The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax credit to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2027, in an amount equal to the amount of sales tax collected from a qualified taxpayer during the first week of August of the taxable year for purchases of back-to-school items, as defined, not to exceed $2,500 per taxable year per household. The bill would define qualified taxpayer as a parent with a schoolchild, a student attending a postsecondary institution, or an educator. The bill would require a qualified taxpayer to have a household income at the time of filing that is at or below the federal poverty threshold, except as otherwise specified. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to submit a report by January 1, 2026, to the Legislature on the amount of credits used by qualified taxpayers, and would provide findings and declarations relating to the goals of this credit. Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Tax Relief and Refund Account and provides that payments required to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account, including any amount to be paid as an earned income tax credit in excess of any tax liabilities. This bill would require the amount of the credit exceeding the taxpayer's liability to be credited against other amounts due, if any, and would require the balance to be paid from the Tax Relief and Refund Account and refunded to the taxpayer. By authorizing new payments from that account for additional amounts in excess of personal income tax liabilities, this bill would make an appropriation.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests each campus of the University of California, to identify in the online version of the campus course schedule its courses that exclusively use digital course materials, as specified, and communicate to students that the course materials for these courses are free of charge and therefore not required to be purchased. Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents act, by resolution, to make them applicable. This bill would establish the Fair Access to College Textbooks Act as part of the Donahoe Higher Education Act. The act would prohibit a campus of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, an independent institution of higher education, or a private postsecondary educational institution from assessing an automatic charge for instructional materials, as defined, to a student, or enter into an agreement with a book publisher or other entity to assess the charge, unless certain conditions are met. The bill would request each campus of the University of California to comply with these provisions. The bill would provide that these provisions only apply to a contract entered into or renewed after January 1, 2022.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires certain levels of funding for programs to provide targeted energy-efficiency services to low-income electricity customers. Existing law requires the PUC to ensure that all eligible low-income electricity customers are given the opportunity to participate in low-income energy efficiency programs, including customers occupying apartments or similar multiunit residential structures. Existing law requires electrical corporations to perform home weatherization services for low-income customers, as specified. These programs are collectively known as the Energy Savings Assistance Program and are administered by each electrical corporation. This bill would require the PUC to establish the Flexible Demand Appliance Rebate Program as a part of the Energy Savings Assistance Program to incentivize the deployment of certain flexible demand appliances, as defined. The bill would require each electrical corporation with more than 100,000 service connections in California to administer the Flexible Demand Appliance Rebate Program in its service territory. The bill would authorize ratepayers who are served by those electrical corporations and eligible to participate in the Energy Savings Assistance Program to participate in the Flexible Demand Appliance Rebate Program. The bill would fund the Flexible Demand Appliance Rebate Program through unspent and uncommitted moneys from the Energy Savings Assistance Program, as specified, and would prohibit the PUC from increasing rates or imposing or increasing a charge for purposes of the Flexible Demand Appliance Rebate Program. The bill would require the PUC, on or before July 30, 2023, and biennially thereafter, to submit to the Legislature an assessment of the Flexible Demand Appliance Rebate Program. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to adopt, by regulation, and periodically update, standards for appliances to facilitate the deployment of flexible demand technologies. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to consult with the PUC and load-serving entities, as defined, to better align the flexible demand appliance standards with demand response programs administered by the state and load-serving entities and to incentivize the deployment of flexible demand appliances. This bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the PUC, to publish public lists of flexible demand appliances that meet or exceed the flexible demand appliance standards and load-management programs that are compatible with flexible demand appliances for purposes of the Flexible Demand Appliance Rebate Program. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because a violation of a PUC action implementing the requirements of this bill would be 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.
Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development for the purpose of advocating for the causes of small business and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. This bill, the Keep California Working Act, would establish the Keep California Working Grant Program. The act would require the Small Business Advocate to administer the program and award grants, as specified, to small businesses and nonprofit entities that meet specified criteria, including that the entity has experienced economic hardship resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The act would specify that grant money awarded pursuant to the program may be used only for specified purposes, including payroll costs, health care benefits, paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums. The act would appropriate $2.6 billion dollars to the Office of Small Business Advocate for those purposes. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in conformity with federal income tax law, generally define "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provide various exclusions from gross income. This bill would exclude from gross income, for state income tax purposes, the amount of a grant awarded pursuant to the Keep California Working Grant Program. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. The bill also would include additional information required for a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, which includes various state departments, including the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Health Care Services, and is charged with the administration of health, social, and other human services. Existing law also establishes various public health programs for purposes of promoting child and adolescent health, including the Child Health and Disability Prevention Program, which provides for early and periodic health assessments to children in California. This bill would establish the End Racial Inequities in Children's Health in California Initiative (EnRICH CA Initiative) . The bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, in collaboration with other specified groups and entities, to convene an advisory workgroup, as specified, to develop and implement a plan, as specified, that establishes targets to reduce racial disparities in health outcomes by at least 50% by December 31, 2030, in chronic conditions affecting children, including, but not limited to, asthma, diabetes, dental caries, depression, and vaping-related diseases. The bill would require the agency to convene the advisory workgroup as soon as January 31, 2022, and would allow the workgroup to disband after the implementation of the plan. The bill would require the agency to submit the plan to the Legislature and post the plan on its internet website on or before January 1, 2023, and to commence implementation of the plan no later than June 30, 2023. The bill would make implementation of its provisions subject to an appropriation by the Legislature. The bill also makes related findings and declarations.
Existing law, the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006, establishes a procedure for the issuance of state franchises for the provision of video service, defined to include cable service and open-video systems, administered by the Public Utilities Commission. The act provides that the holder of a state franchise is not a public utility as a result of providing video service and does not provide the commission with authority to regulate the rates, terms, and conditions of video service except as explicitly set forth in the act. The act requires a franchise holder to annually report to the commission regarding the availability of and subscriptions to broadband and video service, as specified. This bill would repeal the requirement that franchise holders annually report regarding the availability of and subscriptions to broadband and video service. The bill would instead require the commission to collect granular data on the actual locations served by franchise holders, adopt customer service requirements for franchise holders, and adjudicate any customer complaints. The bill would prohibit the commission from publicly disclosing any personally identifiable information collected pursuant to these requirements. 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.
Existing law establishes the Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence Program in the Office of Emergency Services to, among other things, provide local assistance to existing service providers and to establish a targeted or directed program for the development and establishment of domestic violence services in currently unserved and underserved areas. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to provide financial and technical assistance to local domestic violence centers in implementing specified services. This bill would require that the portion of any grant funding awarded pursuant to this provision that is funded by the state be distributed to the recipient in a single disbursement at the beginning of the grant period. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 13823.15 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 689 to be operative only if this bill and AB 689 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Under existing law, the Department of Consumer Affairs (department) , under the control of the Director of Consumer Affairs, is comprised of various boards that license and regulate various professions and vocations. Existing law requires an applicant seeking a license from a board within the department to meet specified requirements and to pay certain licensing fees. Existing law requires a board within the department to issue, after appropriate investigation, certain types of temporary licenses to an applicant if the applicant meets specified requirements, including that the applicant supplies evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in this state under official active duty military orders and the applicant submits an application to the board that includes a signed affidavit attesting to the fact that the applicant meets all of the requirements for a temporary license and that the information submitted in the application is accurate, to the best of the applicant's knowledge. Under existing law, some of the funds within the jurisdiction of a board consist of revenue from fees that are continuously appropriated. Existing law authorizes a board to adopt regulations necessary to administer these provisions. This bill, on and after January 1, 2023, would expand the requirement to issue temporary licenses to practice a profession or vocation to include licenses issued by any board within the department, except as provided. The bill would require an applicant for a temporary license to provide to the board documentation that the applicant has passed a California law and ethics examination if otherwise required by the board for the profession or vocation for which the applicant seeks licensure. The bill would require a board to issue a temporary license within 30 days of receiving the required documentation if the results of a criminal background check do not show grounds for denial and would require a board to request the Department of Justice to conduct the criminal background check and to furnish the criminal background information in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would specifically direct revenues from fees for temporary licenses issued by the California Board of Accountancy to be credited to the Accountancy Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. The bill would require, if necessary to implement the bill's provisions, a board to submit to the department for approval draft regulations necessary to administer these provisions. The bill would exempt from these provisions a board that has a process in place by which an out-of-state licensed applicant in good standing who is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States is able to receive expedited, temporary authorization to practice while meeting state-specific requirements for a period of at least one year or is able to receive an expedited license by endorsement with no additional requirements superseding those for a temporary license, as described above. The bill would make conforming changes. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill's expansion of the requirement to issue temporary licenses would result in revenues from fees for certain licenses being deposited into continuously appropriated funds. By establishing a new source of revenue for those continuously appropriated funds, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law provides that these temporary licenses shall expire 12 months after issuance, upon issuance of an expedited license, or upon denial of the application for expedited licensure by the board, whichever occurs first. Existing law authorizes the immediate termination of a temporary license upon a finding that the temporary licenseholder failed to meet the requirements for temporary licensure or provided substantively inaccurate information that would affect the person's eligibility for temporary licensure. This bill, on and after July 1, 2023, would instead provide that these temporary licenses are nonrenewable and shall expire 12 months after issuance, upon issuance or denial of a standard license, upon issuance or denial of a license by endorsement, or upon issuance or denial of an expedited license, whichever occurs first. The bill, on and after July 1, 2023, would also require the board to revoke a temporary license if the board finds that the temporary licenseholder engaged in unprofessional conduct or any other act that is cause for discipline by the board. This bill would require the Department of Consumer Affairs to compile an annual report to the Legislature containing specified information relating to the professional licensure of veterans, servicemembers, and their spouses. The bill would also require the Department of Consumer Affairs and each board within the department to post specified information on their internet websites relating to licensure for military spouses, the availability of temporary licenses, and permanent licensure by endorsement or credential for out-of-state applicants. The bill would also require the Department of Real Estate to compile specified information on military, veteran, and spouse licensure into an annual report for the Legislature. Existing law, the Psychology Licensing Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of psychologists by the Board of Psychology. Existing law authorizes a psychologist certified or licensed in another state or Canadian province who has applied to the board for licensure to provide activities and services of a psychological nature without a valid license for a period not to exceed 180 days from the time of submitting their application or from the commencement of residency in the state, whichever occurs first, subject to specified conditions and requirements. This bill would also authorize a psychologist certified or licensed in another state or Canadian province who is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States and who has applied to the board for licensure to perform activities and services of a psychological nature without a valid license for a period not to exceed 12 months. 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. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 2946 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 801 to be operative only if this bill and SB 801 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law prohibits any person, other than a physician and surgeon or optometrist, from measuring the powers or range of human vision or determining the accommodative and refractive status of the human eye or the scope of its functions in general or prescribing ophthalmic devices. Existing law provides that an assistant in any setting where optometry or ophthalmology is practiced who is acting under the direct responsibility and supervision of an ophthalmologist or optometrist may, among other things, perform tonometry and perform nonsubjective auto refraction in connection with subjective refraction procedures performed by an ophthalmologist or optometrist. This bill would permit such an assistant to perform nonsubjective auto refraction, to perform preliminary subjective refraction procedures in connection with finalizing subjective refraction procedures performed by an ophthalmologist or optometrist, subject to certain conditions, and to perform A scan and B scan ultrasound testing. Existing law, the Optometry Practice Act, establishes the California State Board of Optometry in the Department of Consumer Affairs for the licensure and regulation of the practice of optometry. Existing law provides that the practice of optometry includes various functions relating to the visual system and the treatment and management of certain disorders and dysfunctions of the visual system, as well as the provision of rehabilitative optometric services, and doing certain things, including, but not limited to, the examination of the human eye or eyes. Existing law further authorizes an optometrist who is certified to use therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, as specified, to diagnose and treat certain conditions including, among others, hypotrichosis and blepharitis. Existing law sets forth requirements for a certified optometrist to become certified in the administration of immunizations, as defined. Existing law specifies that a violation of the act is a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment, as provided. This bill would revise what comprises the practice of optometry, including specific practices a certified optometrist may engage in, and would specify exceptions or limitations to that practice. The bill would permit a certified optometrist to use or prescribe topical and oral prescription and nonprescription therapeutic pharmaceutical agents that are not controlled substances and are not antiglaucoma agents or otherwise limited or excluded, as described. The bill would permit a certified optometrist to administer authorized immunizations after meeting the immunization certification requirements. By changing the scope of a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 2544 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 1534 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1534 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would, contingent upon the enactment of AB 691, make additional changes to Section 3041 of the Business and Professions Code relating to the diagnostic use of certain laboratory tests or examinations for detecting the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and to immunization certification, to be operative only if this bill and AB 691 are enacted.