Asm. Kristin Olsen

This measure would proclaim May 2011 as Buy California Small Business First Month.

This measure would proclaim the month of June to be June Dairy Month in California, in honor of the work of dairy producers in California, and would encourage all Californians to continue to support the American dairy industry by including dairy products as part of a healthy diet.

This measure would urge Congress to defeat H.R. 1161 in order to protect and preserve the ability of California wineries, and all wineries in the United States, to ship wine directly to consumers without discrimination or unnecessary limitation between in-state and out-of-state wine producers.

Existing law, the Williamson Act, authorizes a city or county to enter into 10-year contracts with owners of land devoted to agricultural use, whereby the owners agree to continue using the property for that purpose, and the city or county agrees to value the land accordingly for purposes of property taxation. Existing law sets forth procedures for reimbursing cities and counties for property tax revenues not received as a result of these contracts. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2011, and until January 1, 2016, authorize a county, in any fiscal year in which payments authorized for reimbursement to a county for lost revenue are less than12 of the participating county's actual foregone general fund property tax revenue, to revise the term for newly renewed and new contracts and require the assessor to value the property, as specified, based on the revised contract term. The bill would provide that a landowner may choose to nonrenew and begin the cancellation process. The bill would also provide that any increased revenues generated by properties under a new contract shall be paid to the county. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The California Constitution provides that the electors may propose statutes or amendments to the state constitution through the initiative process by presenting to the Secretary of State a petition that sets forth the text of the proposed statute or amendment to the Constitution and is certified to have been signed by a certain number of electors. This measure would require the Legislative Analyst to review an initiative measure not later than 15 days after its qualification for the ballot, and report the results of the review to the Secretary of State. This measure would prohibit an initiative measure that the Legislative Analyst determines would result in a net increase in state or local government costs exceeding $5,000,000, other than costs attributable to the issuance, sale, or repayment of bonds, from being submitted to the electors or having any effect unless the Legislative Analyst determines that the initiative measure provides for additional revenues in an amount that meets or exceeds the net increase in costs. This requirement would provide for an annual adjustment to the amount of that cost threshold, and would not apply to, or have any effect on, an initiative measure that reduces tax revenues or fees.

This measure would designate the portion of State Highway Route 219 between State Highway Routes 99 and 108 in Stanislaus County as the CHP Officer Earl Scott Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

This measure would recognize May 2011 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.

This measure declares that Sundays are "Eat Local, Buy California Grown Day," and encourages families, restaurants, and grocers to buy California-grown floriculture, fiber, and foods.