Civil Rights & Liberties

Requires homeowner associations to record all open board meetings and make recordings available to members. Mandates individual notice to members about rule changes and requires detailed meeting minutes with no charge for electronic copies. Requires associations to announce litigation and insurance claims at subsequent meetings with specific case details. Expands member rights to bring civil actions with penalties up to $500 per violation for association non-compliance.

Modernizes trust administration by allowing authorized representatives to receive legal notices on behalf of beneficiaries. Requires written consent for representation and prohibits conflicts of interest between representatives and beneficiaries. Protects fiduciaries from liability when acting in good faith based on authorized representations. Specifies which parties can represent others in trust matters, including parents, guardians, and trustees.

Expands divorce restraining orders to prevent both parties from letting insurance policies lapse starting January 2027. Requires parties to maintain all insurance coverage for themselves and children during divorce proceedings. Prohibits changes to insurance beneficiaries without written consent or court approval. Mandates 5-day advance notice to the other party before making any extraordinary expenditures.

Increases maximum attorney's fees in book account disputes to $1,200 for personal accounts and $1,600 for business accounts, while maintaining the 25% cap of the principal obligation. Requires written agreements to explicitly state that prevailing parties can receive attorney's fees before such fees can be awarded. Excludes insurance companies, banks, and other financial institutions from these fee requirements unless specifically agreed to by contract.

Makes technical changes to document delivery rules for common interest developments.

Establishes a new state agency to verify and maintain a registry of American Freedmen residents in California. Creates a Genealogy Office by July 2027 to verify residents' ancestral connections to people enslaved in the U.S. Mandates strict privacy protections for personal data and prohibits sharing information with law enforcement. Requires annual legislative oversight hearings and regular performance audits starting January 2029.

Expands protections against domestic violence by preventing abusers from using the court system to harass victims. Allows courts to declare someone a vexatious litigant if they use litigation to abuse or control domestic violence victims. Restricts abusers from using legal discovery to harass victims protected by restraining orders. Authorizes courts to issue protective orders specifically preventing litigation abuse and coercive control.

Extends the timeline for challenging local election methods from 45 to 90 days under the California Voting Rights Act. Allows cities under 50,000 residents to elect up to 20% of council members at-large while using district elections. Requires jurisdictions to publish demographic data 9 months before redistricting elections. Mandates comprehensive public outreach plans and translation services for redistricting hearings.

Expands the legal definition of a debtor's location to include both principal residence and domicile. Affects how courts determine jurisdiction in cases involving voidable financial transactions. Provides greater flexibility in determining which local laws apply to debt-related legal claims.

Establishes a Language Access Director to oversee translation and interpretation services across state agencies. Requires state agencies to provide materials in languages spoken by 5% or more of eligible service populations. Mandates biennial language needs assessments and implementation plans starting 2027. Creates grants for community organizations to help expand language access services.

Requires the Governor's office to publish a comprehensive list of state boards and commissions by 2027. Mandates annual reporting of demographic data for state appointments starting January 2028. Establishes public transparency requirements while protecting appointee privacy. Creates standardized reporting of voluntary demographic data across legislative appointments.

Prohibits courts from ordering spousal support to a spouse who committed violent sexual felonies against their partner. Requires attorney fees in these cases to be paid from community assets rather than the victim's separate property. Allows courts to set the separation date as the date of the violent incident. Grants the injured spouse full ownership of their retirement and pension benefits.

Requires California State University to designate three burial sites for repatriated Native American remains. Mandates consultation with tribes to develop burial site policies across northern, central and southern California. Ensures tribes can request burial of repatriated remains at designated sites according to their customs.

Streamlines the process for gender identity document changes by requiring courts to approve petitions within two weeks. Eliminates the ability to object to adult name changes based on gender identity and removes publication requirements. Requires vital records agencies to issue updated birth certificates and marriage licenses within two weeks. Mandates immediate implementation to protect transgender people from discrimination and harassment.

Extends protections against discriminatory jury selection in criminal cases indefinitely. Prohibits removing jurors based on gender identity, sexual orientation, and religious affiliation. Requires courts to evaluate peremptory challenges for both conscious and unconscious bias. Exempts civil cases permanently from these jury selection protections.

Extends concealed carry license validity from 2 years to 3 years in 2026 and 4 years starting 2027. Limits employment-based concealed carry permits to 90 days and restricts use to the issuing county only. Requires employment-based permit holders to notify local authorities and get dual approval for renewals.

Requires California to return 3.68 acres of San Pasqual Battlefield State Park to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians. Encourages the City of San Diego to transfer its portion of the park land to the tribe at no cost. Enables the tribe to establish a public park celebrating their history and cultural contributions. Aims to rectify historical wrongs when the tribe was forcibly removed from their ancestral lands.

Expands legal protections against forced marriages by allowing victims to challenge marriages beyond the 4-year limit. Requires courts to accept late marriage nullification petitions if victims of forced marriage show good cause. Criminalizes forced marriage equally regardless of the victim's age at the time of the offense.

Requires immediate enforcement of court orders against discriminatory voting practices even during appeals. Allows the Attorney General and Secretary of State to jointly halt enforcement if needed for election integrity. Takes effect July 1, 2025 and applies to violations of state voting rights and redistricting laws. Aims to prevent vote dilution by ensuring prompt implementation of fair district boundaries.

Requires developers and deployers of automated decision systems to evaluate and disclose their impact on individuals. Mandates that companies provide individuals the right to opt out of AI decisions and appeal automated outcomes. Establishes mandatory third-party audits for AI systems affecting more than 5,999 people every three years. Authorizes civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation for companies that fail to comply with the regulations.

Expands civil rights enforcement by requiring mandatory dispute resolution before filing discrimination lawsuits. Extends deadlines for filing civil rights complaints when appeals are pending with the Civil Rights Department. Strengthens oversight by requiring compliance reviews within one year of final discrimination case decisions. Clarifies that group complaints include pattern-or-practice allegations of discrimination.

Requires California cities and counties to collect detailed ancestry data for Black employees starting January 2027. Mandates additional demographic categories to track descendants of American Freedmen in local government hiring. Ensures privacy protection and secure handling of all collected demographic data. Provides state reimbursement to local governments for costs of implementing new data collection requirements.

Establishes a new Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the Department of Justice to manage reparations programs. Creates a process for descendants of enslaved people to reclaim property taken through racially motivated eminent domain. Requires the bureau to verify descendant status and establish compensation criteria for eligible individuals. Mandates the creation of educational programs about discriminatory urban planning and displacement in California.

Requires large employers to report expanded pay data including sexual orientation demographics starting May 2023. Mandates separate storage of employee demographic information from personnel records to protect privacy. Extends pay reporting requirements to public employers with 100+ employees starting May 2027. Imposes mandatory penalties up to $200 per employee for employers failing to file required reports.

Extends the Commission on the State of Hate's operations until January 1, 2031 to continue monitoring hate crimes. Requires the commission to host four public forums annually on hate crime trends and emerging issues. Mandates annual reports to the Governor with hate crime statistics and policy recommendations. Authorizes the commission to seek federal grants and additional funding beyond state resources.