Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, before issuing a license or special permit to any person to operate or manage a community care facility, including a foster family home, to secure from an appropriate law enforcement agency a criminal record regarding the applicant, as specified. Existing law requires the department to deny an application if the applicant has been convicted of any crime other than a minor traffic violation unless the applicant has been granted an exemption. Existing law prohibits the department from granting criminal records exemptions if a person has been convicted of certain crimes. Existing law also requires the department to implement a resource family approval process, as specified, that includes a criminal records clearance of all adults residing in, or regularly present in, the home. Existing law makes the criminal records exemption criteria applicable to foster care provider applicants applicable to resource family applicants. This bill would authorize the department, or, in the case of a resource family applicant, an early implementation county, to grant a criminal records exemption for a foster care provider applicant or resource family applicant for certain crimes previously ineligible for exemption. The bill would also require, if a foster care provider applicant or resource family applicant has been convicted of an offense that is not specifically eligible or ineligible for exemption, the criminal history to be considered as part of the foster care provider licensing process or resource family approval process. The bill would require the department to consider all reasonably available information when determining whether to grant criminal records exemptions for any community care facility applicant. Existing law requires the county welfare department, prior to temporarily placing a child with a relative or nonrelative extended family member, to consider the results of a criminal records check, as specified. Existing law also requires the county social worker, prior to placing a child in the home of a relative, or the home of any prospective guardian or other person who is not a licensed or certified foster parent, to consider the results of a criminal records check, as specified. Existing law prohibits these placements if the person has been convicted of any crime other than a minor traffic violation, unless an exemption has been granted, as specified. This bill would authorize placement, or temporary placement, as applicable, of the child pending approval of a criminal records exemption if all parties agree that the placement is in the best interests of the child. The bill would also require, if the person has been convicted of an offense that is not specifically eligible or ineligible for exemption, the criminal history to be considered in determining if the placement is in the best interest of the child. By imposing a higher level of service on county employees, 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 establishes the Capital Access Loan Program to assist small businesses in financing the costs of complying with environmental mandates and the remediation of contamination on their properties, and also establishes within the program the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program to assist small businesses in financing the costs of projects that alter or retrofit existing small business facilities to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Under existing law, both programs are administered by the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (authority) . This bill would establish within the Capital Access Loan Program the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program to assist residential property owners and small business owners in seismically retrofitting residences and small businesses by covering losses on qualified loans for those purposes, as specified. The bill would require the authority to administer the program, including regulations and funds received for the program, as specified. The bill would also authorize the authority to, by regulation, implement loan loss reserve programs to benefit any individual person engaged in qualifying activities that require financing, as specified. This bill would establish the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program Fund and would continuously appropriate that fund to the authority to carry out the purposes of the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program.
Read. Adopted. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 4509.)
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of shorthand reporters by the Court Reporters Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires, until January 1, 2017, certain fees and revenues collected by the board from licensees to be deposited into the Transcript Reimbursement Fund to be available to provide reimbursement for the cost of providing shorthand reporting services to low-income litigants in civil cases. Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2017, low-income persons appearing pro se to apply for funds from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, subject to specified requirements and limitations. Existing law requires the board, until January 1, 2017, to publicize the availability of the fund to prospective applicants. Existing law requires the unencumbered funds remaining in the Transcript Reimbursement Fund as of January 1, 2017, to be transferred to the Court Reporters' Fund. This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until January 1, 2021. By extending the operation of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, any person who has an interest in a matter in litigation, or in the success of either of the parties, or an interest against both, may intervene in the action or proceeding. Existing law provides that a third person may become a party to an action or proceeding between other persons, either by joining the plaintiff in claiming what is sought by the complaint, uniting with the defendant in resisting the claims of the plaintiff, or demanding anything adversely to both the plaintiff and the defendant, by filing a complaint setting forth the grounds upon which the intervention rests, as specified. This bill would require that a person seeking to intervene in an action or proceeding, deemed the intervenor, petition the court for leave to intervene by noticed motion or ex parte application setting forth the grounds upon which the intervention rests, and would require the intervenor to include a copy of the proposed complaint in intervention or answer in intervention with the petition. The bill would also require the intervenor to serve the order, or notice of the court's decision or order, granting leave to intervene and the pleadings in intervention on all other parties in the action or proceeding, as specified. The bill would also recast some provisions of existing law and make conforming changes to other provisions of law.
Under existing law, a wireless telecommunications collocation facility, as specified, is subject to a city or county discretionary permit and is required to comply with specified criteria, but a collocation facility, which is the placement or installation of wireless facilities, including antennas and related equipment, on or immediately adjacent to a wireless telecommunications collocation facility, is a permitted use not subject to a city or county discretionary permit. This bill would permit the use of a small cell, as defined, without a city or county discretionary permit or aesthetic review in all zoning districts, subject only to a building permit or administrative permit, as applicable. The bill would require a city or county to issue those permits, as applicable, within 60 days, except as specified. Under existing law, a city or county, as a condition of approval of an application for a permit for construction or reconstruction of a development project for a wireless telecommunications facility, may not require an escrow deposit for removal of a wireless telecommunications facility or any component thereof, unreasonably limit the duration of any permit for a wireless telecommunications facility, or require that all wireless telecommunications facilities be limited to sites owned by particular parties within the jurisdiction of the city or county, as specified. This bill would require the city or county to renew a permit with a duration of less than 10 years for an equivalent duration unless the city or county finds that wireless telecommunications facility does not comply with the codes and permit conditions applicable at the time the permit was initially approved. The bill would also prohibit a city or county from precluding the leasing or licensing of a site owned by the city or county for the installation of a small cell, except as specified. The bill would authorize a city or county to impose a fee associated with a permit application for construction or reconstruction of a development project for a wireless telecommunications facility only if similar fees are charged within the city or county for similar types of commercial development. By imposing new duties on 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law, on or before July 1, 2014, requires the governing board of each school district and each county board of education to adopt a local control and accountability plan and requires the governing board of each school district and each county board of education to update its local control and accountability plan on or before July 1 of each year. Existing law requires the local control and accountability plan to include certain elements, and requires the charter for a charter school to include some of those same elements. Existing law requires the State Board of Education, on or before October 1, 2016, to adopt evaluation rubrics to, among other things, assist a school district, county office of education, or charter school in evaluating its strengths, weaknesses, and areas that require improvement. Existing law establishes the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence for purposes of advising and assisting school districts, county superintendents of schools, and charter schools in achieving the goals set forth in a local control and accountability plan. This bill would require the collaborative, commencing with the 2016–17 fiscal year, to establish a statewide process to provide professional development training to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools for the purpose of successfully utilizing the evaluation rubrics adopted by the state board and would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools that participate in professional development training to include in the training all stakeholders that are involved in the development of a local control and accountability plan, as provided. The bill would require the professional development training to include, among other things, information on how the evaluation rubrics are used for the development and implementation of the local control and accountability plans and those similar elements in charter petitions, and information on how the evaluation rubrics will be used, in conjunction with local control and accountability plans, to establish a system of continuous improvement. The bill would require the collaborative to ensure that the professional development training is provided in each region of the state and is available to all school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. The bill would require the collaborative to submit an implementation plan to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Director of Finance, and the Legislative Analyst's Office within 30 days of the state board's adoption of the evaluation rubrics, as specified. The bill also would require the collaborative, during the 2017–18 fiscal year, to conduct a survey of school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools on how they used the evaluation rubrics. The bill would authorize the collaborative to contract with one or more entities to develop, administer, monitor, and analyze the survey. The bill would require the collaborative, during the 2016–17 and 2017–18 fiscal years, to implement a pilot program that will inform its long-term efforts to advise and assist school districts, county superintendents of schools, and charter schools in improving pupil outcomes. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to assign the collaborative to assist school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools in the pilot program, as provided, but participation in the pilot program by a local educational agency would be voluntary. The bill would require the governing board of the collaborative to submit to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Director of Finance, and the Legislative Analyst's Office, an implementation plan for the pilot program on or before August 15, 2016, as specified, and a report about lessons learned from the pilot program and its implications for the ongoing work of the collaborative on or before November 1, 2018. The bill would make the implementation of its provisions contingent upon funds being appropriated for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or another enacted statute.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate family day care home providers and to regulate other nonlicensed persons who provide in-home child care. Violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill, as of July 1, 2017, would require a family child care provider, as defined, to attend a one-time, two-hour training on occupational health and safety risks specific to the child care profession and how to identify and avoid those risks to protect the provider's own health and safety and the health and safety of the children in his or her care. The bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations to select an entity to provide the training required, based on a competitive process, and would require the State Department of Social Services to administer the contract with that entity. By creating a new crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law defines unfair competition to include an unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice, unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising, and any false representations to the public. Existing law, as amended by Proposition 64 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, authorizes an action for relief from this prohibited conduct to be brought by, among others, a person who has suffered injury in fact and has lost money or property as a result of the unfair competition. Existing law also authorizes an action for relief from this prohibited conduct and for civil penalties to be brought by a city attorney of a city having a population in excess of 750,000. This bill would expand this authorization to allow actions for relief and civil penalties by city attorneys of cities having a population in excess of 250,000, as provided.
The California Building Standards Law provides for the adoption of building standards by state agencies by requiring all state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission for approval and adoption. Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the California Building Standards Code in its entirety once every 3 years. Existing law requires the California Building Standards Commission to, among other things, research and assist in the development of mandatory green building standards for the installation of recycled water systems for newly constructed commercial and public buildings, as specified. This bill would require the California Building Standards Commission to develop regulations and mandatory building standards for the installation of water conserving plumbing fixtures, as defined, in existing nonresidential and public buildings, including installation in all nonresidential buildings by January 1, 2022.
(1) The existing Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes the theft of property that does not exceed $950 in value petty theft, and makes that crime punishable as a misdemeanor, with certain exceptions. The initiative statute defines shoplifting as entering a commercial establishment with the intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during regular hours, where the value of the property that is taken or intended to be taken does not exceed $950. The initiative statute requires that shoplifting be punished as a misdemeanor. The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to amend or repeal an initiative statute by another statute that becomes effective when approved by the electors. This bill would amend that initiative statute by making it grand theft, which is punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony, to commit shoplifting if the aggregate value of the property taken from a single commercial establishment is nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or more in any 180-day period. (2) Existing law makes it a crime, punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony, for 2 or more persons to conspire to commit any crime. This bill would specify that the crime of conspiracy occurs when 2 or more persons conspire to commit shoplifting. (3) This bill would call a special election to be consolidated with the November 8, 2016, statewide general election. This bill would require the Secretary of State to submit the provisions of the bill that amend the initiative statute to the electors for their approval at the November 8, 2016, consolidated election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an act calling an election.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, as specified. Existing law requires the department to maintain a program of maternal, child, and adolescent health. This bill would establish a maternal mortality review panel to conduct ongoing comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity in California to identify factors associated with the deaths and make recommendations for system changes to improve health care services for women in this state. The bill would also make information, documents, proceedings, records, and opinions created, collected, or maintained by the maternity mortality review panel or the State Department of Public Health in support of the maternal mortality review panel confidential and not subject to public inspection, discovery, or introduction into evidence in any civil action. The bill would also prohibit any person in attendance at a meeting of the maternal mortality review panel or who participates in the creation, collection, or maintenance of the panel's information, documents, proceedings, records, or opinions to testify in any civil action as to the content of those proceedings or the panel's information, documents, records, or opinions. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to review department available data to identify maternal deaths and would mandate health care providers, health care facilities, clinics, laboratories, medical examiners, coroners, professionals, and facilities licensed by the State Department of Public Health to provide documents, as specified, upon request of the department. The bill also requires the State Department of Public Health to prepare and submit to the Legislature a biennial report on maternal mortality in California based on the data collected. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
