Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each habitable structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, as defined, and requires that the fire prevention fee be adjusted annually using prescribed methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed, commencing with the 2011–12 fiscal year. Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and prohibits the collection of fire prevention fees if, commencing with the 2012–13 fiscal year, there are sufficient amounts of moneys in the fund to finance specified fire prevention activities for a fiscal year. Existing law requires that the fire prevention fees collected, except as provided, be deposited into the fund and be made available to the board and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for certain specified fire prevention activities that benefit the owners of structures in state responsibility areas who are required to pay the fee. Existing law further requires the board, on and after January 1, 2013, to submit an annual written report to the Legislature on specified topics. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to repeal the state responsibility area fire prevention fees imposed by the above provisions.
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Existing law specifies the number of judges of the superior court for each county, and allocates additional judgeships to the various counties in accordance with uniform standards for factually determining additional need in each county, as approved by the Judicial Council, and other specified criteria. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to report biennially to the Legislature and the Governor on the factually determined need for new judgeships in each superior court, using that uniform criteria. This bill would require the Judicial Council, upon the availability of funding, to allocate 12 additional judges each fiscal year to those counties in which the current judicial position allocations are disproportionate to the Judicial Council's recommendation of assessed judicial need.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law authorizes these segments to charge students tuition and mandatory systemwide fees, among other charges, for attendance at these institutions. The existing Donahoe Higher Education Act requires that none of its provisions applies to the University of California except to the extent that the regents, by appropriate resolution, make that provision applicable. This bill would add to the Donahoe Higher Education Act a provision requiring the trustees, and the regents if they act by appropriate resolution as referenced above, to determine the amounts of undergraduate tuition and mandatory systemwide fees for California residents in each incoming first-year class in their respective segments. The bill would require that the tuition and mandatory systemwide fees set for California residents in each incoming first-year class under the bill would not be increased, other than to make a cost-of-living adjustment not to exceed 2% after each academic year, until that class has completed at least 4 academic years. The bill would prohibit the trustees and the regents from increasing the amount of undergraduate tuition and mandatory systemwide fees for California residents charged to an incoming first-year class in their respective segments by more than 5% over the amounts charged to the immediately preceding first-year class.
(1) Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, and the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law appropriates funding, in the annual Budget Act and in other statutes, from the state General Fund for the support of these segments. Existing law also authorizes these segments to require their students to pay mandatory systemwide fees and tuition, among other costs, for matriculation at these institutions. This bill would prohibit the Trustees of the California State University from increasing the amounts charged for undergraduate tuition and mandatory statewide fees for California residents from the amounts charged in the preceding fiscal year unless certain increases in appropriation's related to the California State University are made in specified budget acts. This bill would encourage the Regents of the University of California to refrain from increasing the amounts charged for undergraduate tuition and mandatory statewide fees for California residents in the preceding fiscal year when certain increases in appropriation's related to the University of California are made in the same specified budget acts. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2017. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law regulates the placement of unattended collection boxes and requires specified information, including the name, address, and telephone number of the collection box owner and operator, to be displayed on the front of each collection box. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to declare a collection box that is in violation of these provisions a public nuisance and to abate the nuisance. This bill would authorize a city or county that has adopted a local ordinance regulating or permitting the placement of unattended collection boxes, as specified, to impose a charge on the owner or operator of a collection box that is in violation of the ordinance for the reasonable costs of its removal and storage if the county or city removes the collection box under the local ordinance. The bill would require the city or county to send a written notice of removal and charge to the address displayed on the collection box 5 days prior to removal. The bill would authorize the city or county to sell or dispose of the collection box and its contents if the collection box owner or operator does not pay the charge.
The Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a tax on retailers measured by the 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. That law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, a textbook purchased by a student from an institution of higher education or sold by an entity whose primary purpose is to provide textbooks to students attending institutions of higher education, for use as a learning resource in any course of study at that institution. The bill would define certain terms for those purposes. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides that the state will reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy, but its operative date would depend on its effective date.
Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each habitable structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, as defined, and requires that the fire prevention fee be adjusted annually using prescribed methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed, commencing with the 2011–12 fiscal year. Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and prohibits the collection of fire prevention fees if, commencing with the 2012–13 fiscal year, there are sufficient amounts of moneys in the fund to finance specified fire prevention activities for a fiscal year. Existing law requires that the fire prevention fees collected, except as provided, be deposited into the fund and be made available to the board and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for certain specified fire prevention activities that benefit the owners of structures in state responsibility areas who are required to pay the fee. Existing law further requires the board, on and after January 1, 2013, to submit an annual written report to the Legislature on specified topics. This bill would repeal these provisions.
Existing provisions of the California Constitution require that all voters may vote for any candidate at a voter-nominated primary election for congressional and state elective offices, without regard to the political party preference of the candidate or the voter. These provisions also require that the top 2 vote-getters in a voter-nominated primary election, regardless of party preference, compete in the ensuing general election. Existing law provides generally for the conduct of primary elections. Existing statutory law implements the above-mentioned constitutional provisions relating to voter-nominated primary elections for congressional and state elective offices, including the requirement that the top 2 vote-getters compete in the general election, regardless of party preference. This bill would provide that a candidate for a voter-nominated office that is a state elective office who receives at least 60% of the votes cast for that office in a primary election that is not a special primary election shall be declared elected to that office. This bill would provide that its provisions become operative only if ACA 10 of the 2013–14 Regular Session is approved by the voters.
Existing law, the Financial Integrity and State Manager's Accountability Act of 1983 (FISMA) , provides that state agency heads are responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a system or systems of internal accounting and administrative control within their agencies, as specified. Existing law requires that state agency heads covered by FISMA shall, biennially, conduct an internal review and prepare a report on the adequacy of the agency's systems of internal accounting, administrative control, and monitoring practices. Copies of the reports are required to be submitted to the Legislature, the California State Auditor, the Controller, the Treasurer, the Attorney General, the Governor, the director, and to the State Library where the copies are required to be available for public inspection. This bill would also require the report to be posted on the agency's Internet Web site within 5 days of finalization and would require the report to be signed by the head of the agency under penalty of perjury. By requiring the head of an agency to sign the report under penalty of perjury, this bill would expand circumstances under which a person may be convicted of a crime and, thereby, would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would provide that the head of an agency that fails to submit the report within 30 days of its deadline shall be suspended without pay until the agency comes into compliance with the reporting requirements. This bill would require the framework for conducting an internal review of an agency's systems of internal accounting and administrative control to include Protocols for auditing and monitoring of the agency's assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenditures, as well as reconciliation of accounting and budget documents reported to the Department of Finance and the Office of the Controller. Existing law requires the head of an internal audit staff of a state agency to investigate any allegation that an employee of the agency provided false or misleading information in connection with the review of the agency's systems of internal accounting and administrative control or in connection with the preparation of the biennial report on the systems of internal accounting, administrative control, and monitoring practices. Existing law requires the head of an internal audit staff or designated internal control person to report in writing to the head of the agency or the division if there is reasonable cause to believe that false or misleading information was provided. This bill would require the report to also be submitted to the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. 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.
The Medi-Cal Act establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced by 1% or 5%, and provider payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 1%, for dates of service on and after March 1, 2009, and until June 1, 2011. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments and payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 10% for dates of service on and after June 1, 2011. This bill would instead require that, to the extent permitted by federal law, this payment reduction not apply to skilled nursing facilities or subacute care units that are a distinct part of a general acute care hospital, intermediate care or other specified facilities serving developmentally disabled individuals, or specified Medi-Cal provider payments for fee-for-service benefits, including payments to pharmacies, for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011. The bill would also provide that this payment reduction shall not apply to managed health care plans for dates of service after the effective date of the bill. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.