Local agency officials: training.

Senator Gonzalez's local government training measure expands ethics requirements to department heads while establishing new fiscal education standards for California's local agency officials. The legislation requires officials who begin service after January 1, 2026, to complete ethics training within six months rather than the current one-year timeline.

The bill institutes mandatory fiscal and financial training covering budget processes, debt management, pensions, investments, and procurement practices. Local agency officials must complete two hours of this specialized instruction every two years, with initial training required by January 2028 for current officials and within six months for those starting after January 2026. The training curriculum must be developed in consultation with local government finance experts and can be delivered through in-person or online formats.

To enhance transparency, local agencies must maintain five-year records of completed trainings and publish this information on their websites beginning July 2026. Officials already meeting certain position-specific education requirements are exempt from the new fiscal training mandate. The bill designates these changes as addressing matters of statewide concern, making them applicable to all cities including charter cities, with provisions for state reimbursement of mandated costs to local agencies.