2023 California Code › Government Code - GOV › TITLE 2 - GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA › DIVISION 1 - GENERAL › CHAPTER 17 - Geographic Feature and Place Name Prohibitions › Section 8899.94.

8899.94. (a) The committee shall complete each of the following no later than July 1, 2023:
(1) The committee shall develop a procedure for receiving reports from a public agency that is reporting any geographic feature or place name containing the word “squaw” in its jurisdiction.
(2) The committee shall create a process to receive and review individual petitions to change offensive or derogatory geographic features and place names, including, but not limited to, geographic features and place names containing the word “squaw.”
(b) A public agency shall complete each of the following no later than July 1, 2023:
(1) Identify all geographic features and place names within its jurisdiction containing the word “squaw.”
(2) File a report identifying those names with the committee.
(c) By January 1, 2024, the committee shall verify the reports it receives pursuant to subdivision (b) and notify the respective public agency of all of the following:
(1) Any remaining geographic feature or place name that includes the term “squaw” in the jurisdiction of the public agency.
(2) The obligations of the public agency to recommend a replacement name for the geographic features and place names in that jurisdiction.
(3) The deadline established in this section.
(d) The committee shall establish a procedure in formal consultation with California Native American tribes on the list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission for receiving name recommendations. This procedure shall be used statewide and the draft shall be subject to public comment. Once the process has been established, it shall be listed online in a forum accessible to the general public.
(e) (1) After the date of notification by the committee, pursuant to subdivision (c), the public agency shall propose a replacement name to the committee within 180 days.
(2) (A) The public agency shall solicit proposals to rename geographic features and place names from the California Native American tribes, any other public agencies as appropriate, and the public.
(B) The public agency shall engage in formal consultation with California Native American tribes to solicit their proposals.
(3) In selecting replacement names, the public agency shall prioritize names that honor and recognize the tribes, cultures, and indigenous languages specific to the geographic region in question, including place names that were previously used by Native American tribes or place names proposed by California Native American tribes through the appropriate enactment or resolution.
(f) (1) The committee shall vote on the proposed replacement name for a geographic feature or place name within 90 days of receiving the proposed replacement name.
(2) The committee may reject a proposed replacement name if the committee determines that it is offensive or insulting.
(g) (1) If the public agency fails to provide a replacement name within the specified time, or the provided name is deemed to be offensive or insulting by the committee, the committee shall solicit proposals and input to rename the geographic feature or place name from all of the following:
(A) California Native American tribes on the list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission through formal consultation.
(B) Appropriate public agencies.
(C) Members of the public.
(2) (A) The committee shall vote on a new replacement name within 180 days of rejecting a proposed replacement name pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) or, if the public agency failed to provide a replacement name, within 180 days of the deadline to receive a proposed replacement name.
(B) In selecting a new replacement name, the committee shall consider the input received pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision and prioritize names that honor and recognize the tribes, cultures, and indigenous languages specific to the geographic region in question, including place names that were previously used by Native American tribes or place names proposed by California Native American tribes through the appropriate enactment or resolution.
(h) The committee shall do all of the following no later than 90 days after it approves a new name:
(1) Notify each public agency that has reported an offensive or derogatory place name of the alternative name selected by the committee.
(2) Notify state departments, including, but not limited to, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and any other state department that compiles information or develops maps or markers, for the State of California of the name change to ensure that any name change be reflected on subsequent editions of any maps, informational literature, or markers produced by those entities.
(3) Submit, as necessary, a formal request with the United States Board on Geographic Names to render a decision on each proposed name change so that each new name will be reflected on all maps of the United States Board on Geographic Names.
(4) Coordinate with all federal, state, and local agencies to reflect the approved name changes in maps, signs, interpretive markers, other markers, and databases in which the names of these geographic features are recorded.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 479, Sec. 2. (AB 2022) Effective January 1, 2023.)