Under existing law, any taxing agency or instrumentality of the state may file a petition and prosecute to completion bankruptcy proceedings permitted under the laws of the United States. This bill would provide that a local public entity may only file under federal bankruptcy law with the approval of the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, except as specified. The bill would also provide an alternative procedure for a local entity to file under federal bankruptcy law by submitting specific analyses regarding its financial position to the State Auditor who would be required to audit the analyses and financial position of the local entity. The bill would make the local public entity responsible for the costs of the audit, as specified. The public entity would be authorized to file a petition under federal bankruptcy law after the State Auditor has notified the public entity of completion of its audit work and made public the findings of that audit.
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Existing law imposes various taxes, including taxes on the privilege of engaging in certain activities. The Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges. This bill would impose a tax on and after January 1, 2010, upon any producer for the privilege of severing oil from the earth or water in this state for sale, transport, consumption, storage, profit, or use, as provided, at the rate of 10% of the gross value of each barrel of oil severed. The tax would be administered by the State Board of Equalization and would be collected pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Fee Collection Procedures Law. The bill would require the board to deposit all revenues, less refunds, collected pursuant to these provisions into the General Fund. Because this bill would expand the scope of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, it 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. This bill would result in a change in state taxes for the purpose of increasing state revenues within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law requires that a person, other than a nonimmigrant alien, as defined, who has attended high school in California for 3 or more years, who has graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent thereof, who has registered at or attends an accredited institution of higher education in California not earlier than the fall semester or quarter of the 2001–02 academic year, and who, if he or she is an alien without lawful immigration status, has filed a prescribed affidavit, is exempt from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the California State University. This bill would enact the California Dream Act of 2010. The bill, as of July 1, 2011, would exempt a person who has attended, for 3 or more years, at least one of which shall have been in a high school, and graduated from, secondary school in California from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the California State University. Under the bill, persons attending and graduating from California technical schools and adult schools, as well as high schools, would be included within the scope of this provision. (2) The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California's public and independent segments of higher education, and their respective institutions of higher education. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make a provision applicable. In any action in which a state court finds that a specified law, or any similar provision adopted by the regents, is unlawful, existing law authorizes the court to order the administering entity that is the subject of the lawsuit to terminate any waiver awarded under that statute or action, as equitable relief, prohibits the award of money damages, tuition refund or waiver, or other retroactive relief, and provides that the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California are immune from the imposition of any award of money damages, tuition refund or waiver, or other retroactive relief in a lawsuit. This bill would amend the Donahoe Higher Education Act, as of July 1, 2011, to require the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and to request the regents, to establish procedures and forms that enable persons who are exempt from paying nonresident tuition under the provision described in (1) above, or who meet equivalent requirements adopted by the regents, to apply for, and participate in, all student aid programs administered by these segments to the full extent permitted by federal law, except as provided. This provision would apply to the University of California only if the regents, by appropriate resolution, act to make it applicable. If a state court finds that this provision, or a similar provision adopted by the regents, is unlawful, this bill would provide that the same limitations described above would apply. This bill would further provide that, on and after January 1, 2011, a student attending the California State University, the California Community Colleges, or the University of California who is exempt from paying nonresident tuition under the provision described above would be eligible to receive a scholarship derived from nonstate funds received, for the purpose of scholarships, by the segment at which he or she is a student. Existing federal law requires that a state may provide that an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States is eligible for any state or local public benefit for which that alien would otherwise be ineligible under a specified federal law only through enactment of a state law that affirmatively provides for that eligibility. This bill would find and declare that the amendments to the Donahoe Higher Education Act described above are state laws within the meaning of this federal provision. (3) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law authorizes the establishment of community college districts under the administration of community college governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction, for prescribed fees, at community college campuses throughout the state. Existing law authorizes the waiver of these fees for, among others, students who are eligible under income standards established by the board of governors. This bill, as of July 1, 2011, would require community college districts to waive the fees of persons who are exempt from nonresident tuition under the provision described in (1) above, and who otherwise qualify for a waiver under this provision, under regulations and procedures adopted by the board of governors. Because the bill would impose new duties on community college districts with respect to determining eligibility for fee waivers, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. (4) 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law does not provide a system of universal health care coverage for California residents. Existing law provides for the creation of various programs to provide health care services to persons who have limited incomes and meet various eligibility requirements. These programs include the Healthy Families Program administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and the Medi‑Cal program administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law provides for the regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and health insurers by the Department of Insurance. This bill would establish the California Healthcare System to be administered by the newly created California Healthcare Agency under the control of a Healthcare Commissioner appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The bill would make all California residents eligible for specified health care benefits under the California Healthcare System, which would, on a single-payer basis, negotiate for or set fees for health care services provided through the system and pay claims for those services. The bill would provide that a resident of the state with a household income, as specified, at or below 200% of the federal poverty level would be eligible for the type of benefits provided under the Medi-Cal program. The bill would require the commissioner to seek all necessary waivers, exemptions, agreements, or legislation to allow various existing federal, state, and local health care payments to be paid to the California Healthcare System, which would then assume responsibility for all benefits and services previously paid for with those funds. The bill would create the Healthcare Policy Board to establish policy on medical issues and various other matters relating to the system. The bill would create the Office of Patient Advocacy within the agency to represent the interests of health care consumers relative to the system. The bill would create within the agency the Office of Health Planning to plan for the health care needs of the population, and the Office of Health Care Quality, headed by a chief medical officer, to support the delivery of high quality care and promote provider and patient satisfaction. The bill would create the Office of Inspector General for the California Healthcare System within the Attorney General's office, which would have various oversight powers. The bill would prohibit health care service plan contracts or health insurance policies from being issued for services covered by the California Healthcare System. The bill would create the Healthcare Fund and the Payments Board to administer the finances of the California Healthcare System. The bill would create the California Healthcare Premium Commission (Premium Commission) to determine the cost of the California Healthcare System and to develop a premium structure for the system that complies with specified standards. The bill would require the Premium Commission to recommend a premium structure to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2013, and to make a draft recommendation to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public 90 days before submitting its final premium structure recommendation. The bill would specify that only its provisions relating to the Premium Commission would become operative on January 1, 2011, with its remaining provisions becoming operative on the date the Secretary of California Health and Human Services notifies the Legislature, as specified, that sufficient funding exists to implement the California Healthcare System. The bill would require that system to be operative within 2 years of that date and would provide for various transition processes for that period. The bill would extend the application of certain insurance fraud laws to providers of services and products under the system, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by revising the definition of a crime. The bill would enact other related provisions relative to budgeting, regional entities, federal preemption, subrogation, collective bargaining agreements, compensation of health care providers, conflict of interest, patient grievances, independent medical review, and associated matters. 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 measure would memorialize the Legislature's support of legislation currently pending in the United States Congress that would protect the Pacific Coast from new offshore oil drilling. This measure would also memorialize the Legislature's opposition to the proposed expansion of oil and gas drilling off the Pacific Coast and any federal energy policies and legislation that would weaken California's role in energy siting decisions due to those policies.
(1) Existing law classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules, with the most restrictive limitations placed on controlled substances classified in Schedule I, and the least restrictive limitations placed on controlled substances classified in Schedule V. A controlled substance in any of the schedules may be possessed or dispensed only upon a lawful prescription, as specified. Existing law does not classify ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine within any of these 5 schedules, but provides that it is a crime, punishable as specified, for a person in this state who engages in specified transactions involving those drugs to fail to submit a report to the Department of Justice of all of those transactions, or to fail to submit an application to, and obtain a permit for the conduct of that business from, the Department of Justice, as specified. Existing law prohibits the sale of more than 3 packages or 9 grams of a nonprescription product containing ephedrine or the other drugs, as specified. This bill would instead provide that it is a misdemeanor, punishable as specified, for any retail distributor, except pursuant to a valid prescription from a licensed practitioner with prescriptive authority, to sell or distribute to a person specified amounts of nonprescription products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine within specified time limits, to sell or distribute any of those substances to a person whose information has generated an alert, or, except under specified conditions, to sell or distribute to any purchaser a nonprescription product containing any amount of those substances. The bill would contain provisions requiring the secure storage of products containing any amount of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine and providing for the creation of an electronic authorization and monitoring system for the collection of, access to, and sharing of information regarding these transactions, as specified. The bill would provide that the information in the system may not be used for any purpose other than to meet the requirements of, or comply with, this act or a certain federal act, as specified. The bill would specify legislative findings, declarations, and intent. The bill's provisions would remain in effect only until January 1, 2017. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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, the Medical Practice Act, restricts the employment of licensed physicians and surgeons and podiatrists by a corporation or other artificial legal entity, subject to specified exemptions, and makes it a crime to practice medicine without a license. Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2011, a pilot project to allow qualified district hospitals that, among other things, provide more than 50% of patient days to the care of Medicare, Medi-Cal, and uninsured patients, to employ a physician and surgeon, if the hospital does not interfere with, control, or otherwise direct the professional judgment of the physician and surgeon. The pilot project authorizes the direct employment of a total of 20 physicians and surgeons by those hospitals to provide medically necessary services in rural and medically underserved communities, and specifies that each qualified district hospital may employ up to 2 physicians and surgeons, subject to specified requirements. This bill would delete that pilot project and would instead, until January 1, 2021, authorize a health care district, as defined, and a clinic owned or operated by a health care district, as specified, to employ physicians and surgeons if the health care district's service area includes a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) or a Medically Underserved Population (MUP) , or has been federally designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) ; the district board conducts a public hearing and adopts a specified resolution declaring the need for the district to recruit and directly employ one or more physicians and surgeons; and the executive officer of the district provides specified documentation to the Medical Board of California. Upon receipt of that documentation, the bill would require the board to approve the employment of up to 5 primary or specialty care physicians and surgeons by the district, and, upon receipt of additional documentation after that employment, to approve an additional 5 primary or specialty care physicians and surgeons. The bill would provide that a district may, until December 31, 2020, enter into, renew, or extend any employment contract with a physician and surgeon for up to 10 years. The bill would require the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health and the board, to report to the Legislature by June 1, 2018, with regard to the efficacy of the employment of physicians and surgeons by health care districts, as specified.
This measure would designate the first week of March of each year as Cuss Free Week.
(1) The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) , which provides a defined benefit to its members based on age at retirement, service credit, and final compensation. PERL defines "final compensation" for purposes of calculating a member's retirement allowance. The State Teachers' Retirement Law (STRL) and the retirement laws for county employees and city employees also provide for a defined benefit based on age at retirement, service credit, and final compensation. This bill would provide that any change in salary, compensation, or remuneration principally for the purpose of enhancing a member's benefits would not be included in the calculation of a member's final compensation for purposes of determining that member's defined benefit. The bill would generally require the board of each state and local public retirement system to establish, by regulation, accountability provisions that would include an ongoing audit process to ensure that a change in a member's salary, compensation, or remuneration is not made principally for the purpose of enhancing a member's retirement benefits. This bill would revise the definition of "creditable compensation" and would limit the calculation of a member's final compensation to an amount not to exceed the average increase in compensation received within the final compensation period and the 2 preceding years by employees in the same or a related group as that member. This bill would also provide that a person who retires on or after January 1, 2012, may not perform services for any employer covered by a state or local retirement system until that person has been separated from service for a period of at least 180 days. This bill would provide for the implementation of these required changes under the laws that govern PERS and STRL. (2) The Defined Benefit Supplement Program under STRL provides supplemental retirement, disability, final, and termination benefits, payable either in a lump-sum payment or as an annuity, to members receiving benefits under the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan. This bill would provide that member and employer contributions credited to the Defined Benefit Supplemental Program would include remuneration earnable within a 5-year period in excess of 125% of that member's compensation earnable in the year prior to that 5-year period. This bill would provide, in the case of a member who retires on or after January 1, 2012, and who elects to receive his or her retirement benefit under the Defined Benefit Supplemental Program as a lump-sum payment, that the lump-sum payment would not be payable until 180 days have elapsed following the effective date of the member's retirement. (3) This bill includes Legislative findings expressing the public purpose that would be served by the enactment of this bill. This bill would, except as otherwise specified, provide that its provisions would become operative on July 1, 2011. This bill would further provide that it would only become operative if AB 1987 of the 2009–10 Regular Session is also enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2011.
This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year 4708 celebration.