March 27, 2025
Golden State Republican Women
Janet Price, President
Submitted by the GSRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Valerie Evans, Lou Ann Flaherty and Elaine Freeman,
STUDENT SAFETY
AB 727 introduced (02/18/2025) (Gonzalez) (D) Pupil and student safety: statewide resources: identification cards Existing law, commencing July 12, 2025, requires a public school that serves pupils in any of grades 7-12, 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 of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
This bill, commencing July 1, 2026, would require the above-referenced schools and institutions 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.
Existing law, the State 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 or, a list of statewide resources that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimation, 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.
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 pf sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Hearing: Apr 9 @ 1:30 pm in 1021 O Street, Room 1100
ENVIRONMENT
AB 1486, as introduced (02/21/2025), Soria (D). Climate resiliency: research farms: grant program.
The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs.
Of these funds, the act makes $300,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for improving climate resilience and sustainability of agricultural lands, including, among other things, by making $15,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, for purposes of providing grants to public postsecondary educational institutions that are designated as Agricultural Experiment Stations or Agricultural Research Institutes, to develop research farms to improve climate resiliency, as specified.
This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, require the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, on or before January 1, 2026, to establish a grant program to provide grants to public postsecondary educational institutions that are designated as Agricultural Experiment Stations or Agricultural Research Institutes to develop or expand research farms to improve climate resiliency, in accordance with the above-described provisions.
Grants going through the State Department of Education-another means for waste, fraud, and abuse. We need a California DOGE!
Hearing: Mar 26 @ 1:30 pm in State Capitol, Room 126
SB 232, as introduced (01/28/2025), Seyarto (R). California Environmental Quality Act: guidelines: study.
(Coauthors (R): Senators Choi, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, and Valladares)
(Coauthors (R): Assembly Members Alanis, Lackey, and Patterson)
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
CEQA requires the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, formerly named the Office of Planning and Research, to prepare and develop, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt, guidelines for the implementation of CEQA. The CEQA guidelines require a lead agency, immediately after deciding that an environmental impact report is required for a project, to send a notice of preparation stating that an environmental impact report will be prepared to the office and each responsible and trustee agency, as specified.
This bill would require the office to conduct a study to, among other things, evaluate how locked-in guidelines could impact regulatory certainty for project proponents, lead agencies, and stakeholders and assess how locked-in guidelines could affect the speed and efficiency of the environmental review process pursuant to CEQA.
The bill would define “locked-in guidelines” as CEQA guidelines, that are in effect at the time of the first issuance of the notice of preparation for a project, that apply to the project throughout the course of the environmental review process pursuant to CEQA, regardless of changes in the guidelines that occur after the first issuance of the notice of preparation. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, the office to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on the study. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.
A common-sense bill, proposed by Republicans, that could reduce the time to acquire permits.
SENATOR WEINER (need we say more)
SB 497, as introduced (02/19/2025), Wiener (D). 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 providing any CURES data or expend any resources in furtherance of any interstate investigation or proceeding seeking to impose civil, criminal, or disciplinary liability upon the provision or receipt of legally protected health care activity, as defined.
The bill would prohibit out-of-state law enforcement from having access to CURES data through the interstate data sharing hub and would require a warrant, subpoena, or court order for a law enforcement agency to obtain information from CURES as part of a criminal investigation.
This bill would make it a misdemeanor for a person to access the CURES database when not authorized by law, and would make it a misdemeanor for a person who is authorized to access the database to knowingly furnish information from the CURES database to a person who is not authorized by law to receive that information. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Hearing: Apr 8 @ 1:30 pm in 1021 O Street, Room 2100
VOTER REGISTRATION/ID
SB 398, as introduced (02/14/2025), Umberg (D). Voter registration.
Under existing law, it is a crime for a person to receive money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration if the person fails to sign the affidavit and include certain other information, including the name and telephone number of the person, company, or organization, if any, that has agreed to pay the money or other valuable consideration.
This bill would make it a crime, punishable by imprisonment for up to 5 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, for a person to knowingly or willfully pay or offer to pay money or other valuable consideration for another person to register to vote. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Hearing: Apr 1 @ 10:30 am in 1021 O Street, Room 2100
SB 405, as introduced (02/14/2025), Choi (R). Elections: voter identification.
Existing law prohibits local governments from enacting or enforcing any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot at any polling place, vote center, or other location where ballots are cast or submitted.
This bill would repeal that prohibition.
Hearing: Apr 1 @ 10:30 am in 1021 O Street, Room 2100
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