This measure would, among other things, honor the late civil rights pioneer and icon Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
(1) Existing law sets out the various responsibilities of the Department of General Services and state agencies in overseeing and implementing state contracting procedures and policies. Existing law also provides that whenever any official advertising, notice, resolution, order, or other matter of any nature whatsoever is required by law to be published in a newspaper, the publication is required to be made only in a newspaper of general circulation, as specified. This bill would require the department to publish, on the department's internet website, an annual report by July 1 of each year containing specified information relating to payments for placement of marketing or outreach advertising material by each state agency. The bill would provide that these provisions are not intended to amend any of the above-described provisions relating to required publications of official advertising, notices, resolutions, orders, or other matters. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2023. (2) Existing law, as established in the case of Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 (Dynamex) , creates a presumption that a worker who performs services for a hirer is an employee for purposes of claims for wages and benefits arising under wage orders issued by the Industrial Welfare Commission. Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for those purposes. Existing law establishes that, for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. This test is commonly known as the "ABC" test, as described above. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of Dynamex and the provisions described above. These exemptions include a temporary exemption for newspaper distributors working under contract with a newspaper publisher, and newspaper carriers working under contract either with a newspaper publisher or newspaper distributor, as those terms are defined, until January 1, 2021. This bill would expand the exemption applicable to newspaper carriers by deleting the condition that a newspaper carrier work under contract either with a newspaper publisher or newspaper distributor. The bill would extend the exemption period to January 1, 2022. (3) This bill would incorporate the changes to Section 2750.3 of the Labor Code proposed by this bill to Section 2783 of the Labor Code, as proposed to be added by AB 2257, to be operative only if this bill and AB 2257 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the state. The act requires the state board to adopt drinking water standards for contaminants in drinking water based upon specified criteria and requires any person who owns a public water system to ensure that the system, among other things, complies with those drinking water standards. The act requires a public water system to provide prescribed notices within 30 days after it is first informed of a confirmed detection of a contaminant found in drinking water delivered by the public water system for human consumption that is in excess of a maximum contaminant level, a notification level, or a response level established by the state board. This bill would require the state board to comply with specified public notice and comment procedures when establishing or revising a notification level or response level, except as specified for a contaminant that the Division of Drinking Water of the state board finds presents the potential for imminent harm to public health and safety.
Existing law authorizes a peace officer to make an arrest pursuant to a warrant or based upon probable cause, as specified. Under existing law, an arrest is made by the actual restraint of the person or by submission to the custody of the arresting officer. Existing law authorizes a peace officer to use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape, or to overcome resistance. Existing law requires law enforcement agencies to maintain a policy on the use of force, as specified. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to implement courses of instruction for the regular and periodic training of law enforcement officers in the use of force. This bill would prohibit a law enforcement agency from authorizing the use of a carotid restraint or a choke hold, as defined. By requiring local agencies to amend use of force policies, 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law creates the Department of Human Resources, which is headed by the Director of the Department of Human Resources, and commits to the director the duty to administer and enforce the laws relating to personnel. Pursuant to this authority, the department prescribes rules regarding leave. Existing law creates the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and grants it jurisdiction over specified prisons and institutions. Existing law requires an open examination for the position of correctional officer, correctional program supervisor, and other custodial positions that normally afford entry into the department's service to include a demonstration of the physical ability to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities of the position, as specified. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in consultation with the Department of Human Resources, on or before January 1, 2021, to establish a policy pursuant to which a pregnant peace officer shall be permitted to perform alternate, light duty assignments, subject to a medical certification that establishes the nature of their pregnancy-related limitations. The bill would require the policy to include specified elements. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to carefully weigh any request for an alternate, light duty assignment and to base final determinations upon the employee's medical limitations or restrictions, the employee's classification, and the needs of the department. The bill would require the department to provide a publicly available report that contains the reasons for the denial of a request for an alternate, light duty assignment. The bill would require all denials, including the denial of an initial request that was later modified and granted, and denial of an extension of the duration of time during which a pregnant peace officer shall be permitted to perform an alternate, light duty assignment, to be submitted for review by the deputy director of facility support for the Division of Adult Institutions, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as specified.
Existing law requires law enforcement agencies to maintain a policy on the use of force, as specified. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to implement courses of instruction for the regular and periodic training of law enforcement officers in the use of force. Existing law requires law enforcement agencies to report to the Department of Justice, as specified, any incident in which a peace officer is involved in a shooting or use of force that results in death or serious bodily injury. This bill would create a division within the Department of Justice to, upon the request of a law enforcement agency, review the use-of-force policy of the agency and make recommendations, as specified. This bill would require a state prosecutor to investigate incidents of an officer-involved shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian, as defined. The bill would make the Attorney General the state prosecutor unless otherwise specified or named. The bill would authorize the state prosecutor to prepare a written report, and would require the state prosecutor to post any reports made on a public internet website. The bill would require, commencing July 1, 2023, the Attorney General to operate a Police Practices Division within the department to review, upon the request of a local law enforcement agency, the use of deadly force policies of that law enforcement agency and make recommendations, as specified. The bill would require the department to implement these provisions subject to an appropriation for this purpose.
Existing law establishes the Domestic Violence Prevention Act for the purpose of preventing acts of domestic violence, abuse, and sexual abuse and providing for a separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence for a period sufficient to enable those persons to seek a resolution of the causes of the violence. Existing law authorizes a court to issue an ex parte order enjoining a party from engaging in specified acts against another party, including threatening or harassing that party or disturbing their peace, and, in the discretion of the court, against other named family or household members. A violation of this court order constitutes contempt of court, which is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would define "disturbing the peace of the other party" as conduct that destroys the mental or emotional calm of the other party, as specified. The bill would provide that disturbing the peace of the other party includes coercive control, which is a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with a person's free will and personal liberty and includes, among other things, unreasonably isolating a victim from friends, relatives, or other sources of support. Existing law requires a family court to determine the best interests of a child in deciding child custody in specified proceedings and establishes a rebuttable presumption that an award of child custody to a person who has perpetrated domestic violence is detrimental to the best interests of the child. Existing law defines "perpetrated domestic violence" to mean, among other things, that the person engaged in behavior for which the court may issue an ex parte order to protect the child or the person seeking custody of the child. By adding coercive control to the bases for the ex parte orders described above, the bill would, for purposes of a family court determining child custody in those proceedings, create a rebuttable presumption that an award of child custody to a party who has engaged in coercive control is detrimental to the best interests of the child. Because a violation of a court order constitutes contempt of court and is therefore a crime, by expanding the bases for the issuance of these ex parte orders, 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 federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, declares, among other things, that it is the policy of the State of California that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law provides that a party to a written complaint of prohibited discrimination at certain public postsecondary educational institutions may appeal the action to specified bodies. Existing law also requires that persons who have filed a complaint of prohibited discrimination be advised by the educational institution that civil law remedies may also be available to the complainant. This bill would require, no later than January 1, 2022, except as specified, a postsecondary institution that receives state financial assistance to comply with requirements relating to the protection of students from, and providing students with procedural protections relating to complaints of, sexual harassment. In particular, the bill would require the governing board or body of each of these institutions to (1) disseminate a notice of nondiscrimination to each employee, volunteer, and individual or entity contracted with the institution, (2) designate at least one employee of the institution to coordinate its efforts to comply with its responsibilities specified in this act, (3) adopt rules and procedures for the prevention of sexual harassment, (4) adopt and publish on its internet website grievance procedures providing for the prompt and equitable resolution of sexual harassment complaints, (5) publish on the institution's internet website the name, title, and contact information for the Title IX coordinator or other employee designated to coordinate the institution's efforts to comply with and carry out the responsibilities specified in this act and any individual official with the authority to investigate complaints or to institute corrective measures, as specified, (6) include specified training to each employee engaged in the grievance procedure, (7) include annual training for residential life student and nonstudent staff for the trauma-informed handling of reports regarding incidents of sexual harassment or violence at an institution with on-campus housing, (8) notify employees of the obligation to report sexual harassment to appropriate school officials, and (9) provide training to all employees on the identification of sexual harassment. The bill would authorize enforcement of these provisions through a civil action brought pursuant to existing law, as specified. By imposing new duties on community college districts, 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
