of-state prepared teacher requirements, as specified.

The Assembly amendments delete the contents of SB 549 and instead authorize a California Indian tribe, under certain conditions, to bring an action solely against licensed California card clubs and third-party proposition player services providers to seek a declaration as to whether a controlled game operated by a licensed California card club and banked by a third-party proposition player services provider constitutes a banking card game that violates state law, including tribal gaming rights, as specified, and to request injunctive relief.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 552, as it passed the Senate, required, for purposes of complying with the Swimming Pool Safety Act, an approved safety pool cover to have a label verifying that it is in good repair, can be opened and closed by automated mechanics, and meets the F1346-91 standard.

The Assembly amendments instead recast an approved safety pool cover as a manually operated or power-operated safety pool cover and require it to have a label verifying only that it meets the ASTM International F1346-23 standard. The Assembly amendments require a home inspection report, for a dwelling with a pool or spa, to additionally include a written statement regarding the effectiveness of pool isolation fences in preventing drowning. The Assembly amendments also make nonsubstantive double-jointing amendments.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, required a landlord of a commercial real property to give notice to a qualified commercial tenant, as defined, a certain number of days before the effective date of a rent increase, as specified. SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, generally defined “qualified commercial tenant,” for purposes of that provision and other provisions described below, as a tenant of commercial real property that meets certain requirements, including having fewer than a certain number of employees, as specified, and having provided a landlord with a written notice that the tenant is a qualified commercial tenant and a self-attestation regarding the number of employees, as specified.

The Assembly amendments revise the definition of “qualified commercial tenant” to require the tenant to provide the landlord with the written notice and self-attestation annually, as specified.

SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, required a person engaged in a trade or business who negotiates primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean in the course of entering into a tenancy contract or agreement covering a nonresidential-zoned commercial space to deliver to the other party to the contract or agreement before its execution, a translation of the contract or agreement in the language in which it was negotiated, as specified. SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, only authorized a tenant to rescind the agreement for noncompliance with that translation requirement.

The Assembly amendments limit the application of those provisions to those contracts or agreements entered into between a landlord and a qualified commercial tenant on or after January 1, 2025.

SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, authorized a landlord of a commercial real property to charge a qualified commercial tenant a fee to recover building operating costs only if specified conditions are met. In this regard, SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, required the costs to be limited to maintenance or a repair by the landlord that is not required by the lease, landscaping, security, trash, disposal, or insurance. SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, required the costs to be allocated proportionately per tenant, by square footage, or another method as substantiated through supporting documentation provided by the landlord to the tenant. SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, also required the landlord, if requested by the tenant, to provide supporting documentation proving that the costs have been incurred or are reasonably expected to be incurred within specified periods of time. SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, required the landlord to provide that supporting document within a certain number of days before the tenant is required to pay for the costs and to provide the tenant notice of the right to receive that supporting documentation. SB 1103, as it passed the Senate, subjected a landlord of a commercial real property who violates these provisions to a civil penalty of 3 times the amount of actual damages and entitled the tenant to an award of costs reasonably incurred in connection with obtaining the civil penalty.

The Assembly amendments make various revisions to those building operating cost provisions, including removing the condition that the costs, as defined, are limited to maintenance or a repair by the landlord that is not required by the lease, landscaping, security, trash, disposal, or insurance. The Assembly amendments prohibit the landlord from altering, during the course of a tenancy, the method or formula used to allocate building operating costs in a way that increases the tenant’s share of those costs. The Assembly amendments revise and recast the provisions relating to supporting documentation by, among other things, requiring a notice that the tenant may inspect supporting documentation upon request to be provided to the prospective tenant before execution of the lease. The Assembly amendments revise the timing of when the landlord is required to provide the tenant supporting documentation of the previously incurred or reasonably expected building operating cost to instead be within 30 days of a written request. The Assembly amendments instead make a landlord who violates these provisions liable to a tenant for actual damages and, in the court’s discretion, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The Assembly amendments also make the landlord liable for punitive damages and 3 times the amount of actual damages upon showing that the landlord, lessor, or their agent has acted willfully or with oppression, fraud, or malice. The Assembly amendments authorize the district attorney, city attorney, or county counsel, as specified, to seek injunctive relief based on violations of these provisions. The Assembly amendments apply these provisions to specified tenancies and leases, but not to assessments levied pursuant to the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994.

The Assembly amendments make nonsubstantive changes to address chaptering conflicts with AB 3281 and SB 611.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1108, as it passed the Senate, revised and recast provisions applicable to mobilehome park enforcement agencies, which are to be repealed on January 1, 2025, that require agencies, after conducting an inspection of a mobilehome pursuant to the Mobilehome Parks Act, to issue a notice to correct a violation to the registered owner of the manufactured home or mobilehome and the occupant thereof, and that require the registered owner to be responsible for the correction of any violation. SB 1108 extended the operation of these provisions indefinitely.

The Assembly amendments, instead, repeal existing provisions described above on January 1, 2027, and add revised and recast provisions that would become operative on January 1, 2027, and be repealed on January 1, 2030.

The Assembly amendments also include nonsubstantive provisions to resolve conflicts with AB 2247.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1155, as it passed the Senate, for a period of one year after leaving office, prohibited the head of a state administrative agency from engaging in any activity to influence legislative or administrative action by the Legislature or a state administrative agency that would require the individual to register as a lobbyist.

The Assembly Amendments instead, for a period of one year after leaving office, prohibit the head of a state administrative agency from acting as an agent or attorney for any other person by making an appearance before, or making an oral or written communication to, a state administrative agency or the Legislature if the appearance or communication is made for compensation and for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action.

Vote: 27. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1170, as it passed the Senate, expressly authorized campaign funds to be used to pay or reimburse a non-incumbent candidate for reasonable and necessary mental healthcare expenses to address mental health issues that have arisen during the campaign or if the candidate has been adversely impacted by campaign activities. SB 1170 permitted this use of campaign funds only if the candidate does not have health insurance or has been denied coverage for these mental healthcare expenses by their health insurance. As it passed the Senate, SB 1170 further required campaign funds used for these purposes to be reported, as specified, and for such disclosures to note the underlying campaign-related circumstances or events necessitating the expenditure of the funds.

The Assembly amendments instead authorize campaign funds to be used to pay or reimburse a non-incumbent candidate for reasonable and necessary mental healthcare expenses if (1) the candidate does not have health insurance or the candidate’s health insurance does not cover the full cost of the mental health care expenses and (2) the candidate has experienced at least one underlying campaign-related circumstance or event, including harassment, prejudice, or a threat. The Assembly amendments would specify that campaign funds may be used for these purposes starting 12 months before the date of the election and up to the date that the Secretary of State or local elections official certifies the election results or up to the date that the candidate is sworn into office. The Assembly amendments remove the requirement for a candidate to disclose the underlying campaign-related circumstances or events necessitating the expenditure of the funds, and instead require a candidate to maintain records relating to the mental health care services that they receive, as specified.

Vote: 27. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1181, as it passed the Senate, required the agenda for a proceeding that is a public meeting to include a notice describing specified requirements that a party to a proceeding disclose whether they made contributions over $250 within the prior 12 months to a decisionmaker and, if so, that the decisionmaker is required to recuse themself from the decision.

The Assembly amendments delete those notice provisions, and instead exempt a city attorney or county counsel who does not have the authority to make a final decision in the proceeding from the prohibition that an officer not accept, solicit, or direct a contribution of more than $250 from any party or party’s agent while a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use is pending, and for 12 months following the date a final decision is rendered in the proceeding. The Assembly amendments also exempt the periodic review or renewal of development agreements and competitively bid contracts from the definition of “license, permit, or other entitlement for use” for these purposes, as specified. The Assembly amendments clarify that a person is the “agent” of a party, or a participant, only if the person represents that party or participant for compensation and appears before or otherwise communicates with an agency for the purpose of influencing the proceeding on behalf of a party or participant.

Vote: 27. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1283, as it passed the Senate, explicitly authorized the governing body of a school district, a county office of education, or a charter school to adopt a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of social media 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. SB 1283, as it passed the Senate, required a local educational agency, if it requested a pupil to voluntarily disclose or give access to electronic information, to accompany that request with a written disclosure of the pupil’s rights, as provided.

The Assembly amendments remove the latter provision from the bill and explicitly provide that the above-referenced authority to adopt a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of social media does not authorize monitoring, collecting, or otherwise accessing any information related to a pupil’s online activities.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1286, as it passed the Senate, recast the provisions of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which prohibits debt collectors from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the collection of consumer debts, to expand the scope of those provisions to additionally prohibit debt collectors from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the collection of covered commercial debts, and defined “covered commercial debt” and “covered commercial credit” to mean money, property, or their equivalent, due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from a natural person to a lender, a commercial financing provider, or a debt buyer, by reason of a covered commercial credit transaction.

The Assembly amendments adjust the recasting of these provisions by, including, among other things, making provisions that were applicable to covered debt instead only applicable to consumer debt. The Assembly amendments make changes to the definitions in the act, including, among other terms, “covered commercial debt” and “covered commercial credit,” which the Assembly amendments define as money due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from a natural person to a lender, a commercial financing provider, or a debt buyer, by reason of one or more covered commercial credit transaction, provided the total amount of those transactions and all other noncovered commercial credit transactions is no more than $500,000, as provided.

The Assembly amendments authorize a debt collector to collect or attempt to collect covered commercial debt by means of a judicial proceeding in the county in which the nonnatural person for whose purpose the commercial debt was incurred is located, as specified, for delinquent covered commercial debt sold or assigned on or after July 1, 2025. The Assembly amendments, with respect to the collection of covered commercial debt or covered commercial credit, declare that the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not intend to create or impose any additional licensing requirement under the Debt Collection Licensing Act on a debt collector.

The Assembly amendments also make nonsubstantive double-jointing amendments to resolve a conflict with SB 1061.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1419, as it passed the Senate, among other things, created the Food Desert Elimination Grant Program and authorized the Department of Food and Agriculture to award a grant, pursuant to the program, (1) for equipment upgrades to a grocery store located in a food desert, and (2) to a grocery store operator seeking to locate a grocery store in a food desert for specified purposes, including for other costs determined eligible by the department.

The Assembly amendments specify that the department is authorized to award a grant to a grocery store operator for equipment upgrades for a grocery store located in a food desert. The Assembly amendments also specify that the above-described costs include costs specified in federal funding program requirements.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.

SB 1451, as it passed the Senate, made various changes in acts governing the licensure and regulation of specific professions and vocations.

(1)SB 1451, as it passed the Senate, amended the Dental Practice Act to authorize a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice with an existing practice in a dental health professional shortage area to continue to provide dental hygiene services if certification by the Department of Health Care Access and Information is removed.

The Assembly amendments additionally require for that authorization that the registered dental hygienist in alternative practice annually provide specified information to certain patients.

(2)SB 1451, as it passed the Senate, revised provisions of the Medical Practice Act that, except as specified, prohibit the use by an unlicensed person of certain words, letters, and phrases or any other terms that imply that the person is authorized to practice medicine as a physician and surgeon. SB 1451, as it passed the Senate, expanded the provisions to encompass implying the person is a doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.).

The Assembly amendments authorize specified persons to use the words “doctor” or “physician,” the letters or prefix “Dr.,” or the initials “M.D.” or “D.O.”

(3)SB 1451, as it passed the Senate, revised provisions of the Nursing Practice Act relating to authorization for a nurse practitioner to perform specified functions without standardized procedures. SB 1451, as it passed the Senate, deemed a nurse practitioner who has been practicing as a nurse practitioner for 3 full-time equivalent years or 4,600 hours within the last 5 years, as of January 1, 2023, to have satisfied a specified requirement relating to the authorization.

The Assembly amendments further revise those authorization provisions, including requiring qualifying practice experience for that deeming to have been in direct patient care.

(4)The Assembly amendments also add provisions amending the Pharmacy Law to require a pharmacist who dispenses or furnishes a dangerous drug pursuant to a veterinary prescription to include, as part of the consultation, the option for a representative of an animal patient to also receive drug documentation specifically designed for veterinary drugs.

Vote: 21. Substantial substantive change: yes.