Existing law, the California School Age Families Education Program (Cal-SAFE) , provides state funding and assistance to school districts and county superintendents of schools for the purpose of establishing comprehensive, continuous, community linked, school-based programs that focus on youth development and dropout prevention for pregnant and parenting pupils, and child care and development services for their children. Cal-SAFE requires participating entities to develop a county service coordination plan, which is required to contain specified information, including, but not limited to, the incidence of pregnant and parenting pupils receiving welfare aid by a method to be determined by the State Department of Education. This bill would revise and recast the Cal-SAFE program. The bill would, among other things, specify that a Cal-SAFE program may provide for any or all of the supportive services for teen parents, as specified, and an early learning and educational support program for the voluntarily enrolled children of the teen parents. The bill would authorize a school district, charter school, or county superintendent of schools to participate in a Cal-Safe program and would authorize the above entities to use funds appropriated according to the local control funding formula for purposes of the Cal-SAFE program. The bill would require the entities, if operating an early learning and educational support program for the children of teen parents participating in the Cal-SAFE program, to adhere to certain health, safety, and quality requirements, including that each child have a developmental profile. The bill would impose various other requirements.
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Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to recommend, and the State Board of Education to adopt, curriculum frameworks, as provided. Existing law defines "curriculum framework" as an outline of the components of a given course of study designed to provide state direction to school districts in the provision of instructional programs. Existing law prohibits the state board from adopting instructional materials until the 2015–16 school year, except as provided. This bill would require the commission to consider incorporating computer science curriculum content into the mathematics, science, history-social science, and English language arts/English language development curriculum frameworks, as it deems appropriate, when those frameworks are next revised. The bill would require computer science curriculum to focus on foundational concepts in computer science by integrating basic skills in technology with simple ideas about computational thinking, communication, and collaboration, and being responsible citizens in a changing digital world, as specified. The bill would require the commission to consult with classroom teachers and school administrators to ensure the age-appropriateness of the computer science curriculum. If computer science curriculum content is incorporated into the curriculum frameworks at their next revision, the bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify and post on the State Department of Education's Internet Web site professional development resources for teaching computer science curriculum content. The bill would require its provisions to be implemented in a manner that does not result in new duties or programs being imposed on local educational agencies, as specified.
(1) The Joint Exercise of Powers Act authorizes the legislative or other governing bodies of 2 or more public agencies to jointly exercise by agreement any power common to the contracting parties, as specified. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes a community choice aggregator, as defined, to aggregate the electrical load of interested electricity consumers within its boundaries and requires a community choice aggregator to file an implementation plan with the Public Utilities Commission. Existing law authorizes any group of cities, counties, or cities and counties whose governing boards have so elected to combine the loads of their programs as a community choice aggregator through the formation of a joint powers agency established pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act. Existing law authorizes any group of cities, counties, or cities and counties whose governing boards have so elected to combine the electrical loads of their community choice aggregation programs through the formation of a joint powers agency established pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act. This bill would authorize the board of supervisors of a city and county, by ordinance, to elect to enter into an agreement pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act to implement a community choice aggregation program with one or more public agencies through a public entity that is separate from the parties to the agreement. This bill would additionally authorize the board of supervisors of a city and county, by resolution, to elect to request another public agency that has elected to implement a community choice aggregation program to be the community choice aggregator for the city and county. (2) Existing law requires an electrical corporation to cooperate fully with any community choice aggregator that investigates, pursues, or implements community choice aggregation programs, including providing appropriate billing and electrical load data, which includes electrical consumption data. Electrical or gas consumption data is defined as data about a customer's electrical or natural gas usage that is made available as part of an advanced metering infrastructure, and includes the name, account number, or residence of the customer. Existing law prohibits an electrical corporation or gas corporation from sharing, disclosing, or otherwise making accessible to any 3rd party a customer's electrical or gas consumption data, except as specified, and requires those utilities to use reasonable security procedures and practices to protect a customer's unencrypted electrical and gas consumption data from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. Existing law does not preclude an electrical corporation or gas corporation from disclosing electrical or gas consumption data as required or permitted under state or federal law or by an order of the Public Utilities Commission. This bill would require an electrical corporation to provide electrical consumption data to community choice aggregators pursuant to their above-described duty to cooperate, subject to any reasonable security procedures and practices to protect the personal information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure ordered by the commission or agreed upon between the electrical corporation and the community choice aggregator. (3) The existing definition of an electrical corporation excludes a corporation or person employing cogeneration, as defined, technology or producing electricity from other than a conventional power source for either of the following purposes: (1) its own use or the use of its tenants, or (2) the use of or sale to not more than 2 other corporations or persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity is generated or on real property immediately adjacent thereto, subject to certain exceptions and conditions. The 2nd purpose is commonly known as an over-the-fence transaction. This bill would expand the over-the-fence transaction exception to the definition of an electrical corporation by repealing the limitation on the number of other corporations or persons that may use or be sold the electricity.
Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November 6, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Existing law enacted by the Legislature, commonly referred to as the Medical Marijuana Program Act, requires the establishment of a program for the issuance of identification cards to qualified patients so that they may lawfully use marijuana for medical purposes, and requires the establishment of guidelines for the lawful cultivation of marijuana grown for medical use. The Medical Practice Act provides for the regulation and licensing of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California and requires the board to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of physicians and surgeons representing the greatest threat of harm, as specified. Existing law identifies the cases that are to be given priority, which include cases of repeated acts of excessively prescribing, furnishing, or administering controlled substances without a good faith prior examination of the patient. Existing law makes it unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to prescribe, dispense, or furnish dangerous drugs without an appropriate prior examination and medical indication. Existing law also makes it unprofessional conduct to employ, aid, or abet an unlicensed person in the practice of medicine. Existing law generally makes any person who violates these provisions guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would enact the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Control Act and would create the Division of Medical Cannabis Regulation and Enforcement within the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, to be administered by a person exempt from civil service who is appointed by the Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The bill would grant the department the exclusive power to register persons for the cultivation, manufacture, testing, transportation, storage, distribution, and sale of medical cannabis within the state subject to specified exemptions for a city or county. The bill would provide that the director and persons employed by the department to administer and enforce its provisions are peace officers. The bill would prescribe requirements for the issuance, renewal, suspension, and revocation of mandatory commercial registrations and fees in relation to these activities. The bill would permit the department to assist statewide taxation authorities in the development of uniform policies for the taxation of mandatory commercial medical cannabis registrants and to assist in the development of regulation in connection with work safety in this industry. The bill would authorize the division to establish a grant program for the purpose of funding medical cannabis regulation and enforcement. The bill would establish the Medical Cannabis Regulation Fund and would require deposit of fees into the fund. The bill would continuously appropriate moneys within the fund to the division for the purposes of administering the program. The bill would require the deposit of penalty money into the General Fund. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2015, to issue regulations as necessary for the implementation and enforcement of mandatory commercial medical cannabis registration, as specified, and would prescribe requirements for provisional registrations to be operative January 1, 2014. The bill would prohibit approval of a mandatory commercial registration for specified reasons, including if a licensed physician making patient recommendations for medical cannabis is an interested party in the proposed operation, and would prohibit a physician from recommending medical cannabis to a patient while he or she is a mandatory commercial registrant, or associated, as specified, with a mandatory commercial registrant. The bill would provide that certain patient and caregiver information is excluded from disclosure to the public. The bill would provide that the actions of a mandatory commercial registrant or provisional registrant, its employees, and its agents that are permitted pursuant to a valid mandatory commercial registration issued by the division and that are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the act are not unlawful, as specified. The bill would provide a similar immunity for a property owner who allows his or her property to be used by a mandatory commercial registrant or provisional registrant. The bill would require the department to work in conjunction with law enforcement entities throughout the state to implement and enforce the rules and regulations regarding medical cannabis and to take appropriate action against businesses and individuals that fail to comply with the law. The bill would prohibit, on and after January 1, 2015, a person other than a mandatory commercial registrant from selling cannabis or cannabis products or performing other actions related to cannabis, except as specified. The bill would provide that its provisions do not affect local zoning ordinances or laws of general application. The bill would make certain violations of its provisions a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would establish requirements for the transportation of medical cannabis. The bill would specify that its provisions are severable. The bill would specify that recommending marijuana to patients without a good faith examination and medical reason is unprofessional conduct and is a type of case that should be given priority for investigation and prosecution by the Medical Board of California, as described above. The bill would also specify that employment by, or an agreement with, a mandatory medical cannabis registrant to provide recommendations for medical marijuana constitutes unprofessional conduct. By broadening the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal, 90 days after the department posts a specified notice on its Internet Web site, the provisions described above prohibiting prosecution of qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and designated primary caregivers who associate in California, collectively or cooperatively, to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes. 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.
Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services regulates the licensure and operation of community care facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly, child day care centers, and family day care homes. Existing law requires that these facilities be subject to unannounced visits by the department that occur at least once every 5 years. Existing law requires the department to conduct an annual unannounced visit under specified circumstances, including when a license is on probation, and to conduct annual unannounced visits to no less than 20% of the facilities not subject to an evaluation under those specified circumstances. This bill would instead make every facility of the types described above subject to an annual unannounced visit by the department on and after July 1, 2017. The bill would revise the provisions requiring the department to conduct annual unannounced visits to no less than 20% of the facilities by instead requiring the department to conduct annual unannounced visits to no less than 30% of facilities on or before July 1, 2015, and no less than 20% of those facilities on or before July 1, 2016. The bill would also delete the provisions requiring an unannounced visit at least once every 5 years. Existing law requires the department to immediately request a fire clearance and notify an applicant to arrange a time for the department to conduct a prelicensure survey if an application for initial licensure is complete. This bill would provide that the prelicensure survey is optional at the discretion of the department if the department determines that an application is for licensure of a currently licensed facility for which there will be no material change to the management or operations of the facility.
Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, collecting and maintaining information about correctional policies, practices, capacities, and needs within the adult and juvenile criminal justice system. Existing law prescribes various penalties for criminal offenses. Existing law generally regulates sentencing, including the consideration of mitigating factors and other criteria for purposes of sentencing. This bill would require the Board of State and Community Corrections to develop consistent data collection processes and perform analysis with regard to sentencing. The bill would require the board to establish a database for any sentencing-related data that is compiled by the board. The bill would require the board to recommend changes to the state's sentencing structure to the Governor and the Legislature. The bill would further require the board to publish a sentencing manual for guidance purposes. In implementing these provisions, the bill would require the board to consult with stakeholders and experts, as specified.
Existing law authorizes Security Housing Units for segregation of certain prisoners for disciplinary or security purposes, and because of gang membership or association. This bill would require specified due process procedures for determining if an inmate is a security threat group affiliate. The bill would require the Office of the Inspector General, commencing January 1, 2016, to review every security threat group validation and revalidation completed on or after July 1, 2015, in which confidential information was used. Any documents pertaining to the review of security threat group validations would not be subject to a public records request or discovery. The bill would require an inmate subject to an indeterminate Security Housing Unit term as a result of a security threat group validation to be placed in a multistep program with the ultimate goal of returning the inmate back into the general prison population as rapidly as possible. The bill would require the department to prepare a reentry plan for every offender who will parole directly out of the Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit into the community. The bill would require an inmate subject to a determinate Security Housing Unit term or an offender in the multistep program to be provided with promising or evidence-based programming that promotes successful assimilation back into the general prison population. The bill would require the department to prepare a reentry plan for every offender who will parole directly out of the Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit into the community. The bill would require the Office of the Inspector General to review the department's compliance with the above provisions and to issue reports, no less than annually, to the Governor and the Legislature summarizing its review. The bill would require an inmate in a Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit to have access to educational programming, to have access to radio or television, and the opportunity to earn additional specified privileges. The bill would require the department to employ 2 ombudsmen to act as offender resource specialists for Security Housing Units and Psychiatric Services Units, to be responsible for, among other things, assisting an inmate with concerns about the inmate's responsibilities and rights during confinement in one of those units, and responding to an inmate's family member's inquiries. The bill would require the department, commencing July 1, 2015, to the extent the data is already being collected, to collect specified data regarding inmates subject to a term in a Security Housing Unit. The bill would require the Office of the Inspector General, commencing January 1, 2017, and biennially thereafter, to use the data to prepare reports for the Legislature on specified criteria pertaining to inmates in a Security Housing Unit and a Psychiatric Services Unit. Existing law provides that an inmate placed in a Security Housing Unit for specified crimes or because of gang association or membership, or placed in a Psychiatric Services Unit, is ineligible to earn credits towards reducing his or her sentence during the time the inmate is in the Security Housing Unit. This bill would permit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish regulations to allow specified inmates to earn credits, as specified. The bill would state findings and declarations by the Legislature relative to Security Housing Units. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, to be achieved by 2020, equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The act requires the scoping plan to be updated at least once every 5 years. This bill would require, for purposes of advising the update of the next scoping plan, the state board to develop specified information by January 1, 2016. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2016, to submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the specified information. The bill would provide that the specified information is intended to assist in establishing state policy and does not change any statute, regulation, or regulatory decision.
This measure would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to respect the rights of states to protect the health of their citizens, including children and pregnant women, and to not enact the federal Chemical Safety Improvement Act in its current form containing provisions that provide for the preemption of a state's authority to protect the public from toxic substances and other harmful chemicals.
The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, "full cash value" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under "full cash value" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. Existing property tax law specifies those circumstances in which the transfer of ownership interests in a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity results in a change in ownership of the real property owned by that entity, and generally provides that a change in ownership as so described occurs if a legal entity or other person obtains a controlling or majority ownership interest in the legal entity. Existing law also specifies other circumstances in which certain transfers of ownership interests in legal entities result in a change in ownership of the real property owned by those legal entities. Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to include a question on corporation and income returns for partnerships, banks, and corporations to assist in the determination of whether a change in ownership as so described has occurred. This bill would specify that if, on or after January 1, 2015, 90% or more of the direct or indirect ownership interests in a legal entity are cumulatively transferred in one or more transactions, the transfer of the ownership interest is a change in ownership of the real property owned by the legal entity, whether or not any one legal entity or person acquires control of the ownership interests. This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to include an additional question on corporation and income returns for partnerships, banks, and corporations to assist in the determination of whether a change in ownership as so described has occurred. This bill would require the State Board of Equalization to report to the Legislature, no later than January 1, 2020, regarding the implementation of these changes in ownership, including, but not limited to, the economic impact and frequency of reassessments of real property owned by legal entities. Existing law requires, upon a change in control or change in ownership of a legal entity that owns an interest in real property in this state, or when requested by the State Board of Equalization, that the person or legal entity acquiring ownership or control, or the legal entity that has undergone a change in ownership, file a change in ownership statement with the board, as specified. Existing law requires a penalty of 10% of the taxes applicable to the new base year value, as specified, or 10% of the current year's taxes on the property, as specified, to be added to the assessment made on the roll if a person or legal entity required to file a change in ownership statement fails to do so. This bill would also require, in the case of a change in ownership when 90% or more of the ownership interests in the legal entity are cumulatively transferred, as described above, the corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity that underwent the change in ownership to file a change in ownership statement signed under penalty of perjury with the State Board of Equalization, as specified. This bill would increase the penalties for failure to file a change in ownership statement, as described above, from 10% to 15%. This bill would require the State Board of Equalization to notify assessors if a change in control or a change in ownership of a legal entity has occurred. By expanding the crime of perjury and by imposing new duties upon local county officials with respect to changes in ownership, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.