Asm. Jay Obernolte

This measure would declare the month of April 2016 as the Month of the Military Child.

This measure would designate April 3, 2016, to April 9, 2016, inclusive, as Women and Girls in STEM Week and would encourage all citizens and community organizations to support the observance of California Women and Girls in STEM Week by encouraging and celebrating women in the STEM fields.

This measure would declare the week of March 7, 2016, through March 13, 2016, as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles, in conformance with certain provisions in existing law relating to personal services contracts with private parties, to establish contracts for electronic programs that allow qualified private industry partners to join the department to provide title and vehicle registration transactions. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into contractual agreements with 3 specified types of private industry partners for this purpose, and to charge a transaction fee for the information and services provided. This bill would expand the services for which the department would be authorized to establish contracts with private industry partners as described above, to include processing and payment programs for driver's license renewals, as specified.

This measure would proclaim the month of March 2016 as Grand Jury Awareness Month in California, recognize those who volunteer in a grand jury, and encourage all Californians to learn about its role in the judicial system.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available, upon appropriation, for purposes relating to greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Existing law provides for deposit of revenues from sales and use taxes in the Retail Sales Tax Fund, including revenues from sales and use taxes imposed by local agencies under the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law. Existing law provides for revenues from 14 of 1% of the sales and use tax rate imposed by counties under the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law to be transferred from the Retail Sales Tax Fund to local transportation funds created in each county for allocation by transportation planning agencies to various transportation purposes under the Transportation Development Act. The California Constitution imposes certain restrictions on the Legislature relative to the provisions governing the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law and local transportation funds. This bill, beginning in the 2016–17 fiscal year, would transfer $1 billion annually from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the Retail Sales Tax Fund, subject to specified conditions, and would state that the transferred revenues shall be considered part of the revenues allocated to local transportation funds from the Retail Sales Tax Fund. The bill, in each fiscal year in which that transfer occurs, would also continuously appropriate $1 billion from the Retail Sales Tax Fund for allocation to state highway and local street and road purposes. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations in that regard.

Existing law requires the courts to provide, by rule, that a defendant may elect to have a trial by written declaration upon any alleged infraction involving a violation of a state statute or a local ordinance relating to vehicles, except as specified. Existing law requires the defendant to be granted a trial de novo if he or she is dissatisfied with a decision of the court in a proceeding pursuant to those provisions. This bill would delete the requirement that a defendant be granted a trial de novo under the above circumstances.

Existing law, the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, provides for the issuance of $9 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail purposes and $950,000,000 for other related rail purposes. Article XVI of the California Constitution requires measures authorizing general obligation bonds to specify the single object or work to be funded by the bonds and further requires a bond act to be approved by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and a majority of the voters. This bill would provide that no further bonds shall be sold for high-speed rail purposes pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, except as specifically provided with respect to an existing appropriation for high-speed rail purposes for early improvement projects in the Phase 1 blended system. The bill, subject to the above exception, would require redirection of the unspent proceeds received from outstanding bonds issued and sold for other high-speed rail purposes prior to the effective date of these provisions, upon appropriation, for use in retiring the debt incurred from the issuance and sale of those outstanding bonds. The bill, subject to the above exception, would also require the net proceeds of other bonds subsequently issued and sold under the high-speed rail portion of the bond act to be made available, upon appropriation, to fund projects in the State Highway Operation and Protection Program. The bill would make no changes to the authorization under the bond act for issuance of $950,000,000 for rail purposes other than high-speed rail. These provisions would become effective only upon approval by the voters at the next statewide election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.