Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, makes specified employment and housing practices unlawful, including discrimination against or harassment of employees and tenants, among others. Existing law authorizes a person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unlawful practice to file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one year from the date upon which the unlawful practice occurred, unless otherwise specified. This bill would extend the above-described period to 3 years for complaints alleging employment discrimination, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes in provisions that grant a person allegedly aggrieved by an unlawful practice who first obtains knowledge of the facts of the alleged unlawful practice after the expiration of the limitations period, as specified. This bill would state that its changes shall not be interpreted to revive lapsed claims.
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Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grant program, state, and county funds. Under existing law, all applicants for or recipients of CalWORKs are required to ensure and provide documentation that each child in the assistance unit who is not required to be enrolled in school has received all age-appropriate immunizations, except as specified. If the documentation is not provided within the required time period, existing law prohibits the needs of all parents or caretaker relatives in the assistance unit from being considered in determining the grant to the assistance unit until the required documentation is provided. Existing law requires a notice of the obligation to secure immunizations to be given to the applicant or recipient at the time of application and at the next redetermination of eligibility for aid, and specifies information to be required in the notice. This bill, commencing July 1, 2019, would instead require a county human services agency to first try to obtain verification from the California Immunization Registry that a child who is not required to be enrolled in school has received all age-appropriate immunizations. The bill would require, if the county human services agency is unable to secure the documentation using the California Immunization Registry, the applicant or recipient to submit the documentation. The bill would require the county to send a notice of the obligation to submit documentation and support compliance, as specified, to the applicant or recipient. The bill would revise the information required for the notice, as specified, including requiring the notice to include a statement that Medi-Cal covers nonmedical transportation services for children who receive Medi-Cal benefits to receive specified immunizations. The bill would require the county to provide another copy of the notice to the applicant or recipient if the county has not secured the documentation described above within 45 days of determination or redetermination of eligibility for aid. Because the bill would increase the duties of a county, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the department to implement the bill through an all-county letter or similar instruction, which the bill would require to be issued by July 1, 2019. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for the purposes of implementing the bill. 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.
(1) Existing law declares it to be the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes. Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various responsibilities and duties. The act authorizes the state board to order consolidation with a receiving water system where a public water system or a state small water system, serving a disadvantaged community, consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The act authorizes the state board to order the extension of service to an area within a disadvantaged community that does not have access to an adequate supply of safe drinking water so long as the extension of service is an interim extension of service in preparation for consolidation. The act requires the state board, before ordering consolidation or extension of service, to fulfill certain requirements, including, among other things, holding a public meeting, and to establishing a reasonable deadline, as prescribed, for a potentially receiving water system and a potentially subsumed water system to negotiate consolidation or another means of providing an adequate supply of affordable, safe drinking water. The act requires the state board to conduct a public hearing at the expiration of the reasonable deadline, as specified. This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would authorize the state board to order consolidation with a receiving water system if a public water system or state small water system, serving a disadvantaged community, consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water or if a disadvantaged community is reliant on a domestic well that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The bill would require the state board, instead of a public hearing at the expiration of the deadline, to conduct a 2nd public meeting if the consolidation has not concluded within 6 months of the first public meeting. The bill would require the state board, as necessary and appropriate, to compensate a receiving water system for any capacity lost as a result of the consolidation or extension of service, as provided. The bill would prohibit a receiving water system from charging any fees to, or placing conditions on, customers of the subsumed water system that it does not charge to, or impose on, new customers that are not subject to the consolidation with the receiving water system. The bill would prohibit the state board from funding public works or upgrades unrelated to the delivery of an adequate supply of affordable, safe drinking water. The bill would authorize the state board to order a receiving water system to consolidate or extend service to a public water system operated by a local educational agency only if certain additional conditions are met. (2) The act also authorizes the state board, for the purpose of providing affordable, safe drinking water to disadvantaged communities and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse, to contract with an administrator to provide administrative and managerial services to a designated public water system and to order the designated public water system to accept those administrative and managerial services, including full management and control, if sufficient funding is available and if the state board finds that consolidation with another system or extension of service from another system is either not appropriate or not technically and economically feasible. This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would authorize the state board to contract with, or provide a grant to, an administrator to provide administrative, technical, operational, or managerial services, or any combination of those services, to a designated water system to assist with the provision of an adequate supply of affordable, safe drinking water. The bill would also authorize the state board to order a designated water system to accept those services from an administrator appointed by the state board for full oversight of construction or development projects related to a consolidation or extension of service. The bill would require the state board, before ordering a designated water system to accept those services from an administrator, to develop certain standards, terms, and procedures in a policy handbook for purposes of these provisions.
Existing law regulates various businesses to, among other things, preserve and regulate competition, prohibit unfair trade practices, and regulate advertising. This bill would, with certain exceptions, make it unlawful for any person to use a bot to communicate or interact with another person in California online with the intent to mislead the other person about its artificial identity for the purpose of knowingly deceiving the person about the content of the communication in order to incentivize a purchase or sale of goods or services in a commercial transaction or to influence a vote in an election. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would make these provisions operative on July 1, 2019.
Existing law, the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 (California act) , requires all agencies and museums that receive state funding that have possession or control over collections of California Native American human remains or cultural items, as defined, to inventory those remains and items for the identification and repatriation of the items to the appropriate Indian tribes. The California act states the intent of the Legislature to apply the state's repatriation policy consistent with the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (federal act) and to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of the federal act with respect to publicly funded agencies and museums in California. Existing law establishes the Native American Heritage Commission and vests the commission with specified powers and duties. Existing provisions of the California Constitution establish the University of California as a public trust under the administration of the Regents of the University of California. The California Constitution grants to the regents all the powers necessary or convenient for the effective administration of this public trust, subject to such legislative control as may be necessary to insure the security of its funds, compliance with the terms of the endowments of the university, and certain competitive bidding procedures. This bill would require the regents, or their designee, as a condition for using state funds to handle and maintain Native American human remains and cultural items, to establish and support a systemwide Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Implementation and Oversight Committee, with specified membership, and, for any campus subject to the federal act, a campus implementation committee, with specified membership. The bill would require the regents, as a condition for using state funds to handle and maintain Native American human remains and cultural items, in consultation with the systemwide committee, to adopt and implement certain policies and procedures to better implement the federal act and to timely submit the policies and procedures to the Native American Heritage Commission for review and comment by July 1, 2019. The bill would make conforming changes to the powers and duties of the Native American Heritage Commission. The bill would require the regents, as a condition for using state funds to handle and maintain Native American human remains and cultural items, to ensure that the campus committees implement the policies and procedures adopted by the regents and reviewed by the Native American Heritage Commission. The bill would provide that, if the regents use state funds to handle and maintain Native American human remains and cultural items, all claims for repatriation or claims of any violation of the policies and procedures shall be submitted to the campus committee for determination and would require the regents to adopt procedures to support appeals and dispute resolution in cases where a tribe disagrees with a campus determination regarding repatriation or disposition of cultural items directly to the systemwide committee. The bill would require the California State Auditor to conduct an audit commencing in the year 2019 and again in 2021 regarding the University of California's compliance with the federal and California acts and to report its findings to the Legislature and to all other appropriate entities.
(1) Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime. The California Ocean Protection Act creates the California Ocean Protection Trust Fund in the State Treasury and authorizes moneys deposited in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the Ocean Protection Council for, among other things, grants or loans to public agencies, nonprofit corporations, or private entities for, or direct expenditures on, projects or activities that protect, conserve, and restore coastal waters and ocean ecosystems including through the acquisition from willing sellers of vessels, equipment, licenses, harvest rights, permits, and other rights and property, to reduce threats to ocean ecosystems and resources. This bill would require the department by March 31, 2020, to establish a voluntary permit transition program that includes specified conditions, including a condition that a permittee who voluntarily surrenders his or her DGN permit and shark or swordfish gill net or nets receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, a specified payment, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent, as defined, for the fiscal agent to receive state and nonstate funds for purposes of the transition program and, upon receipt of adequate funds, to make the payment to a participating permittee. If the department enters into an agreement with a fiscal agent that is a state entity, the bill would continuously appropriate any funds received from nonstate sources to that state entity for purposes of the transition program. The bill would require the Ocean Protection Council to use $1 million of an appropriation made to it in the Budget Act of 2018 for whale and sea turtle entanglement to fund the transition program. The bill would require the department to notify the Legislature within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives $1 million from nonstate sources and secures $1 million through an agreement with the Ocean Protection Council. The bill would require a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31 of the 4th year following the department's notification to the Legislature. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would, beginning March 31, 2019, prohibit the transfer of a DGN permit. The bill would provide that the provisions dealing with the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit. (2) Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant to the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a DGN permit from payment of that fee. This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit. (3) Existing law makes it unlawful to use fishing lines, including, but not limited to, troll lines and handlines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines, as specified. This bill would also exempt from this prohibition fishing lines more than 900 feet in length if they are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law. (4) 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, the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to enforce various laws pertaining to the structural, fire safety, plumbing, heat-producing, or electrical systems and installations or equipment of a manufactured home, mobilehome, special purpose commercial coach, or commercial coach. Under existing law, a knowing violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor offense, as specified. The act, on or after January 1, 2009, requires all used manufactured homes, used mobilehomes, and used multifamily manufactured homes that are sold to have a smoke alarm installed in each room designed for sleeping that is operable on the date or transfer of title. This bill would require all used manufactured homes, used mobilehomes, and used multifamily manufactured homes that are sold or rented to have a smoke alarm that has been approved and listed by the Office of the State Fire Marshal on or after January 1, 2014. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the Mobilehome Parks Act, requires an owner or operator of an existing mobilehome park to adopt an emergency preparedness plan on or before September 1, 2010. The act requires the owner or operator, for an existing park, and for parks constructed after September 10, 2010, to post notice of the plan in the park clubhouse and another conspicuous area, as specified, and, on or before September 10, 2010, to provide information relating to accessing the plan and individual emergency preparedness information. Existing law requires an enforcement agency to determine park compliance with these provisions if certain conditions have been met. Existing law deems a violation of these provisions to constitute an unreasonable risk to life, health, or safety and requires correction by park management within 60 days of notice of the violation. Under existing law, a willful violation of the act is a misdemeanor, as specified. This bill would require every park owner or operator to annually, on or before January 1, post notice of the emergency preparedness plan in the park clubhouse or in another publicly accessible area, as specified, and, on or before September 10, 2019, and annually thereafter, to provide notice of how to access the plan and information on individual emergency preparedness and how to obtain the plan in a language other than English. The bill would also require the owner or operator to make the emergency preparedness plan available in English, the Medi-Cal threshold languages, as defined by specified law, and, upon written request by a resident, the language spoken by that resident. The bill would require the department to provide translation services to the park operator or owner to fulfill these requirements. By changing the definition of a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law prohibits specified conduct inside public buildings owned and occupied, or leased and occupied, by the state. Existing law provides that a judicial officer has the power to preserve and enforce order in judicial proceedings and to compel obedience to judicial orders, as specified. This bill would clarify the power of judicial officers to prevent activities that threaten access to courthouses, including by protecting the privilege from arrest. The bill would provide that no person shall be subject to civil arrest in a courthouse while attending a court proceeding or having legal business in the courthouse, and that a violation of these provisions constitutes contempt of court. The bill would also authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action to obtain equitable and declaratory relief for a violation of this section, and it would allow a party in a successful action to enforce liability for a violation of this section to recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides for state cooperation with the federal government in the construction of specified flood control projects, and prescribes requirements to be met prior to state authorization of flood management projects that receive state financial aid. This bill would authorize the state to provide subvention funds, as prescribed, to the Santa Clara Valley Water District for the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project for flood control in areas along the south San Francisco Bay in the County of Santa Clara, as described, at an estimated cost to the state of the sum that may be appropriated for state cooperation by the Legislature upon the recommendation and advice of the Department of Water Resources and upon a determination by the department that the project meets specified financial aid requirements. The bill would provide that the state assumes no liability for damages that may result from the project by authorizing the provision of subvention funds, or by the appropriation of those subvention funds, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services are provided to qualified, low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires the department to notify Medi-Cal beneficiaries, prospective beneficiaries, and members of the public about the program, including the availability of language assistance services and the availability of the grievance procedure. This bill would require the department to ensure that all written health education and informing materials, as defined, in English and those translated into threshold languages by managed care plans or their subcontractors are at or below the equivalent of 6th-grade reading level. The bill would require the department to require managed care plans, as defined, or their subcontractors to conduct, by January 1, 2020, a one-time, targeted community review of informing materials in threshold languages for which a 6th-grade reading level cannot be determined, in order for members to ensure the cultural and linguistic appropriateness of materials in community-based settings, as specified. The bill would exempt material translated by either the department or its contractors, excluding managed care plans, from the targeted-community review. The bill would require the managed care plans to adopt additional readability and suitability standards developed by the community review process, and would require the managed care plans to apply the adopted standards to health education and informing materials developed on or after July 1, 2020. The bill would require managed care plans to report the findings of the community review process, and would require the department to publish those findings and develop recommendations for additional readability and suitability standards based on the findings, as described. The bill would include a statement of legislative findings and declarations.