Asm. Bill Quirk

This measure would designate that January 16, 2017, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America.

Existing law requires a county elections official to establish a free access system that allows a vote by mail voter to learn if his or her vote by mail ballot was counted, and, if not, the reason why the ballot was not counted. Existing law requires the elections official to make the free access system available to a vote by mail voter upon completion of the official canvass and for 30 days after completion of the official canvass. If a voter casts a vote by mail ballot, this bill would additionally require a county elections official, within 30 days after completion of the official canvass, to notify the voter if the ballot was not counted, including the reason it was not counted. By imposing an additional duty on local elections officials, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3019.5 of the Elections Code, proposed by AB 2911, that would become operative only if this bill and AB 2911 are both chaptered and this bill is chaptered last. 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 these statutory provisions.

Existing federal law provides a Form I-914, Petition for T Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-914) to request temporary immigration benefits for a person who is a victim of certain qualifying criminal activity. Existing federal law also provides a form for certifying that a person submitting a Form I-914 is a victim of human trafficking and a declaration as to cooperation by the person regarding investigating or prosecuting trafficking (Form I-914 Supplement B) . Existing state law establishes certain rights of victims and witnesses of crimes, including, among others, to be notified and to appear at all sentencing proceedings, upon request, to be notified and to appear at parole eligibility hearings, and, for certain offenses, to be notified when a convicted defendant had been ordered placed on probation. This bill would require, upon request, that an official from a state or local entity certify "victim cooperation" on the Form I-914 Supplement B declaration, when the requester was a victim of human trafficking and has been cooperative, is being cooperative, or is likely to be cooperative regarding the investigation or prosecution of human trafficking. The bill would establish a rebuttable presumption that a victim is cooperative, has been cooperative, or is likely to be cooperative if the victim has not refused or failed to provide information and assistance reasonably requested by law enforcement. The bill would require the certifying entity to process a Form I-914 Supplement B declaration within 90 days of request, unless the noncitizen is in removal proceedings, in which case the declaration is required to be processed within 14 days of request. The bill would require a certifying entity that receives a request for a Form I-914 Supplement B declaration to report to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, the number of victims who requested Form I-914 Supplement B declarations from the entity, the number of those declaration forms that were signed, and the number that were denied. By imposing additional duties on local government agencies, 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 these statutory provisions.

The Local Transportation Authority and Improvement Act provides for the creation in any county of a local transportation authority and authorizes the imposition of a retail transactions and use tax by ordinance, subject to approval of the ordinance by 2/3 of the voters. Existing law authorizes the ballot proposition submitted to the voters to include a provision authorizing bonds to be issued that would be payable from the proceeds of the transactions and use tax. Existing law requires the bond proceeds to be placed in the treasury of the local transportation authority and to be used for allowable transportation purposes, except that accrued interest and premiums received on the sale of the bonds are required to be placed in a fund to be used for the payment of bond debt service. This bill would instead require the premiums received on the sale of the bonds to be placed in the treasury of the local transportation authority to be used for allowable transportation purposes.

Existing law requires the governing boards of each community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, to adopt detailed and victim-centered policies and protocols regarding sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking involving a student that comport with best practices and current professional standards, covering specified topics, including a comprehensive, trauma-informed training program for campus officials involved in investigating and adjudicating sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking cases. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2018, require those institutions, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, to conduct annual training of their respective employees, in addition to the training described above, on the employee's obligations in responding to and reporting incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking involving students. The bill would provide that an employee trained pursuant to these provisions is deemed to have satisfied the annual training requirement for each campus or community college district, as applicable, within each segment that the employee is employed at for that year.