Asm. Mark Stone

This measure would proclaim June 21, 2017, as Asking Saves Kids Day.

This measure would recognize the month of August 2017 as Opportunity Youth Reengagement Month, and state the intent of the Legislature to encourage the expansion of schools authorized to specifically reengage "opportunity youth" 16 to 24 years of age by developing recommendations for a statewide student reengagement strategy and identifying the cost of the strategy compared to the cost of inaction; authorizing systems for accountability to students, parents, and families through transparency, active engagement, and outreach strategies; and highlighting, promoting, and uplifting evidence-based practices for successful student reengagement efforts that maintain multiple measures for evaluation of student success.

This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to support S. 349, the Access to Counsel Act, which would ensure that those persons held or detained while attempting to enter the United States, whether at a border crossing or a port of entry, would be guaranteed access to legal counsel.

This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to continue to place an emphasis on increasing funding to NASA's budget and encouraging the expansive use of public-private partnerships to propel the industry forward into the next generation of advancement.

This measure would recognize adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) , also known as post-traumatic "street" disorder in communities of color, as having lasting negative outcomes to both physical and mental health with growing implications for our state.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to contract with Amtrak for intercity rail passenger services and provides funding for these services from the Public Transportation Account. Existing law authorizes the department, subject to approval of the Secretary of Transportation, to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for administering the state-funded intercity rail service in a particular corridor and associated feeder bus services. Existing law defines the boundaries of 3 intercity rail corridors, and requires the preparation of an annual business plan for the corridor by each participating joint powers board. This bill, at any time after an interagency transfer agreement between the department and a joint powers board has been entered into, would authorize the amendment of the agreement to provide for the extension of the affected rail corridor to provide intercity rail service beyond the defined boundaries of the corridor. The bill would require a proposed extension and intercity rail service expansion to be consistent with the State Rail Plan and to be approved through the business plan adopted by the joint powers board and then by the Secretary of Transportation, and would require the joint powers board to make a determination that the extension and intercity rail service expansion will not jeopardize or come at the expense of other existing intercity rail services.

The California Coastal Act of 1976 establishes the California Coastal Commission, and prescribes the membership and functions and duties of the commission. For purposes of the act, an "ex parte communication" is defined as any oral or written communication between a member of the commission and an interested person, as defined, about a matter within the commission's jurisdiction, as defined, that does not occur in a public hearing, workshop, or other official proceeding or on the official record of the proceeding on the matter, excluding certain communications, including communications between a staff member acting in his or her official capacity and any commission member or interested person, as prescribed. The act prohibits a commission member and an interested person from conducting an ex parte communication unless the member fully discloses and makes public the ex parte communication by providing a full report of the communication to the executive director of the commission within 7 days after the communication or, if the communication occurs within 7 days of the next commission hearing, to the commission on the record of the proceeding at that hearing. This bill would, as of July 1, 2018, delete the requirement that the commission member provide a full report of the communication to the executive director of the commission within 7 days after the communication or, if the communication occurs within 7 days of the next commission hearing, to the commission on the record of the proceeding at that hearing. The bill would instead prohibit ex parte communication unless the commission member complies with specified requirements, including verbally disclosing at the hearing all ex parte communications that occurred on any given item to be heard at the hearing, including the identity of the person or persons engaging in the communication, prior to that item being heard at the hearing. This bill would additionally require the commission, no later than July 1, 2018, to develop, implement, and maintain a publicly searchable database for the online reporting of ex parte communications required to be disclosed pursuant to these provisions. The bill would require that the database be regularly updated to include all information pertaining to an ex parte communication between a commission member and an interested person, and that any disclosure of an ex parte communication be made available to the public on the online database within 7 days from the date the communication takes place. The bill would require that, for ex parte communications that take place less than 7 days prior to the hearing on the matter, the disclosure be posted on the online database prior to the beginning of the hearing at which the matter to which the communication pertains will be discussed. The bill would require the commission member to be personally responsible for ensuring the database is updated with their ex parte communications, as prescribed.