Asm. Bill Quirk

Existing law generally requires contracts by the state for the acquisition of goods and services be awarded pursuant to various procedures and requirements. Existing law exempts specified projects and types of contracts from those procedures and requirements. The California Council on Science and Technology is a nonpartisan, impartial, not-for-profit corporation, established in accordance with a 1988 legislative resolution. This bill would, until January 1, 2023, authorize specified state entities to each enter into no more than 2 contracts for specified services per calendar year, each for an amount of no more than $500,000, with the council without competition and would exempt the contract from specified state contracting procedures and requirements. The bill would require the council to provide the Legislature annual reports no later than January 1 of each year and a final report to the Legislature on or before December 31, 2021, as specified.

Existing law provides for the procedure of approving and accepting bail, and issuing an order for the appearance and release of an arrested person. Existing law requires that bail be set in a fixed amount, as specified, and requires, in setting, reducing, or denying bail, a judge or magistrate to take into consideration the protection of the public, the seriousness of the offense charged, the previous criminal record of the defendant, and the probability of his or her appearing at trial or at a hearing of the case. Under existing law, the magistrate or commissioner to whom the application is made is authorized to set bail in an amount that he or she deems sufficient to ensure the defendant's appearance or to ensure the protection of a victim, or family member of a victim, of domestic violence, and to set bail on the terms and conditions that he or she, in his or her discretion, deems appropriate, or he or she may authorize the defendant's release on his or her own recognizance. Existing law provides that a defendant being held for a misdemeanor offense is entitled to be released on his or her own recognizance, unless the court makes a finding on the record that his or her release would compromise public safety or would not reasonably ensure the appearance of the defendant as required. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to safely reduce the number of people detained pretrial, while addressing racial and economic disparities in the pretrial system, to ensure that people are not held in pretrial detention simply because of their inability to afford money bail. This bill would implement a revised pretrial release procedure. The bill would require, except when a person is arrested for certain felonies, that a pretrial services agency conduct a pretrial risk assessment on an arrested person and prepare a pretrial services report that includes the results of the pretrial risk assessment and recommendations on conditions of release for the person immediately upon booking. The bill would require the pretrial services agency to transmit the report to a magistrate, judge, or court commissioner and the magistrate, judge, or court commissioner, within an unspecified number of hours, to issue an oral or written order to release the person, with or without release conditions, subject to the person signing a specified release agreement. The bill would require, if a person is in custody at the time of his or her arraignment, the judge or magistrate to consider the pretrial services report and any relevant information provided by the prosecuting attorney or the defendant and to order the pretrial release of the person, with or without conditions, subject to the person signing a specified release agreement. If the judge or magistrate determines that pretrial release, with or without conditions, will not reasonably ensure the appearance of the person in court as required, the bill would require the judge or magistrate to set monetary bail at the least restrictive level necessary to ensure the appearance of the defendant in court as required. The bill would authorize, if the judge or magistrate has set monetary bail, the person to execute an unsecured appearance bond, execute a secured appearance bond, or deposit a percentage of the sum mentioned in the order setting monetary bail. The bill would authorize a prosecuting attorney to file a motion seeking the pretrial detention of a person in certain circumstances, including when the person has been charged with a capital crime and the prosecuting attorney alleges that the facts are evident or the presumption great. The bill would require, if this motion has been filed, a hearing to be held to determine whether to release the person pending trial, unless the person waives the hearing. The bill would authorize the person to be detained pretrial only if the court makes one of several specified findings. The bill would require each county to establish a pretrial services agency that would be responsible for gathering information about newly arrested persons, conducting pretrial risk assessments, preparing individually tailored recommendations to the court regarding release options and conditions, and providing pretrial services and supervision to persons on pretrial release. The bill would require an unspecified agency to take certain actions relating to the implementation of the revised pretrial release procedure, including, among others, selecting a pretrial risk assessment tool to be used in conducting pretrial risk assessments that meets specified requirements and reviewing collected data to monitor compliance with state law and guidelines relating to pretrial release. The bill would also authorize that agency to take certain actions relating to the implementation of the revised pretrial release procedure, including, among other things, providing training and assistance to judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, pretrial services agencies, jail staff, and law enforcement agencies. The bill would require the Board of State and Community Corrections, in consultation with that unspecified agency, to develop a plan that establishes statewide requirements for counties relating to annual reporting of pretrial release and detention information. By imposing additional duties on local 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 the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law requires, in the event that the debtor has more than one debt being collected by the Franchise Tax Board and the amount collected is insufficient to satisfy the total amount owed, the amount collected to be applied to specified priorities. Existing law also establishes, for tax liabilities that are due and payable, as defined, before, on, or after July 1, 2006, a statute of limitations on collections of those liabilities to limit the collection period to 20 years beginning from the last statutory lien date for each taxable year, and would extinguish that liability for that taxable year by abating the underlying tax. This bill, beginning January 1, 2020, would make restitution payments to victims of crimes the first priority for debt collected by the Franchise Tax Board and would provide for a stay on the statute of limitations for collection of tax due for the period for which an outstanding restitution amount exists.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations, as defined. Existing law establishes the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in the State Treasury. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the CASF to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies, as provided in specified decisions of the commission and in the CASF statute. Existing law establishes as the goal of the CASF program to approve funding, no later than December 31, 2015, for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households. Decisions of the commission, including Decision 14-12-039, establish procedures for a party to apply for a grant or loan to finance an infrastructure project that furthers that goal, for a party to challenge that application, and for the commission to select an application through the issuance of a draft resolution for public comment and a subsequent final resolution. This bill would revise the goal of the CASF program to approve funding, no later than December 31, 2020, for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of the number of California households in existence on January 1, 2016. The bill would require the commission to publish an amendment to an application to participate in the program at least 10 days before publishing the corresponding draft resolution.

The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 provides the exclusive authority and procedure for the initiation, conduct, and completion of changes of organization and reorganization for cities and districts, except as specified. Under existing law, if a change of organization consists of a dissolution, the commission is required to order the dissolution subject to confirmation of voters if, among other things, the proposal was not initiated by the commission and if a subject agency has not objected to the proposal, the commission has found that, for an inhabited territory protests have been signed by either 25% of the number of landowners within the affected territory who own at least 25% of the assessed value of land within the territory or 25% of the voters entitled to vote as a result of residing or owning land within the affected territory. This bill would decrease that threshold to 10% of the number of landowners within the affected territory who own at least 25% of the assessed value of land within the territory or 10% of the voters entitled to vote as a result of residing or owning land within the affected territory.

Existing law authorizes any person, firm, or corporation, or any combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to burn the brush from the land. Existing law requires the department to provide advisory services to applicants for burn permits as to the precautions to be taken by the applicant to prevent damage to the property of others by reason of the prescribed burning, and to provide standby fire protection, as available. This bill would require the department, by July 1, 2018, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, local air districts, and other relevant organizations and individuals, to develop an Internet Web site that provides the public certain information relating to prescribed burns, including information on the regulations that govern prescribed burns for forest fuel treatment, and to develop a uniform prescribed burn template for forest landowners that provides standardized procedures associated with planning and implementation of a prescribed burn and meets specified objectives. The bill would authorize the department to contract with an institution of the University of California to perform any of these requirements.

Existing law requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas, except as specified. Under existing law, known as the Lead-Safe Schools Protection Act, the State Department of Public Health is required to perform various activities related to reducing the risk of exposure to lead hazards in public schools, including, among other activities, working with the State Department of Education to develop voluntary guidelines to ensure that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school repair and maintenance programs and abatement procedures. This bill would require a community water system, as defined, to test, on or before July 1, 2019, and every year thereafter, for the presence of lead at a sample of water outlets used for drinking or cooking at each school, defined to include a public elementary school, a public secondary school, a public preschool located on public school property, and a public day care facility located on public school property, constructed before January 1, 1993, within the boundaries of the community water system. The bill would require, if testing reveals an elevated lead level, as defined, at a water outlet at a school, the school to close off access to the outlet, as specified; report the test results to the State Water Resources Control Board; purchase and install certified water filters at all school faucets, fountains, and other outlets designated for drinking or cooking that were not closed off; on or before July 1, 2022, replace all lead-bearing parts, as defined, within the school's water delivery system, where feasible and cost effective; and, on or before January 1, 2020, develop and adopt a plan of action relating to these requirements. By imposing additional duties on public schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would exempt a school and a community water system from its provisions if the school demonstrates to the satisfaction of the State Water Resources Control Board that its water delivery system is free of lead-bearing parts. 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 Department of Transportation and regional transportation agencies to enter into comprehensive development lease agreements with public and private entities, or consortia of those entities, for certain transportation projects that may charge certain users of those projects tolls and user fees, subject to various terms and requirements. These arrangements are commonly known as public-private partnerships. Existing law provides that a lease agreement may not be entered into under these provisions on or after January 1, 2017. This bill would extend this authorization indefinitely. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions by correcting obsolete cross-references.

The Personal Income Tax Law imposes taxes based upon taxable income at specified rates. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, impose an additional tax of 1% on income that exceeds $1,000,000, as provided. The bill would deposit the revenues derived from this tax into the Higher Education Assistance Fund, a continuously appropriated fund established by this bill, for the purposes of funding student financial assistance for tuition and fees required of specified students enrolled at the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges. This bill would become operative only if ACA 13 of the 2017–18 Regular Session is approved by the voters and becomes operative.