(1) The California Constitution establishes a full-time Legislature. The Constitution authorizes the California Citizens Compensation Commission to determine the annual salary and the medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits of state officers, including Members of the Legislature. This measure would instead provide for a part-time Legislature and set the annual salary for Members of the Legislature at $24,000, to be adjusted thereafter by the commission consistent with the Consumer Price Index. (2) The California Constitution requires the Legislature to convene on the first Monday of December of each even-numbered year and adjourn on November 30 of the following even-numbered year. This measure would set specific time periods in which the Legislature must complete its work. The bill would require the Legislature to organize and swear in its Members on the first Monday of December of each even-numbered year and reconvene not later than January 7 for a duration of not more than 120 consecutive calendar days in odd-numbered years, and not more than 60 consecutive calendar days in even-numbered years. The measure would require that any legislation introduced in an odd-numbered year be passed within the 120-day period and any legislation introduced in an even-numbered year be passed within the 60-day period. The measure would allow the Legislature to convene for an additional 7 consecutive calendar days for the sole purpose of considering bills vetoed by the Governor, and items of appropriation reduced or eliminated by the Governor. The measure would make other conforming changes. (3) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor, by proclamation, to cause the Legislature to assemble in special session and prohibits the Legislature from legislating on subjects not specified in the proclamation when so assembled. This measure would limit a special session to 30 days in duration and make other related changes. (4) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor, following the enactment of the Budget Bill, to issue a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency if the Governor determines that General Fund revenues will decline substantially below, or that General Fund expenditures will increase substantially above, the estimate of General Fund revenues upon which the Budget Bill, as enacted, was based. The California Constitution provides that if the Legislature fails to pass and send to the Governor a bill or bills to address the fiscal emergency by the 45th day following the issuance of the proclamation, the Legislature may not act on any other bill until that bill or those bills addressing the fiscal emergency have been passed and sent to the Governor. This measure would specify that the prohibited actions include acting upon or taking any action on any other bill, including casting a vote on any other bill in either a policy or fiscal committee, or on the floor of the Assembly or Senate. (5) The California Constitution requires the Governor to submit to the Legislature a budget for the ensuing fiscal year within the first 10 days of each calendar year and requires the Legislature to pass the Budget Bill by midnight on June 15 of each year. This measure would instead require the Governor to submit a biennial budget within the first 7 days of each odd-numbered year and require the Legislature to pass the Budget Bill within 120 days, as specified, and would make conforming changes to other provisions of the California Constitution relating to the biennial budget. This measure would authorize the Governor to propose changes to an enacted biennial state budget when the Legislature is not in session, which changes would become law upon approval by resolution adopted by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. (6) The California Constitution requires that travel and living expenses for Members of the Legislature in connection with their official duties be prescribed by statute passed by rollcall vote, 23 of the membership of each house concurring. This measure would limit these expenses in amount to the per diem rates established by the United States General Services Administration for federal employees. (7) The California Constitution provides that the aggregate expenditures for the compensation of Members and employees of, and the operating expenses and equipment for, the Legislature may not exceed a specified amount. This measure would additionally require that the annual budget amounts for a Member of either house be equal to that of other Members of the same house. (8) The California Constitution provides that no bill may be passed until the bill with amendments has been printed and distributed to the Members. This measure would instead require that each bill with amendments be distributed to the Members at least 72 hours prior to passage. (9) The California Constitution provides that the Legislature or either house may by resolution provide for the selection of committees necessary for the conduct of its business. This measure would require that every political party represented in a house of the Legislature be, to the greatest extent possible, proportionately represented in each legislative committee of that house. The measure would additionally specify membership requirements for the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
Sponsored bills
This measure would proclaim June 2012 as Scleroderma Awareness Month.
Existing law prohibits the suspension, or recommendation for expulsion, of a pupil from school unless the school district superintendent or the school principal determines that the pupil has committed any of various specified acts, including, but not limited to, bullying. Existing law defines bullying as any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, which includes, among other things, a post on a social network Internet Web site, and including one or more acts, as specified, committed by a pupil or group of pupils, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more specified effects. This bill would identify specific conduct that would constitute a post on a social network Internet Web site, including posting to or creating a burn page, as defined, creating a credible impersonation of a pupil, as defined and as specified, and creating a false profile, as defined and as specified. The bill also would provide that an electronic act does not constitute pervasive conduct solely on the basis that it has been transmitted on the Internet or is currently posted on the Internet.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California. Existing law requires a physician and surgeon examining a patient's prostate gland during a physical examination to provide the patient with specified information if certain conditions are present. This bill would exempt from this requirement a physician and surgeon working on a trauma case, defined as any injured person who has been evaluated by prehospital personnel according to policies and procedures established by the local EMS agency and who has been found to require transportation to a trauma facility.
Existing law provides for the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons receive services enabling them to remain in their own homes. Existing law prohibits a new applicant or an applicant whose application has been denied on the basis of a conviction and for whom an appeal of that denial is pending from providing supportive services if he or she has been convicted of specified crimes in the previous 10 years. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services to develop a provider enrollment form that each person seeking to provide supportive services must complete, sign under penalty of perjury, and submit to the county, containing designated statements relating to the provider's criminal history. Existing law authorizes a recipient of services who wishes to employ a provider applicant who has been convicted of a specified offense to submit to the county a prescribed individual waiver, signed by the recipient, or by the recipient's authorized representative. This bill would add the felony offenses of forgery, embezzlement, extortion, and identity theft to the list of criminal convictions that would preclude an applicant from providing supportive services. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to revise the provider enrollment form to account for these additional criminal exclusions. By changing the definition of the crime of perjury, and by increasing the duties of counties in administering the In-Home Supportive Services program, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
This measure would designate November 2012 as California Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month. It would recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Sikh heritage to the state and afford all Californians the opportunity to understand, recognize, and appreciate the rich history and shared principles of Sikh Americans.
This measure would declare May 2012 to be American Stroke Month in California.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly, as defined, by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law requires the admission agreement for a residential care facility for the elderly to contain specified elements. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would prohibit a residential care facility for the elderly from assessing personal care fees upon notice of the death of a resident, and would prohibit the facility from assessing fees for the residential living unit of a deceased resident once all personal property of the deceased is removed. This bill would require an admission agreement to include a clear explanation of this prohibition. This bill would limit the liability for the payment of these fees that are not prohibited to prescribed individuals and entities. This bill would also require for a recipient receiving SSI/SSP, that a residential care facility for the elderly meet the requirements for the SSI/SSP program in assessing these fees, as prescribed by law. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would result in 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 declare April 22 through April 28, 2012, as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness Week.