Rep. Luis Alejo

This measure would recognize and commend the Maritime Museum of San Diego for its continuing dedication to preserving, interpreting, and teaching the rich maritime history of California while upholding a worldwide reputation for excellence with regard to the restoration, maintenance, and operation of historic vessels, particularly the San Salvador replica.

This measure would urge the United States Senate to fairly consider the nomination for Justice to the United States Supreme Court submitted by President Obama and to vote up or down on the nomination.

The State Bar Act provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation governed by a board of trustees. That act requires 6 members of the 19-member board to be attorneys elected from State Bar Districts. That act requires protection of the public to be the highest priority for the State Bar and the board of trustees in exercising their licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions and requires protection of the public to be paramount whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent with any other interest sought to be promoted. That act prohibits the State Bar from awarding a contract for goods, services, or both, for an aggregate amount in excess of $50,000, or for information technology goods, services, or both, for an aggregate amount in excess of $100,000, except pursuant to specified public contracting provisions. That act provides that the State Bar is subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the California Public Records Act, as specified. That act, until January 1, 2017, requires the board to charge an annual membership fee for active members of up to $315 for 2016. The act requires the board of trustees to elect or select the president, vice president, and treasurer of the State Bar, as specified. Existing law prohibits the Legislature, when the board of trustees places a charge upon or otherwise makes available all or any portion of the income or revenue from membership fees for the payment of security of an obligation of the State Bar and so long as any obligation remains unpaid, from reducing the maximum membership fee below the maximum in effect at the time the obligation is created or incurred and provides that this provision constitutes a covenant to the holder of such an obligation. The act requires the board of trustees to contract with the California State Auditor's Office to conduct a performance audit of the State Bar's operations, as specified. That act establishes the State Bar Court to act in the place of the board of trustees in the determination of disciplinary proceedings, as specified. That act authorizes the State Bar to raise additional revenue by any lawful means, including, but not limited to, the creation of foundations or not-for-profit corporations. That act requires the board to establish and administer a Client Security Fund to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by dishonest conduct of active members of the State Bar, as specified. This bill would provide that the board of trustees consists of no more than 19 members and no fewer than 13 members and would require the board to transition to a 13-member board, as specified. The bill would remove from the board attorney members elected from State Bar Districts and would make conforming changes. The bill would require each appointing authority, when making appointments to the board after December 31, 2016, to consider appointing members who have demonstrated education or experience, or both, in one of 6 specified areas, including public finance. The bill would require that a minimum of 7 members of the board be public members, as appointed by specified entities, and would require members of the board to serve a term of 4 years. The bill would require the California Supreme Court to review the substance of any anticompetitive decision made by the board and specifies that California Supreme Court has the power to veto, modify, or take other appropriate actions over those decisions. The bill would require the California Supreme Court to select from the members of the board a chair and vice chair of the State Bar and would require the chair's term to be 2 years. This bill would require protection of the public as the highest priority for the State Bar and set the priority of the regulatory functions of the State Bar, as specified. This bill would require the Attorney General to appoint a State Bar enforcement program monitor prior to March 31, 2017, and would require the enforcement program monitor to evaluate the disciplinary system and procedures of the State Bar, as specified. The bill would require the enforcement program monitor to submit an initial report no later than October 1, 2019, and to issue a final report before March 31, 2020. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on March 31, 2020, and would repeal the provisions as of January 1, 2021. This bill would require the board of trustees to engage the services of an independent national or regional public accounting firm with at least 5 years of experience in governmental auditing for an audit of its revenues, expenditures, reserves, and its financial statements for each fiscal year and would require the California State Auditor, for the performance audit due in January 2017, to review all of the State Bar's expenses, including, but not limited to, executive salaries, and would require that audit to also include a recommendation by the California State Auditor of the appropriate methodology for the State Bar to calculate the portion of administrative costs that are appropriately allocated to the sections of the State Bar. The bill would also require the California State Auditor to conduct a performance audit evaluating the State Bar's progress in certain areas, including correcting any issues raised in prior California State Auditor audits, and would require the California State Auditor to report its findings and recommendations, as specified. This bill would provide that access to records of the State Bar Court is subject to the rules and laws applicable to the judiciary instead of the California Public Records Act and would exempt the State Bar Court from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. This bill would allow, beginning on and after January 1, 2016, the disclosure of specified information submitted by an applicant to the State Bar for admission and license to practice. This bill, until January 1, 2018, would require the board to charge an annual membership fee in a specified amount for 2017. The bill would repeal the provision prohibiting the Legislature from reducing the maximum membership fee and would prohibit the State Bar from creating any foundation or nonprofit corporations, as specified. The bill would require the State Bar to conduct a thorough analysis of the Client Security Fund and to submit a report to the Legislature on its analysis of that fund by March 15, 2017, as specified. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

This measure would urge the United States Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and the Office of Management and Budget to expedite the rulemaking and implementation processes for federal safety regulations governing the transport by rail of flammable and combustible liquids, including crude oil, and would also urge the President and the Congress of the United States to pass specified federal legislation mandating public safety measures regulating the transport by rail of those liquids.

Existing law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to disburse funds, appropriated to the department for the purpose of supporting county veterans service officers pursuant to the annual Budget Act, on a pro rata basis, to a county that complies with certain conditions. This bill would require the department, no later than July 1, 2016, to develop an allocation formula based upon performance standards that encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by county veterans service officers, and would require those moneys to be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, in accordance with that formula, as specified. The bill would require the department to annually report to the Legislature the efficacy, return on investment, work volume, and regional impact of the subvention funds on each county that receives those funds, as specified. The bill would also delete obsolete provisions and would make conforming changes.

This measure would proclaim April 12, 2016, as Equal Pay Day in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all.

This measure would encourage teaching sun safety practices to children to enable them to identify the importance of sun safety, practice strategies to protect against the harmful effects of the sun, and understand why and how to stay safe from overexposure to the sun.

Under existing law, programs have been established pursuant to bond acts for, among other things, the development and enhancement of state and local parks and recreational facilities. This bill would enact the California Parks, Water, Climate, and Coastal Protection and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in an amount of $3,497,500,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a parks, water, climate, and coastal protection and outdoor access for all program. The bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary direct election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.