AB 1548: Monterey Bay Area Stewardship Authority
Creates an authority serving Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties, focused on innovative funding solutions to support long term conservation and stewardship.
AB 1668: Open Space Property Tax Exemption
Extends for five years the current property tax exemption for land that is permanently conserved and open to the public.
AB 1736: Deceptive Lobbying Techniques
Bans lobbyist employers from engaging in deceptive lobbying techniques, like using AI-generated content (e.g., emails, social media posts, phone calls) to mislead people about public perception of proposed laws.
AB 1784: Sex Equity in Education Act
Extends existing protections and campus supports for pregnant or pregnancy-impacted graduate students to undergraduate students. Expands protections for all pregnant and pregnancy-impacted students by prohibiting institutions from requiring withdrawal or leave.
AB 1853: Voter Information Guide Improvements
Ensures that the state voter information guide gives voters clear and accurate information about the effects of state referendum measures.
AB 1902: Secured Youth Treatment Facilities
Makes changes to the process for detention continuation hearings to ensure proper placement for treatment.
AB 1919: Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District Election Authority
Gives the Santa Cruz METRO the election authority needed for a citizen initiative.
AB 1988: PAUSE Act: Protective AI User Safety and Escalation
Requires chatbots to pause when the user indicates serious thoughts of suicide and encourage the user to seek help from a real person or contact the 988 Crisis Lifeline.
AB 2025: Digital Staging of Rental Properties
Requires rental listings to disclose when generative AI or digital staging is used in apartment listing photos, preventing the potential renter from being misled about the rental unit’s size or features.
AB 2107: Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) Student Priority
Prioritizes English learners, foster youth, and low-income students for free, before-school, after-school, and summer care.
AB 2188: Midpeninsula Open Space District
Allows the Midpeninsula Open Space District greater flexibility for their contracts for services, including supplies and labor.
AB 2229: CSU Enrollment, Access, and Retention of Nontraditional Students (EARNS) Program
Establishes designated advisors at the California State University to ensure that students who have stopped out of the CSU and reenter have the necessary supports needed to graduate as quickly as possible through advising, priority registration, and a unified policy on course acceptance.
AB 2255: Improved Campaign Transparency
Improves oversight and transparency of large campaign payments made by candidates not running in the upcoming election.
AB 2333: Foster Family Agencies
Extends indemnification protections for foster family agencies, which expire in 2027, to 2030.
AB 2357: Juror Mental Health
In response to the horrific kidnapping and murder of Maddy Middleton, this bill creates a pilot program within Santa Cruz County, through which jurors will have access to mental health resources at the conclusion of traumatic criminal cases.
AB 2462: Recalled Products
Clarifies that recycling centers, solid waste facilities, retailers, and thrift retail stores can return recalled products to the manufacturer at no cost. This ensures that manufacturers, not consumers or local governments, take on the costs of managing product recalls.
AB 2502: DUIs Involving Semi-Autonomous Vehicles
Clarifies that a driver under the influence behind the wheel of a semi-autonomous vehicle can still be charged with a DUI.
AB 2650: CalSavers: Eligible Employers
Requires that domestic employees, like landscapers or nannies, are given a CalSavers retirement account, strengthening their financial security.