CA AB 1288
enactedRegistered environmental health specialists.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower
Quick answers
Did CA AB 1288 pass?
Yes. CA AB 1288 has been enacted into law as of 2025-10-03. Latest recorded action (2025-10-03): Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 297, Statutes of 2025.
What is CA AB 1288 about?
Existing law provides for the certification of registered environmental health specialists by the State Department of Public Health and establishes application, examination, and renewal fees for this certification. Existing law prescribes educational requirements for the registration of an environmental health specialist and requires all basic science coursework to be equal to what is acceptable in an approved environmental health degree program. Existing law provides that only a person who meets those educational and experience requirements is eligible for admission to the environmental health specialist examination. Existing law prohibits an applicant who fails to pass the written examination twice from taking the examination additional times unless specified time periods have elapsed. Existing law prohibits a person from taking the examination more than once in a 2-year period. Existing law requires the department to maintain a current registry of all registered environmental health specialists and environmental health specialist trainees in the state. Existing law defines the scope of practice for a registered environmental health professional to include, but not be limited to, the prevention of environmental health hazards and the promotion and protection of the public health and the environment in specified areas, including, among others, food protection, housing, and hazardous materials management. Existing law authorizes a local health department to employ a registered environmental health specialist to enforce public health laws, as specified. Existing law authorizes an environmental health specialist trainee to work under the supervision of a registered environmental health specialist for a period not to exceed 3 years. Existing law defines "environmental health specialist trainee" as a person who possesses a bachelor's degree, as specified, and who is engaged in an approved environmental health training plan. Existing law requires an environmental health training plan to include specified elements. This bill would instead prohibit an applicant from being reexamined for 90 days after failing to pass the written examination. The bill would revise the educational requirements for the registration of an environmental health specialist, as specified, and would delete the requirement that basic science coursework be equal to what is acceptable in an approved environmental health degree program. This bill would extend the period of required supervision to instead not exceed 5 years. The bill would include body art and medical waste in the scope of practice of registered environmental health specialists and would revise the environmental health training plan elements, as specified. The bill would require the department to make its registry of registered specialists and trainees publicly available on its internet website within 90 days of the administration of an exam. Existing law requires an Environmental Health Specialist Registration Committee to be appointed to advise and to make recommendations to the department. Existing law prescribes the membership of the committee, including 2 members with experience as local directors of environmental health, as specified, 2 members from environmental health faculty from California universities and colleges, 2 public members who have not been engaged in the field of environmental health in the 5 years preceding their appointment, and the Chief of the Environmental Planning and Local Health Services Branch, who serves as executive officer in a nonvoting role. Existing law prohibits a committee member from serving no more than 2 successive terms and requires a committee member to serve until the appointment and qualification of their successor or until one year after their term has expired, whichever occurs first. This bill would instead make the State Environmental Health Director serve as the executive officer of the committee and would revise the committee membership, as specified. The bill would delete the prohibition on a committee member serving more than 2 consecutive terms. The bill would delete the requirement that a committee member serve until one year after the expiration of their term. The bill would make clarifying technical changes to the terminology used in those and related provisions to distinguish local directors of environmental health from the State Environmental Health Director. Existing law requires the committee to meet at least twice annually and defines a quorum for these purposes as 6 members of the committee. Existing law requires the committee to keep a record of its proceedings. This bill would require the committee to meet at least quarterly, in person or virtually, and would redefine a quorum of the committee to mean a simple majority of the filled committee seats. The bill would authorize the chairperson to cancel a committee meeting, as specified. The bill would also require the committee to keep a record of its meetings.
Who sponsors CA AB 1288?
Addis is the primary sponsor of CA AB 1288, joined by 1 cosponsor.
Description
Existing law provides for the certification of registered environmental health specialists by the State Department of Public Health and establishes application, examination, and renewal fees for this certification. Existing law prescribes educational requirements for the registration of an environmental health specialist and requires all basic science coursework to be equal to what is acceptable in an approved environmental health degree program. Existing law provides that only a person who meets those educational and experience requirements is eligible for admission to the environmental health specialist examination. Existing law prohibits an applicant who fails to pass the written examination twice from taking the examination additional times unless specified time periods have elapsed. Existing law prohibits a person from taking the examination more than once in a 2-year period. Existing law requires the department to maintain a current registry of all registered environmental health specialists and environmental health specialist trainees in the state. Existing law defines the scope of practice for a registered environmental health professional to include, but not be limited to, the prevention of environmental health hazards and the promotion and protection of the public health and the environment in specified areas, including, among others, food protection, housing, and hazardous materials management. Existing law authorizes a local health department to employ a registered environmental health specialist to enforce public health laws, as specified. Existing law authorizes an environmental health specialist trainee to work under the supervision of a registered environmental health specialist for a period not to exceed 3 years. Existing law defines "environmental health specialist trainee" as a person who possesses a bachelor's degree, as specified, and who is engaged in an approved environmental health training plan. Existing law requires an environmental health training plan to include specified elements. This bill would instead prohibit an applicant from being reexamined for 90 days after failing to pass the written examination. The bill would revise the educational requirements for the registration of an environmental health specialist, as specified, and would delete the requirement that basic science coursework be equal to what is acceptable in an approved environmental health degree program. This bill would extend the period of required supervision to instead not exceed 5 years. The bill would include body art and medical waste in the scope of practice of registered environmental health specialists and would revise the environmental health training plan elements, as specified. The bill would require the department to make its registry of registered specialists and trainees publicly available on its internet website within 90 days of the administration of an exam. Existing law requires an Environmental Health Specialist Registration Committee to be appointed to advise and to make recommendations to the department. Existing law prescribes the membership of the committee, including 2 members with experience as local directors of environmental health, as specified, 2 members from environmental health faculty from California universities and colleges, 2 public members who have not been engaged in the field of environmental health in the 5 years preceding their appointment, and the Chief of the Environmental Planning and Local Health Services Branch, who serves as executive officer in a nonvoting role. Existing law prohibits a committee member from serving no more than 2 successive terms and requires a committee member to serve until the appointment and qualification of their successor or until one year after their term has expired, whichever occurs first. This bill would instead make the State Environmental Health Director serve as the executive officer of the committee and would revise the committee membership, as specified. The bill would delete the prohibition on a committee member serving more than 2 consecutive terms. The bill would delete the requirement that a committee member serve until one year after the expiration of their term. The bill would make clarifying technical changes to the terminology used in those and related provisions to distinguish local directors of environmental health from the State Environmental Health Director. Existing law requires the committee to meet at least twice annually and defines a quorum for these purposes as 6 members of the committee. Existing law requires the committee to keep a record of its proceedings. This bill would require the committee to meet at least quarterly, in person or virtually, and would redefine a quorum of the committee to mean a simple majority of the filled committee seats. The bill would authorize the chairperson to cancel a committee meeting, as specified. The bill would also require the committee to keep a record of its meetings.
- Introduced
- 2025-02-21
- Latest action
- 2025-10-03 — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 297, Statutes of 2025.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Addisauthor
- Valenciaauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
2025-02-21
Introduced. To print.
introduction
2025-02-22
From printer. May be heard in committee March 24.
2025-02-24
Read first time.
reading-1
2025-03-13
Referred to Com. on HEALTH.
referral-committee
2025-04-10
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-21
Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
referral-committee
2025-04-23
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-05-14
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-06-03
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 1992.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-04
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2025-06-18
Referred to Com. on HEALTH.
referral-committee
2025-07-03
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-07-14
In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-08-29
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-08-29
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 29).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage
2025-09-02
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-04
Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-08
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-09
Ordered to special consent calendar.
2025-09-11
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2932.).
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-12
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2025-09-12
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 80. Noes 0. Page 3418.).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-24
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
executive-receipt
2025-10-03
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-10-03
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 297, Statutes of 2025.
became-law
Versions
Documents
- application/pdf
- application/pdf
- application/pdf
- application/pdf
- application/pdf
- application/pdf
- text/html
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
Votes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-04-22 · pass · 16-0
Member-level votes (16)
- Chen: yes
- Patel: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Krell: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Flora: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Addis: yes
Do pass.
2025-05-23 · pass · 14-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Calderon: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Hart: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Solache: yes
- Ta: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Sanchez: other
AB 1288 Addis Assembly Third Reading
2025-06-03 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (79)
- Sanchez: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Haney: yes
- Bains: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Davies: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Soria: yes
- Arambula: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Berman: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Papan: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Lee: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Ward: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Hart: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Fong: yes
- Flora: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Chen: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Ta: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Krell: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Solache: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Addis: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Patel: yes
- Garcia: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Pacheco: yes
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-07-02 · pass · 11-0
Member-level votes (11)
- Gonzalez: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Grove: yes
- Limón: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Menjivar: yes
Placed on suspense file
2025-07-14 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Seyarto: yes
Do pass as amended
2025-08-29 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
Special Consent AB1288 Addis et al. By Pérez
2025-09-11 · pass · 40-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Valladares: yes
- Umberg: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Jones: yes
- Reyes: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Allen: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Limón: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Niello: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Choi: yes
- Laird: yes
- Stern: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Grove: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Becker: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Wahab: yes
AB 1288 Addis Concurrence in Senate Amendments
2025-09-13 · pass · 80-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Addis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Berman: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Zbur: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Patel: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Hart: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Soria: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Papan: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Davies: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Krell: yes
- Chen: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Bains: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Lee: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ta: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Macedo: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Ward: yes
- Fong: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Flora: yes
- Garcia: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
Use this data
Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=CA&identifier=AB 1288. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.
Known limitations
- Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
- Committee referrals are not yet captured.
- Some documents have no extracted text yet, so version comparison may be limited.
See the methodology page for data sources and limitations.