Civil Rights & Liberties

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.

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 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 the Governor's office to publish a list of all state boards and commissions with their details by 2027. Mandates annual reporting of demographic data for state appointments starting January 2028. Ensures privacy by requiring demographic data to be published in anonymous aggregate form. Requires a disclaimer stating that demographic reporting is voluntary when data is republished.

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

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.

Allows small cities under 50,000 residents to elect up to 20% of council members through at-large voting. Extends the timeline for challenging voting rights violations from 45 to 90 days after notification. Requires 100 voter signatures to challenge election methods in cities under 50,000 residents. Caps reimbursement costs for voting rights challenges at $30,000 plus inflation adjustments.

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.

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.

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 immediate enforcement of voting rights court orders even during appeals to prevent election discrimination. Allows courts to implement new voting district boundaries without delays from appeals. Permits the Attorney General and Secretary of State to pause enforcement if needed for election administration.

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.

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.

Eliminates time limits for victims to legally nullify marriages obtained through fraud, force, or coercion. Criminalizes forced marriages regardless of the victim's age at the time of the incident. Allows injured parties and their representatives to file for marriage nullification at any time after discovery.

Establishes comprehensive regulations for AI and automated decision systems that impact critical life decisions starting January 2027. Requires companies to conduct regular audits of AI systems and allow people to opt out of automated decisions affecting them. Mandates clear disclosures to individuals when AI is used to make decisions about employment, housing, or healthcare. Authorizes penalties up to $25,000 per violation and empowers state agencies to enforce AI system compliance.

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.

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

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.

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.

Establishes a new state Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery to oversee reparations and compensation programs. Creates a process to certify and verify eligible descendants of enslaved Americans for state benefits. Launches a Property Reclamation Division to investigate and compensate for historically seized properties. Implements public education programs about historical discrimination in California urban planning.

Requires public employers with 100+ employees to submit annual pay data reports starting May 2027. Expands required demographic reporting to include sexual orientation data if voluntarily disclosed. Mandates employers to store demographic data separately from personnel records. Requires courts to impose penalties up to $200 per employee for non-compliance.

Requires California's Office of Emergency Services to develop training on recognizing foreign government harassment of immigrants. Mandates law enforcement training on digital surveillance and physical threats used to silence diaspora communities. Establishes a July 2026 deadline for creating programs to protect targeted immigrant and exile groups. Creates protocols for state agencies to counter foreign governments' intimidation of California residents.

Requires businesses with 50 or fewer employees to receive written notice of accessibility violations before lawsuits. Protects small businesses from damages if accessibility violations are fixed within 120 days of notice. Prevents plaintiffs from bypassing notice requirements by filing general discrimination claims.

Requires state licensing boards to prioritize applications from certified descendants of American slaves. Takes effect only after Senate Bill 518 establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery. Automatically expires after 4 years or by January 1, 2032, whichever comes first.