Existing law requires that a vote by mail ballot be received by the issuing elections official or the precinct board no later than the close of polls on election day. This bill would make an exception for special absentee voters, as defined, temporarily living outside of the territorial limits of the United States and the District of Columbia and would instead require that their vote by mail ballots be postmarked on or before election day and received by their elections officials not later than 10 days after election day. Because the bill would impose additional duties on elections officials, it 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 provides for state mental hospitals for the care, treatment, and education of the mentally disordered, including Napa State Hospital and Metropolitan State Hospital. These hospitals are under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Mental Health. Existing law, prior to admission to Napa State Hospital or the Metropolitan State Hospital, requires the department to evaluate patients committed under specified sections of the Penal Code. Existing law requires a patient determined to be a high-security risk to be treated in the department's most secure facilities, and other patients to be treated near the patient's community, as specified. This bill would delete these provisions governing evaluation and treatment, and instead require a risk evaluation, as specified, upon commitment to any state hospital, of a patient who is being committed pursuant to any provision of the Penal Code.
Existing law, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, requires the office of the State Chief Information Officer to review and update technical and operational standards for public agency systems in each even-numbered year, after consultation with specified entities and individuals. The bill would require the review and update of technical and operational standards for public agency systems to include standards for recruitment and training of public safety dispatchers. Existing law also requires the State 911 Advisory Board to advise the office on specified subjects, including training standards for county coordinators and public safety answering point managers. The bill would add one representative from the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training and one representative from the Office of the State Fire Marshal to the State 911 Advisory Board. The bill would also modify the requirement that the State 911 Advisory Board advise the office on training standards for county coordinators and public safety answering point managers to also require the State 911 Advisory Board to advise the office on training standards for public safety dispatchers, and to advise the office concerning specified issues. This bill would also make technical changes to conform to the Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of the 2009–10 Regular Session.
Existing law requires, when a witness is incapable of understanding the English language or expressing himself or herself in the English language so as to be understood directly by counsel, court, and jury, an interpreter to be sworn to interpret for him or her. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to conduct a study of language and interpreter use and need in court proceedings, with commentary, and to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature every 5 years. Existing law requires that this study serve as the basis for determining the need to establish interpreter programs and certification and for establishing these programs and examinations through the normal budgetary process. This bill would enact the California Language Access Bill of Rights. The bill would provide that a person who is unable to understand English, and who is charged with a crime, has the right to a competent interpreter provided by the court to provide exclusive and ongoing interpretation services throughout the proceedings. The bill would provide that a person who is charged with a crime, and for whom a noncertified, nonregistered interpreter has been appointed, has a right to object to the interpreter at any time during the proceeding that the interpreter appears to be unqualified. The bill would require the court to record specified information and to follow all procedures required pursuant to court rule. The bill would prohibit a noninterpreter staff person of the court, or any person employed by the sheriff, probation department, prosecutor, jail, or corrections department of the prosecuting city or county from providing interpreter services during a proceeding. The bill would permit the rights provided pursuant to these provisions only to be waived expressly by the person charged if the waiver is affirmatively shown to be intelligent and voluntary. The bill also would set forth legislative findings and declarations relating to ensuring an adequate supply of court interpreters without sacrificing essential standards for certification.
Existing law, the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act (Greene Act) , requires each school district, charter school, and county office of education to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, certain achievement tests. This bill, commencing July 1, 2012, would exclude pupils in grade 2 from the standards-based achievement test requirement and make conforming changes. The bill would require the State Department of Education by November 1, 2012, to identify and make available to school districts information regarding existing assessments in language arts and mathematics for pupils in grade 2 for diagnostic use by classroom teachers. The bill would require these provisions to be implemented from the savings realized from the elimination of the grade 2 standards-based achievement testing. The bill would define, for purposes of the Greene Act, formative assessment, high-quality assessment, and interim assessment.
Existing law authorizes a state body to conduct teleconference meetings. This bill would authorize a state body, to the extent practicable, to conduct teleconference meetings. This bill would require, upon the request of a member of a state body, a state body to hold an open or closed meeting by teleconference, unless the chair of that state body determines that it would be more costly to hold the meeting by teleconference than it would be to hold it in person. This bill would prohibit a member of a state body from requesting a meeting by teleconference solely because it would be more convenient than holding a meeting in person. This bill would require a state body that operates an Internet Web site to provide a supplemental live audio or video broadcast on the Internet Web site of its board meetings that are open to the public, and would specify that a technical failure to provide a live broadcast would not prohibit the body from meeting and taking actions.
(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to allow pupils whom the district has determined would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work to attend community college as special part-time students, subject to parental permission. Existing law makes the authority of a school principal to recommend a pupil for community college summer session contingent upon a determination that the pupil meets various criteria and prohibits the principal from recommending more than 5% of the total number of pupils from any particular grade level who completed that grade immediately prior to the time of recommendation for summer session attendance, except as specified. This bill would authorize the governing board of a school district to authorize a pupil, upon the recommendation from a community college dean of a career technical education department or other appropriate community college career technical education administrator, and with parental consent, to attend a community college during any session or term as a special part-time or full-time student and to undertake one or more courses of career technical education offered at the community college. The bill also would authorize the governing board of a community college district to enter into a formal partnership with a school district or school districts located within its immediate service area to allow secondary school pupils to attend a community college if those pupils have exhausted all opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course at the high school of attendance, adult education program, continuation school, regional occupational center or program, or any other programs offered by the governing board of the school district, and if those pupils may benefit from advanced scholastic, career-technical, or vocational courses, courses in basic skills remediation, preparation for the high school exit examination, or English as a 2nd language, and courses designed to prevent pupils from dropping out of high school. The bill would require the partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified. The bill would require a community college district and a school district, as a condition of and before adopting a partnership agreement, to take testimony from the public and approve or disapprove the proposed partnership agreement at a regularly scheduled open public hearing of their respective governing boards. The bill would require, for each partnership entered into under the bill, the affected community college district and school district to file an annual report, containing specified data, with the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. (2) Existing law requires the governing board of a community college district to assign a low enrollment priority to a pupil attending community college pursuant to a recommendation from his or her principal or school district or a petition from his or her parents, in order to ensure that these pupils, admitted as special students, do not displace regularly admitted students. This bill would authorize the governing board of a community college district to assign an enrollment priority to students attending community college pursuant to a partnership agreement established under the bill. The bill would prohibit a community college district from receiving an allowance or apportionment for an instructional activity for which a school district has been, or will be, paid.
Under existing law, the governing board of a school district may require each prospective bidder for specified contracts to submit a standardized questionnaire and financial statement, including information relating to financial ability and experience in performing public works, which is required to be verified under oath. Existing law further requires a school district requiring the above information to adopt and apply a uniform system of rating bidders on the basis of the completed questionnaires and financial statements, as specified. This bill, until January 1, 2018, would require the questionnaire and uniform system of rating bidders described above to cover, at a minimum, the issues covered by the standardized questionnaire and model guidelines for rating bidders developed by the Department of Industrial Relations, as specified. This bill would provide that the questionnaire and uniform system of rating bidders described above shall not preclude the governing board of the district from prequalifying or disqualifying a subcontractor. This bill would provide that these provisions shall not apply to school districts with an average daily attendance of less than 2,500. This bill, until January 1, 2018, would also require the governing board of the district, except for school districts with an average daily attendance of less than 2,500, for certain public projects, if the governing board of the district chooses not to follow the uniform system of rating bidders described above, to use other procedures, which require a standardized questionnaire and financial statement to be verified under oath, for bidding applicable to public entities, as prescribed. The bill would also require the Director of Industrial Relations, on or before January 1, 2017, to submit a report to the Legislature evaluating whether labor violations have decreased, as specified, and to recommend improvements to the system for prequalifying contractors and subcontractors on school district projects. By expanding the scope of an existing crime and by imposing new duties on local officials, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law prescribes procedures for the issuance of registered warrants and provides that a registered warrant is acceptable and may be used as security for the performance of any public or private trust or obligation. This bill would require a state agency to accept, from any person or entity, a registered warrant issued by the Controller that is endorsed by that payee, at full face value, for the payment of any obligations owed by that payee to that state agency. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law makes unlawful certain acts identified as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices undertaken by any person in a transaction intended to result or which results in the sale or lease of goods to any consumer. This bill would add to that list of acts an act representing a product as made in California, by using a specified Made in California label, unless the product complies with standards adopted by the Governor's Office of Economic Development, to the extent those standards are adopted. The bill would establish the Made in California Program within the office, as provided, and would create the Made in California Fund as a special fund in the State Treasury, which upon an appropriation of those funds by the Legislature, would be available for that purpose. The bill would require the office to report to the Legislature on January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, regarding expenditures and progress of the program. This bill would make technical changes to conform to existing law.
Read. Amended. Adopted. (Page 2578.).
Existing law regulates various aspects of the provision of food and beverages in vending machines, including requiring a vendor that operates or maintains a vending machine on designated state property to offer food and beverages in the vending machine that meet accepted nutritional guidelines, as defined, in accordance with certain percentages. Existing law governing contracting between state agencies and private contractors sets forth requirements for the procurement of supplies, materials, equipment, and services by state agencies and sets forth the various responsibilities of the Department of General Services and other state agencies in overseeing and implementing state contracting procedures and policies. This bill would require, beginning January 1, 2014, at least 50% of food and beverages offered by a vendor in a vending machine on state property, as defined, to meet accepted nutritional guidelines. The bill also would revise the definition of accepted nutritional guidelines for this purpose. This bill would additionally require, beginning January 1, 2014, or upon expiration of an existing contract, whichever occurs later, any food sold in a state-owned or state-leased building to meet the standard criteria for food and nutrition guidelines for concessions as determined under the federal Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending Operations. This bill would also require the Department of General Services, when approving contracts for the purchase of food sold in any state-owned or state-leased building, to give preference to, and not include disincentives for, food which meets certain criteria, as specified, and would require the Department of General Services to provide state agencies with the federal Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending Operations. The bill would make related legislative findings regarding its purpose.
