Asm. Robert Rivas

(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district or community college district to order an election and submit to the electors of the district the question of whether the bonds of the district shall be issued and sold to raise money for specified purposes. Existing law generally requires, to pass a school bond measure, that either at least 23 of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds be in favor of issuing the bonds to pass the measure, or, if certain conditions are met, at least 55% of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds be in favor of issuing the bonds. Existing law prohibits the total amount of bonds issued by a school district or community college district from exceeding 1.25% of the taxable property of the district, as provided. This bill would raise that limit to 2%. (2) Existing law also authorizes a unified school district to issue bonds receiving at least 55% of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing the bonds that, in aggregation with bonds issued with a 23 favorable vote, do not exceed 2.5% of the taxable property of the district, as provided. This bill would raise that limit to 4%. The bill would make a similar percentage increase for community college districts. (3) The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 provides for the adoption of rules, regulations, and procedures, under the administration of the Director of General Services, for the allocation of state funds by the State Allocation Board for the construction and modernization of public school facilities. This bill would, among other things, require a school district to submit to the Department of General Services a 5-year school facilities master plan or updated 5-year school facilities master plan, as provided, as a condition of participating in the school facilities program under the act, would require the school district to submit specified information in the school district's application for an apportionment of state funds, and would make other changes to requirements a school district is required to comply with before participating in programs under the act. The bill would require the department to process applications to participate in the program, as specified, and would make other changes to the method by which the board makes apportionments of moneys under the act. This bill would establish the 2020 State School Facilities Fund, and authorize the board to apportion, and make disbursements of, moneys in the fund, as provided. The bill would require, for bonds approved by voters in 2020 or thereafter, the board to adjust a school district's required local and state contribution, as specified. The bill would authorize new construction and modernization grants to be used for seismic mitigation purposes and, among other things, to establish schoolsite-based infrastructure to provide broadband internet access. The bill would also authorize modernization grants to be used, among other things, for the control, management, or abatement of lead and for the demolishment and construction of a building on an existing schoolsite that meets specified conditions. The bill would prohibit the use of new construction and modernization grants for the purchase of portable electronic devices with a useful life of less than 3 years. This bill would authorize funding for health and safety projects by a school district, as provided. This bill would authorize the board to provide a grant to test for lead in water outlets used for drinking or preparing food on schoolsites serving kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as provided. The bill would specify procedures that small school districts, as defined, may use to obtain project and construction management, new construction grants, and modernization grants. The bill would also make conforming changes in, and remove inoperative provisions from, the act. (4) The act also requires the board to adopt regulations for determining the amount of funding and the eligibility and prioritization of funding that school districts with a financial hardship may receive from bond acts for construction, modernization, or relocation assistance. The act requires those regulations to include consideration of various factors, including whether the school district's total bonding capacity is $5,000,000 or less, in which case the school district shall be deemed eligible for financial hardship. This bill, for purposes of the regulations related to financial hardship eligibility, would increase the total bonding capacity cap to $15,000,000, to be adjusted as specified. (5) The California Constitution prohibits the Legislature from creating a debt or liability that singly or in the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities exceeds the sum of $300,000, except by an act that (A) authorizes the debt for a single object or work specified in the act, (B) has been passed by a 23 vote of all the Members elected to each house of the Legislature, (C) has been submitted to the people at a statewide general or primary election, and (D) has received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at that election. This bill would set forth the Public Preschool, K-12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2020 as a state general obligation bond act that would provide $15,000,000,000 to construct and modernize education facilities, as specified. This bond act would become operative only if approved by the voters at the March 3, 2020, statewide primary election. The bill would also provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at that election. (6) Existing law establishes the California State University, which is administered by the Board of Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as segments of public postsecondary education in this state. This bill would require the Board of Trustees and the Regents to comply with certain conditions, as provided, before receiving funds from the 2020 University Capital Outlay Bond Fund established pursuant to the Public Preschool, K-12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2020. (7) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to impose, as specified, an alternative fee, charge, dedication, or requirement on developers to fund school facilities, until the date new construction bond proceeds authorized by the Preschool-College Public Education Bond Act of 2016 are expended, or December 31, 2020, whichever is earlier. This bill would remove this authority beginning the earlier of January 1, 2021, or the date new construction bond proceeds authorized by the 2016 bond act are expended or apportioned, until January 1, 2028. The bill would also exempt multifamily housing developments that are located no further than 12 mile from a major transit stop, and reduce by 20% from specified amounts for any other multifamily housing developments, as specified, from any fee, charge, dedication, or other requirement for the construction or reconstruction of school facilities, as provided. (8) This bill, except for the provision making the provisions of the bill severable, would become effective upon the adoption of the Public Preschool, K-12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2020 by the voters at the March 3, 2020, statewide primary election.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, and before January 1, 2022, a credit for qualified taxpayers, defined as the person responsible for planting a crop, managing the crop, and harvesting the crop from the land, in an amount equal to 15% of the qualified value of fresh fruits or vegetables donated to a food bank. This bill, under both laws, would expand the credit to apply to the donation of qualified donation items, defined as raw agricultural products or processed foods. The bill would expand the definition of qualified taxpayer to include the person responsible for growing or raising a qualified donation item, or harvesting, packing, or processing a qualified donation item but would exclude a retailer, as defined, from that expanded definition. The bill would apply these provisions to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law creates the Santa Clara Valley Open-Space Authority, and prescribes the jurisdiction and functions and duties of the authority. Existing law authorizes the authority, among other things, to acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property, within the authority's jurisdiction, necessary to the full exercise of its powers. This bill would authorize the authority to establish and administer the Coyote Valley Conservation Program to address resource and recreational goals of the Coyote Valley, as defined. The bill would authorize the authority to collaborate with state, regional, and local partners to help achieve specified goals of the program. The bill would authorize the authority to, among other things, acquire and dispose of interests and options in real property. The bill would require a proponent or party to a certain proposed development project within Coyote Valley to provide notice to the authority of the proposed project, and would authorize the authority to provide analysis of the environmental values and potential impacts of the proposed project. The bill would require Coyote Valley to be acknowledged as an area of statewide significance in local planning documents developed or updated on or after January 1, 2020, affecting land use within Coyote Valley. To the extent that this bill would impose new duties on local entities, 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, 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 requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection, on or before January 1, 2002, to convene a Working Group on Environmental Justice composed of various representatives, as specified, to assist the California Environmental Protection Agency in developing by July 1, 2002, an agencywide environmental justice strategy. Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research to be the coordinating agency in state government for environmental justice programs. Existing law requires the Director of State Planning and Research to, among other things, coordinate its efforts and share information regarding environmental justice programs with various federal agencies. Existing law defines "environmental justice" for these purposes to mean the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This bill would revise the definition of "environmental justice" to also include the meaningful involvement of people of all races, cultures, incomes, and national origins with respect to those same actions, and would provide that "environmental justice" includes, among other things, the availability of a healthy environment for all people. (2) 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. The act requires that one member of the 15-member commission reside in, and work directly with, communities in the state that are disproportionately burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution and issues of environmental justice, as provided. The act also authorizes the issuing agency, or the commission on appeal, when acting on a coastal development permit, to consider environmental justice. The act defines "environmental justice" for these purposes. This bill would revise the definition of "environmental justice" for purposes of the act to be consistent with the definition for that term described in (1) above, as the term would be revised by this bill. (3) The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 provides the authority and procedures for the initiation, conduct, and completion of changes of organization and reorganization of cities and districts. The act specifies the factors that a local agency formation commission is required to consider in the review of a proposal for a change of organization or reorganization, including, among other factors, the extent to which the proposal will promote environmental justice. Existing law defines "environmental justice" for purposes of these provisions to mean the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the location of public facilities and the provision of public services. This bill would revise the definition of "environmental justice" for purposes of these provisions to also include the meaningful involvement of people of all races, cultures, incomes, and national origins, with respect to those same actions, to ensure a healthy environment for all people such that the effects of pollution are not disproportionately borne by any particular populations or communities.

The hazardous waste control laws prohibit the use of a nonbiodegradable toxic chemical in a chemical toilet, recreational vehicle, or waste facility of a vessel and prohibit the sale of a nonbiodegradable toxic chemical in a container that indicates that the chemical could be used in a chemical toilet, a waste facility of a recreational vehicle, or a waste facility of a vessel. Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to develop and adopt regulations to define nonbiodegradable toxic chemicals and limitations on the sale of those chemicals. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal agencies with authority over water quality. Under the act, persons discharging waste are required to file with the appropriate regional board a report of the discharge and the discharge is subject to waste discharge requirements prescribed by that regional board. This bill would prohibit the sale or distribution in commerce of a product that contains any of specified chemicals or chemical compounds in a container that indicates that the product is suitable for use in a holding tank or other portion of a waste facility of a recreational vehicle, and would prohibit the use of a product that contains any of those same chemicals or chemical compounds in a holding tank or other portion of a waste facility of a recreational vehicle or of a campground chemical toilet that discharges to one of specified kinds of waste systems. The bill would require an owner or operator of a recreational vehicle park or campground that utilizes one of those kinds of waste systems to dispose of recreational vehicle wastewater to post a specified notice in a conspicuous location. The bill would provide that enforcement of these requirements is contingent on an appropriation by the Legislature for that purpose. The bill would require an owner or operator to certify compliance with the requirement to post that notice as part of any waste discharge requirement or as a condition of a waiver of a waste discharge requirement. Because a violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the state board, to the extent that funding is made available, to investigate methods to detect and quantify concentrations of chemical toilet deodorants, including those same chemicals and chemical compounds, in one of those same kinds of waste systems, as provided. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2022. 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. Existing law authorizes the state to provide subvention funds, as prescribed, to the Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz, or to local agencies in those counties, for a flood control project on the Pajaro River, as described, at an estimated cost to the state of the sum that may be appropriated by the Legislature upon the recommendation and advice of the Department of Water Resources, as specified, and provided the county or local agency receiving these funds indemnifies the state for liability that may result from the project. This bill would authorize the state, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to make funds available to plan, engineer, design, and construct a flood control project on the Pajaro River, as described. In the absence of federal funding, the bill would authorize the state, through the Flood Control Subventions Program, to provide this funding for the project as the project is described in a specified report by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. This bill would limit the funding for planning, engineering, designing, and constructing the project to the amount that would be the equivalent state share if there was federal project funding.

This measure would condemn regulations recently adopted by the Department of Homeland Security to prescribe how a determination of inadmissibility for a person who is not a citizen or national is made based on the likelihood that the person will become a public charge. This measure would also urge the federal government to repeal the new regulations.

This measure would state that the Legislature strongly and unequivocally supports the existing fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, the preservation of California's authority to enact stricter air pollution standards pursuant to its federal Clean Air Act waiver, and the enactment of a voluntary agreement between the State Air Resources Board and automobile manufacturers that preserves California's status as a leader in the fight for clean air; will consider any and all appropriate actions to maintain and enact vehicle emissions standards for the protection of public health, California residents, and the economy; supports any and all appropriate actions that enhance longstanding protections for the public's health, California residents, and the economy; and strongly urges the President and Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, and the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency to reject the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Proposed Rule for Model Years 2021–2026.

This measure would call upon all Californians to embrace the individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance, upon religious leaders to counsel on LGBTQ matters from a place of love, compassion, and knowledge of the psychological and other harms of conversion therapy, and upon the people of California and the institutions of California with great moral influence to model equitable treatment of all people of the state.

This measure would designate June 2019 as Second Chances Month in California, highlighting existing services and events to support reentry from incarceration.