Asm. Kevin Mullin

This measure would recognize May 2018 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2024, would allow a credit against the taxes imposed under both laws to a qualified employer in an amount equal to 35% of the qualified wages paid or incurred during the taxable year to a qualified employee, defined to mean an employee who has no functional hearing and has completed, or is completing, specified rehabilitative services. The bill would prohibit the credit from exceeding $2,100 per employee. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law creates the California Transportation Commission, with various powers and duties relative to the programming of transportation capital projects and allocation of funds to those projects pursuant to the state transportation improvement program and various other transportation funding programs. This bill would establish the California Smart City Challenge Grant Program to enable municipalities to compete for grant funding for emerging transportation technologies to serve their transportation system needs, and would specify certain program goals. The bill would require the commission to form the California Smart City Challenge Workgroup on or before July 1, 2019, to provide the commission with guidance on program matters, as specified. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with the workgroup, to develop guidelines on or before March 1, 2020, for the program, which would not be subject to the Administrative Procedure Act, and to revise them as necessary. The bill would make the implementation of the program contingent upon an appropriation in the annual budget act.

Under existing law, upon application for an original driver's license, except student licenses, the Department of Motor Vehicles shall require an examination of the applicant. Existing law requires an applicant for a driver's license to submit to an examination appropriate to the type of motor vehicle or combination of vehicles the applicant desires a license to drive. This bill would include narrow track vehicles in the list of class C vehicles subject to the licensing provisions described above. The bill would define a narrow track vehicle as a fully enclosed motor vehicle with 3 or 4 wheels that does not exceed 40 inches in width, and that conforms with all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, as specified. The bill would also define a short narrow track vehicle as a narrow track vehicle that does not exceed 102 inches in length. Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation and local authorities to designate certain highway lanes for the exclusive or preferential use of high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs) , requires the department or local authorities to place signage advising motorists of the rules governing the use of those lanes, and prohibits the use of those lanes by motorists other than in conformity with the posted rules. Existing law provides a limited exemption allowing specified vehicles, including blood transport vehicles and motorcycles, to use HOV lanes. Existing law places specified conditions on the authority of a blood transport vehicle to use these exclusive or preferential lanes. This bill would place the same conditions on the authority of a narrow track vehicle's use of these exclusive or preferential lanes as those applied to blood transport vehicles. The bill would include narrow track vehicles in the HOV lane exemption described above only until January 1, 2027. Existing law authorizes the Department of the California Highway Patrol to develop educational guidelines relating to lane splitting in a manner that would ensure the safety of the motorcyclist, drivers, and passengers, as specified. Existing law defines "lane splitting" for these purposes as driving a motorcycle that has 2 wheels in contact with the ground between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane, as specified. This bill would revise the definition of lane splitting and expand the provisions described above to include narrow track vehicles. This bill would authorize a local authority that regulates motorcycle parking to regulate parking for short narrow track vehicles, as defined, in the same manner, as specified. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes.

Existing law requires the Department of Technology, on or before July 1, 2018, to update the Technology Recovery Plan element of the State Administrative Manual to ensure the inclusion of cybersecurity strategy incident response standards for each state agency, as specified. Existing law authorizes a local entity that receives state funds for the purposes of storing, sharing, or transmitting data, or in support of an information technology project with a state entity, to submit a Technology Recovery Plan, upon request of the Department of Technology. This bill would create the Office of Local Cloud Migration and Digital Innovation in the Department of Technology. The bill would require the office to promote the use of technologies including, but not limited to, cloud-based computing and data storage that will assist local agencies in their efforts to further transparency, efficiency, disaster preparedness and response, as well as general accessibility to the public. The bill would require the office to operate in partnership with private industry and the nonprofit community to maximize the assistance provided to local agencies. The bill would create the Local Cloud Migration and Digital Innovation Local Assistance Fund for the purpose of receipt of donations from private industry and the nonprofit community, and funds directly allocated by the Legislature, and would make money in the fund available to the office, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the above-described purposes.

The Personal Income Tax Law, beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income tax credit against personal income tax and a payment from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for an allowable credit in excess of tax liability, to an eligible individual that is equal to that portion of the earned income tax credit allowed by federal law as determined by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as specified. An "eligible individual" is defined to include specified individuals, and provides that, if a person does not have a qualifying child, he or she must be between 25 and 65 years of age at the end of the taxable year. Additionally existing law, in conformity with federal income tax laws, requires the taxpayer and the qualifying child to have a social security number to be eligible for the credit. This bill, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, would revise the age requirement for the definition of an "eligible individual," with regard to persons who do not have a qualifying child, to require solely that the person must have attained 18 years of age. The bill, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, would require the taxpayer and the qualifying child to have a social security number or a federal individual taxpayer identification number in order to be eligible for the earned income tax credit. Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Tax Relief and Refund Account and provides that payments required to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account, including any amount to be paid as an earned income tax credit in excess of any tax liabilities. This bill, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, would authorize new payments from that account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for additional amounts in excess of personal income tax liabilities. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

(1) The California Constitution, with respect to any taxes levied on taxable property in a redevelopment project established under the Community Redevelopment Law, as it then read or may be amended, authorizes the Legislature to provide for the division of those taxes under a redevelopment plan between the taxing agencies and the redevelopment agency, as provided. Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies as of February 1, 2012, and designates successor agencies to act as successor entities to the dissolved redevelopment agencies. This bill, the Community Redevelopment Law of 2018, would authorize a city or county to propose the formation of a redevelopment housing and infrastructure agency by adoption of a resolution of intention that meets specified requirements, including that the resolution of intention include a passthrough provision and an override passthrough provision, as defined. The bill would require the city or county to submit that resolution to each affected taxing entity, and would authorize an entity that receives that resolution to elect to not receive a passthrough payment, as provided. The bill would require the city or county that adopted that resolution to hold a public hearing on the proposal to consider all written and oral objections to the formation, as well as any recommendations of the affected taxing entities, and would authorize that city or county to adopt a resolution of formation at the conclusion of that hearing. The bill would then require that city or county to submit the resolution of formation to the Strategic Growth Council for a determination as to whether the agency would promote statewide greenhouse gas reduction goals and would require that the council recommend to the Department of Finance whether to approve the resolution. The bill would require the council to establish a program to provide technical assistance to a city or county desiring to form an agency pursuant to these provisions. The bill would then require that city or county to submit the resolution of formation to the Department of Finance for approval, subject to certain standards, including that the department determine that any passthrough provision included is consistent with certain requirements and a statewide cap on the amount of equity, as defined, received by all local agencies within the state in any fiscal year, and to consider any recommendations of the Strategic Growth Council. The bill would require the department to disapprove the resolution if the department determines that the creation of the agency will result in a state fiscal impact that exceeds a specified amount in any fiscal year. The bill would deem the agency to be in existence as of the date of the department's approval. The bill would provide for a governing board of the agency consisting of one member appointed by the legislative body that adopted the resolution of intention, one member appointed by each affected taxing entity, and 2 public members. The bill would authorize an agency formed pursuant to these provisions to finance specified infrastructure and housing projects, and to carry out related powers, such as the power to purchase and lease property within the redevelopment project area, that are similar to the powers previously granted to redevelopment agencies. The bill would require an agency to adopt an annual budget and to maintain detailed records of every action taken by that agency for a specified period of time, and would provide that any person who violates this requirement be subject to a fine of $10,000 per violation. The bill would require the agency to submit an annual report containing specified information, and a final report of any audit undertaken by any other local, state, or federal government entity, to its governing body within specified time periods. The bill would also require the agency to submit a copy of the annual report with the Controller and a copy of any audit report with the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill would establish procedures under which the Controller would identify major audit violations and the Attorney General would bring an action to compel compliance. The bill would require the governing board of an agency to designate an appropriate official to prepare a proposed redevelopment project plan, in accordance with specified procedures. The bill would require the agency to hold a public hearing on the proposed redevelopment project plan, and would authorize the governing board to either adopt the redevelopment project plan or abandon proceedings, in which case the agency would cease to exist. The bill would authorize the redevelopment project plan to provide for the division of taxes levied upon taxable property, if any, between an affected taxing entity and the agency, as provided. The bill would declare that this authorization fulfills the intent of constitutional redevelopment provisions. The bill would also require that not less than 30% of all taxes allocated to the agency from an affected taxing entity be deposited into a separate fund, established by the agency, and used for the purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the community's supply of low- and moderate-income housing available at an affordable housing cost, as provided. The bill would authorize the agency to issue bonds to finance redevelopment housing or infrastructure projects, in accordance with specified requirements and procedures, including that the resolution proposing the bonds include a description of the facilities or developments to be financed and the estimated cost of those facilities or developments, and that the resolution adopting the bonds provide for specified matters such as the principal amount of bonds. The bill would also authorize a city, county, or special district that contains territory within the boundaries of an agency to loan moneys to the agency to fund activities described in the redevelopment project plan. The bill would require the agency to contract for an independent financial and performance audit every 2 years after the issuance of debt. By imposing additional duties on the county auditor with respect to the allocation of tax increment revenues, and the review of information submitted to the county auditor by an agency pursuant to these provisions, this bill would impose 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.

This measure would, among other things, designate the year 2018 as "State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," would designate April 24, 2018, as "State of California Day of Commemoration of the 103rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," and would call upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide.

This measure would proclaim April 16, 2018, as California Holocaust Memorial Day and would urge all Californians to observe this day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.