Asm. Mariko Yamada

This measure would declare March 2012 to be Campus Safety Month, and would encourage citizens to visit the Internet Web site of the national nonprofit organization Security On Campus, Inc., to view public safety information about public and private colleges and universities.

This measure would recognize the month of February 2012 as American Heart Month in California and recognize February 3, 2012, as Wear Red Day in California.

Existing law prohibits an employer from issuing in payment of wages due certain instruments, including an order, check, draft, note, memorandum, scrip, coupon, card, or other acknowledgment of indebtedness or redeemable instrument, unless specified requirements are satisfied. This bill would authorize an employer to pay an employee's wages by means of a payroll card, as defined, provided that specified requirements are satisfied. In addition, the bill would make a violation of its provisions a misdemeanor and would subject a violator to specified civil penalties. By creating new crimes, 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.

Existing law requires the administrator of a veterans' home to maintain a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund to be used for the general welfare of the residents of veterans' homes. Existing law requires the fund established for the Yountville facility to maintain a reserve in the amount of $2,000,000. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Existing property tax law requires the county auditor, in each fiscal year, to allocate property tax revenues to local jurisdictions in accordance with specified formulas and procedures, and generally requires that each jurisdiction be allocated an amount equal to the total of the amount of revenue allocated to that jurisdiction in the prior fiscal year, subject to certain modifications, and that jurisdiction's portion of the annual tax increment, as defined. Existing property tax law also reduces the amounts of ad valorem property tax revenue that would otherwise be annually allocated to the county, cities, and special districts pursuant to these general allocation requirements by requiring, for purposes of determining property tax revenue allocations in each county for the 1992–93 and 1993–94 fiscal years, that the amounts of property tax revenue deemed allocated in the prior fiscal year to the county, cities, and special districts be reduced in accordance with certain formulas. It requires that the revenues not allocated to the county, cities, and special districts as a result of these reductions be transferred to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund in that county for allocation to school districts, community college districts, and the county office of education. This bill would, for the 2012–13 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, require the auditor of a qualified county, as defined, to increase the total amount of ad valorem property tax revenue otherwise required to be allocated to that county by the county equity amount, as defined, and to commensurately reduce the total amount of ad valorem property tax revenue otherwise required to be allocated to school entities in the county, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute. By imposing new duties in the annual allocation of ad valorem property tax revenues, 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, 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 these statutory provisions.

Existing law defines the owner of a vehicle as the owner of record indicated in a certificate of title issued by the State of California and includes an agent of that owner acting under a valid power of attorney executed by an owner. This bill would authorize an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces as the owner, coowner, owner of record, registered owner, or legal owner of a vehicle to execute a valid military power of attorney approved by the United States Department of Defense for the purpose of using, operating, titling, or transferring his or her interest in or licensing and registering any vehicle in this state.

Under existing law, the family temporary disability insurance program provides up to 6 weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, domestic partner, or to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption. These benefits are payable for family temporary disability leaves that begin on and after July 1, 2004. This bill would expand the scope of the family temporary disability program to include time off to care for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law, as defined. The bill would also make conforming and clarifying changes in provisions relating to family temporary disability compensation, and would become operative on July 1, 2012. Under existing law, workers are required to pay contributions to the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury, and those funds are continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions. This bill, by authorizing expenditure of money in the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund for a new purpose, would make an appropriation.