Asm. Bill Quirk

Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , enacted by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, regulates the cultivation, distribution, and use of cannabis for nonmedical purposes by individuals 21 years of age and older. Under AUMA, a person 21 years of age or older may, among other things, possess, process, transport, purchase, obtain, or give away, as specified, up to 28.5 grams of cannabis and up to 8 grams of concentrated cannabis. Existing law authorizes a person to petition for the recall or dismissal of a sentence, dismissal and sealing of a conviction, or redesignation of a conviction of an offense for which a lesser offense or no offense would be imposed under AUMA. This bill would require the Department of Justice, before July 1, 2019, to review the records in the state summary criminal history information database and to identify past convictions that are potentially eligible for recall or dismissal of sentence, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation pursuant to AUMA. The bill would require the department to notify the prosecution of all cases in their jurisdiction that are eligible for recall or dismissal of a sentence, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation. The bill would require the prosecution to, on or before July 1, 2020, review all cases and determine whether to challenge the resentencing, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation. The bill would authorize the prosecution to challenge the resentencing, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation if the person does not meet the eligibility requirements or presents an unreasonable risk to public safety. The bill would require the prosecution to notify the public defender and the court when they are challenging a particular resentencing, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation, and would require the prosecution to notify the court if they are not challenging a particular resentencing, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation. By imposing additional duties on local entities, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the court to automatically reduce or dismiss the conviction pursuant to AUMA if there is no challenge by July 1, 2020. The bill would require the department to modify the state summary criminal history information database in conformance with the recall or dismissal of sentence, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation within 30 days and to post specified information on its Internet Web site. 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 requires each department or agency in this state that employs peace officers to establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against the personnel of the department or agency. Existing law requires complaints and any reports or findings related to the complaints to be retained for at least 5 years and allows all complaints retained to be maintained in the peace officer's general personnel file or in a separate file designated by the department or agency. This bill would require each department or agency in this state that employs peace officers to make and retain a record of any investigations of misconduct involving a peace officer in his or her general personnel file or separate file designated by the department or agency. The bill would require a peace officer seeking employment with a department or agency to give written permission for the hiring department or agency to view his or her general personnel file or separate file. Because this bill would increase the duties of local law enforcement agencies, it 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 authorizes the legislative body of a city or a county to make, by ordinance, any violation of an ordinance subject to an administrative fine or penalty and limits the maximum fine or penalty amounts for infractions, to $100 for the first violation, $200 for a 2nd violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation, and $500 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation. For violations of city or county building and safety codes determined to be an infraction, existing law limits the amount of the fine to $100 for a first violation, $500 for a 2nd violation of the same ordinance within one year, and $1,000 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation. The bill would, for violations of a local building and safety code determined to be an infraction, increase the amounts of the fines to $130 for a first violation, $700 for a 2nd violation of the same ordinance within one year, and $1,300 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation. The bill would additionally provide for a fine of $2,500 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within 2 years of the first violation if the property is a commercial property that has an existing building at the time of the violation and the violation is of a local building and safety code that is an infraction and is due to failure by the owner to remove visible refuse or failure to prohibit unauthorized use of the property. The bill would additionally require a city or county levying fines pursuant to these provisions to establish a process for granting a hardship waiver to reduce the amount of the fine for a second or third violation of the same ordinance or local building and safety code that is an infraction upon a showing by the responsible party that the responsible party has made a bona fide effort to comply after the first violation and that payment of the full amount of the fine would impose an undue financial burden on the responsible party.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA. CEQA requires a court to make specified orders if it finds that any determination, finding, or decision of a public agency has been made without compliance with CEQA. This bill would establish specified procedures for the administrative and judicial review of the environmental review and approvals granted for the Oakland Sports and Mixed-Use Project, as defined, located in the City of Oakland that is certified by the Governor as meeting certain requirements. Because a public agency would be required to comply with those new procedures, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would apply certain rules of court establishing procedures requiring actions or proceedings seeking judicial review pursuant to CEQA or the granting of project approvals, including any appeals therefrom, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court to an action or proceeding seeking judicial review of the lead agency's action related to the Oakland Sports and Mixed-Use Project under CEQA. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Oakland Sports and Mixed-Use Project. 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 requires the court, when imposing a sentence for a serious felony, in addition and consecutive to the term imposed for that serious felony, to impose a 5-year enhancement for each prior conviction of a serious felony. Existing law generally authorizes a judge, in the interests of justice, to order an action dismissed, but precludes a judge from striking any prior serious felony conviction in connection with imposition of the 5-year enhancement. This bill would delete the restriction prohibiting a judge from striking a prior serious felony conviction in connection with imposition of the 5-year enhancement described above and would make conforming changes. The bill would make additional technical nonsubstantive changes.

(1) Existing law, the California Financing Law, generally provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders, brokers, and, beginning on January 1, 2019, program administrators, by the Commissioner of Business Oversight. The CFL makes a willful violation of specified provisions a crime. The CFL, until January 1, 2023, establishes the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans (pilot program) , which requires licensees and other entities that wish to participate in the pilot program to file an application and pay a specified fee to the commissioner to participate in the pilot program. The pilot program authorizes a licensee approved by the commissioner to participate in the pilot program to impose specified alternative interest rates and charges, including an administrative fee and delinquency fees, on unsecured loans of at least $300 and less than $2,500, subject to certain requirements. This bill would increase the upper limit on the amount of a permissible loan under the pilot program from $2,500 to $7,500 and make corresponding changes. (2) Under the pilot program, a licensee is prohibited from making a loan if that licensee determines, through its underwriting, that the borrower's total monthly debt service payments exceed 50% of the borrower's monthly gross income. This bill would instead prohibit a licensee from making a loan under these circumstances if the borrower's total monthly debt service payments exceed 50% of the borrower's gross monthly income for a loan of no more than $2,500, or exceed 36% of the borrower's gross monthly income for a loan in excess of $2,500. (3) The pilot program establishes that a loan with a principal balance, upon origination, of at least $1,500 is required to have a term of not less than 180 days. As an alternative to other authorized charges, a licensee approved by the commissioner to participate in the pilot program may contract for and receive charges at an annual simple interest rate not exceeding specified amounts. This bill would additionally require a loan under the pilot program that has a principal balance exceeding $2,500 to have a minimum term of one year and a maximum term of 5 years. The bill would also require licensees to reduce the interest rates on each subsequent loan to the same borrower by a minimum of one percentage point and subject to additional reductions, if specified conditions are satisfied. (4) Under the pilot program, licensees are required to develop and implement policies and procedures designed to respond to questions raised by applicants and borrowers regarding their loans, including those involving finders. Existing law describes a finder as an entity that brings a licensee and a prospective borrower together for the purpose of negotiating a loan contract. This bill would also require licensees to perform reasonable background checks on any finders associated with a licensee's participation in the pilot program. (5) The pilot program authorizes a licensee who is approved to participate in the program to use the services of one or more finders. Existing law defines a "finder" for these purposes as an entity that, at the finder's physical location for business, brings a licensee and a prospective borrower together for the purpose of negotiating a loan contract. This bill would authorize the commissioner to charge a licensee participating in the program an additional fee to offset the commissioner's costs to oversee and examine the activities of that licensee's finder or finders. (6) Existing law requires the Commissioner of Business Oversight to examine each licensee that is accepted into the program at least once every 24 months. This bill would require the commissioner also to examine each finder whose services were used by the licensee at least once every 24 months. (7) Existing law requires the Commissioner of Business Oversight to post reports containing specified information on his or her Internet Web site that summarize utilization of the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans. If more than one licensee is approved to participate in the program, existing law requires that information in the report to be stated in aggregate to avoid identifying data by specific licensee. This bill would require that these reports also contain specified information for each finder whose services were used by a licensee in connection with the loans or loan applications, along with the finder's identity. By increasing the scope of the program, the bill would expand the definition of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. (8) 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.