No New Laws: 13 California ideas that won't become law in 2024

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It’s week three of the 2024 California legislative session, but lawmakers spent some time Thursday dispensing with bills that carried over from 2023.

The Senate and Assembly appropriations committees, in the somewhat secretive suspense file process, held a combined 24 bills after their hearings — essentially killing the measures for now. The panels will do this exercise again in mid-May and mid-August for bills introduced this year.

A few key bills that didn’t make it out of the suspense file:

Criminal justice and courts

• Senate Bill 838 would have expanded eligibility for victims compensation to include injuries or deaths caused by police officers after Jan. 1, 2024
• SB 850 would have required the Judicial Council to develop a system for county courts to notify defendants of court appearances by text.
• Assembly Bill 428 would establish the California Department of Reentry to develop reentry plans for individuals released from prison.
• AB 797 would mandate that cities and counties create by Jan. 1, 2026 independent commissions to investigate complaints against police officers for injuries and deaths.
• AB 1047 would require the state to develop an online system where Californians could voluntarily register to notify their mental health clinician if they tried to buy a gun.

Education

• SB 767 to require public school students to finish one year of kindergarten before entering first grade.
• AB 1408 to make it easier for academically struggling students to transfer within a school district, or to another district if no school is available.

Environment

• SB 559 would have ended leases for three offshore oil operations in Southern California by Dec. 31, 2026.
• SB 709 would have required more transparency on dairy digesters that produce fuel from cow manure.

Health

• SB 625 would have allowed parents to opt out of the use of their newborn’s blood sample for medical research.

State workers

• AB 1693 would ease requirements for college degrees for most state government jobs.

Taxes and the state budget

• SB 533 to create a tax credit of as much as $30,000 for the start-up costs of childcare programs or centers primarily for the taxpayer’s employees.
• AB 1044 would have allocated $100 million from the general fund for drought relief for small businesses.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

WATCH MORE:  New laws in California 2024: Some of the laws going into effect on January 1