Existing federal law provides for the allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states, with California's version of this program known as the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. Under the CalWORKs program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals who meet specified eligibility criteria. Existing law imposes limits on the amount of income and personal and real property an individual or family may possess in order to be eligible for aid under the CalWORKs program, including specifying the allowable value of a licensed vehicle retained by an applicant for, or recipient of, that aid. This bill would delete existing requirements for assessing the value of a motor vehicle for purposes of CalWORKs program eligibility. The bill would exclude the value of a licensed motor vehicle from consideration when determining or redetermining CalWORKs eligibility. By increasing the duties of counties administering the CalWORKs program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continually appropriates money from the General Fund to pay for a share of aid grant costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would declare that no appropriation would be made for purposes of the bill pursuant to the provision continuously appropriating funds for the CalWORKs 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law requires various state entities, including, but not limited to, the State Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Department of Justice, to enforce laws relating to the taxation and legal operation of businesses throughout the state under their respective jurisdictions. This bill would establish, until January 1, 2018, a pilot program to create a multiagency partnership consisting of the Employment Development Department, Franchise Tax Board, and State Board of Equalization, to be known as the Centralized Intelligence Partnership, to collaborate in combating illegal underground operations by, among other activities, providing a central intake process and organizational structure, with an administrator and support staff, to document, review, and evaluate data and complaints. The bill would authorize other specified state entities to participate in the pilot program in an advisory capacity. The bill would create an advisory committee, comprised of one representative from each entity in the partnership, and those serving in an advisory capacity, as specified, to provide guidance on the activities and operations of the partnership. The bill would require the advisory committee to the partnership to determine the appropriate agency to house the processing center for the partnership. The bill would authorize duly authorized representatives of members of the partnership to exchange information for the purpose of investigating illegal underground operations. The bill would require the partnership, on or before July 1, 2014, to annually report to the Legislature and entities participating in the partnership on its activities. The bill would require an additional report to be filed with the Legislature by December 1, 2016, to include the number of complaints received by the partnership and cases investigated or prosecuted, as specified.
Existing law, the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act, makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, as defined, to refuse to grant a request by an eligible employee to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid protected leave during any 12-month period (1) to bond with a child who was born to, adopted by, or placed for foster care with, the employee, (2) to care for the employee's parent, spouse, or child who has a serious health condition, as defined, or (3) because the employee is suffering from a serious health condition rendering him or her unable to perform the functions of the job. Under the act, "child" means a biological, adopted, foster, or stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is either under 18 years of age or an adult dependent child. The act defines "parent" to mean the employee's biological, foster, or adoptive parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child. This bill would increase the circumstances under which an employee is entitled to protected leave pursuant to the Family Rights Act by (1) eliminating the age and dependency elements from the definition of "child," thereby permitting an employee to take protected leave to care for his or her independent adult child suffering from a serious health condition, (2) expanding the definition of "parent" to include an employee's parent-in-law, and (3) permitting an employee to also take leave to care for a seriously ill grandparent, sibling, grandchild, or domestic partner, as defined.
Under existing law, various agencies administer programs for the support of homeless persons. Existing law also provides for public social services programs, such as the CalWORKs program, the Medi-Cal program, and CalFresh. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Social Services to inquire in both paper applications and electronic applications, as prescribed, into the housing status of persons who apply for Medi-Cal and CalFresh benefits to determine whether the beneficiary or applicant is homeless. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to refine the Medi-Cal application questions only when there is another reason to revise the application, and would require the State Department of Social Services to refine the CalFresh application questions at the next scheduled revision of the application. This bill, commencing at the end of the first fiscal year following the application changes required pursuant to these provisions, would require each department to begin including in its relevant reports to the budget committees of the Legislature specified information relating to homeless beneficiaries and households, as applicable.
Under existing law, several state agencies have prescribed responsibilities relating to homeless youth. Existing law requires the California Emergency Management Agency to administer a program to provide shelter and other services to runaway and nonrunaway youth and their families. This bill would establish the Statewide Office of the Homeless Youth Advocate in the California Health and Human Services Agency. This bill would require the office, among other things, to provide information and assistance to reduce the provision of overlapping services to, identify obstacles to the provision of services to, make recommendations to remove those obstacles and improve the quality of services provided to, and update and disseminate information received from service providers relating to services available for, homeless youth.
Existing law requires the Department of General Services, under the police power of the state, to supervise the design and construction of any school building or the reconstruction or alteration of or addition to any school building, if not exempted, to ensure that plans and specifications comply with specified rules, regulations, and building standards and to ensure that the work of construction is performed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, for the protection of life and property. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a stop work order when construction work on a public school is not being performed in accordance with existing law and would compromise the structural integrity of the building, thereby endangering the public safety, but requires the department to allow construction of incidental and minor nonstructural additions or nonstructural alterations without invoking its stop work authority. Existing law establishes in the Department of General Services the Division of the State Architect and provides that the State Architect has general charge, under the Department of General Services, of the erection of all state buildings. This bill would require the Department of General Services to convene a workgroup, or continue to use an existing workgroup, as specified, to develop and adopt recommendations for improving the oversight of school construction projects. The bill would require the workgroup to review changes made within the Division of the State Architect to improve its oversight of school construction projects and to review the Field Act to consider changes to the act concerning occupancy of school facilities when and if significant safety concerns are identified. The bill would require the Division of the State Architect by July 1, 2013, to report the recommendations of the workgroup to the Senate Select Committee on Earthquake and Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery, at a public hearing with an opportunity for public comment, as specified, and to the appropriate Senate and Assembly policy committees. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2015.
The Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop an Academic Performance Index (API) to measure the performance of schools and the academic performance of pupils. Existing law requires the Superintendent to establish an advisory committee to advise the Superintendent and the State Board of Education on all appropriate matters relative to the creation of the API and the implementation of an accountability system. Existing law requires the Superintendent and the state board, in consultation with the advisory committee, by July 1, 2013, to make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on, among other things, the establishment of a methodology for generating a measurement of group and individual academic performance growth by using individual pupil results from a longitudinally valid achievement assessment system. This bill would require the advisory committee to consult, as appropriate, with individuals who are experts or have experience in innovation in the fields of business, science, technology, mathematics, engineering, and arts education on the development of a voluntary Creative and Innovative Education Index, to be based in part on the creative opportunities in each participating school, as specified. The bill would require the advisory committee to make recommendations by June 1, 2014, to the Superintendent on the extent to which this index may be used to foster creative and innovative education in the public schools.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law prohibits certain discriminatory acts by health care service plans and health insurers. Existing federal law, beginning January 1, 2014, prohibits a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage from discriminating with respect to participation under the plan or coverage against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider's license or certification under applicable state law. Beginning January 1, 2014, this bill would prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer from discriminating against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider's license, as specified. Because a willful violation of the bill's provisions relative to health care service plans would be a crime, 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.
Existing law vests with the Department of Parks and Recreation control of the state park system. Existing law requires the department to achieve any required budget reductions, as defined, by closing, partially closing, and reducing services at selected units of the state park system, based on specified factors. This bill would instead declare that it is the intent of the Legislature that the department should achieve any required budget reductions by implementing efficiencies and increasing revenue collection, or reducing services at selected units of the state park system, as prescribed. The bill would revise the factors the department is required to use as a basis for selecting which units of the state park system are to be closed, and would, for any parks proposed or designated for closure on or after January 1, 2013, require the department to document and publicly disclose the methodology, rationale, and scoring system used to evaluate and select parks designated for closure. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into agreements between the department and the federal and local governments and other public agencies for the care, maintenance, administration, and control of lands under the jurisdiction of any party to this agreement for the purpose of the state park system, as prescribed. This bill would require the department to conduct a review of the parks that are proposed, as of July 1, 2012, or thereafter, for future closure. The bill would require the review process required to be conducted pursuant to those provisions to include an examination of proposed park closures recommended by the department, based on specified criteria. The bill would require the department, no later than July 1, 2013, with respect to any park that is closed on or after July 1, 2012, to prepare a plan for the reopening of that unit of the state park system, within one year from the date of a unit being closed to public access or the ending of all department support, including specified information. The bill would require the department to annually update any plan prepared pursuant to those provisions, if needed, or if there are any additional park closures on or after July 1, 2013, and to post a copy of the plan on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the department, no later than January 1, 2014, and by January 1 of each year thereafter so long as any unit of the state park system remains closed or is designated for closure due to budgetary restrictions, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a master parks reopening plan, which shall be compiled from park reopening plans or updated park reopening plans required to be prepared pursuant to provisions of the bill, and that sets out priority actions and determines a process for reopening any park that has been temporarily closed, to the extent that circumstances permit, as prescribed.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires reimbursement to Medi-Cal pharmacy providers for drugs, as prescribed, and authorizes the department to establish a new reimbursement methodology based on average acquisition cost, as defined. This bill would modify requirements relating to the establishment of the average acquisition cost methodology and would make other related changes.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts, administered by a governing board, throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained by the districts. This bill would require the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish a voluntary pilot program, until January 1, 2018, to identify, explore, and develop best practices for statewide policy on credit for experiential learning for veterans for career technical education course credit, certificates, and associate degrees. The bill would require the chancellor to consider specified information to select no more than 3 to 5 applicant campuses to participate in the pilot program. The bill would require participating community college districts to report specified information to the Office of the Chancellor, which would be required to provide that information to the Legislative Analyst's Office by July 1, 2017. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to use this information to provide a report to the Legislature that assesses the pilot program's effect on student veterans' success in reaching their educational goals, as specified, by December 1, 2017.
Existing law provides that all employees of a charter school who perform creditable service are entitled to have that service covered under the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, if the charter school elects to make that plan available. Existing law further requires a charter school that elects to make that or another plan available to inform all applicants for employment of the retirement options for employees of the charter school, as specified. This bill would require charter schools to make the State Teachers' Retirement Plan and the Public Employees' Retirement Plan available to its employees, as specified, and would make corresponding changes to the information charter schools are required to provide regarding retirement options. The bill would provide that these provisions shall not apply to the extent they would cause the State Teachers' Retirement System or the Public Employees' Retirement System or their members to incur adverse tax consequences under federal law. Existing law requires every county superintendent of schools to enter into a contract with the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System for inclusion of the school district's classified employees in the system. Existing law further provides that, if a charter school chooses to participate in the system, its qualified employees shall be covered under the system in the same manner as the employees of the school district that granted the charter. This bill would provide that all qualified employees of a charter school shall be covered under the system in the same manner as the employees of the school district that granted the charter, except as specified. The bill would require the county superintendent of schools to notify the board before a charter school or its employees may be enrolled for membership in the system.
