California legislation · 2025-2026 Regular Session
California AB1896: Public employment: disqualifications.
Status: Vetoed, September 30, 2026
What the bill says
An act to amend Sections 1029, 1031, 1031.1, 18720.45, and 18935 of, and to add Sections 1025 and 1031.15 to, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 13510.8 and 13681 of the Penal Code, relating to public employment. public employment Public employment: disqualifications. Existing law contains numerous provisions governing the qualifications, standards, and training of peace officers. Existing law specifies circumstances that disqualify a person from holding office or being employed as a peace officer, including, among other things, having been convicted of a felony…
From the enrolled text, September 4, 2026:
An act to amend Sections 1029, 1031, 1031.1, 18720.45, and 18935 of, and to add Sections 1025 and 1031.15 to, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 13510.8 and 13681 of the Penal Code, relating to public employment. public employment Public employment: disqualifications. Existing law contains numerous provisions governing the qualifications, standards, and training of peace officers. Existing law specifies circumstances that disqualify a person from holding office or being employed as a peace officer, including, among other things, having been convicted of a felony. This bill, the GTFO Act, would, commencing January 1, 2028, disqualify from being a peace officer a person previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor and personally engaged in immigration enforcement, as defined, except as specified. Existing law requires each class of public officers or employees declared by law to be peace officers to meet specified minimum standards, including that they be 18 years of age or older, be fingerprinted for purposes of search of local, state, and national fingerprint files to disclose a criminal record, and be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough background investigation. This bill would, for purposes of those background investigations, authorize a hiring agency to consider news articles, verified social media posts, filings of civil complaints, and other verified sources. This bill, for …