Existing law, administered by the State Department of Social Services, provides for the establishment of a statewide electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for the purpose of providing financial and food assistance benefits to needy Californians. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to the law relating to the EBT system.
Existing law provides that a county highway, once established, shall continue to be a county highway until abandoned by order of the board of supervisors, by operation of law, or by judgment of a court. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to this provision.
This resolution would recognize the month of January 2012, and each following January, as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and it would recognize February 1, 2012, and each following February 1, as California's Free From Slavery Day.
(1) Existing law requires an arresting agency to notify the appropriate federal agency if the arresting agency has reason to believe that a person arrested for the possession, transportation, sale, or giving away of specified controlled substances may not be a citizen of the United States. This bill would, in addition, require an arresting authority to report to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement the presence of a person if the person is arrested for driving while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or drug, or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and drug and the person fails to provide the arresting authority with appropriate documentation demonstrating his or her legal presence in the United States. Because an arresting agency includes a local agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by increasing the duties of local law enforcement officials. (2) 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, authorize a credit under the Personal Income Tax Law for qualified costs, as defined, paid by a taxpayer for specified fees charged by the Department of Motor Vehicles for a qualified vehicle, as provided. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Vehicle License Fee Law, in lieu of any ad valorem property tax upon vehicles, imposes an annual license fee for any vehicle subject to registration in this state in the amount of 1% of the market value of that vehicle, as provided, for a specified amount of time. Existing law also, until July 1, 2011, imposes an additional tax equal to 0.15% of the market value of specified vehicles, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to the vehicle license fee, to be deposited in the General Fund and transferred to the Local Safety and Protection Account, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law provides that money in the account shall be allocated for various public safety programs, as provided. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2011, and each July 1 thereafter for a transfer $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the account total of 5 years, as provided. By transferring funds to a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program for the allocation of federal funds received through the TANF program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law provides that a parent or caretaker relative shall not be eligible for CalWORKs aid when he or she has received aid for a cumulative total of 60 months. Existing law excludes months in which certain conditions exist from being counted as a month of receipt of aid for these purposes. This bill would revise the requirements for providing aid under the CalWORKs program by replacing the existing time limits on receipt of aid with a 6-month limit, operative 90 days after the effective date of the bill. Existing law requires every county and every city and county to relieve and support all incompetent, poor, indigent persons, and those incapacitated by age, disease, or accident, lawfully residing in the county or city and county, when those persons are not supported and relieved by their relatives or friends, by their own means, or by state hospitals or other state or private institutions. Under existing law, an individual who is not eligible for CalWORKs aid because of the time limitation, is ineligible for county assistance until all of the children of the individual on whose behalf aid was received, whether or not currently living in the home with the individual, are 18 years of age or older. Existing law also provides that such an individual is ineligible for county assistance if he or she is ineligible for CalWORKs aid due to the imposition of a sanction or penalty. This bill would extend the provisions for ineligibility for county assistance to a child who is ineligible for CalWORKs aid due to the 6-month time limit required by the bill, or due to the imposition of a sanction or penalty, as specified. This bill would make various conforming changes and would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to conform other CalWORKs program provisions to a 6-month time limit on aid.
Existing law establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with primary jurisdiction over the regulation of air pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions. Existing law creates the state board within the California Environmental Protection Agency with prescribed membership. This bill would abolish the State Air Resources Board and transfer its authority, duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction to the California Environmental Protection Agency.
The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public Employees' Retirement System, which provides a defined benefit to its members based on age at retirement, service credit, and final compensation. PERL defines "final compensation" for purposes of calculating a member's retirement allowance. The State Teachers' Retirement Law, the Judges' Retirement System II Law, and the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 also provide for a defined benefit based on age at retirement, service credit, and final compensation. This bill, for persons first hired on and after January 1, 2012, for the purpose of determining any pension or benefit with respect to a public entity defined benefit retirement system, would prohibit the inclusion of credit for accrued leave of any form or credit for overtime work in the calculation of final compensation, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. This bill would appropriate the sum of $7,300,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for specified veterans' services.
