CaliforniaAB 15212025-2026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

Committee on Judiciary: judiciary omnibus.

Sponsored By: Sponsor information unavailable

Signed by Governor

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

18 provisions identified: 8 benefits, 3 costs, 7 mixed.

Stronger protections at first child‑welfare hearing

The court must release a child at the first hearing unless the case fits the law and staying home is unsafe, and then only if one of four listed conditions exists. The social worker’s report must explain why removal is needed, list services and relatives, and describe harms and less‑disruptive options. The court must put findings and evidence on the record, choose the least‑disruptive placement, and order steps to reduce harm. For Indian children, detention is allowed only to prevent imminent physical harm; reports must include tribal details, courts must confirm active efforts, and strict timelines and placement preferences apply. If services can safely return the child, the court orders return with services; otherwise, relatives get preference, temporary placements are limited to 15 judicial days in approved settings, and a temporary adult can be appointed to make education or developmental decisions if parents are unavailable. Specified therapeutic and community treatment placements must meet Section 4096 and get court review for placements made on or after the listed 2021 and 2022 dates.

Medical debt kept off credit reports

The law bans anyone from sending medical debt information to credit bureaus. If someone knowingly reports your medical debt, that debt is void and cannot be enforced. Starting July 1, 2025, new written medical‑debt contracts must say reporting is banned, or the contract is void. Licensed providers who break this ban also violate their licensing laws and can face discipline.

Foreclosure paused during loan review

If you send a complete first‑lien loan‑modification application at least five business days before a scheduled trustee’s sale, the servicer, trustee, or lender cannot record a default or sale notice or hold the sale while your application is pending. You stay protected until you get a written decision. If a foreclosure alternative is approved and you stay in compliance, it must be honored, including by any new servicer.

Starting 2031: Fairer trustee sales

Beginning January 1, 2031, a trustee must delay a home sale once for 45 days if they receive a listing agreement at least five business days before the sale by certified mail or tracked courier. If they receive a bona fide signed purchase agreement in time, the sale must be postponed to at least 45 days after receipt, once. For 1–4 unit homes with a first‑lien, the first sale cannot be for less than 67% of a fair‑market‑value estimate provided to the trustee at least 10 days before the sale. If the property does not sell at the first sale, the next sale must be at least seven days later.

Estates must notify Victim Board

Within 90 days after letters are issued, the estate’s representative or attorney must tell the Victim Compensation Board if they know an heir or beneficiary is or was confined in a state or local facility. The Board then has four months to seek restitution from the estate. This can reduce what other heirs receive.

Medi‑Cal estate claims and notice

Within 90 days after estate letters are first issued, the personal representative or attorney must tell the State Department of Health Care Services if the decedent got Medi‑Cal care or was a surviving spouse of someone who did. The notice can be sent electronically. The department then has four months after that notice to file a claim against the estate.

More help and notices in foreclosure

If you ask for foreclosure help, your servicer assigns a single point of contact who can coordinate documents and pause foreclosure steps until options are tried. Before a trustee’s sale, the notice must be published, posted on the property, and recorded at least 20 days in advance and must list the total unpaid balance and estimated costs as of the first publication. For 1–4 unit homes, sale notices must include warnings for bidders, owners, and tenants, plus free 24/7 online or phone updates with sale dates, postponements, and last/high bids. Owners must also get a separate multilingual summary of the sale notice for small residential properties. In Unruh Act, owner‑occupied single‑family cases, the trustee can charge one extra $50 fee, must mail a warning if default isn’t cured within 30 days, and hold sales in the home’s county. Very small servicers can be exempt until they cross size thresholds.

$500,000 cap for covered business debt

Your commercial debts to the same lender or debt buyer count as covered commercial debt only if the total across all transactions with them is $500,000 or less. Trade credit and some dealer financing do not count toward the total. This line decides when small business borrowers get special consumer‑style protections in collections.

Estates must alert child support

For estates with letters first issued on or after January 1, 2026, the personal representative or attorney must notify California child support within 90 days if they know or have reason to believe the decedent had a child support order. After notice, the local child support agency may file a claim within four months of getting the notice.

Real estate commissions are negotiable

Printed realtor agreements for homes with up to four units or mobilehomes must show a bold notice before any pay terms that commissions are not fixed by law and can be negotiated. These printed forms cannot preprint the commission rate or amount.

Criminal penalties for doxxing officials

It is a crime to post an elected or appointed official’s home address or phone online when you know they are an official and intend or threaten imminent great bodily harm that is likely to occur. The rule also covers the official’s spouse or child who lives with them. If the posting causes injury, it can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Ban on selling officials’ home info

It is illegal to solicit, sell, or trade an elected or appointed official’s home address or phone online with intent to cause imminent great bodily harm. An official who is targeted can sue and recover up to triple damages, with a minimum of $4,000.

Out‑of‑state partnerships must name agent

Partnerships formed outside California with no regular place of business in the state must, within 40 days of starting business here, file a statement naming an agent for service of process. If no agent is listed or found, service may be made on the Secretary of State with a written address statement and the service fee in Government Code Section 12197. The Secretary of State will try to notify the partnership by registered mail, and the partnership must appear within 30 days after that service.

$205 court fee for vital records, with waiver

You pay $205 to ask a court to create a record of a birth, death, or marriage. A probate judge or probate department can hear the petition. If the petition is heard in juvenile court for a person covered by Welfare & Institutions Code Sections 300, 450, 601, 602, or 11400(v), the court waives the $205 fee.

Faster discovery and meet‑and‑confer rules

A plaintiff can serve interrogatories, inspection/testing demands, and requests for admission 10 days after serving the summons or the other side appears, whichever comes first. Defendants can serve these at any time, and judges may allow earlier service for good cause. If your motion needs a meet‑and‑confer declaration, you must show good‑faith efforts on each issue and say whether you discussed hiring a certified court reporter. Skipping required meet‑and‑confer steps counts as misuse of discovery and can lead to sanctions.

New rules on judgment liens and levies

A judgment lien now reaches listed personal property in California and can attach to property you acquire later and to some proceeds. Some items are protected, including DMV‑registered vehicles and vessels, registered mobilehomes, as‑extracted collateral, timber to be cut, and most retail inventory under $500 per unit (with listed exceptions). The lien ends if the property becomes a fixture. Until a levy happens, someone who owes on your accounts receivable or chattel paper may pay or settle without telling the judgment creditor. Courts generally wait 30 days after serving notice of entry of judgment before issuing a writ, but can act sooner for nonresidents, some foreign entities, or to prevent great or irreparable injury. Perishable property may be sold early to prevent loss, but proceeds are held until the normal payout date.

Five state code sections repealed

The law repeals Government Code Sections 7928.210, 7928.215, 7928.220, 7928.225, and 7928.230. The text here does not describe what those sections did, so impacts depend on the prior rules those sections contained.

Agency can seek quick court orders

When a department’s quick review shows urgent need, it can ask a court for temporary or preliminary relief. If the department wins that early order, the court may make the other side pay the department’s reasonable attorney fees and expert costs.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 208 • No: 0

House vote • 9/10/2025

Item 14 — Assembly AFLOOR

Yes: 65 • No: 0

Senate vote • 9/8/2025

Item 355 — Senate SFLOOR

Yes: 35 • No: 0

legislature vote • 8/29/2025

Vote in CS61

Yes: 7 • No: 0

legislature vote • 8/18/2025

Vote in CS61

Yes: 7 • No: 0

legislature vote • 7/1/2025

Vote in CS53

Yes: 11 • No: 0

House vote • 6/2/2025

Item 431 — Assembly AFLOOR

Yes: 63 • No: 0

legislature vote • 5/23/2025

Vote in CX25