Existing law designates certain individuals, such as teachers, peace officers, physicians, and clergy members, among others, as mandated reporters and requires them to report suspected child abuse or neglect to specified agencies whenever the mandated reporter, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their employment, knows of, or observes, a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires specified local agencies to forward those reports to the Department of Justice in writing of all cases the agencies investigate of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that are determined to be substantiated. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to be a repository of reports of suspected child abuse and severe neglect and to maintain those reports in the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) . Existing law prohibits a police or sheriff's department from forwarding to the Department of Justice a report of a case the police or sheriff's department investigates of known or suspected child abuse or neglect. This bill would authorize a police or sheriff's department to which a report of suspected child abuse or severe neglect is made on or after January 1, 2021, or that is investigating an open case for which a report of suspected child abuse or severe neglect was made on or before January 1, 2021, to forward to the Department of Justice a report in writing of its investigation of known or suspected child abuse or severe neglect that is determined to be substantiated. The bill would require a police or sheriff's department that forwards a report to comply with the same requirements placed on other reporting agencies and would require the police or sheriff's department to adopt notification and grievance procedures. The bill would prescribe minimum requirements for the notification and grievance procedures, including specifying timelines and rules governing the grievance hearing. The bill would also make conforming changes.
Sponsored bills
Existing law prohibits a person or entity from providing the operation of a voice recognition feature of a connected television within the state without prominently informing the specified user of the connected television during the initial setup or installation. Existing law prohibits any actual recordings of spoken word collected for a specified purpose through the operation of a voice recognition feature by the manufacturer of a connected television, or a contracting third party, from being sold or used for any advertising purpose. Existing law prohibits a person or entity from compelling a manufacturer or other entity providing the operation of a voice recognition feature to build specific features for the purpose of allowing an investigative or law enforcement officer to monitor communications through that feature. Existing law limits the liability of a manufacturer to functionality provided at the time of the original sale of a connected television and specifically excludes liability for functionality provided by applications the user chooses to use in the cloud or that are downloaded and installed by a user. Existing law prohibits a waiver of these prohibitions and authorizes their enforcement by injunction or civil penalty in a court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or a district attorney. Existing law defines terms for these purposes. This bill would include smart speaker devices, as defined, in those provisions, thereby prohibiting, among other things, a person or entity from providing the operation of a voice recognition feature within the state without prominently informing the user during the initial setup or installation of a smart speaker device. The bill would prohibit any actual recordings or transcriptions collected or retained through the operation of a voice recognition feature by the manufacturer of a connected television or smart speaker device, that qualify as personal information or that are not deidentified, from being used for any advertising purpose, or being shared with, or sold to, a third party, unless the user has provided affirmative written consent, as defined. The bill would also prohibit them from being retained by the manufacturer, as specified, unless the user opts in to having that recording retained by the manufacturer either during installation or at a later time in the device settings. The bill would revise existing definitions and define additional terms for its purposes.
The California Endangered Species Act requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species and to add a species to, or remove a species from, either list if it finds, upon the receipt of sufficient scientific information, and based solely upon the best available scientific information, that the action is warranted. The act requires a petition for the listing or delisting of a species to include, at a minimum, sufficient scientific information that the petitioned action may be warranted, including information regarding the population trend, range, distribution, abundance, and life history of the species, the factors affecting the ability of the population to survive and reproduce, and the degree and immediacy of the threat. The act requires the commission to accept a petition for consideration if the commission finds that the petition provides sufficient information to indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted. If a petition accepted for consideration proposes to add a species to either list, the act requires the commission to publish a notice that the species is a candidate species. The act establishes procedures and timelines for the review of an accepted petition for a candidate species. Under the act, the commission may authorize the taking of any candidate species, subject to terms and conditions it prescribes and based on the best available scientific information, if the take is consistent with the act. This bill would require the commission to accept a petition for consideration concurrent with a taking if the commission finds that the petition provides sufficient information to indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted, but the geographic proliferation of the species may lead to significant economic hardship or an impact on critical infrastructure during the above-described review of an accepted petition, and if a preponderance of the evidence presented in the petition shows there is no direct threat to the species that would lead to its decline during that period. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Constitution limits the amount of ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property, defined as the county assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill and, thereafter, the appraised value of the property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership occurs after the 1975 assessment, subject to an annual inflation adjustment not to exceed 2%. The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to authorize a person over 55 years of age or any severely and permanently disabled person residing in property eligible for the homeowner's exemption to transfer the base year value of that property to a replacement dwelling of equal or lesser value located in the same county, or another county that has adopted an ordinance allowing base years value transfers from other counties, as provided. The California Constitution also provides that the purchase or transfer of the principal residence, and the first $1,000,000 of other real property, of a transferor in the case of a transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased, is not a "purchase" or "change in ownership" for purposes of determining the "full cash value" of property for taxation. This measure, beginning on and after April 1, 2021, would authorize an owner of a primary residence who is over 55 years of age, severely disabled, or a victim of a wildfire or natural disaster, as defined, to transfer the taxable value, defined as the base year value plus inflation adjustments, of their primary residence to a replacement primary residence located anywhere in the state, regardless of the location or value of the replacement primary residence, that is purchased or newly constructed as that person's principal residence within 2 years of the sale of the original primary residence. The measure would limit a person who is over 55 years of age or severely disabled to 3 transfers under these provisions. The measure, beginning on and after February 16, 2021, would exclude from the terms "purchase" and "change in ownership" for purposes of determining the "full cash value" of property the purchase or transfer of a family home or family farm, as those terms are defined, of the transferor in the case of a transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased. In the case of a transfer of a family home, the measure would require that the property continue as the family home of the transferee. The measure would require that the taxable value of the property be determined as provided. In the case of property tax benefits provided to a family home under these provisions, the bill would require the transferee to claim the homeowner's or disabled veteran's exemption within one year of the transfer. The measure would specify that the above-described provisions relating to transfers between parents or grandparents and children or grandchildren would apply to transfers occurring on or before February 15, 2021. The measure would establish the California Fire Response Fund in the State Treasury. The measure would require the Controller to annually transfer a specified amount, based on calculations by the Director of Finance, of the additional revenues and savings that accrued to the state from the implementation of this measure's provisions from the General Fund to that fund. However, the measure would provide that, if the amount required to be transferred to the California Fire Response Fund exceeds the amount transferred for the previous fiscal year by more than 10%, that excess amount would not be transferred to the California Fire Response Fund. The measure would require the Legislature to appropriate moneys in the fund solely for the purpose of funding fire suppression staffing by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and underfunded special districts that provide fire protection services, as provided. The measure would also establish the County Revenue Protection Fund and continuously appropriate moneys in that fund for the purpose of reimbursing eligible local agencies, as provided. The measure would require the Controller to annually transfer a specified amount, based on the above-described calculations by the Director of Finance, from the General Fund to that fund. The measure would require each county to annually determine the gain of the county and any local agency within the county resulting from the implementation of this measure and, if that amount of gain is negative, provide that specified eligible local agencies may receive a reimbursement from the County Revenue Protection Fund. The measure would require the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to provide a reimbursement to each eligible local agency that has a negative gain, determined every 3 years based on the aggregate gain of the eligible local agency, as provided, and require the Controller to transfer any remaining balance in the County Revenue Protection Fund to the General Fund at the end of each 3-year period, to be available for appropriation for any purpose.
This measure would proclaim March 2, 2020, to March 6, 2020, inclusive, as School Breakfast Week.
This measure would urge the President of the United States to declare June 19, commonly known as "Juneteenth Independence Day," as a federal holiday.
This measure would declare the week of February 17 to February 21, 2020, inclusive, as California Fitness Week, and would encourage Californians to enrich their lives through proper nutrition and exercise.
This measure would proclaim February 20, 2020, as Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.
This measure would recognize February 2020 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents of African Americans and the achievements and contributions they make to their communities to create equity and equality for education, economics, and social justice, and recognize the significance in protecting citizens' right to vote and remedying racial discrimination in voting.