Existing law provides for the establishment of veterans' homes and requires the administrator of a veterans' home to maintain a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund to be used, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to provide certain operations and activities relating to the general welfare of the veterans. These funds include proceeds from the California Veterans Homes Fund, operations of the Veterans' Home Exchange, specified revenue derived from the issuance of prisoner-of-war special license plates, funds derived from golf course green fees and range ball fees, donations, interest earned on invested funds, funds derived from the estates of deceased members, and any other moneys or property described under existing law, including, but not limited to, moneys and properties received by the home from estate assets located outside the home. Existing law requires the administrator to prepare and submit itemized reports organized by category and accounts for all funds deposited into, and expenditures made from, the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund during the previous fiscal year, as specified. This bill would create the Veterans' Home Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund in the State Treasury, to replace the existing individual funds. The bill would require all moneys in each existing veterans' home fund to be deposited into the Veterans' Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund. The bill would continuously appropriate these moneys to the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for the general welfare of the residents living in state veterans' homes. Moneys in the fund would be exempt from specified provisions relating to the determination of administrative costs owed by each state agency to the state. The bill would require the department to develop standardized expenditure procedures and regulations for the fund, as specified, and to provide residents with a quarterly report on the expenditures made from the fund on behalf of each home. The bill would also require the department to prepare and submit the itemized reports, as specified. The bill also would make technical and conforming changes.
Sponsored bills
Existing law designates area agencies on aging as local units on aging in California, which are financially supported by a variety of sources, including federal funding, state and local government assistance, the private sector, and individual contributions. Existing law also provides for independent living centers, for the purpose of assisting individuals with disabilities in their attempts to live fuller and freer lives outside institutions, and achieve social and economic independence. This bill would continuously appropriate from the Federal Trust Fund, in the absence of enactment of the annual Budget Act by July 1 of a fiscal year, (1) to the California Department of Aging, the amount of federal funds contained in the Federal Trust Fund necessary to pay area agencies on aging for the administration of programs under their jurisdiction, and (2) to the Department of Rehabilitation, the amount of federal funds contained in the Federal Trust Fund necessary to pay independent living centers for the administration of programs under their jurisdiction, pending enactment of the Budget Act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would call upon all Californians to observe César Chávez's birthday, March 31, as a day of public service, to recognize the hard work and self-sacrifice that farmworkers go through to feed all the families in our state, and to learn from César Chávez's life and his mission of nonviolence, social justice, and selfless service to others.
(1) Existing law, the Milk and Milk Products Act of 1947, regulates the preparation, production, manufacture, distribution, and sale of milk, and specified milk products. For purposes of the act, "dairy farm" is defined to mean any place or premises upon which milk is produced for sale or other distribution and where more than 2 cows or water buffalo, or 6 goats, sheep, or other hooved mammals, are in lactation. Existing law makes a violation of the Food and Agricultural Code a misdemeanor, unless a different penalty is expressly provided. This bill would, for purposes of the act, define "home dairy farm" to mean any place or premises upon which raw milk is produced, where no more than 3 cows or water buffalo, or 15 goats, sheep, or other hooved mammals, are in lactation, and the raw milk produced by those lactating animals is primarily intended for consumption at the home dairy farm. The bill would exclude raw milk produced at a home dairy farm from the act, and would enact the Home Dairy Farm Raw Milk Safety Act, which prescribes various requirements for the safe production of raw milk, as defined, at home dairy farms that is shared, exchanged, or offered for direct sale, as defined, by the home dairy farm, as prescribed. This bill would permit a home dairy farm to share, exchange, or engage in the direct sale of raw milk that is in excess of the consumption needs of the home dairy farm, if the raw milk is obtained from healthy, lactating animals kept and fed on the premises of the home dairy farm, and meets specified health and safety requirements. The bill would require that any raw milk that is shared, exchanged, or directly sold pursuant to the Home Dairy Farm Raw Milk Safety Act be clean, pure, and unadulterated, and obtained from healthy animals that do not test positive for specified diseases and meet other specified requirements. By imposing new requirements on home dairy farms, with regard to the sharing, exchange, or direct sale of raw milk, a violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law (Sherman Law) , requires the State Department of Public Health to regulate the manufacture, sale, labeling, and advertising activities related to food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics in conformity with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The Sherman Law authorizes any authorized agent of the department, upon presenting appropriate credentials and at a reasonable time, to enter and inspect factories, warehouses, or other establishments to determine, among other things, whether any food, drug, device, or cosmetic is adulterated, misbranded, or falsely advertised, as provided. This bill would authorize, for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements of the Home Dairy Farm Raw Milk Safety Act, any authorized agent of a state or local enforcement agency, including the State Department of Public Health, or a representative of a local health department of a city, county, or city and county, upon presenting appropriate credentials and at a reasonable time, to access, for inspection purposes, a home dairy farm if the authorized agent or representative has, on the basis of a consumer complaint, or other reliable source of information, a reasonable belief, supported by standard epidemiological practice or credible scientific research, that raw milk produced or sold by a home dairy farm may be adulterated or otherwise unsafe for human consumption due to exposure to disease or contaminants, or improper storage or handling, or that the home dairy farm has violated the Home Dairy Farm Raw Milk Safety Act. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides for the direct marketing of agricultural products, including through certified farmers' markets. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to the liability of farms conducting agritourism operations.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Developmental Services and sets forth its duties and responsibilities, including, but not limited to, administration and oversight of the state developmental centers, including the Sonoma Developmental Center, and programs relating to persons with developmental disabilities under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act. Existing law requires the California Health and Human Services Agency to submit to the Legislature a master plan for the future of developmental centers by November 15, 2013, and to submit a report to the Legislature by January 10, 2014, regarding the ability of community resources to meet the specialized needs of residents now living in developmental centers. This bill would establish the Office of Community Care Coordination within the State Department of Developmental Services, and would require the office to develop a plan, on or before January 1, 2016, that addresses, among other things, the operation of at least 2 acute crisis clinics, as specified. The bill would also require the office to identify which modifications are necessary to enable the Sonoma Developmental Center to operate as a placement of last resort and as an acute crisis clinic.
The Personal Income Tax Law provides for various exclusions from gross income. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2022, also exclude from gross income the value of any medal given by the International Olympic Committee, and any prize money or honoraria received from the United States Olympic Committee, on account of either the Olympic games or the Paralympic games. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law, the California Adult Day Health Care Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of adult day health care centers, with administrative responsibility shared between the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the California Department of Aging pursuant to an interagency agreement. Existing law provides that a negligent, repeated, or willful violation of a provision of the California Adult Day Health Care Act is a misdemeanor. This bill would require an adult day health care center licensed pursuant to the act to comply with specified staffing requirements, maintain policies and procedures for providing supportive health care services to participants, and conduct and document training, as prescribed. Because a negligent, repeated, or willful violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services are provided to qualified, low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law provides, to the extent permitted by federal law, that adult day health care (ADHC) be excluded from coverage under the Medi-Cal program. This bill would establish the Community-Based Adult Services (CBAS) program, as specified, as a Medi-Cal benefit. The bill would require CBAS providers to meet specified requirements and would require the department to, commencing July 1, 2015, certify and enroll as new CBAS providers only those providers that are exempt from taxation as a nonprofit entity. 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 requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, when income is derived directly from real property acquired and operated by the state as a wildlife management area, as defined, to pay annually to the county in which the property is located an amount equal to the county taxes levied upon the property at the time title to the property was transferred to the state, and any assessments levied upon the property by any irrigation, drainage, or reclamation district. This bill would appropriate $19,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to make payments to counties for unpaid amounts under these provisions. The bill would also appropriate $2,000,000 annually, beginning with the 2014–15 fiscal year, from the General Fund to the department to make payments to counties under these provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires every person engaged in this state in the production or handling of raw agricultural products sold as organic, retailers that are engaged in the production of products sold as organic, and retailers that are engaged in the processing, as defined, of products sold as organic, to register with the agricultural commissioner in the county of principal operation prior to the first sale of the product. Existing law requires all processors of specified organic agriculturally derived products that are not required to be registered with State Public Health Officer, to register with the Secretary of Agriculture. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in those provisions.