Asm. Robert Rivas

Under existing law, a registered voter may vote by mail by requesting a vote by mail ballot for a specific election or by becoming a permanent vote by mail voter. County elections officials must begin mailing ballots and other required materials to these voters no later than 29 days before the day of the election. Existing law, the California Voter's Choice Act, authorizes any county to conduct any election occurring on or after January 1, 2020, as an all-mailed ballot election if specified conditions are met. In an all-mailed ballot election held under the act, the county elections official must mail a ballot to every registered voter, regardless of whether the voter requested a vote by mail ballot or is a permanent vote by mail voter. This bill would require county elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. Existing law requires county elections officials to permit voters with a disability, and military or overseas voters, to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system. This bill would require county elections officials to permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to establish, by January 1, 2020, a system that a county elections official may use to allow a voter to track the voter's vote by mail ballot through the mail system and processing by the county elections official. County elections officials are not required to use the system, however. This bill would require county elections officials to use the Secretary of State's system, or a system that meets the same specifications, for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. Under existing law, a vote by mail ballot is timely cast if it is voted on or before election day and, if returned by mail, received by the voter's elections official via the United States Postal Service, or a bona fide private mail delivery company, no later than 3 days after election day. This bill would, for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, extend the deadline by which vote by mail ballots must be received by the county elections official to the 17th day after election day. Under existing law, any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. This processing includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, including processing write-in votes so that they can be tallied by the machine, but under no circumstances may a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election. This bill would authorize these jurisdictions, for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, to begin processing vote by mail ballots on the 29th day before the election. By requiring county elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter, and to take other actions expanding vote by mail voting, including making remote accessible voting available to all voters, 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, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would proclaim February 20, 2020, as Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.

This measure would recognize February 2020 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents of African Americans and the achievements and contributions they make to their communities to create equity and equality for education, economics, and social justice, and recognize the significance in protecting citizens' right to vote and remedying racial discrimination in voting.

This measure would proclaim September 20, 2020, as Latino Veterans Day.

The California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, approved by the voters as Proposition 68 at the June 5, 2018, statewide direct primary election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access for all program. This bill would enact the Economic Recovery, Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2020, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $6,980,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for an economic recovery, wildfire prevention, safe drinking water, drought preparation, and flood protection program. This bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires the Governor to create the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California and to serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the council to conduct, or contract with an entity to conduct, a statewide needs and gaps analysis to, among other things, identify state programs that provide housing or services to persons experiencing homelessness and create a financial model that will assess certain investment needs for the purpose of moving persons experiencing homelessness into permanent housing. The bill would authorize local governments to collaborate with the council or any other entity conducting the analysis upon the above-mentioned appropriation. The bill would also require the council or any other entity conducting the analysis to seek input from the council's members on the direction of, design of data collection for, and items to be included in the statewide needs and gaps analysis. The bill would require the council to report on the analysis to specified committees in the Legislature by July 31, 2021. This bill would require the council or any other entity conducting the analysis to evaluate all available data, including, among other things, data from other state departments and agencies. The bill would require a state department or agency with a member on the council to assist in data collection for the analysis by responding to data requests within 180 days, as specified.

(1) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2026, would allow a credit against those taxes to a taxpayer that is transferred, and allocated, credits pursuant to the sale of a multifamily rental housing development or mobilehome park to a qualified developer, as defined, that has received a credit reservation from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, in specified amounts. The bill would require the credits to be reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. The bill would limit the aggregate amount of credit that may be allocated by the committee, as provided. The bill would also provide that the credit amount shall be $0 for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2026, unless otherwise specified in a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Act. (2) Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax credit to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new income tax credit. (3) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

(1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law provides for various incentives intended to facilitate and expedite the construction of affordable housing. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes a development proponent to submit an application for a multifamily housing development that is subject to a streamlined, ministerial approval process, as provided, and not subject to a conditional use permit, if the development satisfies specified objective planning standards including among others, that the development proponent commit to record a land use restriction or covenant providing that any lower or moderate-income housing units remain available at affordable housing costs or rent, as specified. This bill would exempt a project from the objective planning standard described above, if the project involves the subdivision of a parcel for 10 or fewer units and is not a part of a larger project involving more than 10 units, the project is not a public work, as defined, and the project satisfies the requirements of any applicable inclusionary housing ordinance of the local government, as specified. Existing law also includes as an objective planning standard for the streamlined, ministerial approval process that the development be subject to a requirement mandating a minimum percentage of below market rate housing, as specified. Under existing law, that requirement is satisfied if the locality's latest production report reflects that there were fewer units of housing issued building permits affordable to either very low income or low-income households by income category than were required for the regional housing needs assessment cycle for that reporting period, and the project seeking approval dedicates 50% of the total number of units to housing affordable to households making at or below 80% of the area median income. This bill additionally would condition satisfaction of that objective planning standard on such a project containing more than 10 units of housing. Under the bill, if a project contains 10 units of housing or less and is subject to an inclusionary housing ordinance when the project application is submitted, the project would satisfy the objective planning standard if the project satisfies the requirements of the inclusionary housing ordinance. Under the bill, if a project contains 10 units of housing or less and is not subject to any inclusionary housing ordinances, the project would satisfy the objective planning standard if the developer pays a fee of an unspecified amount to the local government. (2) The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency and sets forth procedures governing the local agency's processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. This bill would require a local agency to issue a building permit for a subdivision that consists of 10 or fewer lots and of which at least 75% of the perimeter adjoins parcels that are developed with urban uses, as specified, if the applicant for the permit has received a tentative map approval or parcel map approval and the applicant has submitted proof, to the satisfaction of the local agency, of a recorded covenant and agreement that states that the applicant and the successors and assignees agree that the building permit is issued on the condition that a certificate of occupancy for the building will not be issued unless the final map has been recorded, and that the total number of lots created by the subdivision will not exceed 10. The bill would require the local agency to issue the building permit based upon the approved tentative or parcel map and its conditions of approval. (3) By imposing requirements on local agencies relative to the subdivision of 10 or fewer lots, the 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.

This measure would proclaim March 15, 2020, to March 22, 2020, as California Down Syndrome Awareness Week and March 21, 2020, as California Down Syndrome Day, and would encourage all Californians to support and participate in related activities.