Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which, through a combination of federal, state, and county funds, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law requires the county, at the time of application, to determine whether the applicant needs immediate assistance because the applicant does not have sufficient resources to meet their emergency needs, and to determine whether the applicant is apparently eligible for CalWORKs aid. Existing law requires the county to determine that the applicant needs immediate assistance if the family's total available liquid resources are less than $100 and there is an emergency situation. Under existing law, apparent eligibility exists when evidence presented by the applicant or which is otherwise available to the county welfare department and the information provided on the application documents indicate that there would be eligibility for CalWORKs aid if the evidence and information were verified. If an applicant needs immediate assistance, and is apparently eligible for CalWORKs aid, existing law requires the county to pay the applicant $200 or the maximum amount for which that applicant is eligible, whichever is less. Under the CalWORKs program, there is also an allowance for nonrecurring special needs for homeless assistance available to a family that is homeless and seeking shelter when the family is either eligible for or apparently eligible for CalWORKs aid. This bill would require the county to make a determination of apparent eligibility for immediate assistance and for homeless assistance without requiring, as a prerequisite to making that determination, that the applicant apply for any unconditionally available income the applicant does not currently receive. To the extent that the bill would expand counties' duties relating to apparent eligibility determinations, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of the bill. 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, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act, administered by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board (board) , establishes the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program (program) and the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust (trust) . Under existing law, the trust consists of a program fund and an administrative fund with trust moneys that are continuously appropriated and administered by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board for the purpose of promoting greater retirement savings for California private employees. Existing law requires eligible employers to offer a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement so that eligible employees may contribute a portion of their salary or wages to a retirement savings program account in the program, as specified. Existing law defines "eligible employer" as a person or entity engaged in a business, industry, profession, trade, or other enterprise in the state, whether for profit or not for profit, excluding, among others, specified federal, state, and local governmental entities, with at least one eligible employee and that satisfies certain requirements to establish or participate in a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement. This bill would enact the Savings Access and Vested Empowerment (SAVE) for All Workers Act, which would recast those provisions to expand that definition of "eligible employer" to include household employers, defined as those who have hired someone to work in or around their home for the benefit of their personal household and who provide the employee a W-2 federal tax form. By expanding eligibility under these provisions, the bill would remove a restriction limiting expenditure of funds and authorize the expenditure of continuously appropriated moneys for a new purpose, thereby making an appropriation. Existing law requires the board, subject to its authority and fiduciary duty, to design and implement the program. Existing law authorizes the board to provide for investment in myRAs. Existing law requires the program to include, as determined by the board, one or more payroll deduction IRA arrangements. Existing law provides the board with the power and authority to, among other things, make and enter into contracts necessary for the administration of the trust and to disseminate information concerning tax credits available to small business owners for allowing their employees to participate in the program and the federal Retirement Savings Contribution Credit (Saver's Credit) . This bill would eliminate the authority of the board to invest in myRAs and would make related conforming changes. The bill would require the program, with board approval, to establish an IRA on behalf of participants who are eligible to receive federal or state retirement benefits, as specified, and notify participants at least 30 days prior to the creation of the accounts. This bill would additionally authorize the board to assess the feasibility of multi-state or regional agreements to administer the program and to disseminate information concerning tax credits available to small business owners for allowing their employees to participate in the successor to the Saver's Credit, known as the Saver's Match. Existing law requires the board, prior to opening the program for enrollment, to establish a retirement investments clearinghouse on its internet website and a vendor registration process, if there is sufficient interest by vendors to participate and provide the necessary funding. Existing law requires vendors that would like to participate in the board's retirement investments clearinghouse and be listed on the board's internet website as a registered vendor to provide specified information to the board. This bill would eliminate the above-described requirement for the board to establish a retirement investments clearinghouse on its internet website and a vendor registration process, and would instead require vendors that would like to contract with the board to provide specified information to the board. The bill would make related conforming changes. Existing law authorizes an employer to choose to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program under the terms and conditions prescribed by the board. Existing law requires, by December 31, 2025, eligible employers with one or more eligible employees and do not offer a retirement savings program, as provided, to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program. Existing law authorizes the board to implement annual automatic escalation of employee contributions and prohibits contributions subject to automatic escalation from exceeding 8% of salary. Existing law provides the board the powers and duties necessary to administer the enforcement of employer compliance, as provided. This bill would, beginning December 31, 2027 and by December 31 of each calendar year, require eligible employers with one or more eligible employees, as described, who do not offer a retirement savings program, as specified, to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program. The bill would instead prohibit contributions subject to automatic escalation from exceeding 10% of salary. The bill would require the board to notify participants of this increase in salary subject to automatic escalation. Existing law requires the board to issue to each employer who fails to allow its eligible employees to participate in the program, as provided, a notice of penalty application. Existing law requires each eligible employer that, without good cause, fails to allow its employees to participate in the program, as specified, after the board serves a final notice of penalty application, to be subject to a penalty of $250 per eligible employee and an additional penalty of $500 per eligible employee if noncompliance continues, as described. Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to issue a first notice of the imposition of a penalty to an eligible employer for failure to comply after the board informs the Franchise Tax Board of the eligible employer's noncompliance. Existing law requires amounts collected by the Franchise Tax Board for these purposes to be transmitted to the board for deposit in the trust. This bill would additionally subject each eligible employer that fails to allow its eligible employees to participate in the program after the above-described penalties have been assessed to a penalty of $500 per eligible employee. The bill would prohibit the penalties assessed from being imposed more than once every 180 days since the last violation. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to issue subsequent notices of imposition of penalties for noncompliance, as specified. By depositing additional penalties into the trust, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account in the California Advanced Services Fund and makes the moneys in the account available for grants to eligible consortia to facilitate the deployment of broadband services by assisting infrastructure applicants in the project development or grant application process. Existing law requires each consortium to conduct an annual audit of its expenditures for programs funded pursuant to those provisions and to submit to the commission an annual report that includes specified information. This bill would instead require moneys in the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Account to be available for grants to eligible consortia primarily to facilitate the deployment of broadband services by assisting infrastructure applicants in the project development or grant application process. In facilitating the deployment of broadband services, the bill would authorize the consortia to undertake activities that promote broadband adoption within specified areas, including all infrastructure project areas that received California Advanced Services Fund grants on or after January 1, 2020, as specified, neighborhoods and communities identified by jurisdictions receiving local agency technical assistance grants, or areas where construction of infrastructure deployment and upgrade investments are made pursuant to public benefit agreements by parties to corporate consolidations approved by the commission. The bill would require the commission to allocate sufficient funds to the account to provide multi-year grants to eligible consortia to engage and regularly convene specified representatives and to implement an approved regional work plan consistent with a standardized scope of work determined by the commission, which would be required to include specified strategies and infrastructure-related activities, as provided. The bill would require the annual base funding grant per consortium to be no less than $200,000, plus an increased amount based on the number of unserved and underserved locations, unconnected households, and the number of low-income households in the region, as provided. The bill would delete the requirement for each consortium to conduct an annual audit and would revise the information required to be included in the annual report to the commission, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to engage experienced nonprofit organizations through an open, competitive process to assist the commission and support the consortia, as provided. 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 above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements 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 establishes the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) pilot program, which is administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections, to improve public safety and reduce recidivism by increasing the availability and use of social service resources while reducing costs to law enforcement agencies and courts stemming from repeated incarceration. Existing law requires the board to award grants, on a competitive basis, to up to 3 jurisdictions to establish LEAD programs and requires the board to establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants. This bill would rename the program as the Alternatives to Arrest (ATA) pilot program. The bill would require the board to additionally award a grant or grants to the agency administering qualifying programs in the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles, as well as in other jurisdictions to be identified by the board. Existing law allows a person to be referred to services through a program by a law enforcement officer as an alternative to arrest and through a social contact referral by a law enforcement officer if they believe the person is at high risk of arrest in the future for specified crimes relating to controlled substances and prostitution. Existing law requires those social contact referrals to meet specified criteria, including, among other things, verification that the individual has had prior involvement with low-level drug or prostitution activity and that the individual does not have a pending case in drug court or mental health court. This bill would remove these requirements for social contact referrals and instead authorize them if, absent probable cause to arrest, the officer believes the person would benefit from case management services and is at high risk of arrest in the future and the person expresses interest in voluntarily participating in the program. The bill would expand the offenses eligible for referral as an alternative to arrest to include, among other things, specified disorderly conduct crimes, shoplifting, or other violations identified by the local jurisdiction with agreement of the police chief or sheriff, the city attorney or district attorney, and the implementing public health or behavioral health agency administering case management services. Existing law requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to contract with a nonprofit research entity, university, or college to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the board to contract with experts for the purpose of providing technical assistance to participating jurisdictions. Existing law appropriated $15,000,000 from the General Fund for the program and authorized the board to spend up to $550,000 for the purposes of the evaluation contract and technical assistance. This bill would repeal those provisions and would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature for these programs, that the funds be granted to the entity responsible for LEAD or ATA in the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles and agencies in other jurisdictions to be identified by the board. The bill would authorize the board to spend a portion of those funds on contracts with experts on the implementation of ATA or similar programs in other jurisdictions for the purpose of providing technical assistance to participating jurisdictions, as specified. The bill would require local jurisdictions to commit to using these funds and local resources to support ATA or LEAD planning, implementation, and services and not supplant local resources that had been previously dedicated to ATA or LEAD programs and services. The bill would require the board to report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program on or before September 1, 2031.
Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the California Department of Aging in the California Health and Human Services Agency and sets forth its mission to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or the least restrictive homelike environments. This bill would establish the Wildfire Mitigation Aging and Disability Grant Pilot Program to be administered by the California Department of Aging through specified area agencies on aging, including Planning and Service Areas 4, 29, and 33. Upon appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes, the bill would award grants, based on specified criteria, to seniors and individuals with disabilities to mitigate against wildfires on properties they own that they would not otherwise be able to protect with existing resources. The bill would require the area agencies on aging to award grants on a competitive basis and would require applications to contain specified information, including proof of need. The bill would also authorize the grant funding to be used towards the costs associated with hiring contractors or other qualified service providers to perform wildfire mitigation activities. The bill would also require the area agencies on aging to retain specified information and report that information to the department upon the completion of the pilot program, including the number of applicants and the amount of money distributed. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on January 1, 2030, and would repeal these provisions on that date.
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 and existing property tax law provide various exemptions from taxation, including, among others, a disabled veterans' exemption and a veterans' organization exemption. This bill would exempt from taxation, as provided, 50% of the full value of the property owned by, and that constitutes the principal place of residence of, a veteran, the veteran's spouse, or the veteran and the veteran's spouse jointly, if the veteran is 100% disabled. The bill would provide an unmarried surviving spouse a property exemption in the same amount that they would have been entitled to if the veteran were alive and if certain conditions are met. In the case of a disabled veteran or unmarried surviving spouse whose household income does not exceed a specified amount for the relevant assessment year, as prescribed, the bill would exempt 100% of the full value of the property from taxation. The bill would require certain documentation to be provided to the county assessor to receive the exemption and would prohibit any other real property tax exemption from being granted to the claimant if receiving the exemption provided by the provisions of this bill. The bill would make these exemptions applicable for property tax lien dates occurring on or after January 1, 2027, but occurring before January 1, 2032. By imposing additional duties on local tax officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. 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 requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including numerous motion picture credits. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, would allow a credit against the taxes imposed by those laws to a qualified taxpayer that produces qualified commercials, as defined, in the state in an amount equal to 20% or 30% of the qualified production costs in excess of $500,000 that are attributable to the production of a qualified commercial, as specified. The bill would exclude any commercial that is created entirely by generative artificial intelligence, as specified, or that utilizes generative artificial intelligence or autonomous vehicles in a manner that replaces the job functions customarily performed by a human worker in the production. The bill would require the qualified commercial to adhere to specified labor standards. The bill would require the California Film Commission to establish an application process and allocate the credits on or after July 1 each year, in accordance with certain requirements. The bill would limit the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated for a fiscal year under these provisions to $15,000,000. The bill would require specified certifications under penalty of perjury. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing federal law establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing federal law limits a participant who is an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) to 3 months of CalFresh benefits in a 3-year period unless that participant has met work participation requirements or is otherwise exempt. Existing federal law authorizes a waiver of that time limit upon the request of a state if it is determined that the area in which the individuals reside has an unemployment rate of over 10% or does not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals. Existing state law requires the State Department of Social Services, to the extent permitted by federal law, to annually seek a federal waiver of the time limit. Existing federal law also authorizes a state to provide, in each fiscal year, an exemption from the 3-month time limit for covered individuals, to the extent that the average monthly number of exemptions in effect during a fiscal year does not exceed 8% of the number of covered individuals in the state. Existing law requires the department to also establish the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to provide nutrition benefits to households that are ineligible for CalFresh benefits solely due to their immigration status, as specified. Existing law requires CFAP benefits to be equivalent to SNAP benefits. Under existing law, operative on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation for this purpose, an individual 55 years of age or older is eligible for CFAP benefits, subject to an appropriation. Existing law requires these provisions only be implemented during any period that specified federal benefits are provided. This bill, the California Antihunger Response and Employment Training Act of 2026, would expand CFAP eligibility to include individuals ineligible for CalFresh benefits due to the federal time limits placed on ABAWDs regardless of if they are a citizen or noncitizen and individuals ineligible solely due to their humanitarian immigration status. The bill would also repeal the provisions requiring certain federal benefits be provided in order for CFAP to be implemented. The bill would make related findings and declarations. To the extent the bill would expand eligibility for county-administered benefits through expansion of the CFAP program, 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.
Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, requires the department to administer childcare and development programs, including, among others, general childcare and development, migrant childcare and development, and alternative payment programs, that offer a full range of services to eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age, inclusive. Existing law requires the department to contract with local contracting agencies for alternative payment programs for childcare services to be provided throughout the state. Existing law then requires alternative payment programs to reimburse childcare providers for providing childcare to eligible children. Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law provides for state-subsidized childcare programs and childcare for recipients of benefits under the CalWORKs program and establishes 3 stages of childcare services managed by county welfare departments and agencies contracting with the State Department of Social Services. This bill would require the department to, no less than quarterly, identify unspent or projected unexpended moneys from subsidized childcare and development programs, as specified. The bill would require the department, to the maximum extent permitted by federal and state law, to redirect and deposit the unspent or unexpended moneys identified to the Alternative Payment Program Enrollment Fund, as established by the bill. The bill would continuously appropriate all moneys in the fund to the department for the purpose of enrolling additional eligible families in alternative payment programs. The bill would require the department to notify each local childcare and development planning council whenever moneys are identified as unspent, or projected to remain unexpended, and are subject to transfer or redirection pursuant to these provisions. By authorizing existing appropriated moneys to be used for a new purpose, and by creating a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development and requires it to administer various programs intended to promote the development of housing, as specified, pursuant to which the department provides financial assistance in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for the eligible costs of development of specified types of housing projects. Existing law sets forth various general powers of the department in implementing these programs, including authorizing the department to enter into long-term contracts or agreements of up to 30 years for the purpose of servicing loans or grants or enforcing regulatory agreements or other security documents. This bill would permit the department to waive payment of residual receipts or minimum annual loan payments used to cover the cost of project monitoring required under a department regulatory agreement, based on the assessment by the department's actual cost in combination with a project's ability to pay.
