Asm. Alyson Huber

This measure would proclaim the month of May to be Women Veterans Recognition Month.

The California Constitution prescribes that, with regard to the retirement board of a public pension or retirement system that includes in its composition elected employee members, the number, terms, and method of selection or removal of members of the retirement board that were required by law or otherwise in effect on July 1, 1991, shall not be changed, amended, or modified by the Legislature unless the change, amendment, or modification enacted by the Legislature is ratified by a majority vote of the electors of the jurisdiction in which the participants of the system are or were, prior to retirement, employed. The Public Employees' Retirement Law requires the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to administer the Public Employees' Retirement Law. Under that law, state employees and employees of local agencies that contract with the Board of Administration for retirement benefits are within the membership of the retirement system. That law, as in effect on July 1, 1991, requires the Board of Administration to consist of 13 members including 2 members elected from the membership of the retirement system by the members of the retirement system, one member elected from state membership by active state members, 2 members elected by and from active local members, and one member elected by and from the retired members of the retirement system, among others. The law also provides, in the event of a vacancy, for a special election or the appointment of a new member, as specified. The Trust Law provides for the removal of a trustee by the court under specified circumstances, including, but not limited to, when the trustee has committed a breach of the trust, or when the trustee is insolvent or otherwise unfit to administer the trust. The law provides that there is a vacancy in the office of trustee in specified circumstances, including, but not limited to, that the trustee resigns or is removed, or the trustee files a petition for adjudication of bankruptcy, as specified. This bill similarly would provide for the removal of a member of the Board of Administration if the board member has committed a breach of his or her fiduciary duties to the system, or if the board member is insolvent or otherwise unfit to administer the system. The bill would provide that there is a vacancy in the office of member of the board in specified circumstances, including, but not limited to, that the board member resigns or is removed, or the board member files a petition for adjudication of bankruptcy, as specified. The bill would provide that these changes would take effect only when submitted to and approved by the voters, and would require its provisions to be submitted for approval by the voters.

Under existing law, various general obligation bond acts have been approved by the voters to provide funds for water projects, facilities, and programs. The Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006, a bond act approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,090,000,000 for the purposes of financing disaster preparedness and flood prevention projects. This bill, with regard to those bond funds, would appropriate $30,000,000 to the Department of Water Resources for flood protection projects that either improve the sustainability of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, implement specified flood management actions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, or do both.

The Civil Discovery Act permits a party to a civil action to obtain discovery, as specified, by inspecting documents, tangible things, and land or other property in the possession of any other party to the action. The act provides for procedures that must be followed when the responding party objects to part or all of an inspection demand. This bill would authorize the party making the demand to move for an order to require the responding party to produce a privilege log when that party objects to a demand on the basis of privilege or work product, as specified. If the court, in its discretion, determines that a privilege log is necessary in order to determine the validity of the claim, the court shall order the party claiming the privilege to prepare and serve a privilege log upon the terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the court. The bill would specify that the parties may voluntarily comply with these provisions or stipulate that all parties will comply with these provisions. The bill would require that the compliance be presumed to satisfy existing provisions related to objecting to a demand for inspection.

Existing law requires all local agency officials to receive training in ethics, at specified intervals, if the local agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to those officials. Existing law defines "local agency," for these purposes, to mean a city, county, city and county, charter city, charter county, charter city and county, or special district. This bill would include a community college district, county board of education, and school district in the definition of "local agency." The bill would also require local agency officials who serve a community college district, county board of education, or school district as of January 1, 2010, to receive the ethics training required by specified law before January 1, 2011, and at least every 2 years thereafter, except as specified.

This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year 4708 celebration.

This measure would declare February 23, 2010, to be Spay Day USA 2010 in California, and would request that Californians observe that day by having their dogs and cats spayed or neutered and by providing voluntary services or other support to organizations that provide spay and neuter services.

This resolution would respectfully request that the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, adopt the North American Emission Control Area, as proposed by the United States, Canada, and France at the 60th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee, scheduled for March 2010.

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.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development with duties that include overseeing various programs to promote economic and community development throughout the state. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2016, the department to designate, based on specific factors, a Research and Development Tax Credit Area located within an Innovation Hub or a city, as respectively defined. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, by reference to a specified federal statute, allow a credit against taxes imposed by those laws for increasing research activities. The amount of the credit under both laws is equal to 15% of the excess of the qualified research expenses, as defined, for the taxable year over the base amount, as defined, and, in addition, under the Corporation Tax Law, 24% of the basic research payments, as defined. This bill would, under both laws, in lieu of that credit, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2011, and before January 1, 2016, provide to a qualified taxpayer, as defined, a tax credit for research and development, as defined, for expenses equal to 20% of the research and development expenses relating to the development of alternative energy sources and advanced transportation technologies, as those terms are defined, conducted in California in a research and development tax area, as described. The bill would further require the Legislative Analyst's Office to report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the tax credit program established by this act. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.