This measure would designate May 29, 2018, as 529 College Savings Day, to raise awareness about the importance of saving for college with the help of 529 college savings plans.
This measure would recognize May 2018 as Blue Star Mothers of America Month in California, as specified.
Existing law defines the measure of indemnity for a loss under a property insurance policy. Existing law requires an insurer, in the event of a loss under a residential insurance policy for which the insured has made a claim for additional living expenses, to provide the insured with a list of items that the insurer believes may be covered under the policy as additional living expenses. Additionally, existing law provides that, in the case of a loss related to a declared state of emergency, an insurer provide coverage for living expenses for a period of 24 months, subject to the limitations of the policy. This bill would specify that additional living expense coverage shall include all reasonable expenses incurred by the insured in order to maintain a comparable standard of living and would provide a list of expenses that shall be covered. This bill would require, for losses related to a declared state of emergency, that the insurer provide an advance payment for living expenses and an advance payment for contents, the insurer to accept an inventory of contents in any reasonable form permit the grouping of certain items in an inventory of contents, and offer a payment of no less than 80% of the policy limit for contents without an itemized claim. This bill would require an insurer to offer a 30-day grace period, as specified, for payments of premiums for policies on property located within a declared state of emergency for a period of 30 days after the declaration of the emergency. This bill would apply specified provisions retroactively to certain claims for losses incurred on or after July 1, 2017.
This measure would recognize the month of May 2018 as Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges that children, and particularly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, face in the foster care system, as specified.
This measure would recognize May 2018 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness.
The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, and additionally amended by statute, imposes an excise tax commencing January 1, 2018, on the purchase of cannabis and cannabis products, as defined, at the rate of 15% of the average market price of any retail sale by a cannabis retailer. Commencing January 1, 2018, AUMA also imposes a cultivation tax upon all cultivators on all harvested cannabis that enters the commercial market, at specified rates per dry-weight ounce of cannabis flowers and leaves. Existing law requires the revenues from those taxes to be deposited into the California Cannabis Tax Fund and to be continuously appropriated for specified purposes pursuant to a specified schedule. AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions with a 23 vote of both houses to further its purposes and intent. This bill would reduce that excise tax rate to 11% on and after the operative date of this bill until June 1, 2021, at which time the excise tax rate would revert back to 15%. This bill would suspend the imposition of the cultivation tax on and after the operative date of this bill until June 1, 2021. This bill would make specified findings and declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of the AUMA. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy, but its operative date would depend on its effective date.
Existing federal law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , enacts various health care coverage market reforms that took effect January 1, 2014. Among other things, PPACA required each state to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. Existing state law establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange, also known as Covered California, within state government. Existing law specifies the powers and duties of the board governing Covered California, and requires the board to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. Existing law establishes the California Health Trust Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund for these purposes. This bill would require the board to offer additional cost sharing financial assistance to those who are otherwise eligible for premium tax credits and who have incomes determined to be below 400% of the federal poverty level, as specified. By requiring the board to offer this additional assistance, this bill would make an appropriation.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the commission to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total number of kilowatthours of those products sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, then incrementally increases for specified compliance periods to 33% of retail sales by December 31, 2020, 40% by December 31, 2024, 45% by December 31, 2027, and 50% by December 31, 2030. The program additionally requires each local publicly owned electric utility to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the procurement requirements established by the program. This bill would require that not less than an unspecified percentage of the incremental procurement requirements for each compliance period be satisfied with geothermal, biogas, or biomass energy resources procured on or after July 1, 2017, until either an unspecified percentage of the total electricity products procured to satisfy the overall procurement requirements are from those energy resources or December 31, 2030, whichever occurs first. The bill would require an unspecified portion of this increment to be procured from the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resources Area. Under existing law, a violation of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would expand that program, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. By placing additional requirements upon local publicly owned electric utilities, 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 specified reasons. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area.
