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California 20252026

SB 747

Civil rights: deprivation of federal constitutional rights, privileges, and immunities.

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Source: Open States / PluralUpdated 2026-09-12 13:12:55 UTC.

Official record

Measure details

Jurisdiction
California
Session
20252026
Chamber
upper
Classification
bill
Subjects
Civilrights, deprivationoffederalconstitutionalrights,privileges,andimmunities
Introduced / first action
2025-02-21 00:00:00

Alternate titles

  • Wages: behavioral health and medical-surgical employees.
  • Vending machines.

Source-supplied abstracts

Under existing law, the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (act) , if a person or persons, whether or not acting under color of law, interferes or attempts to interfere, by threats, intimidation, or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any individual or individuals of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the rights secured by the Constitution or laws of this state, the Attorney General, or any district attorney or city attorney, is authorized to bring a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in the name of the people of the State of California, in order to protect the exercise or enjoyment of the right or rights secured. Under that act, an individual may also institute and prosecute in their own name and on their own behalf a civil action for damages, as described, for any resulting interference or attempt at interference of the individual's exercise or enjoyment of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States or this state. The act authorizes the court to award the petitioner or plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees in addition to any damages, injunction, or other equitable relief awarded in these civil actions (attorney's fees authorization) . Existing federal law provides that every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia, subjects or causes to be subjected any United States citizen or other person within the jurisdiction to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, is liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except as provided. This bill would also provide that every natural person, as defined, who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, as defined, subjects or causes to be subjected any citizen of this state or any person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the United States Constitution, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except as specified. The bill would apply the aforementioned attorney's fees authorization, except as specified, to any action brought under these provisions. The bill would authorize a court, in its discretion, to also award costs, except as specified, to the prevailing plaintiff in any action brought under these provisions. This bill would authorize a defendant in an action brought under these provisions to assert and receive the benefit of a defense of absolute or qualified immunity only to the same extent as a person sued under certain federal provisions under like circumstances, as specified, and would specify that nothing in these provisions is to be construed to waive or abrogate any defense of sovereign immunity otherwise available to a party, as specified. The bill would prohibit any civil action brought under these provisions from being commenced later than 2 years after the date that the cause of action accrues. The bill would make its provisions severable. The bill would specify that these provisions apply retroactively to March 1, 2025, as provided. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature in enacting these provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Sponsors

Source-supplied history

Actions

  1. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

    executive-receipt

  2. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 30. Noes 10.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  3. Urgency clause adopted.

    amendment-passage, passage

  4. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  5. Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 57. Noes 19. Page 6479.) Ordered to the Senate.

    amendment-passage, passage, reading-1, reading-3

  6. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  7. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2

  8. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (August 13).

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  9. Assembly Rule 63 suspended.

  10. June 24 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

  11. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee

  12. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 3.) (June 9).

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  13. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee

  14. Referred to Com. on JUD.

    referral-committee

  15. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

    reading-1

  16. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 30. Noes 10. Page 3301.) Ordered to the Assembly.

    passage, reading-1, reading-3

  17. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  18. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2

  19. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 3270.) (January 22).

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  20. Set for hearing January 22.

  21. January 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  22. Set for hearing January 20.

  23. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 2. Page 3214.) (January 13). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  24. Set for hearing January 13.

  25. Re-referred to Coms. on JUD. and APPR.

    referral-committee

  26. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee

  27. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

    referral-committee

  28. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2

  29. Ordered to second reading.

    reading-1, reading-2

  30. From inactive file.

  31. Joint Rule 61(a)(13) suspended. (Ayes 28. Noes 8. Page 2999.)

  32. Ordered to inactive file on request of Senator Wiener.

  33. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  34. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 1. Page 1211.) (May 23).

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  35. Set for hearing May 23.

  36. May 19 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  37. Set for hearing May 19.

  38. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee

  39. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 2. Page 943.) (April 29).

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  40. Set for hearing April 29.

  41. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 4. Noes 0. Page 870.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  42. Set for hearing April 23.

  43. Re-referred to Coms. on L., P.E. & R. and JUD.

    referral-committee

  44. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee

  45. Referred to Com. on RLS.

    referral-committee

  46. Read first time.

    reading-1

  47. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 24.

  48. Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    introduction, referral-committee

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Related measures

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