Asm. Devon Mathis

This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration.

This resolution would recognize the month of January 2017 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month in California.

This measure would designate that January 16, 2017, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America.

Existing workers' compensation law generally requires employers to secure the payment of workers' compensation, including medical treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, or in the course of, employment. Existing law requires the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation to appoint qualified medical evaluators in each of the respective specialties as required for the evaluation of medical-legal issues, including medical doctors and osteopaths who meet specified requirements, including, among others, that the evaluator is board certified in a specialty by a board recognized by the administrative director and the appropriate regulatory board, or the evaluator has successfully completed a residency training program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Existing law also provides that the requirements for a psychologist to be appointed as an evaluator include either being board certified in clinical psychology by a board recognized by the administrative director, holding a doctoral degree in psychology or a doctoral degree sufficient for licensure, and having at least 5 years of specified experience, or having at least 5 years of postdoctoral experience and having previously served as a medical evaluator. This bill would provide that a medical doctor or osteopath who has successfully completed a residency or fellowship program accredited by a predecessor to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education would satisfy the residency training requirement. The bill would provide that a person who is certified in neuropsychology by specified boards or organizations, or who is a clinical psychologist licensed to practice in the state, holds a doctoral degree in psychology, and has at least 2 years of specified experience and training, and has served as an agreed medical evaluator in neuropsychology on 5 or more occasions may be appointed by the administrative director as a qualified medical evaluator in neuropsychology. The bill would state findings and declarations of the Legislature relative to the need for neuropsychologists in the workers' compensation system. The bill would make additional technical, nonsubstantive changes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law regulates secondhand dealers and coin dealers, and makes it unlawful for a person to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer without a license issued by the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission. Existing law also regulates pawnbrokers. Existing law requires a local law enforcement agency to issue a license to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer or pawnbroker to an applicant who has not been convicted of an offense involving stolen property. Existing law requires a secondhand dealer to report, as specified, to the chief of police or sheriff all secondhand "tangible personal property," as defined, purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning. Existing law requires the report to include, among other things, the identification of the intended seller or pledger of the property, verified by the person taking the information by specified methods. Existing law requires the reporting of this information to the Department of Justice through a single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to develop descriptive categories and secondhand dealers and coin dealers to use these categories in their reports. This bill would define "CAPSS" as the California Pawn and SecondhandDealer System, which is the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system operated by the Department of Justice. The bill would eliminate the requirement that a secondhand dealer send reports on paper forms. The bill would eliminate the requirements that the Department of Justice develop, and secondhand dealers and coin dealers use, descriptive categories in their reports of acquired tangible personal property. Instead, the bill would require the Department of Justice to accept the properly spelled and non-abbreviated plain text property descriptions commonly recognized and utilized by the pawn and secondhand dealer industries. The bill would require a secondhand dealer to provide a property description in an article field descriptor, as specified. This bill would prohibit the Department of Justice, chiefs of police, and sheriffs from requiring secondhand dealers to report any additional information other than that which is required by these provisions. The bill would require that a future change to the reporting requirements of CAPSS that substantively alters the reporting standards be implemented and operated in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act and prohibit the Department of Justice from taking any action with respect to the implementation, operation, or maintenance of CAPSS by adoption of an emergency regulation. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to convene a meeting with the Department of Technology to discuss issues pertaining to any proposed changes or upgrades, and authorize the Department of Technology to provide technological assistance for ongoing improvements, updates, or changes, to CAPSS. Existing law provides an exception to the reporting requirement for the acquisition of the same property from the same customer within 12 months of a reported transfer, except when submission of the report is specifically requested in writing by the local authorities. This bill would expand the reporting requirement exception to all acquisitions of the same property from the same customer within 12 months of a reported transfer. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act, an initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 35 at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election (CASE Act) , requires a person who is subject to the Sex Offender Registration Act (the Act) to list any and all Internet identifiers established or used by the person and any and all Internet service providers used by the person on his or her sex offender registration. The CASE Act requires a person subject to sex offender registration to send written notice of any addition of, or change to, an Internet identifier or Internet service provider to the law enforcement agency with which he or she is currently registered within 24 hours. Existing case law currently enjoins the application of the above provisions of the CASE Act through the imposition of a preliminary injunction on the grounds that these provisions violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The CASE Act allows its provisions to be amended by a statute in furtherance of its objectives passed in each house of the Legislature by a majority vote of the membership. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to amend the CASE Act to further its objectives. The bill would delete the requirement that a person subject to sex offender registration list on his or her sex offender registration all Internet service providers used by him or her. The bill would require a person who is convicted of a felony on or after January 1, 2017, that requires registration pursuant to the Act, and one or more specified circumstances, including that the person used the Internet to collect any private information to identify a victim of the crime to further the commission of the crime, to register his or her Internet identifiers, as defined, and to send written notice to the law enforcement agency or agencies with which he or she is currently registered within 30 days of establishing or changing an Internet identifier, as specified. The bill would require a law enforcement agency to which this information has been submitted to make the information available to the Department of Justice. The bill would require a designated law enforcement entity to only use an Internet identifier submitted pursuant to these provisions, or to release that Internet identifier to another law enforcement entity, for the purpose of investigating a sex-related crime, a kidnapping, or human trafficking. The bill would prohibit a designated law enforcement entity from disclosing or authorizing persons or entities to disclose an Internet identifier submitted pursuant to these provisions to the public or other persons, except as required by court order. Existing law makes a person who is required to register under the Act based on a misdemeanor conviction or juvenile adjudication who willfully violates any requirement of the act guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year. This bill would make a person who fails to provide his or her Internet identifiers, as required by the bill, regardless of the offense upon which the duty to register is based, guilty of a misdemeanor punishable in a county jail not exceeding 6 months. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes. 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. 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.

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including certain credits that are allowed in modified conformity to credits allowed by federal income tax laws. Federal income tax laws allow a refundable earned income tax credit for certain low-income individuals who have earned income from specified sources and who meet certain other requirements. The Personal Income Tax Law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income credit against personal income tax, and a payment from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for an allowable credit in excess of tax liability, to an eligible individual in an amount determined in accordance with federal law as applicable for federal income tax purposes for the taxable year, multiplied by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as specified. Existing law creates the Tax Relief and Refund Account, which is continuously appropriated, and provides that required payments to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account, including amounts allowable as an earned income credit in excess of any tax liability. The Personal Income Tax Law provides that the amount of the credit is calculated as a percentage of the eligible individual's earned income and is phased out above a specified amount as income increases. Under existing law, the credit percentage and the phaseout percentage is based on the number of qualifying children of the eligible individual. Existing law provides, in modified conformity with federal income tax law, in the case of an eligible individual with 3 or more qualifying children, for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2016, the credit percentage and phaseout percentage is 45%, and for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, the credit percentage and phaseout percentage is the same as for an eligible individual with 2 or more children, which is 40%. This bill, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2016, would instead provide that, in the case of an eligible individual with 3 or more qualifying children, the credit percentage and phaseout percentage is 45%, thereby increasing the credit percentage and the phaseout percentage for those eligible individuals for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2016. By increasing the allowable credit amount, this bill would authorize new payments from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for additional amounts in excess of personal income tax liabilities, thereby making an appropriation.

Existing law requires the Flag of the United States and the Flag of the State of California to be prominently displayed during business hours upon or in front of the buildings or grounds of each public building belonging to the state, a county, or a municipality, among other places. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2017, require any Flag of the United States or the Flag of the State of California purchased by the state or any local government agency be made in the United States.