The California Constitution provides that all property is taxable, and requires that it be assessed at the same percentage of fair market value, unless otherwise provided by the California Constitution or federal law. The California Constitution exempts from taxation, among other types of property, growing crops, property used for free public libraries and free museums, property used exclusively for public schools, community colleges, state colleges, and state universities, and property belonging to the state or a local government. Existing property tax law provides that these exemptions are as specified in the California Constitution, except as otherwise provided under certain other provisions of the California Constitution. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to the statutory provisions implementing those exemptions.
Existing law, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, prescribes statewide limits on the application of local rent control with regard to certain properties. The act generally authorizes an owner of residential real property to establish the initial rental rate for a dwelling or unit, except in specified circumstances, including, (1) when the residential real property has a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995, (2) when the residential real property has already been exempt from the residential rent control ordinance of a public entity on or before February 1, 1995, pursuant to a local exemption for newly constructed units, and (3) when the residential real property is alienable and separate from title to any other dwelling units, except as specified. This bill would instead authorize an owner of residential real property to establish the initial rental rate for a dwelling or unit when the residential real property has been issued a certificate of occupancy within the 28 years preceding the date on which the owner seeks to establish a rental rate under these provisions, except as specified for dwellings or units exempt from the residential rent control ordinance of a public entity on or before February 1, 1995, pursuant to a local exemption for newly constructed units. The bill would also remove the above-described authorizations for an owner of residential real property to establish the initial rental rate if the residential real property has already been exempt from the residential rent control pursuant to an ordinance of a public entity on or before February 1, 1995.
Existing law requires the State Department of State Hospitals and the State Department of Health Care Services to contract with a single nonprofit entity to provide protection and advocacy services to persons with mental disabilities. Under existing law, the contracted entity is responsible for ensuring that mental health laws, regulations, and policies on the rights of recipients of mental health services are observed in state hospitals and in licensed health and community care facilities. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city or a county to propose the establishment of an enhanced infrastructure financing district, in accordance with specified procedures, to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide significance, including, but not limited to, the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of housing for persons of low and moderate income for rent or purchase. This bill would authorize the legislative body of a city or county to propose the establishment of an affordable housing financing authority by adopting a resolution of intention to form a district that complies with specified requirements. The bill would limit the activities of a district established pursuant to these provisions to financing the development of affordable housing, as defined, within its territorial boundaries, infrastructure to support that housing, and specified related costs. The bill would require the legislative body of the city or county proposing the establishment of a district to serve as the governing board of the district. The bill would require the city or county engineer, or other appropriate official designated by the governing board of the district, to prepare an affordable housing financing plan, as provided. The bill would authorize the affordable housing financing plan to include a provision for the division of taxes, except as provided. The bill would require a district to spend at least 80% of its funding derived from the division of taxes on affordable housing and would prohibit the district from spending more than 20% of those funds on affordable housing-related infrastructure. This bill would authorize an affordable housing finance district to enter into a contract with the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) that includes specified provisions, including a provision requiring the district to remit the entirety of the amount allocated to it by a division of taxes to CalHFA and that CalHFA will transfer that amount to the custody of the Treasurer for deposit in the Affordable Housing Tax Increment Pooling Trust Fund (trust fund) , which this bill would create and continuously appropriate to CalHFA. The bill would require CalHFA to issue revenue bonds, in accordance with specified procedures, secured by moneys in the trust fund and allocate the proceeds of those bonds to districts with which it has a contract in proportion to the amount remitted by each district. The bill would specify that moneys in the trust fund are nonstate moneys and are instead the property of, and held in trust on behalf of, the districts that contract with CalHFA under these provisions. The bill would require that a district use the proceeds of revenue bonds allocated to it pursuant to these provisions for those purposes enumerated in the affordable housing financing plan. This bill would also establish the Affordable Housing Financing Fund and make the moneys in that fund available to CalHFA upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would also create the Tax Increment Pooling Loss Reserve Account (loss reserve account) . The bill, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act, would require the Controller to transfer moneys from the loss reserve account to the trust fund in any fiscal year in which CalHFA notifies the Joint Legislative Budget Committee that there are insufficient moneys in the trust fund to pay the debt service on the revenue bonds, as described above. The bill would make various conforming changes to other laws relating to state moneys and the division of taxes by local agencies to issue revenue bonds. By adding to the duties of county auditors with respect to the allocation of property tax revenues, 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 establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Existing law provides, until January 1, 2025, that, for certain peace officers, including specified correctional officers of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the term "injury" includes post-traumatic stress that develops or manifests during a period in which the injured person is in the service of the department or unit. Existing law requires the compensation awarded pursuant to this provision to include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and death benefits. This bill would, for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2024, make that provision applicable to additional members and employees of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, including members of the Office of Correctional Safety or the Office of Internal Affairs.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act establishes the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program in order to provide low-income households with access to affordable basic residential telephone service. This bill would, no later than February 1, 2024, require the commission to allow a wireline and wireless lifeline telephone service subscriber to combine California lifeline subsidies with federal low-income communications subsidies, including, but not limited to, federal lifeline and federal Affordable Connectivity Program subsidies, on the same service line to provide a more robust voice and broadband plan. The bill would prohibit the commission from disallowing payment to a telephone corporation providing lifeline telephone service based on the combination of those subsidies, except as provided.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission, at least once every 3 years, to conduct an assessment of the needs of low-income electricity and gas ratepayers to evaluate low-income program implementation and the effectiveness of weatherization services and energy efficiency measures in low-income households. This bill instead would require the commission to conduct the assessment biennially.
Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, including when the child suffered or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer serious physical harm, or a parent fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings, and governs the provision of child welfare services. Existing law entitles every child adjudged a dependent of the juvenile court who is placed in foster care with the right to participate in age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities. Existing law requires a county social worker to create a case plan for foster youth within a specified timeframe, and requires the case plan to be developed considering the recommendations of the child and family team in accordance with certain requirements, including, that the case plan identifies specific goals and the appropriateness of the planned services in meeting those goals. Existing law requires a court to review the status of a dependent child in foster care at least once every 6 months until a subsequent dispositional hearing is completed, and requires the court to consider the safety of the child and make certain determinations, including, among other things, the continuing necessity for and appropriateness of the placement, and the extent of the agency's compliance with the case plan in making efforts, as specified, to return the child to a safe home and to complete any steps necessary to finalize their permanent placement. This bill would require a caseworker to discuss enrichment and extracurricular activities with each child or nonminor dependent at the monthly caseworker visits in order to identify potential activities and funding for the activities, and would require specified information regarding the enrichment and extracurricular activities in the case plan. The bill would also require the court to make additional determinations regarding the enrichment and extracurricular activities that the child or nonminor dependent is participating in, among other things. By increasing the duties of county child welfare agencies, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes 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. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, State Department of Health Care Services, and State Department of Education to develop a plan to maximize and leverage the usage of any available funds to support participation in enrichment activities for children and youth in foster care. The bill would, if the State Department of Health Care Services's application for a federal Medicaid demonstration project, known as the California Behavioral Health Community-Based Continuum Demonstration (CalBH-CBC) , is granted by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, require the State Department of Health Care Services, in collaboration with the State Department of Social Services, to convene a stakeholder workgroup, as specified, to assist in developing how the activity stipend benefit for current and former foster youth and children who have received or are receiving family maintenance services under the project will be implemented. Existing law, the Budget Act of 2022, appropriates $50,000,000 to the State Department of Social Services to allocate funding to county and tribal entities to, among other things, cover costs to facilitate a foster caregiver's and child's participation in child and youth enrichment activities that are not covered by the caregiver-specific rate and that would stabilize the placement or enhance the child's well-being, and requires the department to post a summary report describing participating entities' outcomes and other program information to its internet website and to submit it to the Legislature no later than March 1, 2026. This bill would require the department to additionally include in that summary report information on how those funds were used to support participation in enrichment activities for children and youth in foster care, the impact of this funding on children and youth well-being, and best practices and challenges around the fund usage. 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 Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995 requires the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming, to establish and oversee a Healthy Soils Program to seek to optimize climate benefits while supporting the economic viability of California agriculture by providing incentives, including loans, grants, research, and technical assistance, and educational materials and outreach to farmers whose management practices contribute to healthy soils and result in net long-term on-farm greenhouse gas benefits. Existing law authorizes the Healthy Soils Program to also include the funding of on-farm demonstration projects that further the goals of the program. Existing law requires the department, if it elects to fund those on-farm demonstration projects, to establish a technical advisory committee to review those applications for scientific validity and the proposed project's potential to achieve greenhouse gas benefits. This bill would additionally authorize the Healthy Soils Program to include the funding of organic farming projects that further the goals of the program and require the department to establish the technical advisory committee if it elects to fund those projects, as specified. The bill would require the department to support and incentivize organic production by providing grants of up to 5 years to certified organic farmers and ranchers, as defined, and during farmers' or ranchers' 3-year organic transition period, as described, and to prioritize applicants who propose to implement multiple healthy soils practices and certified organic farmer or rancher applicants. The bill would require the department to provide grants of up to 5 years for on-farm demonstration projects. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2026, to submit a report to the Legislature on how the program incentivizes farmers and ranchers to implement multiple healthy soils practices, including incentivizing farmers and ranchers to transition to organic production.
Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, among others, the completion of 3 courses in social studies, including a one-semester course in economics. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to consider including age-appropriate information on financial literacy when the history-social science curriculum framework is next revised after January 1, 2017. This bill would require, for purposes of the above-described graduation requirement, the one-semester course in economics to include content in personal finance aligned to the history-social science curriculum framework adopted by the state board. To the extent this imposes new duties on local educational agencies, 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, 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.
(1) Existing law imposes liability upon a person who denies, aids or incites a denial, or makes any discrimination or distinction contrary to rights afforded by law, for actual damages suffered, exemplary damages, a civil penalty, and attorney's fees, as specified, to any person who was denied the specified rights. Existing law also imposes liability upon a person, firm, or corporation that denies or interferes with admittance to or enjoyment of public facilities or otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, as specified, for damages and attorney's fees to a person who was denied those rights. Existing law establishes in state government the California Commission on Disability Access, which is required to provide information regarding preventing or minimizing problems of compliance by California businesses by providing educational services, including outreach efforts, and by preparing and hosting on its internet website a Guide to Compliance with State Laws and Regulations Regarding Disability Access Requirements. This bill would specify that statutory damages based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website under these provisions shall only be recovered against an entity, as defined, if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entity's goods and services to all members of the public. The bill would require, in order for a plaintiff to be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, the plaintiff to prove either that they personally encountered a barrier that caused them to experience a difference in their access to, or use of, the website as compared to other users, as specified, or that they were deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the website because of the website's failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entity's goods and services offered to the public. The bill would specify that an internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication for the purpose of determining whether an award of minimum statutory damages is warranted, as specified, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, complies with an internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined. The bill would require the California Commission on Disability Access to review standards described in the definition of internet website-related accessibility standard to determine whether they are the most up-to-date standards for effective communication by means of internet websites, and to notify the Legislature if they are not up to date and should be revised. This bill would make it unlawful for any resource service provider, in exchange for remuneration, to intentionally or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, an internet website that fails to comply with the internet website-related accessibility standard. The bill would authorize a civil action by a person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of the failure of an internet website to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would further authorize a civil action by a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with a resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entity's goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is disabled, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would also authorize the Attorney General or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to bring an action to obtain injunctive or declaratory relief and attorney's fees and costs. The bill would provide that a provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under these provisions is subject to specified provisions of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 relating to waiver of rights. (2) Existing law requires each city, county, or city and county that issues business licenses, building permits for additions, alterations, and structural repairs to commercial property, or building permits for new construction of commercial property to make available, and, upon receipt of an application for a business license or building permit to provide to the applicant, an informational notice to the applicant containing, among other things, general information about the compliance requirements pursuant to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the state's disability access laws and advisories to both building permit applicants and business license applicants encouraging consultations and inspections by certified access specialists. This bill would also require the information about the compliance requirements pursuant to the state's disability access laws to include a statement that a business' internet website is required to be accessible, and to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entity's goods and services, to the public, including any member of the public who is disabled. The bill would require the advisories to encourage applicants to include in specified contracts warranty and indemnification clauses relating to accessibility standards and to consider not working with individuals or organizations unwilling to warranty their work and to indemnify the applicant for judgements rendered against them for violating website-related accessibility standards. By imposing new requirements on local government agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would also make other conforming changes. 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 vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of all state highways. This bill would require the department, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to develop a programmatic environmental review process to prevent 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone from entering salmon and steelhead trout bearing surface waters of the state. The bill would require the department's 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone programmatic environmental review process to include, among other specified components, a pilot project at a particular highway crossing over the San Mateo Creek to study the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of installing and maintaining bioretention and biofiltration comparatively along department rights-of-way to eliminate the discharge of 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone into surface waters of the state, as specified. The bill would require, no later than December 31, 2026, the Director of Transportation to submit a report to the Legislature describing the department's strategy to eliminate the discharge of 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone by the department to all salmon and steelhead trout bearing surface waters of the state. This bill would require, commencing January 1, 2027, the department to annually install bioretention or biofiltration controls at 10% of specified locations for 10 years, until the department has installed bioretention or biofiltration controls at all locations where the department is likely to discharge stormwater into salmon or steelhead trout bearing surface waters of the state. The bill would require the director to prepare an annual status report to be given to the Legislature describing the status of the department's progress in preventing the discharge of 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone on or before October 31 of each year, through October 31, 2038.
