Existing law establishes various social services and programs to address the needs of young people in this state including the California Youth Leadership Project to support and promote civic engagement through scholarships to disconnected and disadvantaged youth. This bill would create the California Youth Empowerment Act to address, among other issues, the growing need to engage youth directly with policymakers. The bill would establish the California Youth Empowerment Commission in state government consisting of 13 voting commissioners between 14 and 25 years of age and meeting specified requirements, with 11 members appointed by the Governor, one at-large member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and one at-large member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, along with several ex officio, nonvoting members from various geographic regions of the state. The bill would establish the commission to be advisory in nature, for the main purpose of providing meaningful opportunities for civic engagement to improve the quality of life for California's disconnected and disadvantaged youth. The bill would require the commission to conduct regular meetings, in accordance with specified timeframes and procedures, and, among other duties, formally advise and make recommendations to the Legislature, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Governor, on various legislative and fiscal issues affecting youth. The bill would also authorize the commission to draft and approve resolutions, draft model legislation, provide testimony during legislative committee meetings, conduct public hearings, and award prizes or direct grants to organizations. The bill would require the Governor to appoint an executive director of the California Youth Empowerment Commission to assist the commission in carrying out its work, would authorize the commission to accept gifts and grants, and would create the Youth Commission Fund in the State Treasury, with moneys deposited in the fund available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to carry out the duties of the commission. The bill would require that its provisions be implemented only if funds are made available in the budget or through gifts and grants. The bill would require the Department of Finance to determine if sufficient funds have been provided and would require the department to publish notice of this determination on its website.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of state highways and associated property. Existing law requires the department to notify companies and organizations working on broadband deployment on its internet website of specified department-led highway construction projects and authorizes those companies and organizations to collaborate with the department to install broadband conduits as part of those projects. This bill would require the department, as part of those projects that are funded by a specified item of the Budget Act of 2021 and that are located in priority areas, to ensure that construction includes the installation of conduits capable of supporting fiber optic communication cables. (2) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund program to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies. This bill would require the commission, in collaboration with other relevant state agencies and stakeholders, to maintain and update a statewide, publicly accessible, and interactive map showing the accessibility of broadband service in the state, as provided.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies. Existing law authorizes the commission to impose a surcharge to collect $330,000,000 for deposit into the CASF beginning January 1, 2018, and continuing through the 2022 calendar year. Existing law specifies the amount of surcharge revenues to be deposited into each account within the CASF, subject to appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would authorize the commission to impose the surcharge to fund the CASF until December 31, 2032, as specified. Existing law requires the commission, until April 1, 2023, to annually report specified information to the Legislature, including the remaining unserved areas in the state, the status of the CASF balance, and the projected amount to be collected in each year. This bill would require the commission to report that information in perpetuity. This bill would authorize the commission to require each internet service provider, as defined, to report specified information regarding each free, low-cost, income-qualified, or affordable internet service plan advertised by the provider. (2) Existing law requires the commission to require interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service providers to collect and remit surcharges on their California intrastate revenues in support of specified public purpose program funds. Existing law authorizes those providers to use certain methodologies to identify their intrastate revenues subject to the surcharge. This bill would repeal that authorization to use those methodologies. (3) Existing law establishes the deaf and disabled telecommunications program and requires the commission to establish a rate recovery mechanism through a surcharge not to exceed 12 of 1% uniformly applied to a subscriber's intrastate telephone service, other than one-way radio paging service and universal telephone service, until January 1, 2025, to allow providers of equipment and service pursuant to that program to recover their costs as they are incurred. This bill would revise those requirements to instead require the commission to administer a surcharge to collect revenues of up to $100,000,000 per year until January 1, 2025, subject to annual appropriation of moneys by the Legislature, to allow providers of equipment and service pursuant to the deaf and disabled telecommunications program to recover their costs as they are incurred. (4) 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 certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's 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. (5) This bill would become effective only if SB 4 of the 2021–22 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2022. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, among others, the completion of 3 years of courses in English and 3 years of courses in social studies, including one-year courses in United States history and geography and world history, culture, and geography, a one-semester course in American government and civics, and a one-semester course in economics. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to develop, and the State Board of Education to adopt, modify, or revise, a model curriculum in ethnic studies. Existing law also encourages each school district and charter school that maintains any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and that does not otherwise offer a standards-based ethnic studies curriculum to offer, beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, a course of study in ethnic studies based on the model curriculum. This bill would add the completion of a one-semester course in ethnic studies, meeting specified requirements, to the graduation requirements commencing with pupils graduating in the 2029–30 school year, including for pupils enrolled in a charter school. The bill would expressly authorize local educational agencies, including charter schools, to require a full-year course in ethnic studies at their discretion. The bill would require local educational agencies, including charter schools, to offer an ethnic studies course commencing with the 2025–26 school year, as specified. The bill would authorize, subject to the course offerings of a local educational agency, including a charter school, a pupil to satisfy the ethnic studies course requirement by completing either (A) a course based on the model curriculum in ethnic studies developed by the commission, (B) an existing ethnic studies course, (C) an ethnic studies course taught as part of a course that has been approved as meeting the A–G requirements of the University of California and the California State University, or (D) a locally developed ethnic studies course approved by the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school. The bill would prohibit a course that does not use ethnic studies content as the primary content through which the subject is taught from being used to satisfy the ethnic studies course requirement. The bill would require a pupil who completes a course described above to also accrue credit for coursework in the subject that the course is offered, including, if applicable, credit towards satisfying a course required for a diploma of graduation from high school. These provisions would become operative only upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute. Because the bill would add new duties to local educational agencies, it would constitute 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.
(1) Existing law prohibits the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Trustees of the California State University, and, if they adopt an appropriate resolution, the Regents of the University of California from collecting mandatory systemwide tuition and fees from any surviving spouse or surviving child of a deceased person who was a resident of the state and employed by or contracting with a public agency whose principal duties consisted of active law enforcement service or active fire suppression and prevention, and who died as a result of their duties, as specified. This bill would additionally prohibit the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Trustees of the California State University, and, if they adopt an appropriate resolution, the Regents of the University of California from collecting mandatory systemwide tuition and fees from any qualifying surviving spouse or surviving child of a deceased person who was a resident of this state, who was a licensed physician or a licensed nurse employed by or under contract with a health facility regulated and licensed by the State Department of Public Health to provide medical services or a first responder, as specified, and who died of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency in California. The bill would also make conforming changes to related code sections. To the extent that this bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 76300 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1456 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1456 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (3) 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, the Early Education Act, has as one of its purposes the provision of an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program that provides high-quality learning experiences, coordinated services, and referrals for families to access health and social-emotional support services through full- and part-time programs. The act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop standards for the implementation of high-quality preschool programs and requires that indicators of quality include, among other things, program activities and services that meet the cultural and linguistic needs of children and families. This bill would require the above-described quality indicator to include program activities and services that meet the need of dual language learners for support in the development of their home language and English. The bill would also require the Superintendent to develop procedures for state preschool contractors to identify and report data on dual language learners enrolled in a preschool program, as specified, and would require the reported data to include, among other things, a child's home language and the language composition of the program staff.
Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim certain days each year for specified reasons. This bill would designate August 26 of each year as California Farmworker Day, and require the Governor to annually proclaim August 26 as California Farmworker Day. The bill would make legislative findings in this regard.
Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services is required to license, inspect, and regulate various types of care facilities, including community care facilities, residential care facilities for persons with chronic life-threatening illness, and residential care facilities for the elderly. Existing law imposes criminal penalties on a person who violates these provisions, or who willfully or repeatedly violates any rule or regulation adopted under these provisions. This bill would require residential facilities serving adults, residential care facilities for persons with chronic life-threatening illness, and residential care facilities for the elderly with existing internet service to provide at least one internet access device that can support real-time interactive applications, is equipped with videoconferencing technology, and is dedicated for client or resident use, as specified. Because a violation of the bill would be a misdemeanor, the bill would create 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.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law authorizes an individual to add a dependent to their health care service plan contract or health insurance policy, including adding a dependent outside of an initial enrollment period if certain criteria are met. Existing law defines "dependent" for the purpose of an individual contract or policy to mean the spouse, registered domestic partner, or child of an individual. Existing law establishes the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) in the California Department of Aging to provide Medicare beneficiaries and those imminently eligible for Medicare with counseling and advocacy regarding health care coverage options. This bill would require an individual health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2023, that provides dependent coverage to make dependent coverage available to a qualified dependent parent or stepparent. The bill would require a plan, an insurer, or the California Health Benefit Exchange to provide an applicant seeking to add a dependent parent or stepparent with written notice about HICAP and would require a solicitor or agent to provide specified HICAP contact information, as specified. The bill would expand the definition of "dependent" for an individual health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to include a qualified dependent parent or stepparent. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan 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.
Existing law, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act, creates in state government the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board and requires the board to, among other things, design and implement the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program. This bill, the California Public Banking Option Act, until January 1, 2032, would require the Treasurer to convene, on or before September 1, 2022, the CalAccount Blue Ribbon Commission to be composed of certain members, including the Treasurer or the Treasurer's designee. The act would require the commission to, on or before July 1, 2024, conduct, by contracting with one or more entities with appropriate expertise, and deliver, as prescribed, a market analysis to determine if it is feasible to implement a "CalAccount Program," which, if implemented, would have certain characteristics, including that it would be a program established by the state for the purpose of protecting consumers who lack access to traditional banking services from predatory, discriminatory, and costly alternatives, which offers Californians access to a voluntary, zero-fee, zero-penalty, federally insured transaction account, known as a CalAccount, and related payment services at no cost to accountholders, including robust and geographically diverse mechanisms for accessing account funds and account management tools that facilitate the automation of basic financial transactions designed to serve the needs of individuals with low or fluctuating income. The bill would require the commission to hold a public hearing to review the market analysis and, after holding that hearing, would authorize the commission to issue a report to accompany the market analysis, as prescribed. The bill would make the operation of the act contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the Budget Act or another statute for its purposes.