Existing law provides various programs to expand access to persons with disabilities and promote compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Existing law establishes the Capital Access Loan Program, which is administered by the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (authority) to assist small businesses to finance the costs of complying with environmental mandates and the remediation of contamination on their properties. This bill would establish the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program within the Capital Access Loan Program, to create a self-sustaining program to provide loans to assist small businesses in financing the costs of projects that alter or retrofit existing small business facilities, meeting specified criteria, to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. This bill would authorize the authority to administer the program, including adopting regulations, and controlling funds appropriated for the program, as specified. This bill would establish the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund, as a continuously appropriated fund, and require the authority to use the fund for all its purposes. This bill would also transfer $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Existing law enacted by the Legislature requires the establishment of a program for the issuance of identification cards to qualified patients so that they may lawfully use marijuana for medical purposes, and requires the establishment of guidelines for the lawful cultivation of marijuana grown for medical use. Existing law provides for the licensure of various professions by boards or bureaus within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, provides for the regulation of food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics, as specified. A violation of that law is a crime. This bill, among other things, would enact the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act for the licensure and regulation of medical marijuana and would establish within the Department of Consumer Affairs the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, under the supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. The bill would require the director to administer and enforce the provisions of the act. This bill would also require the Board of Equalization, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, to adopt a system for reporting the movement of commercial cannabis and cannabis products. This bill would impose certain fines and civil penalties for specified violations of the act, and would require moneys collected as a result of these fines and civil penalties to be deposited into the Medical Cannabis Fines and Penalties Account. (2) Under existing law, certain persons with identification cards, who associate within the state in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, are not solely on the basis of that fact subject to specified state criminal sanctions. This bill would repeal these provisions upon the issuance of licenses by licensing authorities pursuant to the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, as specified, and would instead provide that actions of licensees with the relevant local permits, in accordance with the act and applicable local ordinances, are not offenses subject to arrest, prosecution, or other sanction under state law. (3) This bill would provide that its provisions are severable. (4) 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. (5) 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. (6) The bill would provide that it shall become operative only if SB 643 and AB 243 of the 2015–16 Regular Session are also enacted and become operative.
Existing law prohibits the taking or possession of any fully protected fish, except as provided, and designates the unarmored threespine stickleback as a fully protected fish. The California Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except as specified. The Department of Fish and Wildlife may authorize the take of listed species if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity and the impacts are minimized and fully mitigated. This bill would permit the department to authorize, under the California Endangered Species Act, the take of the unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) resulting from impacts attributable to the habitat restoration project to restore, maintain, and improve riparian habitat on public lands in a prescribed portion of Bouquet Creek and projects to restore the flow capacity to Bouquet Creek in Bouquet Canyon on public lands, as specified, if certain conditions are satisfied. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 5515 of the Fish and Game Code, proposed by AB 1527, to be operative only if AB 1527 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides for the construction and operation of various toll bridges by the state, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, and private entities that have entered into a franchise agreement with the state. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, prohibit a toll from being imposed on the passage of a pedestrian or bicycle over these various toll bridges.
Existing federal law provides for construction funding assistance for elementary and secondary public schools that are located on United States military installations and that meet specified criteria. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that assistance be provided to school districts in the 2015–16 fiscal year to meet the matching share requirement of a school construction grant made by the Office of Economic Adjustment of the federal Department of Defense to construct, renovate, repair, or expand elementary and secondary public schools located on military installations. The bill would require the Department of Finance to explore options, including, but not necessarily limited to, making low-interest loans available to school districts through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, on how best to assist school districts in meeting the matching share requirement of the federal school construction grant referenced in the bill.
Existing law subjects any person under 18 years of age who commits a crime to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge that person to be a ward of the court, except as specified. Under existing law, juvenile court proceedings to declare a minor a ward of the court are commenced by the filing of a petition by the probation officer, the district attorney after consultation with the probation officer, or the prosecuting attorney, as specified. Existing law requires the juvenile court to order the petition of a minor who is subject to the jurisdiction of the court dismissed if the minor satisfactorily completes a term of probation or an informal program of supervision, as specified, and requires the court to seal all records in the custody of the juvenile court pertaining to that dismissed petition, except that the prosecuting attorney and the probation department of any county may have access to the records for the limited purpose of determining whether the minor is eligible for deferred entry of judgment. This bill would additionally authorize the prosecuting attorney and the probation department to have access to the records for the limited purpose of determining a minor's eligibility for informal supervision and would authorize the probation department of any county to have access to the records for the limited purpose of meeting federal Title IV-B and Title IV-E compliance. The bill would also authorize the probation department to access the records for the limited purpose of identifying the minor's previous court-ordered programs or placements, as specified. The bill would also authorize a law enforcement agency, probation department, court, or other local agency that has custody of the sealed record to access the record, as specified. This bill would incorporate changes to Section 786 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by both this bill and AB 666, which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last.
(1) Existing law authorizes certain persons, including, among others, any person 16 years of age or older, to have his or her proficiency in basic skills taught in public high schools verified according to criteria established by the State Department of Education. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to award a certificate of proficiency to persons who demonstrate that proficiency. Existing law requires the department to develop standards of competency in basic skills taught in public high schools and to provide for the administration of examinations prepared by, or with the approval of, the department to verify competency. Existing law authorizes the department to charge a fee for each examination application in an amount sufficient to recover the costs of administering the requirements of these provisions, but prohibits the fee from exceeding an amount equal to the cost of test renewal and administration per examination application. This bill would prohibit the department from charging the fee to a homeless child or youth who is under 25 years of age and can verify his or her status as a homeless child or youth. The bill would authorize a homeless services provider, as defined, that has knowledge of the examinee's housing status to verify the examinee's status for purposes of these provisions. The bill would provide that no additional state funds shall be appropriated for purposes of implementing the above provisions. The bill would authorize the state board to adopt emergency regulations for purposes of these provisions. (2) Existing law separately requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue a high school equivalency certificate and an official score report, or an official score report only, to a person who has not completed high school and who meets specified requirements, including, among others, having taken all or a portion of a general education development test that has been approved by the state board and administered by a testing center approved by the department, with a score determined by the state board to be equal to the standard of performance expected from high school graduates. Existing law authorizes the Superintendent to charge an examinee a one-time fee to pay costs related to administering these provisions and issuing a certificate, as specified. Existing law limits the amount of the fee to $20 per person and requires each scoring contractor to forward that fee to the Superintendent. This bill would, for purposes of those provisions, prohibit a contractor or testing center that charges its own separate fee from charging that separate fee to a homeless child or youth who is under 25 years of age and can verify his or her status as a homeless child or youth. The bill would authorize a homeless services provider, as defined, that has knowledge of the examinee's housing status to verify the examinee's status for purposes of these provisions. The bill would provide that no additional state funds shall be appropriated for purposes of implementing these provisions, and would authorize the Superintendent to adopt emergency regulations for purposes of these provisions. (3) Existing law establishes in the State Treasury a Special Deposit Fund Account, which consists of certain fees, and is continuously appropriated for the support of the department to be used for purposes of the provisions above relating to high school equivalency tests. This bill would authorize the Superintendent, until July 1, 2019, to use surplus funds, as defined, in the Special Deposit Fund Account to reimburse contractors for the loss of fees, if any, pursuant to provisions above relating to high school equivalency tests. By authorizing the expenditure of money in a continuously appropriated fund for a new purpose, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require a contract executed by the department for the provision of those tests to require a contracting party to accept all examinees, including those entitled to a fee waiver pursuant to those provisions. The bill also would require the department to include a provision in all memorandums of understanding with contractors for purposes of providing a high school equivalency test, that if the surplus funds in the Special Deposit Fund Account are depleted, the ongoing costs of a fee waiver for an examinee deemed eligible for a waiver shall be absorbed by the contractor. (4) This bill also would require the department, on or before December 1, 2018, to submit 2 reports to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, one relating to high school proficiency tests, and one relating to high school equivalency tests, that each include, among other things, the number of homeless youth that took a high school proficiency or equivalency test in each of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 calendar years, and the impact of the opportunity to take a high school proficiency or equivalency test at no cost on the number and percentage of homeless youth taking a high school proficiency or equivalency test.
Existing law authorizes the court, in addition to any other penalty in an infraction, misdemeanor, or felony case, to impose a civil assessment of up to $300 against any defendant who fails, after notice and without good cause, to appear in court for any proceeding authorized by law, or who fails to pay all or any portion of a fine ordered by the court or to pay an installment of bail, as specified. Existing law provides that the assessment shall not become effective until at least 10 calendar days after the court mails a warning notice to the defendant, and requires the court, if the defendant appears within the time specified in the notice and shows good cause for the failure to appear or for the failure to pay a fine or installment of bail, to vacate the assessment. This bill would instead provide that the assessment would not become effective until at least 20 calendar days after the court mails a warning notice to the defendant. The bill would provide that payment of bail, fines, penalties, fees, or a civil assessment is not required in order for the court to vacate the assessment at the time the person makes an appearance, as specified. The bill would also provide that payment of a civil assessment is not required to schedule a court hearing on a pending underlying charge. Existing law requires a county to establish an amnesty program for fines and bail initially due on or before January 1, 2013, for Vehicle Code infractions to be conducted in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Judicial Council. Existing law requires the program to accept payments from October 1, 2015, to March 31, 2017, inclusive. Eligibility criteria for the program include, among other things, that the person is not currently making payments to a comprehensive collection program for fines or bail already due, as specified. This bill would revise that criterion to make a person eligible for the program if he or she has not made any payments after September 30, 2015, to a comprehensive collection program for fines or bail already due. The bill would authorize the Judicial Council to consider, adopt, or develop recommendations for an appropriate mechanism to allow reinstatement of the driving privileges of a person who otherwise meets the criteria for amnesty but who has violations in more than one county. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to immediately suspend a person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle for a specified period of time if the person has driven a motor vehicle when the person had a certain blood-alcohol concentration. Existing law authorizes certain individuals, whose privilege is suspended pursuant to that provision to receive a restricted driver's license if specified requirements are met, including the completion of specified periods of license suspension or revocation. Existing law also requires the department to immediately suspend or revoke a person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle if the person has been convicted of violating specified provisions prohibiting driving a motor vehicle under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or drug or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and drug, or with 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood or while addicted to the use of any drug, with or without bodily injury to another. Existing law authorizes certain individuals whose privilege is suspended or revoked pursuant to that provision to receive a restricted driver's license if specified requirements are met, including the completion of specified periods of license suspension or revocation and, in some instances, the installation of an ignition interlock device on the person's vehicle. Existing law does not permit a person who has been convicted of a first offense of driving a motor vehicle under the influence, with injury, to receive a restricted driver's license. Existing law also requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish a pilot program from July 1, 2010, to January 1, 2016, inclusive, in the Counties of Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Tulare that requires, as a condition of being issued a restricted driver's license, being reissued a driver's license, or having the privilege to operate a motor vehicle reinstated subsequent to a conviction for any violation of the above offenses, a person to install for a specified period of time an ignition interlock device on all vehicles he or she owns or operates. This bill would extend the operation of that pilot program until July 1, 2017. This bill would make these provisions relating to the pilot program inoperative on July 1, 2017, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2018.
This measure would proclaim April 12 through April 19, 2015, as California Holocaust Memorial Week and would urge Californians to observe these days of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.