Existing law establishes the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in state government for the purpose of resolving disputes and enforcing the statutory duties and rights of specified public employers and employees under various acts regulating collective bargaining, including the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. Under existing law, PERB has the power and duty to investigate an unfair practice charge and to determine whether the charge is justified and the appropriate remedy for the unfair practice. This bill would enact the Public Employee Health Protection Act, which would make it an unfair practice for a covered employer, as defined, to fail or refuse to maintain or pay for continued health care or other medical coverage for an enrolled employee or their enrolled dependents, for the duration of the enrolled employee's participation in the authorized strike, at the level and under the conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued to work in their position for the duration of the strike. The act would also make it an unfair practice for a covered employer to fail to collect and remit the employee's contributions, if any, to this coverage, or to maintain any policy purporting to authorize an action prohibited by this provision or otherwise threaten an employee or their dependents' continued access to health or medical care during or as a result of the employee's participation in a strike. The act would require the restoration of health or other medical care premiums, contributions, or out-of-pocket expenses actually paid by the employee or their dependents as a result of the employer's violation of this provision, or because the employer failed to ensure continued coverage during a strike, and would require other equitable adjustments to ensure that the employee and their dependents are made whole, as specified. The act would define "covered employer" to include any public employer, as specified, that offers health care or other medical coverage for nonoccupational injuries or illness to its employees. The act would grant PERB jurisdiction over any violation of these provisions as an unfair practice, with specified enforcement powers and duties, including adjudication of claims and would state that its provisions are declaratory of, and clarify, existing law, as specified. By requiring unfair practice claims against local public employers to be adjudicated before PERB, 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.
Sponsored bills
(1) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act contains various provisions regulating the application for, the issuance of, the suspension of, and the conditions imposed upon alcoholic beverage licenses by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Existing law generally provides that a violation of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act is a misdemeanor. Existing law authorizes the issuance of a caterer's permit, upon application to the department, to a licensee under an on-sale general license, an on-sale beer and wine license, a club license, or a veterans' club license, that authorizes the holder of the permit to sell alcoholic beverages at specified locations and events, including, among others, conventions, sporting events, and trade exhibits. Under existing law, licensees are required to first obtain consent from the department for sales of alcoholic beverages at each event in the form of a catering or event authorization. The department, pursuant to its powers and in furtherance of emergency declarations and orders of the Governor under the California Emergency Services Act regarding the spread of the COVID-19 virus, has prescribed temporary relief measures to suspend certain legal restrictions relating to, among other things, the expansion of a licensed footprint, sales of alcoholic beverages to-go, and delivery privileges. This bill would prohibit the issuance of a catering authorization for use at any one premises for more than 36 events in one calendar year, except as specified. This bill would authorize the department, for a period of 365 days following the end of the state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor on March 4, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to permit licensees to exercise license privileges in an expanded license area authorized pursuant to a COVID-19 Temporary Catering Authorization approved in accordance with the Fourth Notice of Regulatory Relief issued by the department, as specified. The bill would also authorize the department to extend the period of time during which the COVID-19 Temporary Catering Authorization is valid beyond 365 days if the licensee has filed a pending application with the department for the permanent expansion of their premises before the 365-day time period expires. The bill would make these provisions effective only until July 1, 2024, and repeal them as of that date. (2) Existing law, with exceptions, prohibits a licensee from having, upon the licensed premises, any alcoholic beverages other than the alcoholic beverage that the licensee is authorized to sell at the premises under their license, and makes a violation of this prohibition punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would, as an exception to that prohibition, authorize a licensed manufacturer to share a common licensed area with multiple licensed retailers, subject to specified provisions, including, but not limited to, that (A) a licensee sharing the common licensed area with a licensed manufacturer is prohibited from selling or serving any alcoholic beverages that are manufactured, produced, bottled, processed, imported, rectified, distributed, represented, or sold by the manufacturer, as provided, (B) the licensed manufacturer may, in connection with the operation of the shared common area only, advertise or promote the common licensed area, provided that each retailer pays its pro rata share of the costs of such advertising or promotion, as specified, (C) no thing of value may be given or furnished by the manufacturer to the retailers, except as specified, (D) the manufacturer may have on the area of its licensed premises that encompass the shared common licensed area alcoholic beverages that would not otherwise be permitted on the manufacturer's licensed premises, as provided, (E) all licensees sharing the common licensed area are required to hold the same license type retailers, (F) all licensees holding licenses within the shared common licensed area are jointly responsible for compliance with all laws that may subject their license to discipline, and (G) the manufacturer maintains records necessary to establish its compliance, as specified. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000 (the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) authorizes the issuance of bonds for the purpose of financing a program for the acquisition, development, improvement, rehabilitation, restoration, enhancement, and protection of park, recreational, cultural, historical, fish and wildlife, lake, riparian, reservoir, river, and coastal resources, as specified. That bond act prohibits the use of the grant funds unless the applicant has agreed to certain conditions, including, but not limited to, using the property only for the purposes for which the grant was made and making no other use or sale or other disposition of the property, except as authorized by a specific act of the Legislature. This bill would authorize the City of Modesto, until June 30, 2023, to dispose of all or a portion of Beard Brook Park acquired, developed, or improved with grant moneys from the bond act described above, subject to the acquisition of replacement park property, as approved by the Department of Parks and Recreation, to be used for park purposes in perpetuity and at no cost to the state, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Modesto.
(1) Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, among others, the completion of 3 years of courses in English and 3 years of courses in social studies, including one-year courses in United States history and geography and world history, culture, and geography, a one-semester course in American government and civics, and a one-semester course in economics. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to develop, and the State Board of Education to adopt, modify, or revise, a model curriculum in ethnic studies. Existing law also encourages each school district and charter school that maintains any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and that does not otherwise offer a standards-based ethnic studies curriculum to offer, beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, a course of study in ethnic studies based on the model curriculum. This bill would add the completion of a one-semester course in ethnic studies, meeting specified requirements, to the graduation requirements commencing with pupils graduating in the 2029–30 school year, including for pupils enrolled in a charter school. The bill would expressly authorize local educational agencies, including charter schools, to require a full-year course in ethnic studies at their discretion. The bill would require local educational agencies, including charter schools, to offer an ethnic studies course commencing with the 2025–26 school year, as specified. The bill would authorize, subject to the course offerings of a local educational agency, including a charter school, a pupil to satisfy the ethnic studies course requirement by completing either (A) a course based on the model curriculum in ethnic studies developed by the commission, (B) an existing ethnic studies course, (C) an ethnic studies course taught as part of a course that has been approved as meeting the A–G requirements of the University of California and the California State University, or (D) a locally developed ethnic studies course approved by the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school. The bill would prohibit a course that does not use ethnic studies content as the primary content through which the subject is taught from being used to satisfy the ethnic studies course requirement. The bill would require a pupil who completes a course described above to also accrue credit for coursework in the subject that the course is offered, including, if applicable, credit towards satisfying a course required for a diploma of graduation from high school. These provisions would become operative only upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute. Because the bill would add new duties to local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) 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, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies to provide coverage for specified benefits, including for mental health services. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2022, that provides coverage for pediatric services and preventive care to additionally include coverage for adverse childhood experiences screenings. The bill would authorize each department to adopt guidance to implement this provision. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the 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 a specified reason.
Existing law requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to examine persons who desire to become county agricultural commissioners or deputy county agricultural commissioners. Existing law requires the county agricultural commissioner to be responsible for local administration of enforcement and requires the secretary to be responsible for overall statewide enforcement, as provided. Existing law requires the secretary to furnish assistance in planning and otherwise developing an adequate county enforcement program, including uniformity, coordination, training, special services, special equipment, and forms, statewide publicity, statewide planning, and emergency assistance. This bill would authorize, upon the approval of a county board of supervisors, a county agricultural commissioner, or other designated agency, to establish within the county a livestock pass program for the purpose of issuing identification documents granting any qualifying livestock producer, as defined, or a managerial employee, as defined, of the qualifying livestock producer, access to the qualifying livestock producer's ranch property, or to the ranch property owned by another holder of a livestock pass with permission, during or following a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster, as provided. To the extent this bill would impose a new duty on a county board of supervisors in approving the livestock pass program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that access to specified areas may only be granted by the incident commander, a law enforcement official having jurisdiction, or their designee and that when access is granted by emergency response personnel other than the incident commander, the emergency response personnel shall notify incident command when they grant the livestock passholder access to the ranch property during a disaster. To the extent this bill would impose new notification duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2023, the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum for livestock producers eligible for this livestock pass program. Existing law authorizes specified law enforcement and public safety officers and professionals to close an area where a menace to the public health or safety is created by a calamity, including flood, storm, fire, earthquake, explosion, accident, or other disaster, as provided. This bill would provide that the above provision does not apply to an individual who holds a valid livestock pass identification document, except as provided. 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 provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible persons who are unemployed through no fault of their own through a federal-state unemployment insurance program administered by the Employment Development Department, subject to oversight by the Director of Employment Development. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain state summary criminal history information, including the identification and criminal history of a person, including name, date of birth, social security number, physical description, fingerprints, photographs, dates of arrests, arresting agencies and booking numbers, charges, dispositions, sentencing information, and similar data about the person. Existing law requires the Attorney General to furnish this information to specified persons, agencies, or organizations, including the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, if needed in the course of their duties. Existing law makes it a crime for any person authorized by law to receive state summary criminal history information to knowingly furnish the information to a person who is not authorized by law to receive it. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide the name, known aliases, birth date, social security number, and booking date and expected release date, if known, of a current inmate to the Employment Development Department for the purposes of preventing payments on fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation benefits. The bill would require this information to be provided to the Employment Development Department on the first of every month and upon the Employment Development Department's request. Because this bill would expand the scope of an existing crime, the bill imposes a state-mandated local program. This bill would require, for purposes of preventing payments on fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation benefits, the Director of Employment Development to verify with the information provided by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that the claimant is not an inmate currently incarcerated in the state prisons. The bill would require the Employment Development Department to complete necessary system programming or automation upgrades to allow electronic monitoring of Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmate data to prevent payment on fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation benefits at the earliest possible date, but not later than September 1, 2023. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information and requires the department to maintain a Health Professions Career Opportunity Program to, among other things, implement programs at colleges and universities selected by the department and include in those programs pipeline programs that provide comprehensive academic enrichment, career development, mentorship, and advising in order to support students from underrepresented regions and backgrounds to pursue health careers. Existing law requires, in accordance with the compliance schedule approved by the department, but in any case no later than January 1, 2030, owners of all acute care inpatient hospitals to either demolish, replace, or change to nonacute care use all hospital buildings not in substantial compliance with certain regulations and standards developed by the department related to seismic safety or to seismically retrofit all acute care inpatient hospital buildings so that they are in substantial compliance with those regulations and standards. This bill would authorize the department to enter into contracts, to meet the requirements of the Health Professions Career Opportunity Program, with nonprofit entities headquartered in California that have previous experience with administering statewide workforce programs aimed at building a diverse provider workforce. This bill would establish the Small and Rural Hospital Relief Program under the administration of the department for the purpose of funding seismic safety compliance with respect to small hospitals, rural hospitals, and critical access hospitals in the state. The bill would require the department to provide grants to small, rural, and critical access hospital applicants that meet certain criteria, including that seismic safety compliance, as defined, imposes a financial burden on the applicant that may result in hospital closure. The bill would also create the Small and Rural Hospital Relief Fund and would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund for the purposes of administering and funding the grant program. (2) The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law imposes a tax on distributors of cigarettes at the rate of $2.87 per package of 20 cigarettes and a tax on distributors of tobacco products, based on wholesale cost, at a rate determined annually that is equivalent to the combined rate of all taxes imposed on cigarettes plus an additional rate equivalent to $0.50 per package of 20 cigarettes. These taxes are inclusive of the taxes imposed under the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act of 1988, the California Families and Children Act of 1998, and the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016. The California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 (Proposition 56) , an initiative measure approved at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, revised the definition of tobacco products to include electronic cigarettes, thereby extending the taxes on distributors of tobacco products to distributors of electronic cigarettes, which is based on the wholesale cost of these products. Proposition 56 requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to adopt regulations providing for the implementation of the equivalent tax on electronic cigarettes and the methods for collection of the tax. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2022, require a purchaser of electronic cigarettes, as defined, at retail to pay a tax on the purchase for use in this state of an electronic cigarette from a retailer of 12.5% of the sales price from the sale of an electronic cigarette. The bill would require a retailer to collect the tax from the purchaser at the time of the retail sale of an electronic cigarette. The bill would require all revenues, interest, and penalties, less refunds, collected from the tax described above to be deposited into the California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax Fund, a continuously appropriated fund created by the bill, and would require all amounts in the fund to be distributed to the Health Education Account in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Surtax Fund, the California Children and Families Trust Fund, to fund the Proposition 56 Medi-Cal Physicians and Dentists Loan Repayment Act, the University of California, to support the joint program in medical education between the University of California, Merced and the University of California, San Francisco at Fresno, the Small and Rural Hospital Relief Fund created by this bill, and to the Department of Health Care Access and Information to fund the Health Professions Career Opportunity Program described above, as specified. By creating a continuously appropriated fund and allocating additional moneys to continuously appropriated funds, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill would provide for the administration and collection of this tax pursuant to procedures set forth in the Fee Collection Procedures Law. By expanding the application of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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.
The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property, defined as the county assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill and, thereafter, the appraised value of the property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership occurs after the 1975 assessment, subject to an annual inflation adjustment not to exceed 2%. Existing property tax law provides that the purchase or transfer of the principal residence, and the first $1,000,000 of other real property, of a transferor in the case of a transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased, is not a "purchase" or "change in ownership" for purposes of determining the "full cash value" of property for taxation. Existing provisions of the California Constitution, adopted as Proposition 19 by the voters at the November 3, 2020, general election, beginning on and after February 16, 2021, exclude from the terms "purchase" and "change in ownership" for purposes of determining the "full cash value" of property the purchase or transfer of a family home or family farm, as those terms are defined, of the transferor in the case of a transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased, as specified. In the case of a transfer of a family home, existing law requires that the property continue as the family home of the transferee. Existing law authorizes, if certain conditions are fulfilled, the new taxable value, defined as the base year value determined as provided above plus any inflation adjustment, of the purchased or transferred family home or family farm to be the sum of (1) the taxable value of the property, subject to adjustment, as determined as of the date immediately prior to the transfer or purchase, and (2) a portion, if any, of the assessed value of the property, as specified. In the case of property tax benefits provided to a family home under these provisions, existing law requires the transferee to claim the homeowner's or disabled veteran's exemption within one year of the transfer. This bill would implement these newly adopted constitutional provisions, as provided. The bill would require that the principal residence transferred be the principal residence of the transferor, and that it become the principal residence of the transferee within one year of the transfer. The bill would require, in order to claim the exclusion, that a claim be filed with the assessor. Because the bill would require county assessors to provide new services in relation to family farms, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Board of Equalization to prescribe a form for claiming eligibility for the exclusion to be filed as provided. The bill would require the State Board of Equalization to adopt emergency regulations in order to implement these provisions, as provided. The bill would also provide that a claim filed under this section is not a public document and is not subject to public inspection, except to specified parties. Existing property tax law authorizes, pursuant to constitutional authorization, a person over 55 years of age, or any severely and permanently disabled person, who resides in property eligible for the homeowners' exemption to transfer the base year value of the property to a replacement dwelling, subject to certain conditions and limitations. Existing provisions of the California Constitution, adopted as Proposition 19, beginning on and after April 1, 2021, instead authorizes an owner who is over 55 years of age, severely disabled, or a victim of a wildfire or natural disaster to transfer the taxable value, defined as the base year value determined as provided above plus any inflation adjustment, of a primary residence eligible for either the homeowner's exemption or the disabled veteran's exemption to a replacement primary residence located anywhere in this state, regardless of the value of the replacement primary residence, that is purchased or newly constructed as that person's principal residence within 2 years of the sale of the original primary residence. Under the California Constitution, a person who is 55 years of age or severely disabled may transfer the taxable value of their primary residence up to 3 times. The California Constitution requires that a person seeking to transfer the taxable value of a primary residence under these provisions file an application, containing specified information, with the assessor of the county in which the replacement primary residence is located. This bill, in accordance with the above-described constitutional provisions, on and after April 1, 2021, would authorize any person who is over 55 years of age, any severely and permanently disabled person, or a victim of wildfire or natural disaster who resides in property that is eligible for the homeowner's exemption or the disabled veteran's exemption to transfer the taxable value of that property to a replacement dwelling that is purchased or newly constructed as a principal residence within 2 years of the sale of the original property, as provided. The bill would require that any claim be filed within 3 years of the date that the replacement dwelling was purchased or the new construction of the replacement dwelling was completed. The bill would limit a person to 3 transfers of taxable value under these provisions, except with respect to claims filed by victims of wildfire or natural disaster, and would require each county assessor to report quarterly to the State Board of Equalization specified information regarding all approved claims. By adding to the duties of local tax officials with respect to the transfer of the taxable value of real property, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Board of Equalization to adopt emergency regulations in order to implement these provisions, as provided. The bill would also provide that a claim filed under this section is not a public document and is not subject to public inspection, except to specified parties. 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 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law allows a person who was arrested or convicted of a nonviolent offense while they were a victim of human trafficking to petition the court for vacatur relief. Existing law requires the petitioner to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the arrest and conviction were the direct result of being a victim of human trafficking. Existing law requires that a petition be made and heard within a reasonable time after the person has ceased to be a victim of human trafficking, or within a reasonable time after the petitioner has sought services, whichever is later. Existing law allows a petitioner, or the petitioner's attorney, to be excused from appearing in person at a hearing on the petition only if the court finds a compelling reason why the petitioner cannot attend, in which case existing law allows the petitioner to appear by electronic means. This bill would prohibit a court from refusing to hear the petition on the basis of the petitioner's outstanding fines and fees or the petitioner's failure to meet the conditions of probation. With the exception of restitution, the bill would require that the collection of fines imposed as a result of a nonviolent offense that is the subject of the petition be stayed while the petition is pending. This bill would also allow the petitioner to appear at all hearings on the petition by counsel if the petition is unopposed. The bill would allow a petition to be made and heard at any time after the person has ceased to be a victim of human trafficking, or at any time after the petitioner has sought services for being a victim of human trafficking. The bill would specify that the right to petition for relief pursuant to these provisions does not expire with the passage of time. Existing law requires the court, for petitioners who qualify for vacatur relief, to order designated law enforcement agencies to seal their records of the petitioner's arrest and the court order to seal and destroy the records within 3 years from the date of arrest, or within one year after the court order for vacatur relief is granted, whichever is later, and thereafter destroy those records. Existing law requires the court to provide the petitioner with a copy of any court order concerning the destruction of the arrest records. This bill would designate additional agencies required to seal and destroy arrest records and require all designated agencies to seal and destroy the arrest records within one year of the date of arrest, or 90 days from the date the court order for vacatur relief is granted, whichever is later. The bill would also require the court to provide the petitioner and their counsel with a copy of any form the court submits to any agency related to the sealing and destruction of arrest records. The bill would require the department to notify the petitioner and their counsel that the department has complied with the order to seal the arrest records.