Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt basic instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive. Existing law requires the state board, in reviewing and adopting instructional materials, to use specified criteria, and ensure that, in its judgment, the submitted basic instructional materials meet all of the specified criteria, including, but not limited to, compliance with the specified requirements and guidelines for social content. This bill would require the state board to adopt regulations to govern the social content reviews conducted at the request of a publisher or manufacturer of instructional materials outside the primary instructional material adoption process. The bill would authorize the State Department of Education to contract with agents to conduct the specified social content reviews and require the department to assess a fee for the review that meets specified requirements, including notice to publishers and manufacturers. The bill would also require the state board to inform the Chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Education, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction of content that it interprets to be the result of certain changes made to the Texas Administrative Code. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2017. This bill would require the state board, upon the next adoption of the history-social science curriculum framework, to ensure that the framework is consistent with specified provisions governing instructional materials. This bill would also make specified findings and declarations.
Existing law makes it unlawful for any person other than a licensee of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to sell, manufacture, or import alcoholic beverages in this state. Existing law allows the serving of alcohol without a license or permit in a limousine or as part of a hot air balloon ride service, provided there is no extra charge or fee for the alcoholic beverages. This bill would additionally allow the serving of alcoholic beverages without a license where the serving of alcoholic beverages is part of a gondola ride service, provided there is no extra charge or fee for the alcoholic beverages.
The California Community Care Facilities Act provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, as defined, a violation of which is a misdemeanor. This bill would include with the definition of a community care facility an emergency youth shelter facility, as defined, for specified youth at least 12 years of age and under 18 years of age, except as specified, who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for these facilities by January 1, 2013, as specified. Until the adoption of the regulations, the bill would require the department to grant facilities that satisfy the definition of an emergency youth shelter a waiver for existing licensing standards, under certain circumstances. This bill would allow an emergency youth shelter that is operating under a group home license to apply for an immediate transfer to an emergency youth shelter license, upon adoption of the regulations required under the bill. By expanding the definition of a community care facility, this bill would change the definition of an existing crime, thus creating 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 requires the Department of Water Resources to update every 5 years the plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state, which is known as The California Water Plan. Existing law prescribes the contents of The California Water Plan, and requires the department to include a discussion of various strategies in the plan, including strategies relating to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, and water transfers that may be pursued in order to meet the future needs of the state. This bill would additionally require the department to include in the plan an assessment of the state's water data system and would prescribe requirements relating to the contents and conduct of the assessment.
Existing law requires that a child be admitted to kindergarten at the beginning of a school year, or at any time later in the same year, if the child will have his or her 5th birthday as specified. Existing law establishes the Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program, which is administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to permit participating school districts to provide opportunities for children to enhance their readiness for kindergarten, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent, by June 1, 2007, to contract for an independent longitudinal evaluation regarding the effects of the change in the entry age for kindergarten and first grade pursuant to the kindergarten readiness program. Existing law requires the independent evaluator to file an initial report by June 1, 2009, an interim report by January 1, 2011, and a final report by January 1, 2012. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the kindergarten admission provision. This bill would require the independent evaluator to file the final report by January 1, 2013, instead of January 1, 2012.
(1) Existing law provides for the establishment of partnership academies for pupils at risk of dropping out of school by participating school districts that meet specified eligibility requirements, and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue grants to school districts for planning, establishing, and maintaining the partnership academies. This bill would request that the State Department of Education, using data collected from the yearly reports of the California Partnership Academies, provide an analysis of the partnership academies program components and make recommendations to the Legislature, as specified. The bill would also encourage the department to make recommendations that would be shared with the Senate Committee on Education and the Assembly Committee on Education at the beginning of each new 2-year regular session of the Legislature regarding the various types of partnership academies and the implications of program oversight by the department of multiple types of partnership academies. (2) Existing law requires the Superintendent to develop guidelines with respect to partnership academies, including, but not limited to, enrollment provisions, application procedures, and pupil eligibility. This bill would, for purposes of the guidelines relating to enrollment, authorize school districts to determine the number of pupils enrolled in a partnership academy. The bill would also require the guidelines to include strategies to encourage, establish, and fund partnership academies serving rural school districts. (3) Existing law limits the enrollment in partnership academies to pupils in grades 10 to 12, inclusive. This bill would authorize a school district to enroll grade 9 pupils, provided the school district complies with specified requirements. The bill would prohibit a school district from receiving partnership academy funding for the establishment or maintenance of grade 9 partnership academy courses. (4) The bill would require that, if funds are appropriated for the support of certain partnership academies in the annual Budget Act or any other measure, these funds be allocated in accordance with the provisions of law that govern partnership academies.
Existing law establishes the Bureau of State Audits, which is headed by the State Auditor and has specified statutory duties, including the performance of statutorily mandated audits. Existing law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other things, establish professional standards, assessments, and examinations for entry and advancement in the education profession. This bill would require the State Auditor to appoint an enforcement program monitor to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the Division of Professional Practices within the commission. The purpose of the monitoring would be to improve the quality and consistency of reviewing reported misconduct by holders of, or applicants for, teaching credentials, reducing timeframes and backlogs related to reviewing cases of misconduct, ensuring the establishment and usage of comprehensive written procedures for reviewing reported misconduct, effectively tracking cases, and fostering an overall professional workplace environment at the division and the commission. The bill would require the enforcement program monitor to submit an initial written report of his or her findings and conclusions to the State Auditor, the Legislature, and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee by July 1, 2012, and every 6 months thereafter, and to submit a final report by January 1, 2014. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2014. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , to administer, until January 1, 2016, a self-generation incentive program (SGIP) for distributed generation resources and to separately administer solar technologies pursuant to the California Solar Initiative. Existing law limits eligibility for SGIP incentives to distributed energy resources that the PUC, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board (state board) , determines will achieve reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. This bill would require that distributed energy resources with a nameplate generating capacity of up to 10 megawatts are eligible for incentives, but would limit the award of incentives to not more than 5 megawatts of that capacity. The bill would limit incentives being made available for distributed energy resources with a nameplate generating capacity above 3 megawatts to those technologies that meet cost-effectiveness rules established by the commission. The bill would require that incentives made available for distributed energy resources with a nameplate generating capacity greater than 3 megawatts be based on a declining schedule determined by the commission. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the program that is extended under the provisions of this bill are within the act and a decision or order of the commission would be required to implement the program requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. 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.
(1) Existing law prohibits a person engaging in the short-term rental of vehicles from renting a vehicle unless the vehicle meets specified requirements. A violation of this prohibition is a crime. This bill would enact the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Rental Car Safety Act, which would further prohibit the short-term rental of a vehicle that is subject to a federal safety recall notice unless specified conditions are met. The bill would prohibit a person engaging in the short-term rental of vehicles from selling a vehicle at retail unless the vehicle meets specified requirements. Because a violation of these prohibitions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would specify that the provisions relating to short-term rental vehicles are applicable to a rental car company, as defined, and would state that this provision is declaratory of existing law. (2) 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 federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provides for workforce investment activities, including activities in which states may participate. Existing law, the California Workforce Investment Act, establishes the California Workforce Investment Board, which is the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system, and prescribes the functions and duties of the board with regard to the implementation and administration of workforce training and development programs. This bill would authorize individuals who are eligible to receive training services under federal law to have the opportunity to select any of the eligible training providers from any of the local areas in the state. The bill would require the California Workforce Investment Board to establish a procedure for use by local workforce investment boards in determining the eligibility of a provider of training services, as prescribed, in accordance with various requirements.
Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires the Secretary of State to establish and maintain on the Internet an updated Directory of Lobbyists, Lobbying Firms, and Lobbyist Employers. The act further requires lobbyist employers and persons making certain payments to influence legislative or administrative actions to file periodic reports disclosing, among other information, their lobbying interests. This bill would require that the online directory maintained by the Secretary of State also contain information regarding lobbying interests. The bill would require that the periodic reports filed by lobbyist employers and other persons contain, in addition to their lobbying interests, the bill numbers of any legislation lobbied during the reporting period. The bill would also require the Secretary of State to display on his or her Internet Web site, within 90 days of the end of each calendar quarter, a list of the lobbying interests containing a specific reference to a bill number, accompanied by a list of all lobbyist employers who reported each of those lobbying interests, reported for the prior calendar quarter. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes. 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 Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services are provided to qualified, low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law provides, to the extent permitted by federal law, that adult day health care (ADHC) be excluded from coverage under the Medi-Cal program on the first day of the first calendar month following 90 days after the effective date of the act that added that provision or on the first day of the first calendar month following 60 days after the date the department secures all necessary federal approvals to implement that provision, whichever is later. This bill would, instead, require that ADHC be excluded from coverage under the Medi-Cal program on November 1, 2011. This bill would appropriate $1,000 to the State Department of Health Care Services for administration. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
