Asm. Das Williams

This measure would declare that an applicant's immigration status should not be the determining factor in deciding whether to approve a license to practice law, would commend Sergio C. Garcia for his hard work and success, and would also commend the State Bar of California for its efforts to admit Sergio C. Garcia to the State Bar of California.

The Corporation Tax Law imposes taxes measured by income and, in the case of a business with business income derived from or attributable to sources both within and without this state, apportions the business income between this state and other states and foreign countries in accordance with a specified 4-factor formula based on the property, payroll, and sales within and without this state, except that in the case of an apportioning trade or business that derives more than 50% of its gross business receipts from conducting one or more qualified business activities, as defined, business income is apportioned in accordance with a specified 3-factor formula. That law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, allows a taxpayer to apportion its business income in accordance with a single sales factor formula, except as provided, pursuant to an irrevocable annual election, as specified. That law also provides that sales of tangible personal property and sales of other than tangible personal property are in this state in accordance with specified criteria. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, would require a taxpayer, except as provided, to apportion its business income in accordance with a single sale factor and would allow a taxpayer to annually elect to apportion business income in accordance with the 4-factor formula, as provided. This bill also would revise the rules that determine whether a taxpayer is doing business in this state and would revise the provisions that determine whether sales other than tangible personal property occur in this state, including specific provisions for cable systems or networks. This bill would require any aggregate increase in revenues derived from its provisions less a specified amount, as provided, to be deposited into the Middle Class Scholarship Fund, which the bill would establish, and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, allocate those revenues for the purpose of increasing the affordability of higher education. This bill would become operative only if a specified measure is chaptered and establishes a middle-class scholarship program. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing law provides for a public postsecondary education system in this state. This system consists of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges. Existing law authorizes these institutions to require that mandatory systemwide fees, among other fees, be paid by students at these institutions. This bill would establish the Middle Class Scholarship Program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission. The bill would provide that, commencing with the 2012–13 fiscal year, undergraduate students enrolled at the University of California or the California State University would receive a scholarship grant award credit that, combined with other publicly funded student financial aid, as defined, received by an eligible student, would be 60% of the amount charged that student for mandatory systemwide fees in that fiscal year if the student meets the following conditions: annual household income does not exceed $150,000; is a resident of this state or exempt from paying nonresident tuition; files specified financial aid forms; makes timely application or applications for publicly funded student financial aid, as defined, for which he or she is eligible; and meets prescribed eligibility requirements of the Cal Grant Program, except as specified, and attains at least a 2.0 high school or community college grade point average. The bill would provide that a student whose annual household income exceeds $150,000, and who otherwise meets the requirements, would receive a scholarship grant award credit that is reduced in accordance with prescribed calculations. The bill would require, in order for students enrolled in their respective segments to remain eligible to receive financial aid under the bill, the University of California and the California State University to maintain their respective institutional need-based grant programs at a level that, at a minimum, is equivalent to the level maintained during the 2011–12 fiscal year. The bill would continuously appropriate from the General Fund $150,000,000 to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges for allocation to community college districts based on calculations of full-time equivalent credit, to be expended, after consultation with student representatives as specified, for the provision of scholarship grants to students to reduce the impact of enrollment fees or to help cover the cost of textbooks and other educational expenses. The bill would require the Student Aid Commission to report the amount of the scholarship grant award credit for each student to the Franchise Tax Board, and to report the aggregate amount of scholarship grant award credits to the Department of Finance. The bill would authorize the Student Aid Commission to determine if sufficient funding is available for purposes of the bill in the 2012–13 fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years, and would further authorize the commission to reduce scholarships proportionately if it determines that sufficient funding is not available. (2) Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Tax Relief and Refund Account, and provides that payments required to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account. This bill, for fiscal years beginning with the 2012–13 fiscal year, would authorize an amount equal to a qualified student's scholarship grant award credit under the Middle Class Scholarship Program, as determined by the Student Aid Commission pursuant to the bill, to be refunded from the Tax Relief and Refund Account, thereby making an appropriation. (3) This bill would become operative only if AB 1500 of the 2011–12 Regular Session is chaptered. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) , which provides a defined benefit to its employees based on age at retirement, service credit, and final or highest compensation paid to the employee. Existing law authorizes any public agency to participate in, and make its employees members of, PERS by contract. In the case of an employee who has been employed by one or more contracting public agencies, retirement benefits distributed to that employee are based on the highest final compensation under any system, and each system makes a separate retirement payment to the employee based upon the number of years that the employee worked for each of those agencies. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that a contracting agency not experience a significant increase in actuarial liability due to increased compensation paid by another contracting agency to a nonrepresented employee. The bill would require the Board of Administration of PERS to develop guidelines in this regard and to implement program changes to ensure that a contracting agency that creates a significant increase in actuarial liability due to increased compensation bears the associated liability. The bill would require the system actuary to assess an increase in liability in this regard to the employer that created it at the time the increase is determined and to make adjustments to that employer's rates as needed. The bill would apply these requirements to any significant increase in actuarial liability due to increased compensation paid to a nonrepresented employee regardless of when the increase in compensation occurred. The bill would require the board to report to the Legislature on the implementation of these provisions. Existing law requires the Board of Administration of PERS to establish a plan of replacement benefits for members and any survivors or beneficiaries whose retirement benefits are limited by a specified provision of federal law and that cannot be fully maximized pursuant to PERL. This bill would prohibit a plan of replacement benefits from being administered by the board for a person who first becomes a member on or after January 1, 2013.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 15 in the County of San Diego as the Tuskegee Airmen Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

Existing law prohibits the sale of various types of products that are determined to be unsafe for the public, including, among others, specified bunk beds, infant cribs, and toys. Existing state regulations require certain types of table saws to be guarded by a hood and to contain various safety features to prevent injury. This bill would prohibit a seller, on or after January 1, 2016, from selling a new table saw in this state unless that table saw is equipped with injury mitigation technology, as defined.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing federal law authorizes a state, subject to federal approval of a state plan amendment, to offer health home services, as defined, to eligible individuals with chronic conditions. This bill would authorize the department, subject to federal approval, to create a health home program for enrollees with chronic conditions, as prescribed, as authorized under federal law. This bill would provide that those provisions shall not be implemented unless federal financial participation is available and additional state general funds are not used to fund the administration and service costs, except as specified. This bill would require the department to ensure that an evaluation of the program is completed, if created by the department, and would require that the department submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature within 2 years after implementation of the program.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 1 in the County of Los Angeles as the Honorable Jenny Oropeza Memorial Overcrossing. This measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering those costs, to erect those signs.

This measure would request that the Department of Transportation erect informational signs on State Highway Route 210 in the County of Los Angeles directing motorists to the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs.