2025 Legislation
SB 451 Gambling Control Act: Investigations and prosecutions
- SB 451 establishes a structured framework for investigating illegal unlicensed gambling by the Department of Justice, closing a major enforcement gap that currently allows illegal operators to thrive with little oversight. Following a report by the State Auditor in 2022, the Department of Justice has no longer been able to use Indian Gaming Special Distribution Funds to go after and investigate unlicensed gaming in California. This has coincided with increased levels of unlicensed gaming in Southern California, where we have illegal operations in both residential and commercial areas, fueling violent crime, drug activity, and financial fraud. The bill creates an Illegal Gambling Enforcement Fund financed through penalties and fines from illegal gambling prosecutions that will allow the State to once again be able to investigate and prosecute unlicensed gambling in California.
- SB 793 would prohibit a person from selling, or distributing a counterfeit or unsafe lighter that does not comply with specified ASTM International standards. China and other countries have imported counterfeit, unsafe pocket and utility lighters into the United States for decades. These unregulated items have led to thousands of injuries, millions of dollars in damages, and hundreds of deaths including children. More than 300 million imported lighters entered the U.S. in 2017. Lighters made to look like toys or firearms, marketed towards children, have caused accidental fires and harm and would be banned under this bill as well. This is a common sense public safety solution that will protect children and stop the sale of dangerous lighters in California.
SB 409 – Public Contracts: County-Owned Buildings
- SB 409 would raise, from $50,000 to $175,000, the force account limit for performing alterations or repairs on county-owned facilities. After more than 40 years, increasing the force account to reflect the normal costs of inflation will enhance counties’ capacity to maintain infrastructure effectively and will permit counties to expedite vital repairs and upgrades, ensuring county facilities remain operational and effective. The limit increase will help communities affected by natural disasters by avoiding bottlenecks related to contractor availability ensuring they can undertake the tens of millions of dollars in private and public recovery projects needed to get communities’ housing, public buildings, businesses, and other infrastructure built as quickly as possible. An increase in the force account limit enables the trades to focus on large revitalization and construction projects while public agencies can use their work force to do modest projects quickly and professionally.
SB 480 – Autonomous vehicles: Automated Driving System (ADS) Lamps
- SB 480 would authorize an autonomous vehicle to be equipped with automated driving system (ADS) marker lamps beginning on January 1, 2026. Authorizing vehicles with automated driving systems to be equipped with marker lamps will strengthen public safety and promote acceptance of automated driving systems by clearly communicating to pedestrians, law enforcement, and other road users when the systems are engaged.
SB 374 Pupil enrollment: Class size report.
- SB 374 seeks to reduce the amount of Annual reports school districts have to report each year. Currently, local educational agencies are required to annually produce 170 reports nearly equivalent to the statutorily required 180 instructional days in the school year. School district staff are spending an inordinate amount of time in the office gathering, compiling, drafting, formatting, and submitting reports that could otherwise be focused on the needs of our students. The sheer number of reports can be suffocating for school districts and detracts from their ability to meet the educational needs of students. This bill will help alleviate the administrative costs and burdens placed on school districts while maintaining accountability and providing cohesive relevant data to support better policy development and improved outcomes for our public education system.
SB 779 – Contractors: Civil Penalties
- SB 779 would increase enforcement fine “minimums” to be commensurate with recent statutory maximum increases for certain violations under the Contractors State Licensing Board. Administrative law judges (ALJs) frequently and significantly reduce fines during citation appeals, these reductions result in fines that do not adequately support Enforcement Division workload, do not provide an incentive to comply with the Contractors State License Law, and provide minimal ability for the Board to recuperate the cost of litigating an administrative citation.
SB 296: Property Tax Exemption
- This measure expands the disabled veteran’s exemption to allow a full property tax exemption for 100 percent disabled veterans. Veterans, like all Californians, are feeling the pressure of rising housing costs. SB 296 seeks to provide a helping hand with much needed tax relief for disabled veterans throughout the state. There are several states that waive property taxes for 100% disabled veterans, including Florida, Texas, Virginia, New Mexico, and Hawaii. As we look to the future, we must continue to ensure that we utilize every tool at our discretion to help keep veterans in their homes and in California. This disabled veterans’ exemption honors their bravery and commitment to our nation while also assisting those who are struggling with the high cost of living in California.
SB 571: Firefighter/Law Enforcement Impersonators and Looting
- This bill would ensure accountability for those who take advantage of peoples’ pain and disarray during states of emergency resulting from natural disasters. It would guarantee those who loot and steal within an affected county during and within 180 days of the termination of an emergency order will serve a mandatory minimum of 180 days in county jails with no opportunity of a reduced sentence. Additionally, any person who seeks to take advantage of a community by impersonating a first responder will face up to a year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $20,000. People suffering through natural disaster have enough to deal with, no one should be preying on their pain.
SB 731 Trash Receptables and Storage Containers
- Exempts trash containers and storage containers from specific reflective marking requirements if they had reflective markings prior to the January 1, 2025 requirement.
2024 Legislation
SB 1158 Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program
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SB 1158 would extend the deadline for the period of liquidation to June 30 of the 6th calendar year and would increase the amount of moneys that a local air district may use from its allocation of costs from 6.25% to 12.5%.
SB 1315 (School Accountability: Local Educational Agencies: Annual Reporting Requirements)
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SB 1315 would require the California Department of Education (CDE) to produce a report on the number of all state and reports required of local educational agencies (LEAs).
SB 1335 (The California Cadet Corps)
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SB 1335 will permit additional California Cadet Corps programs to be established, ensuring more young Californians have access to this life changing program and will make other technical and non-substantive revisions needed to update state law in portions governing the CACC.
SB 1336 (Department of General Services: State Property Metropolitan State Hospital)
- SB 1336 would, as an exception to the above-described provision, also authorize the director, with the consent of the State Department of State Hospitals, to lease to a nonprofit corporation or local government, for a period not to exceed 65 years, 7 buildings located at Metropolitan State Hospital in the City of Norwalk. The bill would require the lease to be entered into for the purposes of providing care, resources, and housing to persons with, among other things, behavioral health needs, upon the terms and conditions deemed by the director to be in the best interest of the state.
SB 1418 (Hydrogen-Fueling Stations)
- SB 1418 would require every city, county, or city and county to adopt an ordinance that creates an expedited, streamlined permitting process for hydrogen-fueling stations.
SB 1465 (State Building Standards)
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SB 1465 extends existing inspections and code enforcement to buildings used for human habitation, regardless of zoning, and improves tenant protections when buildings are deemed unsafe.
2023 Legislation
SB 388 Alcoholic Beverage Tax: Beer Manufacturer Returns and Schedules
- SB 388 requires information contained in a beer manufacturer’s alcoholic beverage tax returns and accompanying schedules to be made public upon request.
- Crime victims who wish to attend a parole hearing are required by law and regulation to tell the Board of Parole Hearings of their plan to attend. Current regulations require “direct” victims like an assault or rape victim to provide 15 days’ notice of their intent to attend but require “indirect” victims like the family members of someone murdered to provide 30 days’ notice. This unjustified discrepancy creates two classes of victims and this bill would require all victims, direct or indirect, to provide only 15 days of notice.
SB 514 Wiretapping: Authorization
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SB 514 will extend the sunset date for California Penal Code sections 629.50 – 629.98 until January 1, 2030, and allow for the continued use of electronic interceptions as an investigative tool of last resort for law enforcement agencies.
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SB 602 will help local governments deal with public nuisance and graffiti issues by extending the timeframe for Letters of Agency from 30 days up to 12 months based on local ordinances and extends the operative timeframe for trespass authorization letters from 12 months to 3 years if the property is closed to the public and posted as being closed.
SB 757 Railroads: Contract Crew Transportation Vehicles
- The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to regulate contract crew transportation vehicles and their operators. In addition to requiring reasonable insurance coverage for charter companies captured under the bill, SB 757 would require the commission to compile data regarding any reported safety complaints, accidents, regulatory violations and fines, and corrective actions taken by the commission involving a contract crew transportation vehicle.
SB 806 Trash Receptacles and Storage Containers: Reflective Markings: Enforcement
- This bill would replace the criterion for a trash receptacle or storage container to be designed to be placed on a roadway or curb to be emptied or picked up with it being placed on a roadway or curb to be emptied or picked up.
- The bill would reduce the size of the required reflectors, change the required placement of the reflectors, and expand the types of reflectors that meet the requirement, as specified.
- The bill would authorize the Attorney General, or the district attorney or city attorney in the location where the violation is observed, to enforce a violation of the above-described provisions.
- The bill would create the Accident Prevention and Road Safety Fund and would require the fines collected to be deposited into this fund.
SB 837 Energy: Building Energy Standards: Sealed and Unvented Attics
- This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, beginning with the review of those regulations that is pending as of January 1, 2024, to consider revising the definition of “conditioned space, indirectly” to include sealed and unvented attics, as provided.
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 21 recognizes the importance of hydrogen as part of the clean energy transition, recognizes the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), and urges ARCHES to prioritize renewable, clean hydrogen for the state.
- SB 563 clarifies state law to allow local air districts to be considered “independent special districts” solely for purposes of receiving state and federal funding. It will also allow air districts to apply for vital funding opportunities that may utilize the somewhat arbitrary label of “independent special district” as a prerequisite for funding eligibility.
2022 Legislation
SB 277 Fireworks: dangerous fireworks: seizure: management
- would provide the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CAL FIRE’s) Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) the authority to manage – instead of only dispose of – illegal fireworks.
- requires, among other things, the State Department of Public Health, to conform California’s program regulating lead-related construction work to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule.
- requires local governments to expand their existing administrative approval process for the permitting of zero emission vehicle infrastructure to include hydrogen-fueling infrastructure and allows for denials of those permits based only on health or safety impacts.
SB 950 CalFresh: income eligibility: basic allowance for housing
- would require the State Department of Social Services to submit a request to the United States Department of Agriculture to exclude the basic allowance for housing for members of a uniformed service from countable income in the calculation of CalFresh eligibility.
SB 984 Military service: leave of absence: pay and benefits
- allows state employees who are members of the National Guard to use military leave if called to active military duty and active emergency military duty for the first thirty (30) calendar days of such active service.
SB 1111 Trash receptacles and storage containers: reflective markings
- requires a person or entity who sells or provides a trash receptacle or storage container that meets certain size criteria to mark the receptacle or container with a reflective marking on each side.
SB 1428 Psychological testing technicians
- creates a new category of registered mental health professional, psychological testing technicians, to meet the growing need for psychological and neuropsychological services while protecting consumers and payers.
SB 984 Military service: leave of absence: pay and benefits
- allows state employees who are members of the National Guard to use military leave if called to active military duty and active emergency military duty for the first thirty (30) calendar days of such active service.
SB 954 Public works: wages: electronic certified payroll records
- requires the Department of Industrial Relations to establish a database of electronic-Certified Payroll Records that is accessible to both multi-employer Taft-Hartley trust funds (29 U.S.C. Sec. 186(c)(5)) and joint labor-management committees established pursuant to the federal Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a).
- proclaims the week of May 1, 2022, as Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week.
SCR 68 First Lady Pat Nixon Memorial Highway
- designates the portion of State Route 91, between the Pioneer Boulevard undercrossing to the Junction of State Route 39 and the State Route 91 separator, as the First Lady Pat Nixon Highway.
- This resolution proclaims September 20, 2022, as Latino Veterans Day.
SCR 102 National Military Apperception Month
- This resolution proclaims the month of May 2022 to be National Military Appreciation Month.
2021 Legislation
SB 268 The Lower Los Angeles & Lower San Gabriel River Recreation and Park Districts
- This bill would authorize the establishment of the Lower San Gabriel River Recreation and Park District and authorize the city councils of the Cities of Commerce, Downey, Montebello, and Pico Rivera to each appoint one member to serve on the initial board of directors of the Lower Los Angeles Park District, rather than to jointly appoint one member to serve a 2-year term. Furthermore, the bill would authorize the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to appoint 3 members, rather than 2 members, to serve on the initial board of directors of the Lower Los Angeles Park District.
SB 277 Fireworks: dangerous fireworks: seizure: management
- This bill would improve California’s handling of dangerous fireworks by better coordinating enforcement efforts between the State Fire Marshal and local entities, updating tracking and seizure protocols, increasing license fees to be used for improving training, and establishing a fireworks management and repurposing component that will help manage the seizing, storage, transfer and repurposing of both federally-approved fireworks and California safe and sane fireworks.
SB 392 Common interest developments: Document Delivery
- This bill will improve accessibility to important documents and reduce delivery costs by requiring HOAs to communicate with homeowners via email, unless otherwise requested by the member, and mandating associations consisting of 50 or more units to maintain an internet website.
SB 484 Home Inspectors: Sewer Lateral Repairs
- This bill clarifies that a licensed plumbing contractor can make repairs to a sewer lateral pipe that they have inspected, even if they or their company has performed a home inspection on the same property.
SB 614 California Military Department Support Fund Activities
- This bill would allow the CA Military Department Foundation to use donated funds for Moral, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Programs. Currently, the Foundation cannot expend donated funds to administer MWR activities, as authorized under Military and Veterans Code (MVC) §412.5, due to restrictions in state contracting law. This bill would correct that law
SB 643 Fuel cell electric vehicle fueling infrastructure and fuel production: statewide assessment
- This bill would require the California Air Resources Board, in consultation with the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, to prepare a statewide assessment of the fuel cell electric vehicle fueling infrastructure and fuel production needed to support the adoption of zero-emission trucks, buses, and off-road vehicles at levels necessary for the state to meet specified goals and requirements relating to vehicular air pollution.
2020 Legislation
SB 480 Law Enforcement Uniforms
- SB 480 prohibits law enforcement agencies from authorizing its employees to wear uniforms that are substantially similar to those of the United States Armed Forces
AB 518 Norwalk First Right of Refusal
- AB 518 (Sponsored by Senator Archuleta) would authorize the Department of General Services to sell the Southern Youth Correctional Reception Center and Clinic to the City of Norwalk
SB 588 Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program
- This bill would require an awarding department, on a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2021, to withhold $10,000, or the full payment if it is less than $10,000, from the final payment on a contract until that certification is received by the awarding department. The bill would require the awarding department to give a prime contractor that fails to meet those certification requirements 15 to 30 calendar days to cure the defect. The bill would require the awarding department to permanently deduct $10,000 from the final payment, or the full payment if it is less than $10,000, from a contract with a contractor who does not comply with those requirements within the specified time period. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to complete an assessment and report of the DVBE program, as specified, and submit that report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2024.
SB 895 Energy: Zero emission fuel, infrastructure, and transportation technologies
- Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, within the limits of available funds, to provide technical assistance and support for the development of petroleum diesel fuels that are as clean or cleaner than alternative clean fuels and clean diesel engines. This bill would instead require the commission, within the limits of available funds, to provide technical assistance and support for the development of zero-emission fuels, zero-emission fueling infrastructure, and zero-emission fuel transportation technologies.
SB 905 Criminal History Information Requests
- This bill would establish procedures for individuals, organizations, and agencies to request a fingerprint-based criminal history information check from the Department of Justice. This bill would establish a process for communication between the department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and require a department response to the requesting individual, organization, or agency. This bill would prohibit the department from requiring the applicant’s residence address for the purpose of these requests.
SB 907 Child Abuse or Neglect Investigation: Military Notification
- This bill would require a county child welfare department investigating a case of child abuse or neglect to determine if the parent or guardian is an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States. The bill would authorize the county child welfare department to develop and adopt memoranda of understanding with military installations that would govern the investigation of allegations of child abuse or neglect against active duty service members, as specified. The bill would specify that these provisions do not limit or change the responsibilities of a county child welfare department with respect to investigations of, or responses to, allegations of abuse or neglect. By imposing additional duties on local officials, 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.
SCR 67 Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff J. Williams Memorial Highway
- This resolution designates the portion of Interstate 605 between Alondra Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue in the County of Los Angeles as the Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Jack Williams Memorial Highway.
SCR 68 United States Army Sergeant Thomas R. MacPherson Memorial Interchange
- This resolution designates the interchange of Interstate 605 and Katella Avenue in the County of Orange as the United States Army Sergeant Thomas R. MacPherson Memorial Interchange.
- This Senate Resolution proclaims the week of May 3, 2020, as Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week, with the goal of raising awareness of this potentially debilitating disease.
- This bill would make technical, non-substantive changes to this provision, including updating the names of the committees to the Senate Committee on Housing and the Senate Committee on Insurance.
2019 Legislation
SB 289 – Medi-Cal Waitlist for Active Duty
- Would allow active duty service members to maintain their place on the waiting list for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services for family members with special needs.
SB 480 - Radiology Assistant Bill
- This bill will set up a licensing board under the Department of Consumer Affairs to license and enforce this new licensing segment of Radiology Assistants.
SB 552 – Hazardous Waste Sunset Removal
- this bill will repeal the sunset date on a successful curbside hazardous waste pickup program.
SB 588 – Military & Veterans Code Spot
- This bill would require an awarding department, on a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2021, to withhold $10,000, or the full payment if it is less than $10,000, from the final payment on a contract until that certification is received by the awarding department. The bill would require the awarding department to give a prime contractor that fails to meet those certification requirements 15 to 30 calendar days to cure the defect. The bill would require the awarding department to permanently deduct $10,000 from the final payment, or the full payment if it is less than $10,000, from a contract with a contractor who does not comply with those requirements within the specified time period. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to complete an assessment and report of the DVBE program, as specified, and submit that report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2024.