The Political Reform Act of 1974 imposes various limitations on contributions that may be made to, or accepted by, candidates for elective office and campaign committees that support or oppose candidates and ballot measures. The act prohibits a foreign government or principal, as defined, from making a contribution or expenditure in connection with a ballot measure. The act also prohibits a person or committee from soliciting or accepting a contribution from a foreign government or principal for this purpose. This bill would expand the scope of these prohibitions by also prohibiting a government, principal, or national from making a contribution or expenditure, and a person or committee from soliciting or accepting this type of contribution, in connection with an election. A violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
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Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state, and provides for the funding of these schools through a variety of means. Existing law authorizes, among other methods of funding schools, both the State of California and local educational agencies to provide for the funding of public schools through the issuance of bonds approved by the voters. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would improve school bond accountability and oversight.
Existing law requires, if a defendant in a criminal proceeding is found mentally incompetent, the trial or judgment to be suspended until the person becomes mentally competent. Existing law requires the court to order a mentally incompetent defendant to be delivered by the sheriff to a state hospital for the care and treatment of the mentally disordered, as directed by the State Department of State Hospitals, or to any other available public or private treatment facility approved by the community program director that will promote the defendant's speedy restoration to mental competence, or placed on outpatient status, as specified. This bill would appropriate an unspecified sum to the State Department of State Hospitals for the purpose of expanding jail-based competency treatment programs for those deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide funding for a project that substantially conforms to the project description for the Reverse Flow Pump-back Facilities on the Friant-Kern Canal Restoration Project, as specified, provided that certain conditions are met. Existing law requires that the appropriation be no more than $7,000,000. This bill would appropriate $7,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for this project. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Friant-Kern Canal.
Under existing law, as amended by Proposition 35, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, a person who causes, induces, or persuades a person who is a minor at the time of the commission of the offense to engage in a commercial sex act, as specified, is guilty of human trafficking, a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 5, 8, or 12 years and a fine of not more than $500,000. If the offense involves force, fear, fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person, the crime is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 15 years to life and a fine of not more than $500,000. Proposition 35 provides that it may be amended by a statute in furtherance of its objectives by a majority of the membership of each house of the Legislature concurring. This bill would impose an additional term of imprisonment in the state prison of 3, 4, or 5 years for the above-specified offenses if the victim was less than 16 years of age at the time of the offense. The bill would require the additional term to be served consecutively to the above-specified punishment. By increasing the punishment for a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law makes solicitation for purposes of prostitution a crime, except as specified. Under existing law, if the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, and if the defendant knew or should have known that the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, the violation is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 2 days and not more than one year, or by a fine of $10,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. This bill would make solicitation for prostitution, if the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, and if the defendant knew or should have known that the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 6 months and not more than one year, or by a fine not exceeding $15,000, or both that imprisonment and fine, or as a felony subject to incarceration for 2, 3, or 4 years. By increasing the punishment for a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, "full cash value" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under "full cash value" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. This bill would exclude from classification as "newly constructed" and "new construction" the construction or addition, on or after January 1, 2018, of a methane digester or methane digester electric generating system, as provided. By imposing new duties upon county assessors, 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. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to supervise the maintenance and operation of dams and reservoirs as necessary to safeguard life and property. Existing law requires the department, in determining whether or not a dam or reservoir or proposed dam or reservoir constitutes or would constitute a danger to life or property, to take into consideration the possibility that the dam or reservoir might be endangered by conditions that exist or that might occur in any area in the vicinity of the dam or reservoir. Under existing law, whenever the department deems that a condition endangers a dam or reservoir, the department is required to order the owner to take action as the department determines to be necessary to remove the resultant danger to life and property. This bill would require the department, as soon as possible, to order the owner to take action. Existing law establishes the Dam Safety Fund and requires all fees, penalties, interest, fines, or charges collected by the department under provisions relating to the supervision of dam safety to be deposited into the fund. Existing law provides that the moneys in the fund are available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the administration of the dam safety program. This bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to the department for that purpose.
Existing law establishes the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board in the Employment Development Department, which is administered by the Director of Employment Development, for the purpose of hearing appeals of determinations made by the department, and also prescribes the functions and duties of the board. Existing law limits the authority of the director, as well as certain other parties, to seek judicial review from an appeals board decision to 6 months after the date of the decision or the day on which the decision is designated as a precedent decision, whichever is later. This bill would reduce the time limit to 3 months after the date of the appeals board decision or decision designation, whichever is later, and would make corresponding changes.
Existing law generally sets out the requirements for the submission of written reports by public agencies to the Legislature, the Governor, the Controller, and state legislative and other executive entities. This bill would require a written report, as defined, submitted by any state agency or department to the Legislature, a Member of the Legislature, or any state legislative or executive body to include a signed statement by the head of the agency or department declaring that the factual contents of the written report are true, accurate, and complete to the best of his or her knowledge. This bill would also make any person who declares as true any material matter pursuant to these provisions that he or she knows to be false liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $20,000.