Asm. Ash Kalra

(1) Existing law authorizes a person who believes they have been discharged or otherwise discriminated against in violation of any law under the jurisdiction of the Labor Commissioner to file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within 6 months after the occurrence of the violation. Existing law establishes specified exceptions to the 6-month deadline for certain violations relating to discrimination or retaliation for taking time off, imposing instead a one-year filing deadline. This bill, for a violation subject to that 6-month deadline, would extend the period to file a complaint to within 2 years after the occurrence of the violation. (2) Existing law prohibits an employer, as defined, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, as defined, from making, adopting, or enforcing a rule, regulation, or policy preventing an employee from disclosing information to certain entities or from providing information to, or testifying before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry, if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a law, regardless of whether disclosing the information is part of the employee's job duties. Existing law also prohibits retaliation against an employee for prescribed reasons. This bill would authorize a court to award reasonable attorney's fees to a plaintiff who brings a successful action for a violation of these provisions. This bill would also make nonsubstantive and conforming changes to these provisions.

The Long-Term Care, Health, Safety, and Security Act of 1973 generally provides for the licensure and regulation of long-term health care facilities by the State Department of Public Health and establishes an inspection and reporting system to ensure that long-term health care facilities are in compliance with state statutes and regulations. The term "long-term health care facility" includes, among other types of facilities, a skilled nursing facility and intermediate care facility. The act defines a class "A" violation as a violation that the department determines presents either (1) imminent danger that death or serious harm to the patients or residents of the long-term health care facility would result therefrom, or (2) substantial probability that death or serious physical harm to patients or residents of the long-term health care facility would result therefrom. The act defines a class "AA" violation as a class "A" violation that the department determines to have been a direct proximate cause of death of a patient or resident of the facility. The act defines a class "B" violation as a violation that the department determines has a direct or immediate relationship to the health, safety, or security of long-term health care facility patients or residents, other than class "AA" or "A" violations. Class "B" violations are also, unless otherwise determined by the department to be a class "A" violation, any violation of a patient's rights as set forth in specified regulations that is determined by the department to cause, or under circumstances likely to cause, significant humiliation, indignity, anxiety, or other emotional trauma to a patient. The act requires the department to prove specific elements to enforce a citation for a class "AA" violation, including the element that death resulted from an occurrence of a nature that the regulation was designed to prevent. This bill would redefine a class "AA" violation as a class "A" violation that the department determines to have been a substantial factor in the death of a resident of a long-term health care facility and would modify the elements the department is required to prove in an action to enforce a citation for a class "AA" violation. The bill would increase the civil penalties for a class "A," "AA," or "B" violation by a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility, as specified. The bill would delete numerous references to the "patients" of a long-term health care facility.

Existing law requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, determined by the Director of Industrial Relations, be paid to workers employed on public works projects. Existing law defines "public works" to include, among other things, construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for, in whole or in part, out of public funds, but exempts from that definition, among other projects, an otherwise private development project if the state or political subdivision provides, directly or indirectly, a public subsidy to the private development project that is de minimis in the context of the project. This bill would generally provide that a public subsidy is de minimis if it is both less than $500,000 and less than 2% of the total project cost. The bill would specifically provide a public subsidy for a project that consists entirely of single family dwellings is de minimis if it is less than 2% of the total project cost. The bill would specify that these provisions do not apply to a project that was advertised for bid, or a contract that was awarded, before July 1, 2020. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1720 of the Labor Code proposed by AB 1768 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1768 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law imposes requirements on certain local government agencies that award or otherwise enter into contracts for public transit services or for the collection and transportation of solid waste, relating to the retention of employees of the prior contractor or subcontractor. Existing law requires such a local government agency letting a contract out to bid to give a 10% preference to a bidder who agrees to retain employees for a specified period, as prescribed. Specific provisions apply only to service contracts for the collection and transportation of solid waste. This bill would expand the application of these provisions to a state agency that enters into such a contract.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to include, among other subjects, the social sciences. Existing law encourages instruction in the area of social sciences for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, which may include instruction on the Vietnam War, including a component drawn from personal testimony of Southeast Asians who were involved in the Vietnam War and men and women who contributed to the war effort on the homefront, as specified. Existing law requires the State Board of Education, with the assistance of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to establish a list of textbooks and other instructional materials that highlight the contributions of minorities in the development of California and the United States. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the state board. Existing law requires the commission to develop and submit to the state board a model curriculum in Hmong history and cultural studies, as specified. Existing law requires the commission, on or before December 31, 2022, to submit the model curriculum to the state board for adoption, and requires the state board to adopt, modify, or reject the model curriculum on or before March 31, 2023. Existing law requires the Superintendent, following the adoption of the model curriculum, to post the model curriculum on the State Department of Education's internet website for use on a voluntary basis by educators. Existing law requires, if the state board modifies the model curriculum, that the state board explain, in writing, the reasons for the modifications to the Governor and certain committees of the Legislature. Existing law also requires the state board to provide, in a public meeting, written reasons for modifying the model curriculum, as specified. Existing law, beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, encourages local educational agencies, as defined, to use the model curriculum to provide instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law provides that implementation of these provisions is subject to the receipt of grants, donations, or other financial support from private or public sources for its purposes, including, but not limited to, an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute. This bill would require that model curriculum to additionally cover Laotian history and cultural studies, as provided. The bill would delay by one year the deadlines for the commission to submit the model curriculum to the state board, and for the state board to adopt, modify, or reject the model curriculum, and would set those deadlines at December 31, 2023, and March 31, 2024, respectively. The bill would delete the provisions requiring the state board to provide written reasons for modifying the model curriculum submitted by the commission.

This measure would recognize September 2020 as Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month and encourage the Legislature to appropriate funds for research, treatment, and monitoring of sickle cell disease, and for related education and outreach.

Existing law requires that the holding period for a stray dog or cat impounded in a shelter be 6 business days, not including the day of impoundment, with exceptions, as provided. Existing law requires a shelter, during this holding period and before adoption or euthanasia, to scan the dog or cat for a microchip that identifies the owner of that dog or cat and to make reasonable efforts to contact the owner. This bill would prohibit a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group from releasing a dog or cat to an owner seeking to reclaim it, or adopting out, selling, or giving away a dog or cat to a new owner, unless the dog or cat is microchipped with current information on the owner or new owner. The bill would, if the shelter or rescue group does not have microchipping capability on location, require the shelter or rescue group to first obtain from the owner or new owner an agreement to present to the shelter or rescue group, within the next 30 days, proof that the dog or cat is microchipped with current information on the owner or new owner. The bill would authorize a shelter or rescue group to require proof that a dog or cat is microchipped with current information on the owner reclaiming the dog or cat, or new owner receiving the dog or cat, before releasing, adopting out, selling, or giving away the dog or cat. The bill would, where the shelter or rescue group does not have microchipping capability on location, provide that an owner or new owner is not required to register the microchip number with a microchip registry company that will use, without the owner's or new owner's consent, the personal information of the owner or new owner for purposes other than to reunite the owner or new owner with the dog or cat. The bill would also include an exception for a dog or cat that is medically unfit for a microchipping procedure, as provided. Under the bill, a shelter or rescue group that violates these provisions on or after January 1, 2022, would be subject to a civil penalty of $100, subject to a specified exemption.

Existing property tax law requires the county auditor, in each fiscal year, to allocate property tax revenue to local jurisdictions in accordance with specified formulas and procedures, subject to certain modifications. Existing law requires an annual reallocation of property tax revenue from local agencies in each county to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) in that county for allocation to specified educational entities. Existing law authorizes certain local agencies to form an enhanced infrastructure financing district, affordable housing authority, transit village development district, or community revitalization and investment authority for purposes of, among other things, infrastructure, affordable housing, and economic revitalization. This bill would establish in state government the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Program, which would be administered by the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee. The bill would authorize a city, county, city and county, joint powers agency, enhanced infrastructure financing district, affordable housing authority, community revitalization and investment authority, transit village development district, or a combination of those entities, to apply to the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee to participate in the program and would authorize the committee to approve or deny plans for projects meeting specific criteria. The bill would also authorize certain local agencies to establish an affordable housing and community development investment agency and authorize an agency to apply for funding under the program and issue bonds, as provided, to carry out a project under the program. The bill would require the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee to adopt guidelines for plans. Subject to the Legislature enacting a budget bill for the applicable fiscal year that specifies the amount for the committee to allocate pursuant to the program, the bill would require the committee to approve no more than $200,000,000 per year from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2026, and $250,000,000 per year from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2030, in transfers from a county's ERAF for applicants for plans approved pursuant to this program. This bill would provide that eligible projects include, among other things, the predevelopment, development, acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of workforce and affordable housing, certain transit-oriented development, and projects promoting strong neighborhoods. The bill would require the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee, upon approval of a plan and subject to specified conditions, to issue an order directing the county auditor to transfer an amount of ad valorem property tax revenue that is equal to the affordable housing and community development investment amount approved by the committee, except as provided, from the county's ERAF. The bill would require the county auditor to either deposit that amount into the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Fund, which this bill would create in the treasury of each county, or, if the applicant is a specified type of authority or special district to transfer to the city or county that created the authority or district an amount of property tax revenue equal to the amount approved by the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee for that authority or district. The bill would require the city or county that created the district to, upon receipt, transfer those funds to the authority or district in an amount equal to the affordable housing and community development investment amount for that authority or district. By imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize applicants to use approved amounts to incur debt or issue bonds or other financing to support an approved project. The bill also would require each applicant that has received funding to submit annual reports, as specified, and would require the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee to provide a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, if it approves funding under the program, that includes certain project information. Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution sets forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts for each fiscal year. This bill would require the Director of Finance to adjust the percentage of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and community college districts for these purposes in a manner that ensures that the transfers from a county's ERAF pursuant to the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Program have no net fiscal impact upon the total amount of the General Fund revenue and local property tax revenue allocated to school districts and community college districts pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, as specified. 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 urge specified state departments and the Attorney General to use their authority to ensure that health care service plans and health insurers subject to their authority comply with the federal Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.