Existing law, until January 1, 2027, establishes the California Small Agricultural Business Drought and Flood Relief Grant Program in the Office of the Small Business Advocate, under the authority of its director, to provide grants to qualified small agricultural businesses that have been affected by severe drought and flooding. Existing law requires the office to allocate grants to qualified small agricultural businesses that meet the requirements of the program, upon appropriation of grant funds by the Legislature. Existing law defines a "qualified small business" as a business that, among other things, has been affected by severe drought according to the United States Department of Agriculture drought monitor or is within or serves a county that has a state or federal disaster declaration for flooding. Existing law defines "decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits" for purposes of the program to mean a decrease in annual gross receipts or gross profits when comparing the 2022 taxable year to the 2019 taxable year. This bill, the California Agriculture Relief Act, would rename the program as the California Small Agricultural Business Disaster Relief Grant Program and would expand the purpose of the program to include the provision of grants to qualified small agricultural businesses that have been affected by severe drought, heat, or flooding. The bill would include within the definition of a "qualified small business" one that has been affected by the September 2022 heat wave, as specified. The bill would revise the definition of "decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits" to mean a decrease in annual gross receipts or gross profits when comparing the 2022 or 2023 taxable year to the 2019 taxable year. The bill would make conforming changes. The bill would require funding appropriated related to severe heat impacts to be administered, to the extent feasible, by allocating 20% of grant funds in one or more rounds of grants for small and socially disadvantaged farmers who are qualified small agricultural businesses and by allocating the remainder to qualified small agricultural businesses most impacted by severe heat, including those that are identified using specified codes.
Sponsored bills
Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, and provides various exemptions from the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, on and after January 1, 2025, and before January 1, 2030, would exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, qualified school supplies, as defined, purchased during the first weekend in August, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and ending at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
This measure would proclaim February 22, 2024, as Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.
This measure would recognize February 2024 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and 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. The measure would also recognize the significance in protecting citizens' right to vote and remedying racial discrimination in voting.
(1) Existing law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials. Existing law requires, as a minimum requirement for a preliminary multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential, the satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation that has been accredited by the Committee on Accreditation on the basis of standards of program quality and effectiveness that have been adopted by the commission. This bill would, among other things, require the commission, on or before January 1, 2027, to update its literacy standards of program quality and effectiveness, literacy teaching performance expectations, and literacy instruction preconditions for program sponsors offering Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credentials and Reading and Literacy Added Authorizations, or any other reading- or literacy-specific credential, certification, or authorization developed by the commission, in order to ensure compliance with effective means of teaching literacy, as defined, and adherence to the science reading, as provided. (2) Existing law prescribes the powers of the commission regarding the accreditation system, including, among others, to adopt and implement an accreditation framework, which sets forth the policies of the commission regarding the accreditation of educator preparation in California. This bill, for program sponsors whose educator preparation programs are not in compliance with the literacy instruction preconditions, as defined, literacy standards of program quality and effectiveness, as defined, or literacy teaching performance expectations, as defined, would require the commission to establish a probationary accreditation process that includes mandatory requirements for faculty at the program sponsor to successfully complete professional development and training on the science of reading and effective means of teaching literacy in order to remove probationary status, or lose accreditation, as specified. (3) Existing law establishes the Committee on Accreditation, consisting of 12 members selected for their distinguished records of accomplishment in education, and requires the committee to, among other things, make decisions about the accreditation of educator preparation programs in accordance with the accreditation framework, adopt guidelines for accreditation reviews, and monitor the performance of accreditation teams and other aspects of the accreditation system. This bill would require at least one of the 12 members to have demonstrated expertise in the science of reading and effective means of teaching literacy, and would require the committee to make decisions regarding initial and existing accreditation status of programs of educator preparation, including program approval, with respect to the quality of educator preparation in literacy standards of program quality and effectiveness, the literacy instruction preconditions, and the literacy teaching performance expectations, as provided. (4) Existing law requires the accreditation framework to include provisions regarding well-trained accreditation teams, as specified. This bill would, among other things, require an accreditation or program review team to report to literacy personnel, as defined, on the results of their accreditation or program review team site visits, as specified, including a separate section with respect to literacy instruction preconditions, literacy standards of program quality and effectiveness, and literacy teaching performance expectations, including detailed summaries as to what evidence was gathered and reviewed during the site visit. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to, among other things, provide funding so that by no later than June 30, 2025, the commission employs sufficient personnel with demonstrated expertise in the science of reading, as defined, and effective means of teaching literacy, as defined, to ensure that the commission's review for accrediting a program sponsor, and its review and approval of the program sponsor's programs and schools, be held to rigorous literacy program standards. (5) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to issue a request for proposals to contract for the development of standards for professional development for educators and instructional leaders. Existing law requires the standards to serve as guidelines for providers of professional development activities and authorizes them to be used to facilitate coordination among existing professional development programs. This bill would, among other things, require the department, on or before August 30, 2025, with technical assistance from the literacy staff, as defined, to designate a county office of education, or a consortium of county offices of education, with demonstrated expertise in the science of reading and evidence-based literacy instruction, with an emphasis on demonstrated, prior experience in literacy with pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 5, inclusive, to serve as the state literacy expert lead for purposes of administering, supporting, and monitoring specified professional development and training. The bill would require the state literacy expert lead, on or before January 1, 2026, to develop a list of professional development and training programs that it recommends and submit the list to the department of for approval, as specified. The bill would authorize the state literacy expert lead to also develop and provide professional development and training programs, as specified. The bill would, commencing March 1, 2026, require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to ensure participation in, and would require all applicable personnel, as defined, to satisfactorily complete by no later than June 30, 2028, an approved professional development and training program that is listed on the department's internet website, as specified, and except as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law, subject to an appropriation included in the annual Budget Act for these purposes, authorizes the department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to establish a process, administered by the department, to select, subject to approval by the executive director of the State Board of Education, an expert lead agency based on specific expertise in an area of need to conduct activities and build statewide capacity to address that area of need within the statewide system of support, as specified. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2025, require any expert lead agency supporting literacy initiatives for those purposes to demonstrate expertise in the science of reading and proficiency in evidence-based literacy instruction, as specified. (7) Existing law requires the state board to adopt basic instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, for governing boards, subject to specified provisions, including, among others, that the state board adopt at least 5 basic instructional materials for all applicable grade levels in each of the specified subject areas, including, among others, language arts, including, but not limited to, spelling, reading, and English language development. In reviewing and adopting or recommending for adoption submitted basic instructional materials, existing law requires the state board to use specified criteria, and to ensure that, in its judgment, the submitted basic instructional materials meet that criteria, including, among others, that the instructional materials are aligned to the content standards adopted by the state board in the subject area and the grade level or levels for which they are submitted. Notwithstanding any other law, existing law authorizes a local educational agency to use instructional materials that are aligned with the academic content standards previously adopted by the state board. This bill would revise and recast provisions relating to adoption of instructional materials for English language arts, English language development, and reading by, among other things, requiring the state board, on or before January 1, 2026, to adopt basic and supplementary instructional materials, as defined, for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, in English language arts, English language development, and reading. The bill would require the state board to, among other things, ensure that all instructional materials adopted pursuant to these provisions are aligned to the most recently adopted academic content standards and curriculum frameworks, and adhere to the science of reading. The bill would require the department to publish the complete list of the state board's adopted instructional materials on the department's internet website and to distribute the complete list to all local educational agencies, as specified. Upon the state board's adoption of those instructional materials, the bill would require all basic and supplementary instructional materials in English language arts, English language development, and reading for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, adopted by each school district, county office of education, and charter school to, among other requirements, adhere to the science of reading, and would prohibit those local educational agencies from adopting basic instructional materials in English language arts, English language development, or reading that have not been adopted by the state board unless the local educational agency is granted a waiver, as specified. On or before December 31, 2027, the bill would require each local educational agency to provide to the department, and the department to develop, maintain, and annually update, a current list of basic and supplementary instructional materials in English language arts, English language development, and reading, adopted by each local educational agency that is publicly accessible on the department's internet website. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (8) Existing law requires the University of California, Los Angeles and the California State University, Dominguez Hills, along with California State University campuses serving the Los Angeles Basin selected by the Board of Trustees of the California State University, to form a neurodiversity and learning collaborative in order to, among other things, create a framework for embedding neurodiversity knowledge into the teacher education programs at the University of California and the California State University. This bill would authorize that collaborative to be expanded to include any University of California campus or California State University campus willing to voluntarily participate in strengthening educational support and effective means of teaching literacy through faculty professional development and training programs that adhere to the science of reading. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to provide grant funding to both expand the collaborative and to, among other things, provide faculty professional development aligned with the science of reading to faculty members who teach literacy and reading instruction at accredited institutions with approved educator preparation programs. (9) This bill would make Legislative findings and declarations relating to these provisions, conforming changes, and other nonsubstantive changes. (10) 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 Legislative Analyst to prepare a fiscal analysis of each statewide measure for the ballot pamphlet, and requires the title and summary of a measure that appears on the ballot to contain a summary of the Legislative Analyst's estimate of the net state and local government fiscal impact. Existing law prescribes the form and content of the ballot label for candidates and measures on the ballot, and requires the ballot label for statewide measures to include a condensed version of the title and summary, including the fiscal impact summary. Existing law requires local governments, when submitting a measure for voter approval for the issuance of bonds that will be secured by an ad valorem tax, to provide voters a statement that includes estimates of the total debt service and tax rates required to fund the bonds, as specified. This bill would require, for state bond measures and for local measures to approve the issuance of bonds that will be secured by an ad valorem tax, the ballot label to include a summary of the measure's fiscal impact in a specified form. Because this bill would impose new requirements on local elections officials, 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, 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 resolution would designate the week beginning on February 26, 2024, and the last week of February hereafter, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.