The Brief

In September, California passed a law that allows people to apply early for paid family leave. More than half a year later, the change hasn't been implemented yet, nor is there a specific timeline.

The shift sounds simple enough: Currently, people have to wait until their first day of leave to apply for it. The legislation lets Californians do the paperwork up to a month ahead of the expected leave, to reduce stress when a baby is imminent.

But it's bundled into a major overhaul of California's Employment Development Department, which administers unemployment, paid family leave and disability benefits. That project launched in 2022 and is slated to cost more than $1.2 billion.

In an email, an EDD spokesperson said that the changes in the new law will be incorporated "in system upgrades as part of the EDDNext modernization effort," but did not provide a date. Spokespeople for Senator María Elena Durazo, who sponsored the legislation, and Gov. Gavin Newsom's office both referred LAist to EDD for answers.

For now, expecting parents and others who need to take family leave will still need to wait to apply. In practice, this means people can go weeks before getting state payments while on family leave.

What's the EDDNext modernization effort?

The effort to remake EDD and upgrade its technological systems is a years-long process that was launched in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the project's deputy director Ron Hughes, who spoke on a podcast about the program last year.

" We're introducing lots of changes in technology in a very short period of time," he said.

It's the "biggest-ever attempt" to change the department, according to CalMatters.

According to a recent report from California's Legislative Analyst's Office on the state's 2025-2026 budget, in the next fiscal year it's expected that a new project will replace EDD's current systems for disability insurance, paid family leave and unemployment insurance.

Is it normal for changes to family leave to take time?

The delay in implementing a change to family leave is typical, according to Katherine Wutchiett, a senior staff attorney with Legal Aid at Work and expert on paid leave. She cited a 2022 law that increased leave payments for workers who take time off to care for a new child or sick family member. Those changes just took effect this January.

Another example: a 2022 law requires EDD to collect demographic data for recipients of disability benefits. Those changes might not begin before a July 2026 deadline.

"It's my understanding that with the technological systems the EDD has, sometimes it takes some time to implement changes to the system," Wutchiett said. "It's not unusual for bills that impact paid family leave and state disability insurance to take a few years to go into effect."

Why was this law passed in the first place?

The law allowing Californians to apply early for paid family leave is meant to help working class women and people who can't afford to take a few weeks off unpaid while waiting for their benefits to kick in.

"Workers who do not have the savings to cover several weeks of expenses without their regular income while waiting for…benefits are less likely to take leave from work," according to a fact sheet from Durazo.

The new legislation will let people apply 30 days ahead of when they expect to take leave. It requires that the state pay benefits within 14 days of receiving a claim, or as soon as leave begins.

Lower income workers take leave at lower rates than higher income workers, according to a 2022 report from the California Budget & Policy Center. "This is especially the case for workers with low wages who are disproportionately women, Black, and Latinx Californians," that report states.

In a report on maternal health equity in California released this month, 47% of Black and Latina women reported difficulty accessing or not being able to access paid family leave for their child's birth.

According to Shakari Byerly, who directed the research, that number is even higher — 51% — for survey respondents on Medi-Cal, the state's health insurance for low-income people.

 "It really underscores the importance of economic supports for the ability of women to have healthy birthing experiences," she said.

How LAPD responds when someone is experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis is getting a closer look. 

Last week, Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive directive ordering an independent review of the department’s response, including its policies, training and use of force. 

“There is a severe shortage of mental and behavioral health care, and too many people in crisis have nowhere to turn,” Mayor Bass said in a prepared statement. “People cycle between the streets, emergency rooms, and detention facilities, and too often come into contact with law enforcement.” 

The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners will need to retain an independent firm to conduct the audit and report back recommendations to the mayor’s office within six months. Bass said that the firm selected should be experts in constitutional policing and crisis response. 

The review will determine how officers identify people in crisis, including those with intellectual and physical disabilities, and people who are under the influence of illicit substances.

LAPD officers fatally shot more than 60 people between 2021 and 2025, according to the most recent data the department reported to the California Department of Justice. All of those deaths will be reviewed.

The audit will also look into how the department tracks repeat calls about a person who is in crisis or needs help. Yong Yang’s case is one example. Yang was fatally shot by police in 2024, after his parents attempted to get him help during a behavioral health crisis.

His parents previously told The LA Local about how Yong Yang had nonviolent encounters with police before the encounter that ended in his death. They question why officers failed to de-escalate the confrontation before he was shot.

They’ve continued to call for accountability, even after LAPD closed its investigation into his death. Under Bass’ new directive, his case is one that would be reviewed. 

The audit will evaluate:

• Use of force: Incidents over the last five years of uses of force and arrests that resulted in death or serious bodily injury to determine if the person was experiencing a behavioral health crisis or had an intellectual disability.
• De-escalation: Incidents over the last five years that did not result in death or serious bodily injury to determine how they were de-escalated.
• Repeat calls: The department’s procedures for keeping track of people involved in repeated calls to police, including those who have a disability.
• Training: The training officers receive about incidents with people experiencing behavioral crises.
• Less-lethal options: What less-lethal force options are available to officers.
• Custody and care: Uses of restraint and processes for medical treatment for people in police custody. 
• Officer wellness: Protocols for providing officers with mental health care after these confrontations.

Bass’ order comes about a month after the police department released graphic videos of men who died during police encounters. One video captured officers sitting on and restraining a handcuffed man for an extended period of time at a holding facility in the San Fernando Valley. The man, Jose Carlos Hoyos-Munoz, died soon after. 

“When an encounter results in death or serious injury, we must rigorously examine whether our policies, training, tactics, supervision, and accountability systems are sufficient,” Bass said after the videos were released.

The post Mayor Bass orders independent review of how LAPD responds to mental health crises appeared first on LA Local.

A new law will require local agencies to publicly disclose audio recordings and written records of 911 calls originating from privately run immigration detention facilities. The bill was prompted by CalMatters reporting on alleged sexual assaults at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 423, called the Detention Facility Transparency Act, on Tuesday. It was one of 21 immigration-related bills in a package his office announced the same day.

The law will require local agencies to turn over recordings and written records of 911 calls from privately run detention facilities, if a member of the public requests them. It includes an exception if an active investigation is underway and requires redacting the names of affected individuals.

“Well, it goes without saying, these past two years, Donald Trump has brought fear and has brought anxiety, disruption and stress to our immigrant communities,” Newsom said in a recorded video statement on his website.

“So, today, I sign a number of bills to strengthen transparency and to strengthen accountability and oversight over federal immigration enforcement and civil detention in our state,” the governor said.

State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat from Long Beach, introduced SB 423 as state investigations and courts found serious gaps in essential medical care within the facilities. She said the aim was to stop private operators, and the agencies that work alongside them, from keeping what happens behind detention walls from the public's view.

In February, L.A. Taco reported that detainees inside Otay Mesa were throwing lotion bottles wrapped with notes about conditions inside over the wall of the facility to organizers standing outside.

“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh," an Otay Mesa detainee wrote, the news outlet reported. "We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick.”

Gonzalez, who is chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus, said no person “should have to resort to throwing notes over the walls of a detention facility to have their needs met and their voices heard.”

Earlier this year, CalMatters sought information, including 911 audio records and other reports, about alleged serious incidents at detention facilities through a California Public Records Act request. While a San Diego County sheriff’s spokesperson said the agency was not investigating those cases, he said he was unable to turn over additional records because they were part of “a law enforcement investigation.”

“When journalists and reporters attempted to obtain records about reported incidents at these facilities through the Public Records Act, they faced severe pushback from law enforcement, citing vague investigatory records exemptions, despite there being no active investigation,” said Gonzalez.

Immigrant Defense Advocates and the First Amendment Coalition co-sponsored the bill.

“The governor has sent a powerful message: No more secrecy. SB 423 makes clear that 911 calls and related records about events in detention must be released upon request. This will shed more light on a notoriously opaque system, leading to stronger oversight and accountability,” Ginny LaRoe, Advocacy Director, First Amendment Coalition, said in a written statement.

Gonzalez’s bill was one of several detention oversight bills Newsom signed Tuesday. Others impose a new 25% tax on private detention facilities, expand health, safety and oversight requirements for the centers, and add to the state attorney general’s oversight role.

The new laws take effect Jan. 1.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Six Flags Magic Mountain is retiring its famous X2 roller coaster amid lawsuits alleging serious brain injury caused by the ride.

The Southern California theme park said Tuesday that it is permanently shuttering the ride after nearly 20 years. Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022, and three more lawsuits alleging traumatic brain injuries were filed last week.

“While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do,” park President Brian Oerding said in an online announcement. “Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”

The ride has been closed since the evening of July 12, after two women who rode the coaster less than a week apart both needed to be rushed to the hospital after they exited.

One of them, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, collapsed shortly after the ride ended and was found to have massive brain bleeding inside the skull that required emergency brain surgery. She remains in a vegetative state in the hospital, unable to speak or move and dependent on a ventilator. Her family filed a lawsuit against Six Flags on her behalf.

Her attorneys said more than 100 people claimed they suffered brain injuries from the roller coaster in the past two years, and more lawsuits would be filed in the coming weeks.

According to the Six Flags Magic Mountain website, the X2 roller coaster reaches a top speed of 76 mph (122 kph) and has a total length of 3,610 feet (1,100 meters). The seats rotate 360 degrees “so your body will be flipping around the entire time,” and the ride features two “raven turns” — half loops that turn into sheer drops midway.

It debuted at the park in 2002 under the name X as the world’s first “fourth-dimension” roller coaster and reopened in 2008 as X2 with new trains and special effects. The uniqueness of the ride drew thrill-seekers from around the world and garnered a fervent fanbase.

The park settled a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old who died the day after he rode X2. He was taken to the hospital after the ride with severe brain bleeding. The medical examiner’s office said his death was from blunt head trauma. The case was settled at the end of August, a few days before the trial was scheduled to start.