Existing law finds and declares that foster parents are one of the most important sources of information about the children in their care and that courts should know, at the earliest possible date, the interest of a caretaker in providing legal permanency for a child. Existing law authorizes the juvenile court to adjudge a minor who has been abused or neglected, or who meets other specified criteria, to be a dependent child of the court. Existing law requires the court to conduct various hearings regarding children who are, or who may become, dependent children. Existing law requires the probation officer or the social worker to provide notice of those hearings to certain persons, including parents, guardians, the child if he or she is 10 years of age or older, adult relatives under certain conditions, and attorneys for the parents or guardians, as specified. This bill would authorize a caregiver, if a foster child is removed from his or her care in order to reunify with his or her parent or guardian, to indicate, in writing, to the child's social worker that he or she is interested in providing and willing to provide care for the child in the future if the child is in need of foster care placement and would require the caregiver to provide contact information, as specified. The bill would also require the probation officer or social worker to provide notice of a hearing, if the probation officer or social worker determines that the child will be retained in custody, to a caregiver who indicated that he or she was interested in providing and willing to provide care for the child in the future. By imposing new duties on probation officers and social workers, 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.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adoption of enforcement regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in domestic water supplies. Existing law requires any person who owns a public water system to ensure that the system does certain things, including, but not limited to, that it will not be subject to backflow under normal operating conditions. Existing law, to ensure that testing and maintenance of backflow prevention devices are performed by persons qualified to do testing and maintenance, authorizes local health officers to maintain programs for certification of backflow prevention device testers. A violation of these provisions, or an order by a local health officer pursuant to these provisions, is a misdemeanor. This bill would require, if a local health officer does not maintain a program for certification of backflow prevention device testers, the testing and maintenance of a backflow prevention device be performed by a person who has received a California-specific certification for testing backflow prevention devices from one of specified entities or a similar certification provider deemed acceptable by the state board or the local health officer. Because a violation of these requirements would be a crime, 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 a specified reason.
This bill would call a special election to be consolidated with the November 8, 2016, statewide general election. The bill would require the Secretary of State to submit to the voters at the November 8, 2016, consolidated election a voter instruction asking whether California's elected officials should use all of their constitutional authority, including proposing and ratifying one or more amendments to the United States Constitution, to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) 558 U.S. 310, and other applicable judicial precedents, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of State to communicate the results of this election to the Congress of the United States. The bill would require the Secretary of State, if prohibited by court order from submitting the voter instruction to the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, as specified, to submit the voter instruction to the voters at the next occurring election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an act calling an election.
This measure would proclaim that Monday, January 18, 2016, be observed as the official memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and his work in the Civil Rights Movement.
Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim certain days each year for specified reasons. Existing law also designates particular days each year as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions and encourages those entities to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on those dates. This bill would require the Governor to annually proclaim the date corresponding with the start of the lunar calendar as Lunar New Year's Day, would designate that date each year as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions, and would encourage those entities to observe that date by conducting culturally appropriate activities and exercises observing the Lunar New Year.
This measure would recognize May 2016 as Celiac Disease Awareness Month.
This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration on February 8, 2016.
This measure would commend the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the celebration of its 150th anniversary and for the myriad contributions it has made to the health and well-being of animals nationwide and would extend best wishes for continued success in the future.