Asm. Alyson Huber

Existing law authorizes a county superintendent of schools, with the approval of the county board of education, to temporarily transfer moneys to a school district under specified circumstances. The Charter Schools Act of 1992 authorizes any one or more persons to submit a petition to the governing board of a school district to establish a charter school that operates independently from the existing school district structure as a method of accomplishing specified goals. This bill would authorize a county board of education to loan moneys to a charter school for which the county board of education or the county superintendent of schools has a supervisory responsibility or, regardless of whether the charter school is within or outside of the county, with which a county board of education or county superintendent of schools has a contractual relationship. The bill would require the county superintendent of schools, before making the loan, to advise the chartering authority of the charter school and the county office of education in which the charter school is located that the charter school is requesting the loan and to allow for their input regarding the advisability of making the loan, and would require the county superintendent of schools to solicit a recommendation from bond counsel about the advisability of making the loan. The bill would provide that any loan of moneys pursuant to these provisions would not constitute a debt or liability for the county superintendent of schools, the county board of education, or the State of California. The bill also would make technical and conforming changes.

Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to implement specified policy objectives regarding distance learning, which is defined as instruction in which the pupil and instructor are in different locations and interact through the use of computer and communications technology. This bill would define an online offsite classroom instructional program to mean an instructional program in which a pupil receives online instruction from a teacher who may be onsite or offsite, subject to certain requirements if the teacher is offsite.

Existing law establishes within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, under the Chief Deputy Secretary for Juvenile Justice, the Division of Juvenile Facilities, the Division of Juvenile Programs, and the Division of Juvenile Parole Operations, which operate the statewide system governing wards of the court and other persons committed to the department, and the detention, rehabilitation, probation, and parole thereof. Existing law states that the establishment, organization, jurisdiction, powers, duties, responsibilities, and functions of the former Youth Authority are continued in the Division of Juvenile Facilities. This bill would prohibit the Division of Juvenile Facilities from closing any youth correctional facility for a period of 6 months from the effective date of this bill. The bill would state that it is expected that ongoing activity levels at each division facility shall equal activity levels in place immediately prior to October 20, 2010, and that the number of employees also be maintained at those levels during this period, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires various state agencies to administer programs relating to water supply, water quality, and flood management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This bill would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal, as defined, that conveys water from a diversion point in the Sacramento River to a location south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, unless expressly authorized by the Legislature. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to complete an economic feasibility analysis prior to the enactment of a statute authorizing the construction of a peripheral canal. The bill would prohibit the construction and operation of a peripheral canal from diminishing or negatively affecting the water supplies, water rights, or quality of water for water users within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed, or imposing any new burdens on infrastructure within, or financial burdens on persons residing in, the Delta or the Delta watershed.

Under existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, the State Department of Developmental Services is authorized to contract with regional centers to provide support and services to individuals with developmental disabilities. This bill would require the department to develop guidance for regional centers in regard to the treatment of autism spectrum disorders and to direct the regional centers to fund therapies prescribed by the consumer's clinical practitioner, so long as those therapies can be shown to meet the definition of an evidence-based practice.

Under existing law, with specified exceptions, revenues derived from the assessment of fines and penalties by any state agency may not be expended unless the Legislature specifically provides authority for the expenditure of these funds in the annual Budget Act or other legislation. Existing law directs that various fines and penalties be deposited in various special funds related to the agency that collected the revenue. Existing law creates the General Fund to consist of money received into the State Treasury that is not required by law to be credited to any other fund. This bill would require, notwithstanding any other law, that any fine or penalty imposed by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Air Resources Board, or the State Water Resources Control Board for a violation of a regulation adopted by that state agency be deposited into the General Fund. The bill would also make a statement of findings.

Existing law establishes various social service programs that provide cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law establishes criminal penalties, including the imposition of specified fines, for violation of certain provisions relating to, among other offenses, willfully and knowingly making a false statement or failing to disclose a material fact in order to obtain designated public social services. 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 authorizes counties to implement state-funded early fraud detection and prevention programs as a component of administering the CalWORKs program, under specified circumstances. This bill would establish a pilot program until January 1, 2018, that would reimburse a county for the operation of a county program that prevents or reduces welfare fraud, provided that the county demonstrates the program produces a savings to the state that exceeds the cost of the operation of the program by an unspecified percentage. The bill would require these programs to satisfy the criteria for early fraud prevention and detection programs authorized under the above existing law. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to administer the program, and to conduct a statewide evaluation of the effectiveness of the program, as specified. Implementation of the bill would be contingent on an appropriation in the annual Budget Act.

(1) Existing law establishes the Credit Union Advisory Committee in the Department of Financial Institutions. The duties of this committee include advising the commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Financial Institutions for the Division of Credit Unions on matters relating to credit unions and the credit union business. Existing law establishes the Boating and Waterways Commission in the Department of Boating and Waterways. The duties of this committee include advising the department, recommending proposed changes to regulations, and causing studies and surveys to be made of the need for small craft harbors and connecting waterways throughout the state. This bill would, as of January 1, 2014, abolish the Credit Union Advisory Committee and the Boating and Waterways Commission and the duties and responsibilities carried out by each. (2) Existing law establishes the State Race Track Leasing Commission and repeals the commission on January 1, 2013. This bill would delete the repeal date, thereby indefinitely extending the existence of the commission.

Existing law establishes various boards and commissions within state government. Existing law sets forth various standards and procedures that govern the amount of salary or per diem expenses that a member of a board or commission may earn or claim. This bill would require that a member of a board or commission that meets specified requirements submit a quarterly report to the chair of the board or commission that details the time worked by the member fulfilling the duties of his or her position. This bill would also require that the chair of the board or commission submit a quarterly report to specified committees of the Legislature that contains copies of all of the time reports received by the chair.