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.
(1) The California Emergency Services Act requires the Office of Emergency Services, among other things, to develop in collaboration with specified entities a comprehensive statewide earthquake early warning system in California through a public-private partnership, as specified. The act requires the office to identify funding for the system through single or multiple sources of revenue, and requires those sources to exclude the General Fund and to be limited to federal funds, funds from revenue bonds, local funds, and funds from private sources. Under the act, the requirement that the office develop the system is not operative until funding is identified, and is repealed if funding is not identified by July 1, 2016. The act establishes the California Earthquake Safety Fund in the State Treasury to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for seismic safety and earthquake-related programs, including the statewide earthquake early warning system. This bill would discontinue the requirement that the funding sources for the system exclude the General Fund and be limited to federal funds, funds from revenue bonds, local funds, and funds from private sources. The bill would delete the provisions providing for the repeal and the contingent operation of the requirement that the office develop the system. This bill would establish, within the office, the California Earthquake Early Warning Program and the California Earthquake Early Warning Advisory Board to support the development of the statewide earthquake early warning system, as specified. The bill would require the board to include 7 voting members, as specified, and the Chancellor of the California State University, or his or her designee, who would serve as a nonvoting member. The bill would authorize the President of the University of California, or his or her designee, to serve as an additional nonvoting member of the board. The bill would require all members to serve without compensation, but would require reimbursement for actual and reasonable travel and meal expenses to attend board meetings. The bill would require the board to comply with existing state open meeting and public record disclosure laws and would prohibit the disclosure of any information in a public record that is a trade secret, as defined, of a private entity cooperating with the board or participating in the statewide earthquake early warning system or the program. The bill would make legislative findings in support of its provisions. (2) 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.
Existing law establishes various programs, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide assistance to homeless persons. This bill would require a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, except as specified, to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. The bill would also establish the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to oversee the implementation of the Housing First guidelines and regulations and, among other things, to identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.
Existing law requires all vote by mail ballots to be voted on or before the day of the election and requires the vote by mail voter to return the ballot by mail or in person, as specified, to the elections official who issued the ballot. This bill would require an elections official who receives a vote by mail ballot that he or she did not issue to forward that ballot to the elections official who issued the ballot no later than 8 days after receipt. By requiring an elections official to forward a ballot to the elections official who issued the ballot, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes cities with a population of fewer than 100,000 persons, school districts, and special districts to conduct an all-mailed ballot special election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities under specified conditions. This bill, the California Voter's Choice Act, would, on or after January 1, 2018, authorize specified counties, and on or after January 1, 2020, authorize any county except the County of Los Angeles, to conduct any election as an all-mailed ballot election if certain conditions are satisfied, including conditions related to ballot dropoff locations, vote centers, and plans for the administration of all-mailed ballot elections. The bill would require the Secretary of State, within 6 months of each all-mailed ballot election conducted by a county pursuant to these provisions, to report certain information to the Legislature regarding that election. The bill would require the county that conducted the all-mailed ballot election to submit to the Secretary of State the information needed for the Secretary of State to prepare the report. This bill would, on or after January 1, 2020, authorize the County of Los Angeles to conduct any election as a vote center election if certain conditions are satisfied, including conditions related to ballot dropoff locations and vote centers. The bill would, on or after January 1, 2020, authorize the County of Los Angeles to conduct a special election as an all-mailed ballot election pursuant to specified provisions that apply to every county that chooses to conduct a special election as an all-mailed ballot election. This bill would also require the Secretary of State to establish a taskforce that includes certain individuals to review all-mailed ballot elections conducted pursuant to these provisions and to provide comments and recommendations to the Legislature within 6 months of each all-mailed ballot election or vote center election. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3017 of the Elections Code proposed by AB 1921 that would become operative only if AB 1921 and this bill 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 law regulates secondhand dealers and coin dealers, and makes it unlawful for a person to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer without a license issued by the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission. Existing law also regulates pawnbrokers. Existing law requires a local law enforcement agency to issue a license to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer or pawnbroker to an applicant who has not been convicted of an offense involving stolen property. Existing law requires a secondhand dealer to report, as specified, to the chief of police or sheriff all secondhand "tangible personal property," as defined, purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning. Existing law requires the report to include, among other things, the identification of the intended seller or pledger of the property, verified by the person taking the information by specified methods. Existing law requires the reporting of this information to the Department of Justice through a single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to develop descriptive categories and secondhand dealers and coin dealers to use these categories in their reports. This bill would define "CAPSS" as the California Pawn and SecondhandDealer System, which is the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system operated by the Department of Justice. The bill would eliminate the requirement that a secondhand dealer send reports on paper forms. The bill would eliminate the requirements that the Department of Justice develop, and secondhand dealers and coin dealers use, descriptive categories in their reports of acquired tangible personal property. Instead, the bill would require the Department of Justice to accept the properly spelled and non-abbreviated plain text property descriptions commonly recognized and utilized by the pawn and secondhand dealer industries. The bill would require a secondhand dealer to provide a property description in an article field descriptor, as specified. This bill would prohibit the Department of Justice, chiefs of police, and sheriffs from requiring secondhand dealers to report any additional information other than that which is required by these provisions. The bill would require that a future change to the reporting requirements of CAPSS that substantively alters the reporting standards be implemented and operated in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act and prohibit the Department of Justice from taking any action with respect to the implementation, operation, or maintenance of CAPSS by adoption of an emergency regulation. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to convene a meeting with the Department of Technology to discuss issues pertaining to any proposed changes or upgrades, and authorize the Department of Technology to provide technological assistance for ongoing improvements, updates, or changes, to CAPSS. Existing law provides an exception to the reporting requirement for the acquisition of the same property from the same customer within 12 months of a reported transfer, except when submission of the report is specifically requested in writing by the local authorities. This bill would expand the reporting requirement exception to all acquisitions of the same property from the same customer within 12 months of a reported transfer. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 generally requires elected officials, candidates for elective office, and committees formed primarily to support or oppose a candidate for public office or a ballot measure, along with other entities, to file periodic campaign statements. The act requires that these campaign statements contain prescribed information related to campaign contributions and expenditures of the filing entities. Existing law, the Online Disclosure Act, requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission, to develop online and electronic filing processes for use by these persons and entities. This bill, in addition, would require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Commission, to develop and certify for public use an online filing and disclosure system for campaign statements and reports that provides public disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying information in a user-friendly, easily understandable format. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to prepare and distribute to appropriate elections officials a uniform application and uniform electronic application format for a vote by mail voter's ballot that conforms to specified requirements. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to establish a free access system that permits any voter who casts a provisional ballot to discover whether the voter's provisional ballot was counted and if not, the reason why it was not counted. Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State to adopt regulations to ensure the uniform application of statutory provisions regarding provisional voting. This bill would additionally require the Secretary of State to promulgate regulations establishing guidelines for county elections officials relating to the processing of vote by mail and provisional ballots.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to use the Construction Manager/General Contractor method on no more than 6 projects, and requires 4 out of the 6 projects to use department employees or consultants under contract with the department to perform all project design and engineering services, as specified. Existing law requires specified information provided to the department pursuant to these provisions to be verified under oath. This bill would authorize the department to use this method on 12 projects and would require 8 out of the 12 projects to use department employees or consultants under contract with the department to perform all project design and engineering services. By expanding this authorization, the bill would expand the scope of the crime of perjury, thus imposing 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.
