Existing law requires the Director of Health Care Services to, among other things, maintain or enter into contracts directly with nonprofit caregiver resource centers (CRCs) to provide direct services to caregivers of cognitively impaired adults, as defined, throughout the state. This bill would establish, until January 1, 2024, a pilot program, administered by the director, pursuant to which the CRCs would select, train, and place volunteers to provide care to persons who are at least 65 years of age or who have a cognitive impairment and meet specified criteria. The bill would establish selection criteria for prospective volunteers and specified training requirements. The bill would require the CRCs to provide a stipend and an educational award, as specified, to volunteers. The bill would require the director to appoint an advisory council and would require the director and the advisory council to evaluate the program, as specified.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture and requires it to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. This bill would establish the Agricultural Growth Council, with a prescribed membership of specified state agencies and public members, to plan for regulatory alignments that would aid grower compliance, reduce costs to the agriculture industry, and protect the environment and to make recommendations for regulatory alignments to the proper agency or department. The bill would require the council, if the council determines that it is impossible for a person, and similarly situated persons, to comply with one or more regulations due to conflicting regulatory requirements, to suspend the application of one or more of the conflicting requirements to those persons as necessary to resolve the conflict. The bill would provide for the continued suspension of a requirement or requirements as to those persons until all applicable agencies have resolved the original conflict and provided clear direction on how to achieve compliance with the previously conflicting requirements. The bill would require the department to create a user-friendly navigational link on its Internet Web site that provides farmers and other members of the agricultural industry comprehensive information about regulatory requirements, and guidance, for operating and managing a farm. The bill would require the department to encourage community college districts, California state universities, the University of California, and state and county fairgrounds to establish and maintain smart farms, as described by the bill, on the respective campuses or fairgrounds to provide regional agricultural businesses the opportunity to show up-to-date agricultural technology, as defined by the bill, in real world practice. (2) Existing law provides for a department of agriculture in each county and for the appointment of a county agricultural commissioner. The county agricultural commissioner has specified duties, including making an annual report to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture on the condition of agriculture in his or her county, attending the annual meeting of the California Agricultural Commissioners Association, and consulting with staff members of various federal departments. This bill would require the county agricultural commissioner, in completing the annual report, to also conduct a survey of Internet accessibility on farms and in rural communities in his or her county to identify gaps in Internet accessibility on farms that create hurdles to the adoption of agricultural technology. By creating additional duties on local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and the California State University as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law, the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act, requires community colleges to create associate degrees for transfer that meet the requirements of approved transfer model curricula, which are developed and vetted through a process known as the Course Identification Numbering System process. Existing law requires the California State University to guarantee, to a student holding a transfer model curriculum-aligned associate degree for transfer, admission to a corresponding program or major and concentration, as specified, of the California State University. This bill would require the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to direct the statewide Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to engage in the Course Identification Numbering System process to explore the feasibility of developing, within established transfer model curricula for agricultural disciplines, a model curriculum in the subdiscipline of Agricultural Business and Technology that focuses on agricultural technology. (4) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, in an amount, as specified, for agricultural technology deployed for at least 3 consecutive months during the taxable year. The bill would establish the Agriculture Technology Innovation Institute within the Department of Food and Agriculture, or as a part of another public entity that may otherwise be designated by an interagency agreement between the department and the public entity, to, among other things, administer these credits. (5) Existing law creates the Employment Development Department within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, which is vested with the duties, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction regarding job creation activities. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to include in the annual Budget Act an appropriation of moneys to the Labor Market Information Division within the Employment Development Department for the purpose of performing agricultural industry statistical analysis and examining the economic impact and employment effect the agricultural industry has on the state. (6) This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to include in the Budget Act of 2019, or annually in the Budget Act, as provided, appropriations in specified amounts from the General Fund for specified purposes relating to agriculture. (7) 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. Under existing law, a child who is placed in the approved home of a relative is eligible for AFDC-FC if he or she is eligible for federal financial participation in the AFDC-FC payment, as specified. Existing law establishes the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program (ARC) for the purpose of making the amount paid to relative caregivers for the in-home care of children placed with them who are ineligible for AFDC-FC payments equal to the amount paid on behalf of children who are eligible for AFDC-FC payments. Existing law provides for the temporary or emergency placement of dependent children of the juvenile court and nonminor dependents with relative caregivers or nonrelative extended family members under specified circumstances. Existing law requires counties, until June 30, 2018, to provide an emergency assistance payment or ARC payment to an emergency caregiver who meets specified requirements, and is caring for a child or nonminor dependent placed in the caregiver's home under specified circumstances, if the child or nonminor dependent resides in California, and is not otherwise eligible for AFDC-FC or ARC. Existing law requires the payments to be made either through ARC or through the TANF block grant emergency assistance program for child welfare services, as specified. This bill would extend indefinitely the requirement that counties provide an emergency assistance payment or ARC payment to an emergency caregiver, but would remove the requirement that the child or nonminor dependent reside in California and not otherwise be eligible for AFDC-FC or ARC. Existing law provides for the implementation of the resource family approval process, which replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families. Existing law defines a resource family as an individual or family that has successfully met both home environment assessment standards and permanency assessment criteria, as specified, necessary for providing care for a child placed by a public or private child placement agency by court order, or voluntarily placed by a parent or legal guardian. This bill would authorize a county to waive the permanency assessment criteria and approve an individual or family as a resource family upon completion of a home environment assessment if exceptional circumstances exist, as specified. The bill would require the county to document the reason for the waiver and indicate its applicability to a specific child. The bill would require the permanency assessment to be completed as soon as possible and no later than the annual update of the resource family approval. This bill would require a county welfare department, immediately following the placement of a child in the home of a relative or nonrelative extended family member who has not been approved as a resource family, to initiate funding through an emergency assistance payment or ARC payment, as specified. By expanding the duties of counties relating to foster care, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act establishes the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program to provide low-income households with access to affordable basic residential telephone service. Existing law requires each lifeline telephone service subscriber to be provided with one lifeline subscription, as defined by the commission, at his or her principal place of residence, and bars from lifeline service eligibility any other member of that lifeline subscriber's family or household, as defined, who maintains residence at that principal place of residence. This bill would instead bar from lifeline service eligibility any member of a group of individuals who are living together with a lifeline subscriber at the same address and as one economic unit, as defined, and would assert that multiple lifeline subscribers may maintain the same principal place of residence. The bill would require the commission to ensure all eligible individuals are provided with information about the lifeline program and given equal opportunities to subscribe to the lifeline service, and would require the commission, as part of that outreach, to maximize the participation of all groups, including students, veterans, and the formerly incarcerated. The bill would require the commission to develop outreach and enrollment programs for the formerly incarcerated and for veterans. The bill would require the commission to consider accepting alternative forms of identification to increase participation in the lifeline program for certain purposes. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order, decision, or rule of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make public records available for inspection by the public, subject to specified criteria and with specified exceptions. Existing law exempts from disclosure any investigatory or security file compiled by any other state or local police agency, or any investigatory or security files compiled by any other state or local agency for correctional, law enforcement, or licensing purposes. Existing law requires, however, that state and local law enforcement agencies make public specified information, including names of victims, relating to the circumstances surrounding all complaints or requests for assistance, among other things, except to the extent that disclosure of a particular item of information would endanger the safety of a person involved in the investigation. Existing law allows victims of specified crimes to request that their names be withheld from any public records request, and upon that request prohibits law enforcement agencies from disclosing those names except under specified circumstances. Existing law additionally prohibits law enforcement agencies from disclosing the addresses of victims of specified crimes. This bill would require, subject to exceptions, disclosure of specified information regarding persons involved in criminal investigations, including the full name of a victim, unless a law enforcement agency determines that disclosure of a particular item of information would endanger the completion of the investigation or a related investigation, or would endanger the safety of a person involved in an investigation, including a victim or witness, pursuant to the California Public Records Act. The bill would authorize a law enforcement agency, when determining if disclosure of a particular item of information would endanger a person involved in the investigation, to consider a request by the person that a particular item of information be withheld from disclosure if the person presents evidence that disclosure would endanger the person's safety. The bill would, for certain gang-related offenses, if a determination has been made by a law enforcement agency that release of the victim's or witness's name would endanger the victim or witness, prohibit the law enforcement agency from disclosing the names of victims and witnesses involved in those gang-related offenses, except under specified circumstances. The bill would require law enforcement to inform a victim or witness of certain gang-related offenses that their name will be disclosed unless a law enforcement agency determines disclosure would endanger their safety, and that they may request that their name be withheld by law enforcement if the person provides evidence to the law enforcement agency that disclosure of the person's name would endanger the person's safety, and would authorize a law enforcement agency to consider that when making the determination. By imposing new duties on law enforcement agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the commission to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total number of kilowatthours of those products sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, then incrementally increases for specified compliance periods to 33% of retail sales by December 31, 2020, 40% by December 31, 2024, 45% by December 31, 2027, and 50% by December 31, 2030. The program additionally requires each local publicly owned electric utility to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the procurement requirements established by the program. This bill would require that not less than an unspecified percentage of the incremental procurement requirements for each compliance period be satisfied with geothermal, biogas, or biomass energy resources procured on or after July 1, 2017, until either an unspecified percentage of the total electricity products procured to satisfy the overall procurement requirements are from those energy resources or December 31, 2030, whichever occurs first. The bill would require an unspecified portion of this increment to be procured from the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resources Area. Under existing law, a violation of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would expand that program, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. By placing additional requirements upon local publicly owned electric utilities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 specified reasons. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area.
(1) The California Constitution, with respect to any taxes levied on taxable property in a redevelopment project established under the Community Redevelopment Law, as it then read or may be amended, authorizes the Legislature to provide for the division of those taxes under a redevelopment plan between the taxing agencies and the redevelopment agency, as provided. Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies as of February 1, 2012, and designates successor agencies to act as successor entities to the dissolved redevelopment agencies. This bill, the Community Redevelopment Law of 2018, would authorize a city or county to propose the formation of a redevelopment housing and infrastructure agency by adoption of a resolution of intention that meets specified requirements, including that the resolution of intention include a passthrough provision and an override passthrough provision, as defined. The bill would require the city or county to submit that resolution to each affected taxing entity, and would authorize an entity that receives that resolution to elect to not receive a passthrough payment, as provided. The bill would require the city or county that adopted that resolution to hold a public hearing on the proposal to consider all written and oral objections to the formation, as well as any recommendations of the affected taxing entities, and would authorize that city or county to adopt a resolution of formation at the conclusion of that hearing. The bill would then require that city or county to submit the resolution of formation to the Strategic Growth Council for a determination as to whether the agency would promote statewide greenhouse gas reduction goals and would require that the council recommend to the Department of Finance whether to approve the resolution. The bill would require the council to establish a program to provide technical assistance to a city or county desiring to form an agency pursuant to these provisions. The bill would then require that city or county to submit the resolution of formation to the Department of Finance for approval, subject to certain standards, including that the department determine that any passthrough provision included is consistent with certain requirements and a statewide cap on the amount of equity, as defined, received by all local agencies within the state in any fiscal year, and to consider any recommendations of the Strategic Growth Council. The bill would require the department to disapprove the resolution if the department determines that the creation of the agency will result in a state fiscal impact that exceeds a specified amount in any fiscal year. The bill would deem the agency to be in existence as of the date of the department's approval. The bill would provide for a governing board of the agency consisting of one member appointed by the legislative body that adopted the resolution of intention, one member appointed by each affected taxing entity, and 2 public members. The bill would authorize an agency formed pursuant to these provisions to finance specified infrastructure and housing projects, and to carry out related powers, such as the power to purchase and lease property within the redevelopment project area, that are similar to the powers previously granted to redevelopment agencies. The bill would require an agency to adopt an annual budget and to maintain detailed records of every action taken by that agency for a specified period of time, and would provide that any person who violates this requirement be subject to a fine of $10,000 per violation. The bill would require the agency to submit an annual report containing specified information, and a final report of any audit undertaken by any other local, state, or federal government entity, to its governing body within specified time periods. The bill would also require the agency to submit a copy of the annual report with the Controller and a copy of any audit report with the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill would establish procedures under which the Controller would identify major audit violations and the Attorney General would bring an action to compel compliance. The bill would require the governing board of an agency to designate an appropriate official to prepare a proposed redevelopment project plan, in accordance with specified procedures. The bill would require the agency to hold a public hearing on the proposed redevelopment project plan, and would authorize the governing board to either adopt the redevelopment project plan or abandon proceedings, in which case the agency would cease to exist. The bill would authorize the redevelopment project plan to provide for the division of taxes levied upon taxable property, if any, between an affected taxing entity and the agency, as provided. The bill would declare that this authorization fulfills the intent of constitutional redevelopment provisions. The bill would also require that not less than 30% of all taxes allocated to the agency from an affected taxing entity be deposited into a separate fund, established by the agency, and used for the purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the community's supply of low- and moderate-income housing available at an affordable housing cost, as provided. The bill would authorize the agency to issue bonds to finance redevelopment housing or infrastructure projects, in accordance with specified requirements and procedures, including that the resolution proposing the bonds include a description of the facilities or developments to be financed and the estimated cost of those facilities or developments, and that the resolution adopting the bonds provide for specified matters such as the principal amount of bonds. The bill would also authorize a city, county, or special district that contains territory within the boundaries of an agency to loan moneys to the agency to fund activities described in the redevelopment project plan. The bill would require the agency to contract for an independent financial and performance audit every 2 years after the issuance of debt. By imposing additional duties on the county auditor with respect to the allocation of tax increment revenues, and the review of information submitted to the county auditor by an agency pursuant to these provisions, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The California State University comprises 23 institutions of higher education located throughout the state. This bill would establish the Emergency Student Housing Loan Program, commencing with the 2019–20 academic year, at 3 campuses of the California State University, contingent upon the enactment of an appropriation of state funds for this purpose. This bill would define homeless, homelessness, and rapid rehousing for the purposes of this article. Under the program, the 3 participating campuses of the university, as designated by the trustees, would establish an Emergency Student Housing Loan Program pursuant to which the participating campus would design a program enabling students at their campus who are experiencing an individual housing emergency, as specified, to receive a loan to pay for their housing for up to 12 months. The bill would establish eligibility requirements and priorities for the selection of participating students. The bill would require the trustees to submit a report, including specified information about the program, to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature no later than June 30, 2022. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2022, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2023.
Existing law, the California Cultural and Historical Endowment Act, establishes the California Cultural and Historical Endowment in the Natural Resources Agency. Among other things, the act authorizes the endowment to make grants and loans on a competitive basis to public agencies and nonprofit organizations, as defined, to encourage development of California's historical and cultural resources. Existing law establishes the Museum and Cultural Resources Program, under the administration of the endowment, to assist and enhance the services of California's museums and of other groups and institutions that undertake cultural projects that are deeply rooted in and reflective of previously underserved communities. This bill would establish the California Museums for All program, under the administration of the endowment. The bill would require a museum, as defined, participating in the program to offer free to $3 admission fees during its normal hours of operation for each person who presents an electronic benefits transfer card and a current and valid photo identification, and up to 3 guests who are accompanying that person. Under the bill, a participating museum would be eligible to receive a grant from the endowment to enhance its programs and exhibits to meet the needs of underserved communities or to provide its staff with adequate training and provide resources for collaborative outreach to low-income communities.
The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year, but excludes certain items of income from the computation of tax, including an exclusion for combat-related special compensation. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2028, would exclude from gross income retirement pay received by a taxpayer from the federal government for service performed in the uniformed services, as defined. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.