The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, in the amount of $3,000 for each full-time employee hired by a qualified employer, with a maximum cumulative credit of $400,000,000 for all taxable years. Those laws define "qualified employer" as a taxpayer that employed 20 or fewer employees as of the last day of the preceding taxable year. This bill would, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, redefine "qualified employer" to mean a disabled veteran business enterprise, a disadvantaged business enterprise, a microbusiness, or a small business, as defined. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, allow a credit in the amount of $4,500 for each net increase in full-time employees, who are paid qualified wages of less than $16 per hour and a credit in the amount of $9,100 for each net increase in full-time employees, who are paid qualified wages of $16 or more per hour, as provided. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Sponsored bills
Existing law prohibits the suspension, or recommendation for expulsion, of a pupil from school unless the school district superintendent or the school principal determines that the pupil has committed any of various specified acts, including, but not limited to, bullying. Existing law defines bullying as any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, which includes, among other things, a post on a social network Internet Web site, and including one or more acts, as specified, committed by a pupil or group of pupils, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more specified effects. This bill would identify specific conduct that would constitute a post on a social network Internet Web site, including posting to or creating a burn page, as defined, creating a credible impersonation of a pupil, as defined and as specified, and creating a false profile, as defined and as specified. The bill also would provide that an electronic act does not constitute pervasive conduct solely on the basis that it has been transmitted on the Internet or is currently posted on the Internet.
Existing law authorizes any interested party to bring an action at any time for the purpose of determining the existence or nonexistence of the father and child relationship that is presumed under certain circumstances. This bill would require notice of the proceeding to be given, as specified, to the child's relatives within the 2nd degree and to the person having physical custody of the child, if the child's other parent has died and there are no existing court orders or pending court actions involving custody or guardianship of the child.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission Act creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a regional agency in the 9-county San Francisco Bay Area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law requires the commission to consist of 19 members, including 2 members each from the Counties of Alameda and Santa Clara, and one member appointed by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and establishes a 4-year term of office for members of the commission. This bill would, instead, require the commission to consist of 21 members, including one member appointed by the Mayor of the City of Oakland and one member appointed by the Mayor of the City of San Jose. The bill would require the initial term of those 2 members to end in February 2015. The bill would prohibit more than 3 members of the commission from being residents of the same county, as specified. The bill would require the member from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission to be a member of that commission, a resident of San Francisco, and to be approved by the Mayor of San Francisco. By imposing new requirements on a local agency, 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.
Existing law requires the county recorder, upon payment of proper fees and taxes, to record any document that is authorized or required by statute or court order to be recorded, provided that the document meets certain standards. This bill would additionally require the county recorder to record any document that is authorized or required by local ordinance adopted within that county to be recorded. Existing law sets forth the required form that a notice of intent to preserve an interest in real property must take. This bill would revise that form.
This measure would memorialize the Legislature's disagreement with the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and would call upon the United States Congress to propose and send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and to restore constitutional rights and fair elections to the people.
The Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act prohibits any punitive action against a public safety officer, or denial of promotion on grounds other than merit, without providing the public safety officer with an opportunity for administrative appeal. This bill would prohibit a public agency from taking punitive action against a public safety officer, or denying promotion on grounds other than merit, because that officer's name is placed on a Brady list, as defined. The bill would provide, however, that the public agency may take punitive or personnel action against a public safety officer based on the underlying acts or omissions for which that officer's name was placed on the Brady list, as specified. The bill would prohibit the introduction of any evidence that an officer's name was placed on a Brady list in any administrative appeal of a punitive action or civil proceeding between the officer and an office or public agency, except as provided. The bill would permit evidence that a public safety officer's name was placed on a Brady list to be introduced if, during the administrative appeal of a punitive action against an officer, the underlying act or omission for which that officer's name was placed on a Brady list is proven and the officer is found to be subject to some form of punitive action. The bill would provide that evidence introduced pursuant to the above-described provisions shall only be used for the sole purpose of determining the type or level of punitive action to be imposed.
Existing law, the State Athletic Commission Act, creates the State Athletic Commission and makes it responsible for licensing and regulating boxing, kickboxing, and martial arts matches and wrestling exhibitions. Existing law prohibits a promoter from having a proprietary interest in a boxer or mixed martial arts fighter without the approval of the commission. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to protect mixed martial arts fighters from exploitive, oppressive, or coercive contracts and to support the establishment of standards to protect these fighters. This bill would require a licensed promoter to provide a copy of any written agreement with a professional athlete as well as a written and sworn statement, made under penalty of perjury, that there are no other agreements between the promoter and athlete with respect to that contest, and a list of any fees charged or reductions in the amount paid to the athlete, to the commission before the promoter can receive compensation from a boxing or mixed martial arts contest. By requiring a statement to be made under penalty of perjury, the bill would expand that crime and would thereby impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the commission to establish and enforce, upon receiving a complaint, a professional code of conduct for licensees, and would require the commission to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the license of a mixed martial arts promoter who enters into a coercive contract, as defined, with a mixed martial arts fighter. The bill would also require the commission to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the license of a mixed martial arts promoter or fighter who has been convicted of a felony or other specified crimes, or who has engaged in certain other actions. This bill would also exempt documents provided to the commission by promoters from disclosure to the public based on a finding by the Legislature that these documents contain proprietary business information. 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.
Under existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with responsibility for the coordination and control of water quality in the state. The act requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policies for water quality control, and authorizes the state board to hold any hearings and conduct any investigations in any part of the state necessary to carry out the powers vested in the state board, as specified. The act also requires the regional boards to adopt regional water quality control plans in compliance with the state policies. Existing law requires each regional board to conduct certain proceedings, including, but not limited to, holding at least 6 regular meetings each calendar year. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, provides for the conduct of administrative adjudication proceedings of state agencies. Existing law generally prohibits ex parte communication including communication during a pending proceeding, regarding any issue in the proceeding, to the presiding officer by an employee or representative of an agency that is a party to the proceeding without notice and opportunity for all parties to participate, except as specified. This bill would prohibit a state board member, a regional board member, or any interested person, as defined, from engaging in a communication that would be considered ex parte under the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would provide that a communication is not ex parte if the communication is between a state or regional board staff member acting in his or her official capacity and a state board member, regional board member, or any interested person. The bill would provide that an otherwise prohibited ex parte communication is permissible if the state or regional board member fully discloses the communication, and the communication is in regard to waste discharge requirements, water quality certifications, or conditional waivers of waste discharge requirements, as specified. The bill would also provide that an otherwise prohibited ex parte communication is permissible if a regional board member fully discloses the communication, and the communication is in regard to a municipal separate storm sewer permit, as defined.