Asm. Evan Low

Existing law generally makes it unlawful to offer a prize or other inducement as a reward for the taking of a game bird, mammal, fish, reptile, or amphibian in an individual contest, tournament, or derby. Existing law makes specific exceptions to that general prohibition, including authorizing the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue a permit, subject to Fish and Game Commission regulations, to a person authorizing that person to offer a prize or other inducement as a reward for the taking of a game fish if it makes a specified finding. Existing law vests the Department of Parks and Recreation with the control of the state park system. Existing regulations of the Department of Parks and Recreation prohibit a person from having control over a game or recreational activity occurring wholly or partially within or on any property owned, operated or administered by the department without an approved special event permit, as defined. Existing law authorizes the State Lands Commission to lease state lands under the jurisdiction of the commission for purposes as the commission deems advisable, including, but not limited to, grazing leases and leases for commercial, industrial, and recreational purposes. The California Coastal Act of 1976 establishes the California Coastal Commission and requires the commission to implement and administer a coastal development permit process within the coastal zone, as defined. The act exempts from the requirement for a coastal development permit a proposed development found to be a temporary event that does not have any significant adverse impact upon coastal resources within the meaning of guidelines adopted by the commission. The act subjects any permit that is issued or any development or action approved on appeal to be subject to reasonable terms and conditions in order to ensure that the development or action will be in accordance with the act. The act also declares that existing laws relating to discrimination and environmental justice apply to the California Coastal Commission and all public agencies implementing the act. The act provides that, as required by existing law relating to discrimination, no person in the State of California, on specified bases including sex, may be unlawfully denied full and equal access to the benefits of, or be unlawfully subjected to discrimination, under specified programs or activities under the act. Under existing law, the Department of Transportation may issue permits authorizing encroachments, as defined, on state highways. Existing law requires the department to either approve or deny an application for an encroachment permit within 60 days of receiving a completed application. This bill would require those entities to include in permit or lease conditions, for a competition event to be held on land under the jurisdiction of the entity, as described, and that awards prize compensation, as defined, to competitors in gendered categories, a requirement that the prize compensation be identical between the gendered categories at each participant level.

This measure would recognize August 15, 2019, as India's Independence Day, and urge all Californians to join in celebrating India's independence.

This measure would call for continued support and recognition of the many benefits provided by Special Olympics.

Existing law requires a contract and prescribes competitive bidding procedures for any improvement or unit of work not performed by the personnel of the Santa Clara Valley Water District if the district estimates the work to cost over $25,000. This bill would raise that competitive bidding threshold for work not performed by district personnel to work estimated to cost over $50,000. The bill would subject a contract for work not performed by district personnel and estimated to exceed the threshold to the approval of the board, in accordance with board policy that has been adopted in an open meeting. The bill, with certain exceptions, would prohibit the estimated cost of any improvement or unit of work done by district personnel from exceeding $50,000. The bill would authorize the district to elect to participate in the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act. The bill would define terms for purposes of existing law.

This measure would declare August 2019 as Valley Fever Awareness Month.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists, educational psychologists, clinical social workers, and professional clinical counselors by the Board of Behavioral Sciences, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. A violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill, commencing July 1, 2020, would require those licensees and registrants, prior to initiating specified services, to provide a client with a specified written notice that the board receives and responds to complaints regarding services within the scope of the licensed practice and that the client may contact the board. Under existing law, an employee or volunteer of a governmental entity, educational facility, or nonprofit charitable institution is exempt from the provisions of the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act and the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act if the work is performed solely under the employer's supervision. Under the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act, an employee of a governmental entity, educational facility, or nonprofit charitable institution is exempt from the provisions of the act if the work is performed solely under the employer's supervision. This bill, instead, would exempt from the provisions of the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, and the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act an unlicensed or unregistered employee or volunteer working in a governmental entity, a school, a college, a university, or an institution that is both nonprofit and charitable if the work of the employee or volunteer is performed solely under the employer's supervision. The bill, commencing July 1, 2020, would additionally condition these exemptions upon the employee or volunteer providing, prior to initiating psychotherapy services, a specified written notice to a client that provides the name and contact information of the agency that the client may contact to file a complaint regarding that practice of psychotherapy. The Clinical Social Worker Practice Act exempts from its provisions a person using hypnotic techniques by referral from a person licensed to practice medicine, dentistry, or psychology if their practice is performed solely under the supervision of the employer. This bill would remove from that exemption the condition that the practice of the person using hypnotic techniques is performed solely under the supervision of the employer. The Clinical Social Worker Practice Act provides that its provisions pertaining to the licensure of clinical social workers are prohibited from restricting or preventing activities of a psychosocial nature on the part of persons employed by accredited academic institutions, public schools, government agencies, or nonprofit institutions engaged in the training of graduate students or social work interns pursuing the course of study leading to a master's degree in social work in an accredited college or university, or working in a recognized training program, provided that these activities and services constitute a part of a supervised course of study and that those persons are designated by such titles as social work interns, social work trainees, or other titles clearly indicating the training status appropriate to their level of training. This bill would revise the provision described above to specify that the provisions pertaining to the licensure of clinical social workers employees are prohibited from restricting or preventing psychosocial activities by employees of accredited academic institutions, public schools, government agencies, or nonprofit institutions who train graduate students pursuing a master's degree in social work in an accredited college or university. The bill also would revise the provision described above to specify that psychosocial activities by the employee are required to be part of a supervised course of study and that the graduate students are required to be designated by those titles. The bill would prohibit a student from performing clinical social work in a private practice. Because this bill would specify additional requirements under provisions pertaining to marriage and family therapists, educational psychologists, clinical social workers, and professional clinical counselors, the violation of which would be a crime, it 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.

This measure would endorse activities in public schools that instruct pupils in upholding and sustaining American democracy, encourage, in the strongest terms, California schools to pursue certain recognized designations that reflect specified ethos and values, and encourage publicly elected officials to conduct themselves in ways that strengthen civic engagement and participation in civil society.