The Transportation Security Administration of the United States Department of Transportation, administered by the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security, is responsible for carrying out measures to ensure aviation security, including hiring, training, and retention of personnel for the security screening of passengers and baggage and conducting background checks for individuals with access to secure areas of airports regularly serving an air carrier holding a certificate issued by the Secretary of Transportation. Individuals with specified criminal backgrounds or other factors as determined by the under secretary, are disqualified from employment with an air carrier or airport operator, where they will have access to secured areas. The under secretary is required to adopt measures to improve secured-area access control, including working with airport operators to strengthen access control points in secured areas, including air traffic control operations areas, maintenance areas, crew lounges, baggage handling areas, concessions, and catering delivery areas. The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, with jurisdiction over all public utilities, and authorizes the Legislature, unlimited by the other provisions of the California Constitution, to confer additional authority and jurisdiction upon the commission, that is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities. Charter-party carriers of passengers are subject to the jurisdiction and control of the commission under the Passenger Charter-Party Carriers' Act. The act requires a charter-party carrier of passengers to obtain from the commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity require the operation or a permit issued by the commission, and to operate within the state on a prearranged basis, as defined. The act prohibits the commission from issuing or renewing a permit unless the applicant has met specified requirements, including the submission of specified filing fees. Existing law prohibits the governing body of any airport from imposing any vehicle safety, licensing, or insurance requirements on charter-party carriers operating limousines that are more burdensome than those imposed by the commission, but authorizes the governing board to require a charter-party carrier operating limousines to obtain an airport permit for operating authority at the airport, and to adopt and enforce reasonable and nondiscriminatory local airport rules, regulations, and ordinances pertaining to access, use of streets and roads, parking, traffic control, passenger transfers, trip fees, and occupancy, and the use of buildings and facilities, that are applicable to charter-party carriers operating limousines on airport property. This bill would require the commission to adopt rules for criminal history background checks of drivers, or applicants to be a driver, for a charter-party carrier of passengers that provides passenger transportation to and from any airport regularly serving an air carrier holding a certificate issued by the United States Secretary of Transportation (commercial airport) and would disqualify persons convicted of specified crimes from being drivers. The bill would require that the rules adopted by the commission do the following: (1) require that each driver, and each applicant who is offered employment as a driver, of a charter-party carrier providing passenger transportation to and from a commercial airport submit fingerprints and other pertinent information for the purpose of obtaining criminal history information, (2) require that a charter-party carrier of passengers only employ as drivers those individuals that have successfully completed the criminal history background investigation, (3) require the charter-party carrier of passengers provide an identification credential to each employee, or applicant that becomes an employee, that successfully completes the criminal background investigation process, and (4) require all drivers that are employed by a charter-party carrier of passengers to carry identification credentials at all times on airport property. The bill would require any applicant for certification or a permit to operate as a charter-party carrier of passengers to certify that its drivers have successfully completed a criminal history background check and have been issued an identification credential in accordance with the above-described requirements. The bill would prohibit the governing body of any airport from imposing requirements on charter-party carriers providing transportation to and from the airport regarding criminal background checks on drivers, but would authorize the governing body to request a list of all drivers to whom identification credentials have been issued. Under existing law, a violation of the Passenger Charter-Party Carriers' Act or an order or direction of the commission pursuant to the act is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law excludes from the definition of "wages," for purposes of the unemployment insurance law, remuneration in excess of $7,000 paid to an individual by an employer during any calendar year, with respect to employment. This bill would, for the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2009, revise this provision to exclude remuneration in excess of $16,600 paid to an individual by an employer during that calendar year and would, for each calendar year thereafter, exclude remuneration paid to an individual by an employer during that calendar year in excess of the greater of $16,600 or an amount equal to 13 of the annualized state average weekly wage, as defined. (2) Existing law requires every employer, with specified exceptions, to pay contributions to the Unemployment Fund at specified rates according to specified contribution rate schedules. This bill would modify these provisions by increasing the contribution rates, as specified, pursuant to a new contribution rate schedule. (3) Existing law provides that no employer or new employer, as defined, is eligible for a contribution rate of more or less than 3.4% for any rating period unless, among other things, his or her reserve account has been subject to benefit charges. This bill would revise these provisions by increasing the contribution rate to 4.5%. (4) Existing law provides that an individual is considered "unemployed" for the purpose of eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits if, for any week of less than full-time work, the wages payable to the individual for that week, when reduced by the greater of $25 or 25% of the wages payable, do not equal or exceed the individual's unemployment weekly benefit amount. Existing law provides for the payment of unemployment compensation to an individual in a weekly amount equal to his or her weekly benefit amount less the amount of wages in excess of the smaller of $25 or 25% of the wages payable. This bill would instead provide that an individual is unemployed in any week of less than full-time work only if the wages payable to him or her with respect to the week, when reduced by the greater of $200 or 25% of wages payable, do not equal or exceed his or her weekly unemployment compensation benefit amount. This bill would also provide the payment of unemployment compensation to an individual in a weekly amount equal to his or her weekly benefit amount less the amount of wages in excess of the smaller of $200 or 25% of wages payable for that week. (5) Because this measure would increase the amount of unemployment compensation paid, it would make an additional amount payable from the Unemployment Fund, a continuously appropriated special fund, and thereby would make an appropriation. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the public elementary and secondary school system in this state. Under this system, school districts throughout the state provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, at the public elementary and secondary schools. Existing law provides that any pupil who is required to take, during the regular schoolday, medication prescribed for him or her by a physician and surgeon may be assisted by the school nurse or other designated school personnel, or may carry and self-administer prescription auto-injectable epinephrine if the school district receives the appropriate written statements, as prescribed, from the physician and the parent, foster parent, or guardian of the pupil. Existing regulations of the State Department of Education specify procedures to be followed in the administration of medication to a pupil. The existing Nursing Practice Act regulates the practice of nursing, which is defined in the act as those functions, including basic health care, that help people cope with difficulties in daily living that are associated with their actual or potential health or illness problems or the treatment thereof, and that require a substantial amount of scientific knowledge or technical skill. This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature with respect to a Superior Court ruling relating to the administration of medication to pupils in California public elementary and secondary schools. The bill would require, with certain exceptions, that any medication that is administered to a pupil who is required to take, during the regular schoolday, medication prescribed for him or her by a physician or surgeon be administered by a health care professional operating within the scope of his or her practice. The bill would specify that, for the purposes of these provisions, the practice of nursing is defined as specified in the Nursing Practice Act. The bill would also codify the regulations of the State Department of Education with respect to the administration of medication to a pupil that are referenced above, with certain exceptions.
Existing law provides that an employer, with certain exceptions, may not order a mass layoff, relocation, or termination, as defined, at a covered establishment without giving 60 days' prior written notice to employees and the Employment Development Department and other local agencies, as well as complying with specified federal guidelines. This bill would increase the layoff notice period from 60 to 90 days. This bill would require employers, when notice is given, to provide employees with information regarding benefits and services available to them once the notice of layoff is given. This bill would also require employers that give notice of a mass layoff, relocation, or termination to provide sufficient meeting space for the provision of rapid response activity, as defined, and to allow providers of rapid response activity services and affected employees to meet for not less than one hour for such services to be provided. Existing law provides that an employer who fails to comply with the layoff notice requirements may be subject to civil penalties, including backpay, and liability under civil actions brought by employees unless the employer can demonstrate specified exemptions. This bill would require the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to maintain a guide of benefits and services that may be available to employees who are the subject of a layoff, including unemployment assistance and COBRA information, and to transmit the guide to an employer who gives notice of an impending layoff, and to post the guide on the agency's Internet Web site. This bill would also require the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to maintain a guide for employers containing development benefits and services, including trade adjustment assistance and tax credits, that could be used to avert mass layoffs or relocations of workforce employees and to transmit the guide to an employer who gives notice of an impending layoff, and to post the guide on the agency's Internet Web site. This bill would provide that up to 10% of the civil penalties for employers who violate these provisions be used by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to fund the their new duties under this bill.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to assume all the rights, duties, and powers of the governing board of specified school districts in order to ensure the return of the district to fiscal solvency. Existing law authorizes the payment of emergency apportionments to school districts experiencing financial difficulties and the appointment of a trustee by the Superintendent to monitor and review the operation of the district. Existing law also requires each county superintendent of schools to provide for an audit of all funds under his or her jurisdiction and control, not later than the first day of May of each fiscal year, and the governing board of each local educational agency to provide for an audit of the books and accounts of the local educational agency. This bill would provide that, if a trustee has been appointed by the Superintendent to monitor and review the operation of a school district receiving an emergency apportionment, and the Controller, or his or her designee, is required to cause an audit to be conducted of the books and accounts of the district instead of the annual audit described above, the Superintendent is required to allow the district 180 days before penalties are assessed against the district for discrepancies that are discovered by the audit. The bill also would require that, to the extent that the school district implements corrections to an apportionment significant audit exception or finding during the 180-day period specified above, and those corrections result in a reduction in the required repayment, penalty, or other fiscal impact recommended in or resulting from the audit report, the school district would only be liable for that part of an audit exception or finding remaining after the corrections are made. The bill would prohibit the repayment of an apportionment significant audit exception or payment of a penalty arising from an audit exception for a fiscal year other than the fiscal year for which that audit was conducted or the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year for which the audit is conducted.
Existing law provides for the allocation of emergency apportionments to school districts that are subject to specified conditions that include the appointment by the Superintendent of Public Instruction of an administrator to exercise the powers and responsibilities of the governing board of the school district, or the appointment of a trustee to monitor and review the financial condition of the district. Existing law specifically provides for the assumption by the Superintendent of Public Instruction of an administrator of all of the rights, duties, and powers of the governing board of the Oakland Unified School District and for the appointment of an administrator to act on behalf of the Superintendent in this regard. This bill would prohibit the Superintendent or his or her appointed administrator or trustee from transferring or allocating to a charter school located within the territorial jurisdiction of the Oakland Unified School District any funds appropriated or allocated to that school district.
Existing law requires the registration of pesticides, prohibits certain uses of pesticides, and authorizes the Director of Pesticide Regulation to adopt regulations to govern the possession, sale, or use of pesticides, as provided. Existing law requires the use of any pesticide by any person to be in such a manner as to prevent substantial drift to nontarget areas, and requires pesticide applications on public property which take place on school grounds, parks, or other public rights-of-way where public exposure is foreseeable to be posted with warning signs. This bill would require, with respect to aerial applications of a pesticide, the observance of a safety zone of no less than 3.3 miles from the aerial application for residential areas, including known sensitive sites, as specified. The bill would exempt from these provisions the State Department of Public Health, local vector control agencies, and mosquito abatement and vector control districts, as provided. Under existing law, a violation of the provisions of this bill would be a crime, as specified. Because this bill would create new crimes, the 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.
(1) Existing law makes confidential the home address of a list of local, state, and federal officers or employees, and the spouses or children of those officers or employees, that appears in a record of the Department of Motor Vehicles, if the included person requests it to be kept confidential, with certain exemptions for information available to specified governmental agencies and certain attorneys. A violation of the confidentiality requirement is a crime. This bill would add to that list a veterinarian employed by a zoo, a public animal control agency shelter, or a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter or a humane society shelter contracting with a local public agency for animal care or protection services. The bill also would add constitutional officers of the State Board of Equalization and specified local government code enforcement officers to that list. The bill, by adding persons to be covered by those confidentiality requirements, would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. (2) 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 authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the Board of Parole Hearings, upon a determination that a prisoner meets specified criteria, to recommend to the court that a prisoner's sentence be recalled. Specifically, a court has the discretion to resentence or recall a sentence if a prisoner is terminally ill with an incurable condition caused by illness or disease that would produce death within months, as determined by a physician, or permanently medically incapacitated, as specified, and the conditions under which the prisoner would be released or receive treatment do not pose a threat to public safety. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would permit the early release of state prisoners who meet certain age and illness criteria.
Existing law requires the Department of Personnel Administration to establish and adjust salary ranges for each class of position in the state civil service, subject to specified merit limits. Existing law requires the salary range to be based on the principle that like salaries shall be paid for comparable duties and responsibilities. Existing law allows the state to enter into memoranda of understanding relating to employer-employee relations with employee organizations representing certain state employees. This bill would make findings and declarations regarding the budget deficit facing the state. The bill would, until January 1, 2012, prohibit a person employed by the state whose base salary on or after the effective date of the bill is greater than $150,000 per year from receiving a salary increase while employed in the same position or classification, and from receiving payment for overtime work. The bill would exempt from this prohibition a person whose compensation is governed by an operative memorandum of understanding, as described above, a person who has been exempted by executive order of the Governor, as specified, and a person whose salary is set pursuant to the California Constitution.