Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and requires, among other things, that a state agency make available to the public facts, evidence, documents, testimony, or other evidence on which the state agency relies to support the agency's determination that the proposed action will not have a significant adverse impact on business. Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate, within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, and establishes the duties and functions of the Director of the Office of Small Business Advocate including, among other duties, representing the views and interests of small businesses before other state agencies whose policies and activities may affect small businesses. Existing law requires each state agency that significantly regulates small business or that significantly impacts small business to designate at least one person who is required to serve as a small business liaison. This bill would require a state agency to assist a small business, as defined, in complying with all statutes and regulations administered by the state agency and in any enforcement action by the state agency. The bill would require a state agency to establish a policy, by December 31, 2018, that provides for the reduction of civil penalties for violations of regulatory or statutory requirements by a small business under appropriate circumstances. The bill would authorize the state agency to update the policy to reflect current issues and conditions affecting small businesses and the state agency. The bill would require the state agency to post a current copy of the policy on the state agency's Internet Web site and, until June 30, 2022, to annually post specified information about enforcement actions and penalty reductions (annual report) . The bill would require a state agency to notify the Office of Small Business Advocate of certain events relating to its policy and annual report.
Sponsored bills
Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including, among others, the right to attend school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities, consistent with the child's age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational stability. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before March 1, 2018, to convene a workgroup and would require the workgroup to develop an implementation plan for the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2019, upon appropriation by the Legislature and in consideration of the implementation plan, to establish that program in order to provide grants of $500 or less to qualified foster youth to enable the foster youth to participate in activities that enhance the foster youth's skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. The bill would specify eligibility criteria for receipt of a grant and the authorized uses of a grant. The bill would require a recipient, within 6 months after receipt of a grant, to submit copies of receipts showing the purchase of the program, product, or service, and payment of any directly related costs purchased with the grant. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature that addresses, among other things, data on the number of applications received and the number of grants awarded. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023.
Under existing law, as amended by Proposition 35, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, a person who causes, induces, or persuades a person who is a minor at the time of the commission of the offense to engage in a commercial sex act, as specified, is guilty of human trafficking, a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 5, 8, or 12 years and a fine of not more than $500,000. If the offense involves force, fear, fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person, the crime is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 15 years to life and a fine of not more than $500,000. Proposition 35 provides that it may be amended by a statute in furtherance of its objectives by a majority of the membership of each house of the Legislature concurring. This bill would impose an additional term of imprisonment in the state prison of 3, 4, or 5 years for the above-specified offenses if the victim was less than 16 years of age at the time of the offense. The bill would require the additional term to be served consecutively to the above-specified punishment. By increasing the punishment for a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law makes solicitation for purposes of prostitution a crime, except as specified. Under existing law, if the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, and if the defendant knew or should have known that the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, the violation is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 2 days and not more than one year, or by a fine of $10,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. This bill would make solicitation for prostitution, if the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, and if the defendant knew or should have known that the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 6 months and not more than one year, or by a fine not exceeding $15,000, or both that imprisonment and fine, or as a felony subject to incarceration for 2, 3, or 4 years. By increasing the punishment for a crime, this bill 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.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law, known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act, among other things, sets forth the missions and functions of these 3 segments. This bill would express legislative findings and declarations relating to the costs of public postsecondary education. The bill would require that the amount of tuition charged to eligible students of the California State University, and the amount of the enrollment fee charged to eligible students of the California Community Colleges, not be increased from the amounts that were charged as of December 31, 2016, until the completion of the 2019–20 academic year. Notwithstanding this provision, the bill would not be operative in a fiscal year for which the Governor has issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency pursuant to a specified provision of the California Constitution. The bill would define "eligible students" as students exempt from payment of nonresident tuition either because they are California residents, as defined, or are exempted from payment of nonresident tuition pursuant to any of several specified provisions of existing law. The bill would also urge the regents to adopt policies that are consistent with this provision.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2023, would allow a credit under those laws to a qualified employer that pays or incurs to a qualified employee a wage equal to or exceeding the minimum wage during the taxable year, as provided. The bill would define a qualified employee as an individual with a disability who may be paid a special minimum wage under existing state or federal law. The credit would be allowed in an amount equal to the difference between the special minimum wage and the minimum wage, multiplied by the hours worked by the qualified employee. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to submit a report containing specified data relating to these credits to the Legislature by June 1, 2023. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program as a state education, economic, and workforce development initiative with the goal of providing pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, with the knowledge and skills necessary to transition to employment and postsecondary education. Existing law appropriates $200,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for purposes of this grant program for the 2017–18 fiscal year. Existing law requires applicants for grants under the program to demonstrate that they have local matching funds, as specified. Existing law specifies that no applicant may receive a renewal grant under the program for the 2018–19 fiscal year. This bill would change the name of the program to the California Career Technical Education Grant Program. The bill would increase to $300,000,000 the General Fund appropriation to the State Department of Education for this program for the 2017–18 fiscal year, and would further provide for an appropriation to the department in this amount for the 2018–19, 2019–20, and 2020–21 fiscal years. The bill would lower the amount of local matching funds required of an applicant from $1.50 for every dollar received to $1 for every dollar received, for the 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, and 2020–21 fiscal years. The bill would also provide that an applicant receiving a grant from this program in the 2017–18, 2018–19, or 2019–20 fiscal year would be eligible for a renewal grant in the next fiscal year if that applicant demonstrates continued compliance with program requirements. (2) The funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
Existing law authorizes counties, cities, and other local agencies to impose various taxes and fees in connection with activity or property within those jurisdictions. The California Constitution also authorizes a charter city to levy local taxes to raise revenues for local purposes, subject to restrictions imposed by that city's charter or preemption in matters of statewide concern. This bill, until January 1, 2023, would prohibit the imposition by a city, city and county, or county, including a chartered city, city and county, or county, of a tax on video streaming services, including, but not limited to, any tax on the sale or use of video streaming services or any utility user tax on video streaming services. This bill would make a legislative finding and declaration regarding the statewide concern of the promotion of uniformity in access throughout the state to video streaming services.
Existing law establishes the Homeless Youth and Exploitation Program, under which homeless youth emergency service projects are established in the Counties of Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Diego, and the City and County of San Francisco through a grant program to eligible private, nonprofit agencies with a demonstrated record of success in the delivery of services to homeless youth. Under existing law, this program is administered by the Office of Emergency Services. Existing law requires each project to provide specified services, including food and access to overnight shelter, counseling to address immediate emotional crises and problems, and long-term stabilization planning. This bill would establish the Transitional Housing for Homeless Youth Grant Program to be administered by the Office of Emergency Services to award grants to qualified nonprofit entities to provide transitional living services, such as long-term residential services, access to resources, and counseling services, to homeless youth ages 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, for a period of up to 36 months. The bill would require the office, in consultation with specified stakeholders, to establish minimum standards and procedures for awarding the grant moneys. The bill would require each grant recipient to submit a report to the office on or before January 31, 2020, and on or before January 31 each year thereafter, that contains specified information regarding services provided during the previous calendar year, including the number of youth served that year and the average length of stay for each youth who left the program. The bill would require the office to submit a report to the Legislature on or before March 31, 2020, and on or before March 31 each year thereafter, that contains, in aggregate form, the information the grant recipients submitted to the office. The bill would appropriate $15,000,000 from the General Fund to the Office of Emergency Services for the purpose of awarding grants under the program.
Existing law creates the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District and establishes provisions regulating the collective bargaining of the employees and the board of directors of that district. Existing law prescribes procedures specifically relating to the collective bargaining of transit districts, and authorizes the Governor, when it appears a strike will significantly disrupt transportation services and endanger public health, safety, and welfare, to appoint a board to investigate issues in connection with these labor negotiations and make a report. Existing law prohibits a strike during the period of investigation and permits the Governor, upon receiving a report from a board of investigation, to request the Attorney General to petition a court to enjoin the strike, as specified. This bill would prohibit employees of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District from engaging in a strike or work stoppage if the transit district board maintains all provisions of an expired contract and an employee or employee organization has agreed to a provision prohibiting strikes in the expired or previous written labor contract. The bill would provide that an employee whom the transit district employer finds willfully engaged in a strike or work stoppage in violation of these provisions is subject to dismissal if that finding is sustained upon conclusion of the appropriate proceedings necessary for the imposition of a disciplinary action.