(1) Existing law provides for the acquisition of public park property and facilities and compensation for that transfer under specified circumstances. The Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000 (the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) authorizes the issuance of bonds for the purpose of financing a program for the acquisition, development, improvement, rehabilitation, restoration, enhancement, and protection of park, recreational, cultural, historical, fish and wildlife, lake, riparian, reservoir, river, and coastal resources, as specified. The act allocates a portion of the revenues derived from the sale of those bonds to the Department of Parks and Recreation for grants to local agencies for the acquisition, development, improvement, rehabilitation, restoration, enhancement, and interpretation of local park and recreational lands and facilities, including renovation of recreational facilities conveyed to local agencies resulting from the downsizing or decommissioning of federal military installations. The act prohibits the use of the grant funds unless the applicant has agreed to certain conditions, including, but not limited to, using the property only for the purposes for which the grant was made and making no other use or sale or other disposition of the property, except as authorized by a specific act of the Legislature. The act requires that if the use of the property is changed to a use that is not permitted by the act or if the property is sold or otherwise disposed of, an amount equal to the amount of the grant, the fair market value of the real property, as specified, or the proceeds from the sale or other disposition be used by the grantee for a purpose authorized by the act or that this amount be reimbursed to the fund. This bill would authorize the City of Escalon to sell specified property acquired pursuant to this grant program, conditioned upon, among other things, a requirement that the city complies with the requirements of the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act. The bill would prohibit the transfer until the department determines that all required conditions have been met. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Escalon. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
This measure would declare May 2014 to be American Stroke Month in California.
This measure would proclaim May 5, 2014, to May 11, 2014, inclusive, and every 2nd week of May thereafter, to be California Charter Schools Week, and would state that the Legislature joins the California Charter Schools Association in congratulating charter schools for the accomplishments and contributions they have made to public education.
This measure would recognize the importance of access to local parks, trails, open space, and facilities for the health and development of all Californians and would declare the month of July 2014 as "Parks Make Life Better!" Month.
Existing law prohibits a permanent school employee from being dismissed, except for one or more of certain enumerated causes, including immoral or unprofessional conduct. This bill would also include egregious misconduct, as defined, as a basis for dismissal. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to give notice to a permanent employee of its intention to dismiss or suspend the employee, together with a written statement of charges, at the expiration of 30 days from the date of service of the notice, unless the employee demands a hearing. This bill would additionally apply the above to egregious misconduct. The bill would authorize the governing board of a school district, if the governing board has given the above notice, based on written charges, to amend charges less than 90 days before the hearing on the charges only upon a showing of good cause. The bill would require that the employee be given a meaningful opportunity to respond to the amended charges. The bill would authorize proceedings, based solely on charges of egregious misconduct, to be initiated via an alternative process, which this bill would establish, as provided. Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from giving notice of dismissal or suspension of a permanent employee between May 15 and September 15 of any year. This bill would authorize any notice of dismissal or suspension to be given at any time of year, as provided. The bill would require a notice of dismissal or suspension given outside of the instructional year of the schoolsite where the employee is physically employed to be in writing and served personally upon the employee. The bill would also revise various procedures for providing a notice of dismissal or suspension, and would impose various requirements for the filing of a demand for a hearing and the conduct of hearings by the Office of Administrative Hearings. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to immediately suspend an employee and give him or her notice of dismissal upon the filing of written charges relating to immoral conduct, conviction of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude, with incompetency due to mental disability, or with willful refusal to perform regular assignments without reasonable cause, as provided. This bill would authorize an employee who has been placed on suspension pursuant to the above provisions to serve and file with the Office of Administrative Hearings a motion for immediate reversal of suspension, as provided. Existing law provides that upon being charged, as specified, with certain sex or controlled substance offenses, a certificated employee be placed on either a compulsory leave of absence or an optional leave of absence for certain enumerated violations. This bill would revise the definitions of "charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense" and "charged with an optional leave of absence offense" for purposes of those provisions governing when a certificated employee is required to be placed on either a compulsory leave of absence or an optional leave of absence. Because these revisions would increase the number of employees subject to immediate placement on compulsory leave of absence, thereby increasing the duties of school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires in a dismissal or suspension proceeding against a permanent employee, if a hearing is requested by the employee, that the hearing be commenced within 60 days from the date of the employee's demand for a hearing. This bill would, for dismissal or suspension proceedings that are not based solely on charges of egregious misconduct, require that the hearing be commenced within 6 months from the date of the employee's demand for a hearing, and be completed by a closing of the record within 7 months of the date of the employee's demand for a hearing. The bill would revise various procedures for the conduct of those hearings, as prescribed, including the authority to waive the conductibility of the hearing by a Commission on Professional Competence and instead have the hearing conducted by a single administrative law judge. The bill would require, in a dismissal or suspension proceeding carried out under the above provisions, that the parties make specified disclosures in lieu of certain written discovery, as prescribed, and would authorize the parties to obtain discovery by oral deposition. The bill would require the governing board of the school district and the state to share equally the expenses of the hearing if the Commission on Professional Competence determines that the employee should be dismissed or suspended. This bill would provide separate hearing procedures for dismissal or suspension proceedings that are based solely on charges of egregious misconduct, as provided. The bill would also make conforming changes to these provisions. 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.
This measure would urge Congress to support legislation reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
This measure would proclaim the year of 2014 as the "Year of the Community," and would declare that the Legislature will actively promote the rights of persons with developmental disabilities and their full inclusion into community life.