(1) Existing provisions of the Business and Professions Code define district agricultural associations and their locations, county fairs and their locations, and citrus fairs and their locations, and funding for these entities, and regulate various aspects of financial management of state, county, and local fairs, including revenue from horse racing, and impose various duties on the Secretary of the Department of Food and Agriculture for those purposes. This bill would repeal a number of these provisions in the Business and Professions Code and would revise and recast them as new provisions in the Food and Agricultural Code. The bill would replace references to the Division of Fairs and Expositions in the Department of Food and Agriculture with the Department of Food and Agriculture. The bill would make additional technical and conforming changes and repeal obsolete provisions. (2) Existing law requires that all license fees from satellite wagering that are deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, be deposited into a separate account in the fund for specified purposes, including for health and safety repair projects at fairs, which includes fire and life safety improvement projects, California Code of Regulations compliance projects, and long-term deferred maintenance projects. Under existing law, all revenues transferred into this account are continuously appropriated from that account to the Department of Food and Agriculture, for allocation by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, at the secretary's discretion, for those specified purposes. This bill would instead authorize certain revenues deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund to first be deposited into a separate account in the Fair and Exposition Fund designated by the bill as the California Fairs Trust Account, and would continuously appropriate those revenues for specified purposes. By expanding the purposes for which those revenues may be used, the bill would make an appropriation. (3) The Horse Racing Law appropriates certain unallocated moneys and other specified moneys to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture for capital outlay to California fairs for fair projects involving public health and safety, for fair projects involving major and deferred maintenance, for fair projects necessary due to any emergency, for projects that are required by physical changes to the fair site, for projects that are required to protect the fair property or installation, such as fencing and flood protection, and for the acquisition or improvement of any property or facility that will serve to enhance the operation of the fair. This bill would additionally appropriate other specified unallocated moneys in the Fair and Exposition Fund for those purposes. (4) The Horse Racing Law requires, except as specified, for a fair conducting a live racing meeting, that 1% of the total amount handled on live races, excluding wagering at a satellite facility, be retained by the fair association for payment to the state as a license fee. That law also requires any fair racing association to additionally deduct 1% from the total amount handled in its daily conventional and exotic parimutuel pools and requires that these additional moneys be deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, and, with the approval of the Department of Food and Agriculture, authorizes the expenditure of these additional moneys for the construction or operation of recreational and cultural facilities of general public interest. Existing law also requires that certain moneys that are not expended within 3 years after being deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund become available for those purposes. This bill would instead continuously appropriate those additional moneys deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund and unexpended moneys described above to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture for capital outlay to California fairs for fair projects involving public health and safety, for fair projects involving major and deferred maintenance, for fair projects necessary due to any emergency, for projects that are required by physical changes to the fair site, for projects that are required to protect the fair property or installation, and for the acquisition or improvement of any property or facility that will serve to enhance the operation of the fair, as specified. By expanding the purposes for which those additional moneys may be used, the bill would make an appropriation. (5) Under existing law, a violation of the Food and Agricultural Code is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the Food and Agricultural Code, the violation of which would be a crime, 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.
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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 years of courses in English, 2 years of courses in mathematics, 2 years of courses in science, and 3 years of courses in social studies, as specified. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to also adopt its own additional coursework requirements. This bill would clarify that the governing board of a school district is expressly authorized, at its discretion, to adopt a policy to exempt pupils from its additional coursework requirements, as provided.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act provides for the issuance of various categories of alcoholic beverage licenses, including the imposition of fees, conditions, and restrictions in connection with the issuance of those licenses. The act provides that any on-sale licensee authorized to sell wine may also sell soju, an imported Korean alcoholic beverage, as specified, and shochu, an imported Japanese alcoholic beverage, as specified. This bill would provide that any on-sale licensee authorized to sell wine may also sell domestically produced soju and shochu, as specified.
The Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995 requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee an environmental farming program to provide incentives to farmers whose practices promote the well-being of ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their habitat. The act also requires the department to establish the Healthy Soils Program and a technical assistance grant program, as specified. Existing law, the Farmer Equity Act of 2017, requires the department to ensure the inclusion of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, as defined, in the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of food and agriculture laws, regulations, and policies and programs, as specified. This bill would require the department, in collaboration with certain entities, to establish the Regional Farmer Equipment and Cooperative Resources Assistance Pilot Program as part of the Farmer Equity Act of 2017 to provide financial and technical assistance to support regional farm equipment sharing and enhance cooperative benefits for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and, if funding is available, for limited resource farmers and ranchers or eligible entities that serve socially disadvantaged or limited resource farmers and ranchers, as specified. The bill would specify the entities eligible for financial assistance under the program and would require that applications for financial assistance to develop and expand equipment sharing programs include certain information. The bill would make the operation of the program contingent upon the voters approving a specified bond measure at the November 2024 election and the Legislature making an appropriation for purposes of the program. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.
This measure would, among other things, urge the United States Congress and President Joseph R. Biden to fully fund the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Comprehensive Infrastructure Solution for the Tijuana River due to the ongoing impacts to public health, the environment, and the local economy caused by cross-border pollution and would urge President Joseph R. Biden to declare a national emergency due to those ongoing impacts.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to repeal the state and local tax deduction limitation so that residents of California and married taxpayers are no longer penalized by the federal tax code.
Maddy summaryAssembly Concurrent Resolution 120 designates January 2024 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month in California. This measure does not change laws or allocate funding but instead encourages state agencies, communities, and organizations to focus on the importance of positive parenting strategies. The resolution highlights how supportive family environments can improve children's health and well-being while acknowledging the diverse forms families take in the state. It serves as a formal acknowledgment of existing programs and resources rather than creating new mandates or policies.
This measure would proclaim September 20, 2024, and September 20 of each year thereafter, as California Youth Climate Action Day to honor and support the efforts of young people in their pursuit of environmental sustainability, climate justice, and the preservation of biodiversity.
Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including property and fire insurance. Existing law creates the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, and prescribes the department's powers and duties. Existing department regulations prohibit an insurer from using a rating plan that does not take into account and reflect specified wildfire risk mitigation, including property-level building hardening measures. This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, to consider whether or not to update its regulations to include additional building hardening measures for property-level mitigation efforts and communitywide wildfire mitigation programs. As part of this consideration, the bill would require the department to consult with specified agencies to identify additional building hardening measures to consider, as well as to develop and implement a public participation process during the evaluation.
Maddy summaryThis bill officially designates the week of January 26 through February 2, 2024, as CalEITC Awareness Week to highlight the California Earned Income Tax Credit program. The measure aims to increase public knowledge about this refundable tax credit, which assists low-income working families in meeting basic needs like housing, food, and health care. By drawing attention to the program, the resolution seeks to inform residents that the credit is available to many households, including those led by non-citizens and families with young children. The text includes findings on poverty levels and the economic benefits of the credit but does not change any laws or funding.