Data Collection & Government Transparency

Expands contractor disciplinary actions to include violations of architecture and engineering licensing laws. Requires contractors to comply with additional professional licensing requirements across multiple fields. Authorizes the Contractors State License Board to enforce violations of expanded building laws. Incorporates structural pest control regulations into state building law requirements.

Expands state privacy laws to cover local government agencies and strengthens data protection requirements. Broadens the definition of personal information to include biometric, genetic, and neural data. Makes both intentional and negligent privacy violations grounds for employee discipline. Requires agencies to notify residents when their personal data is breached or compromised.

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.

Requires cities and school districts to publicly disclose legal expenses on their websites every two months. Mandates that legal invoices be shared with governing board members upon request without redaction. Exempts disclosure of legal fees for active litigation and attorney-client privileged information. Aims to prevent wasteful spending on legal services by increasing transparency of public fund usage.

Establishes a new Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the Department of Justice to verify eligibility and manage reparations. Creates a Property Reclamation Division to investigate and compensate victims of racially motivated property takings. Requires strict protection of personal and genetic information collected for descendant verification. Authorizes compensation through return of taken property, grant of alternate property, or financial payment.

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.

Requires new voter-approved state bonds to include specific goals and performance metrics starting January 2026. Mandates state agencies to post detailed bond spending updates and project outcomes on their websites. Establishes annual reporting requirements to track if bond funds achieve their intended purposes. Requires agencies to collect and publish data measuring the effectiveness of bond-funded projects.

Expands privacy protections for public officials by prohibiting disclosure of personal data without consent. Requires businesses to remove officials' personal information within 48 hours of receiving a request. Makes it a felony to post officials' private data with intent to cause harm if injury results. Extends privacy protections to family members living with public officials.

Requires businesses to notify California residents of data breaches within 30 days of discovery. Mandates notification to the Attorney General within 15 days when breaches affect over 500 residents. Establishes specific format requirements for data breach notices including plain language and clear headings. Requires free identity theft prevention services for 12 months if social security or license numbers are exposed.

Establishes a commission to coordinate California's celebration of America's 250th anniversary in 2026. Requires all funding to come from private donations and federal grants with no state money used. Dissolves the commission if sufficient private funding is not secured by February 1, 2026. Mandates transfer of all commission records to State Archives by December 31, 2028.

Requires state agencies to incorporate racial equity goals and data analysis into their strategic plans by 2026. Mandates agencies to gather input from historically disadvantaged communities when developing strategic plans. Establishes annual reporting requirements to track progress on equity initiatives and performance measures. Requires all strategic plans to be made publicly available to ensure transparency.

Requires public disclosure of biological data for energy facility certification applications. Authorizes Fish and Wildlife to restrict sensitive species location data if disclosure poses risks. Mandates maximum possible data release while protecting vulnerable species information.

Authorizes licensed professional fiduciaries to form professional corporations to provide fiduciary services. Requires professional fiduciary corporations to register with the Secretary of State and comply with strict oversight rules. Expands reporting requirements for fiduciaries to include corporate affiliations and client information. Prohibits courts from appointing unlicensed fiduciaries as guardians, conservators, or trustees.

Establishes a Public Records Act Ombudsperson to review denied requests for government records through 2029. Requires the Ombudsperson to issue determinations on denied records requests within 30 days. Mandates state agencies provide requested records if the Ombudsperson determines they were wrongly withheld. Creates a process for individuals to protect their private information during records reviews.

Requires the Civil Rights Department to launch statewide anti-discrimination media campaigns by July 2026. Establishes an 11-member working group of experts to develop and implement the media campaign strategy. Mandates that campaign focus on specific communities be proportional to reported hate crime rates. Requires legislative funding approval before the program can begin operation.

Allows agencies to extend public records request deadlines when cyberattacks prevent access to electronic records. Requires state emergencies to directly impact an agency's ability to process records requests for deadline extensions. Limits deadline extensions to only the duration of system outages caused by cyberattacks. Maintains agencies' obligation to provide non-electronic records even during cyberattacks.

Requires state agencies to collect detailed demographic data for Middle Eastern and North African groups by 2027. Mandates public reporting of Middle Eastern and North African demographic data starting January 2028. Protects individual privacy by prohibiting disclosure of personal identifying information. Requires data updates within 18 months after each U.S. Census release.

Establishes a process for victims of racially motivated eminent domain to seek return of property or compensation. Creates a new Office of Legal Affairs to review claims and determine appropriate compensation or property return. Requires agencies that took property to provide fair market value compensation or equivalent public property. Prioritizes claims from original property owners and their direct descendants with a 60-day appeal window.