Asm. Ash Kalra

This measure would designate the month of November 2018 to be California's Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month. This measure would recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Sikh heritage to our state and seeks to afford all Californians the opportunity to better understand, recognize, and appreciate the rich history and shared principles of Sikh Americans. This measure would condemn all hate crimes and bias incidents against Sikh Americans and encourage all Sikhs to practice their faith freely and fearlessly.

The Health Care Decisions Law, among other things, establishes the requirements for executing a written advance health care directive that is legally sufficient to direct health care decisions. The law provides a form that may be used or modified to create an advance health care directive, and expressly does not require the use of the form. This bill would revise and recast the portion of the form relating to a person's donation of his or her organs, tissues, and parts, as specified, and would include a provision relating to authorizing an agent to consent to any temporary medical procedure if necessary for purposes of that donation.

This measure would urge the United States Congress to speedily take up and pass the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017, and send it to the President for his signature.

The Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act regulates the practice of debt collection and the conduct of debt collectors, as defined. The act prohibits specified conduct by a debt collector in connection with the collection or attempted collection of a consumer debt. The act provides for enforcement by means of civil penalties and damages, as specified. This bill would prohibit a debt collector from sending a written communication to a debtor attempting to collect a time-barred debt without providing specified written notices stating that the debtor may not be sued for the debt, but that the debt, depending on its age, may be reported as unpaid to credit reporting agencies, as specified. Existing law prescribes periods for commencement of various actions. Among others, an action must be commenced within 4 years if the action is to recover (1) upon a book account whether consisting of one or more entries; (2) upon an account stated based upon an account in writing, but the acknowledgment of the account stated need not be in writing; or (3) a balance due upon a mutual, open and current account, the items of which are in writing. Existing law provides, however, that where an account stated is based upon an account of one item, the time shall begin to run from the date of the item, and where an account stated is based upon an account of more than one item, the time shall begin to run from the date of the last item. This bill would specify that when the 4-year period in which an action must be commenced has run, no person may bring suit or initiate an arbitration or other legal proceeding to collect the debt. This bill would provide that the period may be extended only in specified circumstances.

This measure would request the Congress of the United States to enact, and the President to sign, legislation that would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision from the Social Security Act.

This measure would designate the month of September 2018 as California Computer Science Education Month. The measure would encourage schools, teachers, researchers, universities, business leaders, and policymakers to identify mechanisms for teachers to receive cutting-edge professional development to provide sustainable learning experiences in computer science education, and would encourage the exposure of pupils to computer science concepts. The measure would also encourage opportunities to be provided for females and underrepresented minorities in computer science.

This measure would proclaim the month of October 2018, and each following October, as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

This measure would recognize September 2018 as PACE Month in California.

This measure would designate the month of October 2018 as Women's Small Business Month and encourage all citizens to recognize the economic importance of women's small businesses in California.

This measure would urge our federal leaders and our nation to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of our national security policy, and spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war.