Bill Text: CA AB1925 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: State permanent disability certification program: feasibility study.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)

Status: (Engrossed) 2026-06-16 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB1925 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB1925-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  March 16, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1925

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Introduced by Assembly Member Jeff Gonzalez Members Jeff Gonzalez and Alanis

February 12, 2026

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An act to amend Section 4501 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental services. add and repeal Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 8280) of Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to disabilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1925, as amended, Jeff Gonzalez. Developmental services. State permanent disability certification program: feasibility study.

Existing law establishes various programs for the delivery of services or benefits to individuals with disabilities, including, among others, the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled, regional center services and supports under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, the In-Home Supportive Services Program, and certain benefits within the Medi-Cal program.

This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, upon appropriation and in consultation with relevant state departments within the agency, to complete a feasibility study that includes a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities related to establishing a state permanent disability certification program. Under the bill, the program would be defined as a certification issued by a state department confirming that an individual has a permanent disability for the purpose of obtaining services. The bill would require the agency to reasonably attempt to consult with local stakeholders, as specified.

The bill would require that the analysis within the study address, among other things, technological limitations and compatibility of a permanent disability certification for use within existing federal, state, and local programs. The bill would require the agency, by July 1, 2028, to submit a report of the completed study to the Legislature and to post the report on the agency’s internet website.

The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2032.

Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Existing law makes related findings and declarations, including that the State of California accepts a responsibility for persons with developmental disabilities and that services and supports should be available to enable persons with developmental disabilities to approximate the pattern of everyday living available to people without disabilities of the same age.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Many disabilities are permanent in nature and are not subject to material change, yet Californians with permanent disabilities are repeatedly required to reverify the same condition across multiple government programs.

(b) California lacks a coordinated disability verification framework across state, county, local, and utility programs, resulting in duplicative documentation requirements, inconsistent standards, and administrative inefficiencies.

(c) Repeated disability verification imposes unnecessary costs on state and local agencies, increases administrative burdens on medical providers, and diverts public resources away from direct service delivery.

(d) Individuals with permanent disabilities frequently experience avoidable interruptions in health care, housing, in-home services, transportation, and other essential supports due to missed or delayed recertification, despite no change in eligibility.

(e) A comprehensive feasibility study is necessary to determine the challenges and opportunities related to establishing a state permanent disability certification program.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 8280) is added to Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

CHAPTER  9. State Permanent Disability Certification Program Feasibility Study

8280.

 For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Agency” means the California Health and Human Services Agency, unless otherwise specified.

(b) ”Disability” has the same meaning as set forth in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12102) or the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 705).

(c) “Permanent disability” means a medically determinable disability certified by a licensed medical professional as permanent or as one that continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely, and where significant functional improvement is not reasonably expected based on most updated medical evidence.

(d) “State permanent disability certification program” means a certification issued by a state department confirming that an individual has a permanent disability for the purpose of obtaining services.

8281.

 (a) The California Health and Human Services Agency, in consultation with relevant state departments within the agency, shall complete a feasibility study that includes a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities related to establishing a state permanent disability certification program.

(b) For purposes of completing the feasibility study, the agency shall reasonably attempt to consult with local stakeholders, including, but not limited to, independent living centers, Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) programs, disability-led organizations, and county agencies.

(c) The analysis within the study shall address, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) The ability to detect and prevent fraud within a state permanent disability certification program.

(2) The ability of the state to protect individual privacy.

(3) Technological limitations.

(4) Compatibility of a permanent disability certification for use within existing federal, state, and local programs.

8282.

 By July 1, 2028, the agency shall submit a report of the completed study described in Section 8281 to the Legislature, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, and shall post the report on the agency’s internet website.

8283.

 This chapter shall be implemented upon appropriation made by the Legislature for the purpose of this chapter.

8284.

 In accordance with Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2032, and as of that date is repealed.

SECTION 1.Section 4501 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

4501.

(a)The State of California accepts a responsibility for persons with developmental disabilities and an obligation to them that it must discharge. Affecting hundreds of thousands of children and adults directly, and having an important impact on the lives of their families, neighbors, and whole communities, developmental disabilities present social, medical, economic, and legal problems of extreme importance.

(b)The complexities of providing services and supports to persons with developmental disabilities requires the coordination of services of many state departments and community agencies to ensure that no gaps occur in communication or provision of services and supports. A consumer of services and supports, and when appropriate, his or her parents, legal guardian, or conservator, shall have a leadership role in service design.

(c)An array of services and supports should be established that is sufficiently complete to meet the needs and choices of each person with developmental disabilities, regardless of age or degree of disability, and at each stage of life, and to support their integration into the mainstream life of the community. To the maximum extent feasible, services and supports should be available throughout the state to prevent the dislocation of persons with developmental disabilities from their home communities.

(d)Services and supports should be available to enable persons with developmental disabilities to approximate the pattern of everyday living available to people without disabilities of the same age. Consumers of services and supports, and when appropriate, their parents, legal guardian, or conservator, should be empowered to make choices in all life areas. These include promoting opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to be integrated into the mainstream of life in their home communities, including supported living and other appropriate community living arrangements. In providing these services, consumers and their families, when appropriate, should participate in decisions affecting their own lives, including, but not limited to, where and with whom they live, their relationships with people in their community, the way in which they spend their time, including education, employment, and leisure, the pursuit of their own personal future, and program planning and implementation. The contributions made by parents and family members in support of their children and relatives with developmental disabilities are important, and those relationships should also be respected and fostered, to the maximum extent feasible, so that consumers and their families can build circles of support within the community.

(e)The Legislature finds that the mere existence or the delivery of services and supports is, in itself, insufficient evidence of program effectiveness. It is the intent of the Legislature that agencies serving persons with developmental disabilities shall produce evidence that their services have resulted in consumer or family empowerment and in more independent, productive, and normal lives for the persons served. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the State Department of Developmental Services, through appropriate and regular monitoring activities, ensure that regional centers meet their statutory, regulatory, and contractual obligations in providing services to persons with developmental disabilities. The Legislature declares its intent to monitor program results through continued legislative oversight and review of requests for appropriations to support developmental disabilities programs.