Committee on Judiciary: judiciary omnibus.

This bill would make a technical correction to the language that must be included in agreements for the purchase of a specified property or mobilehome to clarify that the rate at issue is that paid by a buyer to the broker.

(2) Existing law, the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act, defines and regulates consumer credit reports and consumer credit reporting agencies. Existing law prohibits a person from furnishing information regarding a medical debt to a consumer credit reporting agency, and requires a contract creating a medical debt entered into on or after July 1, 2025, to include specified language and provides consequences for failing to include such language.

This bill would specify that the requirement that specified language be included in contracts creating medical debt applies only to written contracts.

(3) Existing law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, prohibits debt collectors from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the collection of covered debts and requires debtors to act fairly in entering into and honoring those debts. Existing law provides that a covered debt includes a covered commercial debt, and defines "covered commercial debt" and "covered commercial credit" to mean money due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from a natural person to a lender, commercial financing provider, or debt buyer, by reason of one or more covered commercial credit transactions, if the total amount of all commercial credit transactions due and owing is no more than $500,000.

This bill would specify that commercial debt does not include specified commercial financing transactions of at least $50,000 in which the recipient is a vehicle dealer or an affiliate of a dealer or a trade credit, as defined.

(4) Existing law defines and regulates mortgages, including recording notices of default, applications for loan modification, and foreclosure prevention alternatives. Existing law provides that where a borrower submits a timely request for a loan modification, certain types of lien holders may not foreclose on the property during the pendency of that request and provides procedures for the subsequent approval or rejection of that application, as specified. Existing law provides that these lien holders include persons or entities that make or service seven or fewer loans for the purchase of residential property in a year.

This bill would specify that the application of this section to persons or entities with seven or fewer loans applies only to such entities that service the loans, and that the loans apply only to properties within the state. The bill also expands the application of this provision to include loans that encumber such property.

(5) Existing law requires mortgage servicers to establish a single point of contact when a borrower requests a foreclosure prevention alternative, as specified. Existing law exempts from these provisions entities and persons that, make and service 7 or fewer loans for the purchase of residential real property in a calendar year from those provisions.

This bill would instead exempt a person or entity that services seven or fewer loans encumbering real property located in California in a calendar year.

(6) Existing law imposes various requirements that must be satisfied before exercising a power of sale under a mortgage or deed of trust. Among those requirements, existing law requires the mortgagee, beneficiary, or authorized agent with respect to residential real property containing no more than 4 dwelling units to provide to the trustee the fair market value of the property, as defined, at least 10 days prior to the initially scheduled date of sale, and prohibits the trustee from selling the property at the initially scheduled date of sale for less than 67% of the amount of that fair market value of the property. If the property remains unsold after the initial trustee's sale, the trustee is required to postpone the sale for at least 7 days, and would authorize the property to be sold thereafter to the highest bidder, as specified.

This bill would clarify that the trustee may not sell the property at the first sale at which a bid may be made for less than 67% of the amount of that fair market value of the property. This bill would further clarify that if the property remains unsold after the first sale at which a bid can be made for less than 67% of market value, the trustee is required to postpone the sale for at least 7 days.

(7) Existing law specifies personal property of a judgment debtor that is subject to enforcement of a money judgment. Among other things, tangible chattel paper, as defined, of a judgment debtor that is located in the state is subject to enforcement of a money judgment against the judgment debtor.

This bill would instead specify that chattel paper, as defined, of a judgment debtor that is located in the state is subject to enforcement of a money judgment against the judgment debtor. The bill would also conform a cross-reference in that provision to existing law.

(8) Existing law prescribes procedures for judicial arbitration to facilitate the resolution of small civil cases, and specifies that these procedures are mutually exclusive and independent of another set of procedures relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements between parties.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the provision above by removing an obsolete cross-reference.

(9) Existing law authorizes a judgment creditor to apply for the entry of a judgment based on a sister state judgment, as specified. Existing law permits a writ of execution on such a judgment to issue before service of the notice of entry of judgment if the judgment debtor is, among other things, a foreign partnership that has not filed a statement designating an agent for service of process.

This bill would conform a cross-reference in that provision to existing law.

(10) Existing law, the Civil Discovery Act, governs discovery in civil actions and proceedings of a civil nature. Existing law requires a meet and confer declaration in support of a motion brought pursuant to the act to state facts showing a reasonable and good faith attempt at an informal resolution of each issue presented by the motion. Existing law deems a failure to confer in person, by telephone, or by letter in order to informally resolve a discovery dispute to be a misuse of the discovery process if the law requires that a party show an attempt at informal resolution in support of a motion.

This bill would provide that the parties may meet and confer by videoconference, instead of by letter, in order to conform these provisions to other provisions in the act which authorize meeting and conferring by videoconference.

(11) The Civil Discovery Act provides that in actions for unlawful detainer, a plaintiff may propound interrogatories, make a demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling, and may make requests for admission, all without leave of court any time that is 5 days after service of summons on or appearance in court by that party.

This bill would change these timelines for specified discovery in unlawful detainer actions to 10 days after the service of summons on, or appearance by, that party from which discovery is requested.

(12) Existing law requires every partnership that is domiciled outside of the state and that has no regular place of business in the state to file a statement with the Secretary of State designating an agent for service of process, except as specified.

This bill would conform a cross-reference in that provision to existing law.

(13) Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, provides that when a complaint is filed with the Civil Rights Department, and the department concludes that prompt judicial action is necessary to enforce the act, the director of the department or their authorized representative may bring a civil action for temporary or preliminary relief pending final disposition of the complaint. Existing law requires such an action to be brought in a particular county, depending on whether certain conditions are present.

This bill would conform a cross-reference in the provision above, relating to the county in which the judicial action must be brought, to existing law.

(14) Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly post the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official, or of their residing spouse or child, on the internet with the intent to cause imminent great bodily harm or threatening to cause imminent great bodily harm, as provided.

This bill would recodify this provision in the Penal Code.

(15) Existing law prohibits a person, business, or association from publicly posting or publicly displaying on the internet the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official if that official has made a written demand of that person, business, or association to not disclose the official's home address or telephone number. Existing law also specifies how an official whose information has been posted in violation of these sections may act to enforce their rights to keep this information private.

This bill would repeal these provisions.

(16) Existing law prohibits a person, business, or association from soliciting, selling, or trading on the internet the home address or telephone number of an elected or appointed official with the intent to cause imminent great bodily harm to the official or to any person residing at the official's home address.

This bill would recodify this provision in the Civil Code.

(17) Existing law permits a verified petition to be filed by any beneficially interested person with the county clerk of certain superior courts for an order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not obtainable. Existing law provides such petitions are heard by judges who hear probate matters.

This bill would specify that petitions to establish such a record for individuals that are otherwise subject to the juvenile courts, as specified, may be made and heard in juvenile courts. The bill would require the court to waive the filing fee for any such petition filed in juvenile court.

(18) Existing law requires the general representative of an estate in probate or the estate attorney to give the Director of Health Care Services notice of a decedent's death if the decedent was a recipient of Medi-Cal health care services or was the surviving spouse of a person who received such care in order to provide the director with an opportunity to make a claim against the decedent's estate.

This bill would additionally authorize the general representative or the estate attorney to give that notice through the department's official internet website using the online notice of death form.

This bill would require the personal representative or estate attorney to provide notice to the to the Director of Child Support Services if the representative or attorney knows or has reason to know that the decedent had a child support obligation, in order to provide the director with an opportunity to assert a claim against the decedent's estate. The bill would make this requirement applicable to all estates for which letters of administration were first issued on or after January 1, 2026.

(19) Existing law establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of the child's parents or guardian. Existing law requires the court, at the initial petition hearing, to examine the child's parents, guardians, Indian custodian, or other persons having relevant knowledge and hear the relevant evidence, and order the release of the child from custody unless a prima facie showing has been made that, among other things, whether less disruptive alternatives to removal were considered, and factors related to impact of removal on the child. If the court finds that removal is necessary existing law requires the court's order to state whether its determination complies with placement guidelines for removed Indian children, and less disruptive alternatives.

This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to the latter provision.