The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would expressly exempt from CEQA a project reduction of fuels in areas within moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, as provided. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax law, generally defines "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, including an exclusion for the amount of student loan indebtedness repaid or canceled pursuant to a specified federal law. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2029, would exclude qualified discharge of indebtedness income from gross income. The bill would define "qualified discharge of indebetedness income" for this purpose to mean income that would otherwise be realized from the discharge of student loan debt, as defined, or medical debt that is discharged by a qualifying nonprofit organization. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law appropriates, for the 2021–22 fiscal year, funds from the General Fund to the Superintendent for allocation for the A–G Completion Improvement Grant Program and makes these funds available for expenditure or encumbrance through the 2025–26 fiscal year. Existing law requires grants awarded by that program to be used for activities that directly support pupil access to, and successful completion of, the A–G course requirements, including, but not limited to, paying Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate fees for unduplicated pupils. This bill would authorize the State Board of Education, for purposes of authorized A–G Completion Improvement Grant fund activities, to expressly approve fees for unduplicated pupils for additional exam programs, and would require the state board to begin to develop the approval criteria, as provided. By expanding the purposes for which appropriated funds may be spent, the bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law authorizes a school district to evaluate a principal annually for the principal's first and 2nd year of employment as a new principal and authorizes additional evaluations, as specified. Existing law authorizes the criteria for school principal evaluations to be based upon the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders and to include evidence of, among other things, pupil academic growth. Existing law authorizes pupil academic growth to be evaluated pursuant to local and state academic assessments, including, among others, state standardized assessments and performance assessments. This bill would authorize the state board to expressly authorize additional exams that may be used to measure pupil academic growth for a principal evaluation, and would require the state board to begin to develop the approval criteria, as provided. (3) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to provide access to a comprehensive educational counseling program for all pupils enrolled in the school district. For schools that enroll pupils in grades 6 to 12, inclusive, existing law defines educational counseling to include, among other things, counseling to encourage participation in advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs. This bill would authorize the state board to approve additional exam programs that an educational counseling program is expressly authorized to encourage participation in, and would require the state board to begin to develop the approval criteria, as provided. (4) Existing law requires the governing board of each school district and county board of education to adopt a local control and accountability plan and to update its respective local control and accountability plan before July 1 of each year. Existing law requires a local control and accountability plan to include, among other things, a description of the annual goals to be achieved for each state priority, as specified, for all pupils and certain subgroups of pupils. The state's delineated priorities include, among others, pupil achievement as measured by, and as applicable, among other things, the percentage of pupils who have passed an advanced placement examination with a score of 3 or higher. This bill would authorize the state board to approve additional examinations, and their respective scores, for purposes of measuring pupil achievement, and would require the state board to begin to develop the approval criteria, as provided. To the extent the state board's approval of additional examinations and scores would impose additional duties on school districts and county boards of education in regard to local control and accountability plans, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law establishes the Golden State Pathways Program to promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas, including technology, health care, education, and climate-related fields that, among other things, allow pupils to advance seamlessly from high school to college and career and provide the workforce needed for economic growth. Existing law appropriates $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education to competitively award grant funds to school districts, charter schools, county offices of education, or regional occupational centers or programs operated by a joint powers authority or county office of education for purposes of the program, and makes these funds available for encumbrance until June 30, 2029. Existing law requires Golden State Pathways Program recipients to commit to providing participating pupils with, among other commitments, the opportunity to earn at least 12 postsecondary credits that are applicable toward the completion of a degree, certificate, or credential through various methods. This bill would include additional course programs approved by the state board as one of methods pupils can use to earn those postsecondary credits, and would require the state board to begin to develop the approval criteria, as provided. By expanding the purposes for which appropriated funds may be spent, the bill would make an appropriation. (6) Existing law requires an applicant for the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program to demonstrate, among other requirements, that the applicant's career technical education program offers high quality curriculum and instruction that offers the opportunity for participants to earn postsecondary credits through Advanced Placement courses and International Baccalaureate courses or by formal agreement with a postsecondary partner to provide dual enrollment opportunities. This bill would authorize the state board to approve additional course programs to demonstrate that the applicant has met the above-described requirement, and would require the state board to begin to develop the approval criteria, as provided. (7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. (8) Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
Existing law requires the Strategic Growth Council to develop and administer the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through projects that implement land use, housing, transportation, and agricultural land preservation practices to support infill and compact development and that support other related and coordinated public policy objectives. To support the planning and development of sustainable communities, existing law requires the council to manage and award financial assistance to a city or county for preparing, adopting, and implementing a general plan or general plan element that is designed to meet specified objectives, including, among others, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This bill would require the council, no later than June 1, 2024, in coordination with project and regional agencies, to create a map of the projects awarded funds under the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program and display that map on a public platform. The bill would require the council to update the map after each round of funding is awarded. The bill would require the map to contain prescribed information, including the affordable housing component of the projects.
This bill would make appropriations for the support of state government for the 2023–24 fiscal year. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a Budget Bill.
The Joint Exercise of Powers Act authorizes 2 or more public agencies, by agreement, to form a joint powers authority to exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as specified. Existing law requires the agreement to set forth its purpose or the power to be exercised, among other things. This bill would authorize the County of Sacramento and the Cities of Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, and Folsom to enter into a joint powers agreement pursuant to the act to create and operate a joint powers agency, named the Sacramento County Partnership on Homelessness, to assist the homeless population, to coordinate homelessness response, and to develop and manage a comprehensive strategic plan to address homelessness within the jurisdiction of its member cities and county. The bill would set forth the composition and voting procedures of the partnership's board of directors and would require the partnership to comply with the regulatory guidelines of each specific state funding source received. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Sacramento and the Cities of Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, and Folsom.
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to sell equipment, supplies, or services to any person with knowledge that the equipment, supplies, or services are to be used in the performance of a service or contract in violation of the licensing requirements provided by law. Existing law excludes cash sales of less than $100 from these provisions. Existing law provides that a violation of these provisions is punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000 and by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months. This bill would instead exclude cash sales of less than $200 from these provisions. The bill would also provide that a violation of these provisions is punishable by a fine of not less than $2,000 and by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months. This bill would also make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law establishes the California Conservation Camp program to provide for the training and use of inmates and wards assigned to conservation camps to perform public conservation projects, including, but not limited to, forest fire prevention and control, forest and watershed management, recreation, fish and game management, soil conservation, and forest and watershed revegetation. Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to utilize inmates and wards assigned to conservation camps in performing fire prevention, fire control, and other work of the department, as provided. This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2026, to modify its training program for inmate firefighters serving as members of a hand crew through the California Conservation Camp program to provide participants the opportunity to earn a specified list of certifications related to firefighting, or the department's equivalents of those certifications, while incarcerated. The bill would, commencing January 1, 2027, require the department to update its application process for Type 1 Hand Crew positions to recognize certifications earned by formerly incarcerated individuals through participation in the California Conservation Camp program. The bill would also require the department to establish rules that provide eligibility priority rankings in the application, interview, and hiring process to formerly incarcerated individuals who earned certifications through participation in a California Conservation Camp program.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would specify that population growth, in and of itself, resulting from a housing project and noise impacts of a housing project are not an effect on the environment for purposes of CEQA.
Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to supply a form to designated agencies in order to enable persons to request and receive notification from the department of the release, escape, scheduled execution, or death of the violent offender. Existing law requires the agency to give the form to the victim, witness, or next of kin of the victim for completion, explain to that person or persons the right to be notified, and forward the completed form to the department. This bill would require the designated agencies to also give the form to the immediate family members of the victim, and to inform them of their right to request and receive a notification from the department. The bill would also require the department or the Board of Parole Hearings to notify the immediate family members of the victim of a violent offender's release or scheduled execution. By requiring a higher level of service from local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law generally prohibits disclosure of a drug test result to a patient by internet posting or other electronic means unless the health care professional has first discussed the result with the patient. Existing law requires a health practitioner or medical social worker to perform a needs assessment for a substance-exposed infant to identify needed services and determine the level of risk to the newborn upon release to the home. This bill would prohibit medical personnel from performing a drug or alcohol test or screen on a pregnant person, perinatal person, or newborn without the prior written and verbal informed consent of the pregnant person, perinatal person, or person authorized to consent for a newborn, and would require the test or screen to be medically necessary to provide care. The bill would authorize performing a drug or alcohol test or screen on a pregnant person, perinatal person, or newborn without consent if, in the physician's judgment, an emergency exists, the person is in immediate need of medical attention, and an attempt to secure consent would result in a delay of treatment that would increase the risk to the person's life or health. If a test or screen is performed without consent, the bill would require that the pregnant person, perinatal person, or person authorized to consent for a newborn receive verbal and written notification, as specified. The bill would prohibit medical personnel from refusing to treat a pregnant person, perinatal person, or newborn due to the refusal to consent to a drug or alcohol test or screen.
The California Constitution, whenever the Legislature or a state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on any local government, including school districts, requires the state to provide a subvention of funds to reimburse the local government, unless an exception applies. Statutory provisions that establish procedures for making that reimbursement include a requirement that no claim shall be made or paid unless it exceeds $1,000. This bill would change the minimum claim amount to $800.
