Existing law establishes within the Department of Housing and Community Development the California Housing Finance Agency and provides that the primary purpose of the agency is to meet the housing needs of persons and families of low or moderate income. Existing law requires the California Housing Finance Agency administer the Roberti-Greene Home Purchase Assistance Program, to provide home purchase assistance to low- and moderate-income homebuyers to qualify for the purchase of owner-occupied homes. Existing law authorizes the agency, pursuant to specified objectives, to create its own home purchase assistance programs, home purchase assistance products, or both, on terms and conditions as the agency deems prudent. Existing law requires the agency to provide to the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst an annual report containing information concerning all units produced, assisted, or insured using agency funds. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst to conduct a study, and present the findings thereof to the Legislature, to inform the creation of a low-interest loan program for first responders. The bill would require the report to be submitted on or before January 1, 2024. The bill would require the report to include a recommendation as to which state department is best suited to administer the program, an estimation of the amount of funding that would be necessary to conduct the program, and recommendations for qualifications for participation in the program.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Secretary of State and the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish the California New Motor Voter Program. Under the program, the Department of Motor Vehicles is required to provide to the Secretary of State specified information associated with each person who submits an application for a driver's license or identification card, and additionally to report to the Secretary of State that an applicant has attested that the applicant meets the voter preregistration requirements for a person who is at least 16 years of age and otherwise meets all voter eligibility requirements. The prescribed information submitted by the department to the Secretary of State constitutes a completed or submitted affidavit of registration, and the Secretary is required to register or preregister the person to vote, unless the person affirmatively declines to register to vote during a transaction with the department, the department does not represent to the Secretary of State that the person attested that the person meets all voter eligibility requirements, or the Secretary of State determines that the person is ineligible to vote. This bill would instead require a person to affirmatively agree to become registered or preregistered to vote during a transaction with the department before the Secretary registers or preregisters that person, and it would make other conforming changes.
Existing law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , administered in California as CalFresh, under which each county distributes nutrition assistance benefits provided by the federal government to eligible households. Existing state law authorizes a county to deliver CalFresh benefits through the use of an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) acceptance system. Existing law, until January 1, 2022, encourages the Regents of the University of California, requires the Trustees of the California State University, and authorizes the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, to designate as a "hunger-free campus" each of the institutions' respective campuses that meet specified criteria, including having a campus employee designated to help ensure that students have the information they need to enroll in CalFresh. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Education, and the Department of Food and Agriculture, to develop a plan to end hunger. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to serve as the lead agency for the development of the plan. The bill would require the plan to be distributed to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2021, and would establish criteria for the plan, including that the plan establish a budget of $11,500,000, contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or other measure, for the Department of Food and Agriculture to support local food hub efforts. The bill would also require the plan to request the Regents of the University of California, and direct the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, to develop systems that allow EBT cards to be used on their respective campuses, and present a report to the Assembly Select Committee on Campus Climate on the progress that has been made, by July 1, 2020.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law establishes the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund, the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund, the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund, the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund, the Payphone Service Providers Committee Fund, the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund, and the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in the State Treasury and provides that moneys in the funds are held in trust and may be expended only to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. This bill would prohibit the commission from collecting, for deposit into any universal service fund, any revenues derived from charges upon the provision of a communications service that the Federal Communications Commission has determined is an information service, as specified. Existing law establishes the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account and authorizes the commission to annually determine a utility reimbursement fee to be paid by every public utility providing service directly to customers or subscribers and subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, except for a railroad corporation. The commission is required to establish the fee, with the approval of the Department of Finance, to produce a total amount equal to that amount established in the authorized commission budget for the same year, and an appropriate reserve to regulate public utilities, less specified sources of funding. This bill would prohibit the commission from imposing a utility reimbursement fee that is applicable to the provision of a communications service that the Federal Communications Commission has determined is an information service, as specified.
This measure would name the public street, circle, and plaza at 914 and 915 Capitol Mall in the City of Sacramento as the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Circle and Plaza. The measure would request the Department of General Services to determine the cost of erecting the appropriate signage commemorating this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources, to cover that cost to erect that signage.
(1) Existing law creates the Department of Human Resources, which succeeds to and is vested with all of the powers and duties exercised and performed by the Department of Personnel Administration. Existing law specifically grants the department the powers, duties, and authority necessary to operate the state civil service system in accordance with Article VII of the California Constitution, the Government Code, the merit principle, and applicable rules duly adopted by the State Personnel Board. Existing law requires the State Personnel Board to prescribe rules consistent with a merit-based civil service system to govern classifications, examinations, probationary periods, disciplinary actions, appointments, and other matters related to the board's authority under the California Constitution. Under existing state civil service law, the Department of Human Resources administers the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) to provide an alternative to the traditional civil service examination and appointment process to facilitate the hiring of persons with disabilities. Until January 1, 2021, the program includes persons with a developmental disability, as defined. Existing law, until January 1, 2021, specifies that LEAP is a voluntary, additional method of applying for state employment and is not a mandate on any state agency employer or job applicant, except as specified. Existing law also, until January 1, 2021, requires the department to develop and create an internship program, in coordination with specified state entities, and establish several related requirements to that effect. This bill would extend all of the above described LEAP program provisions indefinitely. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Human Resources, when an appointing power seeks to fill a vacant position by using an employment list, to provide the appointing power with a certified list of the names and addresses of all eligible candidates whose scores at the time of certification represent the 3 highest ranks on the list and who have indicated a willingness to accept appointment. Under existing law, if there is more than one employment list or LEAP referral list, the department is required to provide a single certified list of eligible candidates that combines the names and addresses of all eligible candidates. This bill would authorize an appointing power to fill a vacancy by making an examination appointment of a candidate from a LEAP referral list. The bill would also require the department, upon request of the appointing power, to provide the appointing power the referral list without combining that list with any parallel employment list. The bill would also require the Department of Human Resources, by July 1, 2020, after consultation with specified state entities and organizations representing persons with disabilities, to develop and implement a plan for expansion of LEAP. The bill would require the plan to identify statewide classifications that are not currently in the LEAP program, as specified, and to ensure that all statewide classifications are designated as LEAP-certified classes by June 30, 2022. The bill would authorize an individual who is eligible for LEAP to request the Department of Human Resources to assess if that individual meets the minimum qualifications and various other criteria for the program, and would require the department, if it concludes the individual meets those qualifications and criteria, to place that individual on the applicable referral list, as provided. The bill would also require the department to post information concerning LEAP on its internet website. (3) Existing law requires each state agency to develop and implement an affirmative action employment plan for individuals with a disability, including goals and timetables. The bill, until December 31, 2027, would additionally require the department to identify 5 state agencies or departments which, as of June 2019, have at least 100 employees and have the lowest representation rate of persons with disabilities, averaged over the 5-year period from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2019, inclusive. The bill would require the department, by June 30, 2020, to confer with each appointing power and require it to adopt or revise its affirmative action employment plan to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to positions in state service, and to set new goals and timetables for hiring persons with disabilities. The bill would require each appointing power to specify in that plan 2 or more of specified hiring strategies, and to agree to utilize those strategies by June 30, 2023. The bill would further require the department, by December 31, 2023, in consultation with specified state entities and organizations representing persons with disabilities, to report to the Legislature on the number of persons with disabilities hired by each appointing power, along with other specified information.
Existing law, the California Whistleblower Protection Act, prohibits an employee from interfering with a person's rights to disclose improper activity and be free from reprisal under the act. The act authorizes the California State Auditor to conduct an investigation upon receiving specific information that an employee or state agency has engaged in an improper governmental activity, as defined. The act applies to state agencies, as defined, and to the University of California, the California State University, and courts, as specified. The act requires the auditor to establish a means of submitting allegations of improper governmental activity, and generally requires the California State Auditor to keep confidential every investigation, including all investigative files and work product. Under the act, a person who intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats, coercion, or similar acts against a state employee or an applicant for state employment for having made a protected disclosure is subject to civil liability and criminal penalties. The act defines a "protected disclosure" to mean, among other things, a good faith communication that discloses information that may evidence an improper governmental activity. The act specifically includes in "protected disclosure" a good faith communication to the California State Auditor's Office alleging an improper governmental activity and any evidence delivered to the California State Auditor's Office in support of the allegation. Under the act, "protected disclosure" also includes, but is not limited to, a complaint made to the Commission on Judicial Performance. This bill would expand the definition of the term "protected disclosure" to include a complaint made to a Member of the Legislature, the Legislature, or any subdivision thereof. Because this bill would expand the definition of a crime, it 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 Department of Food and Agriculture, headed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. Existing law requires the department, among other things, to ensure the inclusion of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in developing, adopting, implementing, and enforcing food and agriculture laws, regulations, policies, and programs. This bill would enact the Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Act. The bill would authorize the secretary to carry out various activities to support rural communities and further the development of rural agricultural economies in California, including, among other things, consulting with government agencies and members of the public and private sectors to identify opportunities and partnerships to further the development of rural agricultural economies, and disseminating information on the department's internet website. The bill would require the secretary to create a position within the department's executive office to assist the secretary in carrying out the purposes of these provisions. The bill would create within the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund the Rural Economic Development Account, consisting of public and private moneys that are deposited in the account, and would make moneys in the account available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to carry out the purposes of these provisions.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would, until January 1, 2025, exempt from CEQA egress route projects undertaken by a public agency that are specifically recommended by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection that improve the fire safety of an existing subdivision if certain conditions are met. The bill would require the lead agency to hold a noticed public meeting to hear and respond to public comments before determining that a project is exempt. The bill would require the lead agency, if it determines that a project is not subject to CEQA and approves or carries out that project, to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research and with the clerk of the county in which the project will be located.