Existing law authorizes employers to provide their employees paid sick leave. This bill would provide that an employee who works in California for 7 or more days in a calendar year is entitled to paid sick days, as defined, which shall be accrued at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. An employee would be entitled to use accrued sick days beginning on the 90th calendar day of employment. The bill would require employers to provide paid sick days, upon the request of the employee, for diagnosis, care, or treatment of health conditions of the employee or an employee's family member, or for leave related to domestic violence or sexual assault. An employer would be prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who requests paid sick days. The bill would require employers to satisfy specified posting and notice and recordkeeping requirements. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill would require the Labor Commissioner to administer and enforce these requirements, including the promulgation of regulations, investigation, mitigation, and relief of violations of these requirements. This bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to impose specified administrative fines for violations and would authorize an aggrieved person, the commissioner, the Attorney General, or an entity a member of which is aggrieved to bring an action to recover specified civil penalties against an offender, as well as attorney's fees, costs, and interest. The bill would specify that it does not apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for paid sick days, nor does it lessen any other obligations of the employer to employees. This bill would further specify that it does not apply to employees in the construction industry covered by a collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly waives the requirements of this article in clear and unambiguous terms. However, the bill would specify that it applies to certain public authorities, established to deliver in-home supportive services, except where a collective bargaining agreement provides for an incremental wage increase sufficient to satisfy the bill's requirements for accrual of sick days.
Sponsored bills
The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including a credit in an amount equal to 50% of specified adoption costs, not to exceed $2,500 per minor child who is a citizen or legal resident of the United States and who is in the custody of a public agency in this state. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2010, and before January 1, 2015, increase the credit limitation to a maximum of $5,000 with respect to the adoption of a minor child, as described, who is over 12 years of age or who was living in a group home or residential treatment facility, as defined, for a period of at least 6 months within 18 months prior to the time the adoption is completed. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires all pupils who are not otherwise exempt to attend courses in physical education for a total period of time of not less than 400 minutes each 10 schooldays. This bill would authorize the governing board of a school district to exempt any high school pupil from courses in physical education if the pupil participates in California Cadet Corps, cheer team or dance team, color guard or drill team, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, or marching band as part of the regular course of study or regular school-sponsored extracurricular activities. The bill would specify minimum standards for the physical education substitute courses, require that a certificated employee teach the course of study or sponsor the activity, and make other technical and clarifying changes.
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. The act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the act applicable. 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 a person without lawful immigration status, has filed a prescribed affidavit relating to obtaining lawful immigration status, is exempt from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the California State University. Existing law also requires the waiver of student fees charged by community college districts for students who demonstrate financial need or are otherwise eligible for the waiver. Existing law requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to allocate, to community college districts for determining financial need and delivering student financial aid services, an amount based on the amount of fees waived. This bill would amend the Donahoe Higher Education Act to require the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and to request the Regents of the University of California, to establish procedures and forms that enable persons who are exempt from paying nonresident tuition under that provision, or who meet equivalent requirements adopted by the regents, to be eligible to receive institutional financial aid awards. The bill would define institutional financial aid as financial assistance offered by a campus of the California Community Colleges, California State University, or University of California, including grant, scholarship, workstudy, and loan programs. The bill would specify that institutional financial aid does not include a specified board of governors fee waiver. The bill would declare that it is a state law within the meaning of a federal statute that permits a state to provide an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States with eligibility for a state or local public benefit only through the enactment of a state law affirmatively providing for that eligibility. The bill would apply to the University of California only if the regents, by appropriate resolution, act to make it applicable.
Existing law defines human trafficking as the deprivation or violation of the personal liberty of another person with the intent to commit certain specified sex offenses with the person or to obtain forced labor or services, as specified. This bill would provide that upon conviction for the offense of human trafficking involving real property that is used to facilitate the commission of an offense involving illegal gambling, lewdness, assignation, or prostitution, that real property is authorized to be declared and treated as a nuisance, as specified.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to maintain certain information reported to the Department of Justice in connection with handgun transactions. This bill would require the Attorney General to maintain certain information related to the date of delivery of handguns. Existing law generally regulates the transfer of firearms by firearms dealers. This bill would require that the dealer provide a copy of the record of transfer to the seller and purchaser of a firearm, as specified. The bill would also require the record of transfer to have the signatures of the purchaser and the dealer to acknowledge the date of transfer of a handgun. Existing law provides various exemptions from various requirements pertaining to firearms transactions for law enforcement agencies and other government entities. This bill would provide additional exemptions from certain requirements pertaining to the transfer or disposition of firearms for law enforcement agencies, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 11106 and 12076 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 962, to become operative if this bill is enacted after AB 962. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12078 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 175, to become operative if this bill is enacted after SB 175.
Existing law establishes the offense of human trafficking. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to implement a course or courses of instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in California in the handling of human trafficking complaints and to develop guidelines for law enforcement response to human trafficking, as specified. This bill would additionally require the commission, upon the next regularly scheduled review of a training module relating to human trafficking, to create and make available training content on the U Visa, as specified.
Existing law provides that the parents and guardians of pupils enrolled in public schools have the right and should have the opportunity, as mutually supportive and respectful partners in the education of their children within the public schools, to be informed by the school, and to participate in the education of their children, as specified, except to the extent that informing a parent or guardian or permitting participation by a parent or guardian in the education of a child conflicts with a valid restraining order, protective order, or order for custody or visitation issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Existing law requires a school district to take all reasonable steps to ensure that all parents and guardians of pupils who speak a language other than English are properly notified in English and in their home language of these rights and opportunities. This bill would authorize parents and guardians of English learners to bring an oral language interpreter to all conferences, meetings, or proceedings held at a school district building or schoolsite or sponsored by the school district or school, except when prohibited by state or federal law.
The Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a tax on retailers measured by gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, measured by the sales price of the property. That law provides various exclusions from gross receipts and sales price, including an exclusion for separately stated charges for transportation from the retailer's place of business or other point from which shipment is made directly to the purchaser, as specified. This bill would state that charges for transportation are separately stated when stated as a single amount and not combined in a single amount with other charges. Existing law regarding contracting between state agencies and private contractors sets forth requirements for the procurement of materials, supplies, equipment, and services by state agencies. Existing law sets out the various responsibilities of the Department of General Services, and other state agencies, in overseeing and implementing state contracting procedures and policies. Existing law prohibits a state agency from entering into any contract with an expatriate corporation, as defined, or its subsidiary, unless certain conditions are met. Existing law defines an expatriate corporation as a foreign incorporated entity that is publicly traded in the United States and that meets specified criteria. This bill would revise the definition of an expatriate corporation to also require that the entity be domiciled in a jurisdiction that does not have an income tax treaty with the United States.
Existing law establishes, within the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan, a low-cost automobile insurance program. Existing law establishes the low-cost automobile insurance program in several specified counties and makes the expansion to all other counties in California subject to a determination of need made by the Insurance Commissioner following a public meeting, as specified. Existing law provides for the issuance of automobile liability policies pursuant to this program under specified terms and conditions, and provides that a policy so issued satisfies specified requirements regarding financial responsibility. Existing law provides that the low-cost automobile insurance program shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011. This bill would name the program the "Martha Escutia and Jackie Speier low-cost automobile insurance program." The bill would also provide that the low-cost automobile insurance program would remain in effect until January 1, 2016.