July 25, 2024
Golden State Republican Women
Janet Price, President
Submitted by the GSRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Valerie Evans, Lou Ann Flaherty and Elaine Freeman,
Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber Ph.D. Released the Statewide Voter Information Guide for Public Review on July 23rd. Your analysts will start to cover the 10 propositions beginning with Capitol Update #31 on August 1st
For a preliminary review of the guide from the Secretary of State visit:https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/public-display
INTERESTING GOVERNOR VETO
AB 2570, Joe Patterson. Department of Housing and Community Development: annual report: Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program.
Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions, as defined, with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Under existing law, grants under the HHAP program are allocated in 4 rounds of funding, administered by the associated staff within the Interagency Council on Homelessness, as provided.
Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to submit an annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department. Existing law requires that the report include, among other things, the number of units assisted by those programs and the number of individuals and households served and their income levels.
This bill would additionally require that this report include an evaluation of the HHAP program.
2024-05-16 – Passed Assembly and ordered to the Senate (Ayes 71, Noes 0.)
2024-06-20- Senate Passed (Ayes 36, Noes 0.)
2024-07-15 – Vetoed by Governor.
AB 3083, as amended, Lackey. Introduced by Assembly Members Lackey and Alanis, February 16, 2024.
Domestic violence: protective orders: background checks.
The Domestic Violence Prevention Act requires the court, before a hearing on the issuance or denial of a protective order, to ensure that a search of specified records and databases is or has been made to determine if the proposed subject of the order has, among other things, a registered firearm. Existing law limits the implementation of the registered firearm search requirement to courts identified by the Judicial Council as having resources currently available for those purposes. Existing law also limits the implementation of the registered firearm search requirement in other courts to the extent that funds are appropriated for those purposes in the annual Budget Act.
This bill would instead require the court to determine if the subject of the proposed order owns or possesses a firearm. firearm as reflected in the Department of Justice Automated Firearms System. The bill would repeal the limitation on the firearm search requirement, thereby extending the firearm search requirement to all courts.
Hearing: Aug 5 @ 10:00 am in 1021 O Street, Room 2200
AB 2917, as amended, Zbur. Introduced by Assembly Member Zbur, February 15, 2024
Firearms: restraining orders.
Existing law authorizes a court to issue a gun violence restraining order to prohibit a person from purchasing or possessing a firearm or ammunition for a period of one to 5 years, subject to renewal for additional one- to 5-year periods, if the subject of the petition poses a significant danger of self-harm or harm to another in the near future by having a firearm and the order is necessary to prevent personal injury to the subject of the petition or another.
Existing law requires the court, in determining whether grounds for a gun violence restraining order exist, to consider evidence of, among other things, a recent threat of violence or act of violence by the subject directed toward another and a past history of those threats or acts within the last 12 months. Existing law also authorizes a court to consider the unlawful and reckless use, display, or brandishing of a firearm by the subject of the petition.
This bill would require the court to additionally consider a recent threat of violence or act of violence directed toward another group or location, or a past history of those threats or acts. The bill would also authorize the court to consider, among other things, the reckless use, display, or brandishing of a firearm by the subject of the petition, evidence of stalking, evidence of cruelty to animals, or evidence of the respondent’s threats of violence to advance a political objective. The bill would also authorize the court to consider violations of comparable firearm-prohibiting protective orders issued by out-of-state courts. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain state summary criminal history information, as defined, and to furnish this information to specified entities, including city attorneys pursuing civil gang injunctions or drug abatement actions. Existing law requires a local criminal justice agency to furnish local summary criminal history information to specified entities, including city attorneys pursuing civil gang injunctions or drug abatement actions. Under existing law, the disclosure of state summary criminal history information to an unauthorized person is a crime.
Existing law defines “criminal justice agencies” as agencies that perform activities that relate to the apprehension, prosecution, adjudication, incarceration, or correction of criminal offenders, including city attorneys pursuing civil gang injunctions or drug abatement actions. Under existing law, a criminal justice agency, among other things, compiles records and data for the purpose of identifying criminal offenders and maintaining specified information pertaining to each offender, including a summary of arrests and pretrial proceedings.
This bill would include city attorneys and county counsel pursuing gun violence restraining orders in those provisions. By expanding the scope of the crime of unlawful disclosure of state summary criminal history information, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Gun Owners of California Opposes AB 2917
Hearing: Aug 5 @ 10:00 am in 1021 O Street, Room 2200
SB 1097, Laird. Veterans: military and veterans: gender-neutral terms.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the administration of various programs providing benefits to veterans or their beneficiaries. Existing law establishes the California Veterans Board, whose duties include advising the department and its secretary on policies for operations of the department.
This bill would, for the purposes of these provisions, extend access to various programs and benefits to surviving domestic partners of veterans, where applicable.
Existing law exempts members of the active militia from road tax and head tax and from jury duty, with specified exemptions, and from service on any posse comitatus if the member furnishes a certificate from their commanding officer that they have performed the duties required of them in the prior year or during the term of their service, if less than a year.
This bill would instead exempt members of the active militia who are on active military orders if they furnish a copy of their active military orders or a letter from their immediate commanding officer or the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.
Existing law exempts every officer and enlisted person of the State Guard, during the officer’s or enlisted person’s service, from any posse comitatus and from jury duty.
This bill would instead exempt officers or enlisted persons of the State Guard from any posse comitatus or jury duty service while on active military orders.
The bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to, among other things, use gender-neutral language.
Approved by the Governor on 07/15/2024.
AB 2226 {Muratsuchi D} Elementary Education: Kindergarten
Current law requires a person between 6 and 18 years of age who is not exempted by law, is subject to compulsory full-time education. Existing law excludes a child under 6 years of age from the public schools. Existing law requires a school district maintaining a kindergarten to admit a child who will have their 5th birthday on or before September 1 of the school year.
Existing law also requires a child who will have their 6th birthday on or before September 1 of the school year to be admitted to the first grade of an elementary school. Existing law authorizes a child who has been lawfully admitted to a public school kindergarten or a private school kindergarten in California and who is judged by the administration of the school district to be ready for first grade work to be admitted to the first grade.
This bill, beginning with the 2026-27 school year, would require a child to have completed one year of kindergarten before that child may be admitted to the first grade at a public elementary school, except for a child who has been lawfully admitted to a public school kindergarten or a private school kindergarten in California, but has not yet completed one school year, and is judged to be ready for first grade work, thereby imposing a state mandated local program.
Hearing: Aug 5 @ 10:00 am in 1021 O Street, Room 2200
AB 2419 {Gibson D) Search warrants: child prostitution
Existing law allows a search warrant to be issued upon probable cause, supported by affidavit, naming, or describing the person to be searched or searched for, and particularly describing the property, thing, or things and the place to be searched. Existing law also specifies the grounds upon which a search warrant may be issued, including among other grounds when the property or things to be seized contribute evidence showing that a felony has been committed.
This bill would additionally authorize a search warrant to be issued on the grounds that the property or things to be seized consists of evidence that tends to show that evidence in furtherance of sex trafficking of a person under 18 years of age has occurred or is occurring.
Passed the Assembly, currently in the Senate
SB 1051 {Eggman D) Victims of abuse or violence
Existing law requires a landlord to change the locks of a protected tenant’s dwelling unit, upon the protected tenant’s written request not later than 24 hours after the protected tenant gives the landlord a copy of a court order or police report that restrains a person who is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit as the protected tenant from contact with the protected tenant. Existing law permits the protected tenant to change the locks if the landlord fails to do so within 24 hours, as provided. For those purposes, existing law defines “protected tenant” as a tenant who has obtained a court order, or a police, report showing that the tenant or the tenant’s household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
This bill would repeal, recast, and revise these provisions to apply when a person is alleged to have committed abuse or violence against an eligible tenant or the immediate family or household member of an eligible tenant, and the person is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit as the eligible tenant. The bill would define “eligible tenant” for these purposes as either a tenant who is a victim of abuse or violence.
The bill would require a landlord to, at the landlord’s expense and upon the eligible tenant’s written request, change the locks of an eligible dwelling unit not later than 24 hours after the eligible tenant gives the landlord specified documentation. The bill requires an eligible tenant’s written request to include one of the following forms of documentation if the tenant’s choosing: (1) a copy of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order, (2) a copy of a written report by a peace officer,
(3) specified documentation from a qualified third party, showing the tenant their household member, or their immediate family member is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries resulting from an act of abuse or violence, or (4) any other form of documentation that reasonably verifies the abuse or violence.
The bill would require a landlord to reimburse the eligible tenant for expenses the tenant incurred if the eligible tenant changes the locks. This bill would require the landlord to change the locks at their own expense, and additionally require the landlord to reimburse the protected tenant for expenses the tenant incurred in changing the locks if the landlord fails to change the locks within 24 hours of the tenant providing a written request to the landlord.
This bill also prohibits a landlord or landlord’s agents from making an adverse action, based on among other things, the prospective tenant having previously requested to have their locks changed due to abuse or violence pursuant to the above described provisions or the prospective tenant, or an immediate family member or household member of the prospective tenant, having been a victim of abuse or violence.
The bill would provide that a landlord or landlord’s agent who violates this prohibition is liable to the prospective or current tenant in a civil action for actual damages and statutory damages of not less than $10 and not more than $5,000.
In other words, the landlord can be held liable for an incident that may occur if the locks are not changed within the 24 hour period.
This bill has been signed by the Governor and chaptered on 07/02/2024.
Legislative Portal links – Express your support or opposition to a bill or directly to the Legislative committee currently reviewing it (as an individual, not as a member of RW or GSRW) – click here, or the bill’s author – click here, enter your bill # and look for tab at top of the bill page labeled “Comments to Author”.
