Under existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, the State Department of Developmental Services is responsible for providing various services and supports to persons with developmental disabilities, and for ensuring the appropriateness and quality of those services and supports. Existing law authorizes the department to contract with regional centers to provide these services and supports. Existing law sets forth the department's and the regional center's authority to establish provider rates and prohibits certain provider rate increases. This bill would require certain provider rates to be increased by 3.33% for each $1 increase in the state minimum wage, or by a prorated percentage for an increase that is not a whole number.
Sponsored bills
This measure would proclaim March 15, 2020, to March 22, 2020, as California Down Syndrome Awareness Week and March 21, 2020, as California Down Syndrome Day, and would encourage all Californians to support and participate in related activities.
This measure would recognize June 19, 2020, as Juneteenth and would urge the people of California to join in celebrating Juneteenth as a day to honor and reflect on the significant role that African Americans have played in the history of the United States and how they have enriched society through their steadfast commitment to promoting unity and equality.
Existing law prescribes the duties of the Treasurer, which include acting as an elected representative of the state for the purposes of approving the issuance of bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness, issued by or on behalf of the state, to the extent this approval is required by federal tax law. The Municipal Liquidity Facility, created by the Federal Reserve System, is authorized to purchase short-term debt instruments from states, counties with populations of at least 500,000 residents, and cities with populations of at least 250,000 residents, among others. For these purposes, state debt issuers are authorized to use proceeds to support additional counties and cities. Existing law creates the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission and prescribes its duties, including providing assistance to state or local governmental units, upon request, in the planning, preparation, marketing, and sale of debt issues. This bill would require the Treasurer to establish the COVID-19 Credit Facility, to support cashflow borrowing by local governments, as specified, to better manage cashflow pressures created by the COVID-19 public health emergency. The bill would require the facility to assist local governments, irrespective of population size, with the purchase of newly-issued tax anticipation notes, tax and revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, and other short-term notes through the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission. The bill would also require the facility to establish methods by which cities with populations of less than 250,000 and counties with populations of less than 500,000 may access the Municipal Liquidity Facility established by the Federal Reserve System, as specified. The bill would require the Treasurer to adopt and publish guidelines for these purposes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Constitution grants the retirement board of a public employee retirement system plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of moneys and administration of the retirement fund and system. The California Constitution qualifies this grant of powers by reserving to the Legislature the authority to prohibit investments if it is in the public interest and the prohibition satisfies standards of fiduciary care and loyalty required of a retirement board. Existing law prohibits the boards of administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System and the State Teachers' Retirement System from making investments in certain countries and in thermal coal companies, as specified, subject to the boards' plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of moneys and administration of the systems. Existing law, upon the passage of a federal law imposing sanctions on the government of Turkey for failure to officially acknowledge its responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, also prohibits the boards of administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System and the State Teachers' Retirement System, from making additional or new investments, or renewing existing investments, of public employee retirement funds in an investment vehicle in the government of Turkey that is issued by the government of Turkey or that is owned by the government of Turkey. Existing law requires the boards to liquidate existing investments in the government of Turkey within 18 months of the passage of the above-described federal law. This bill, upon the passage of a federal law imposing sanctions on the government of Turkey for imposing an economic blockade of Armenia, would prohibit the boards of specified public pension or retirement systems from making additional or new investments or renew existing investments of public employee retirement funds in any investment vehicle that is issued or owned by the government of Azerbaijan or Turkey. The bill would require the boards to liquidate investments in the government of Azerbaijan or Turkey within 18 months of the passage of the above-described law. The bill would not apply the above provisions to an investment vehicle if the governing body of the financial institution issuing the investment vehicle, by resolution, adopts a policy not to renew existing, expand existing, or engage in new, discriminatory practices in furtherance of or in compliance with the economic blockade of Armenia by the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan. The bill would require a copy of the resolution to be submitted to the Treasurer and the chief administrative officer of each public employee retirement fund, accompanied by a certification, under penalty of perjury, that the adopted policy is being complied with by the financial institution. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require these boards to make specified reports to the Legislature and the Governor regarding these actions within one year of the passage of a federal law imposing those sanctions on the government of Azerbaijan or Turkey. The bill would specify that its provisions do not require a board to take any action that the board determines in good faith is inconsistent with its constitutional fiduciary responsibilities to the retirement system. The bill would indemnify from the General Fund and hold harmless the present, former, and future board members, officers, and employees of, and investment managers under contract with, the boards, in connection with actions relating to these investments. The bill would repeal the above-described prohibited investment and reporting provisions on January 1, 2026, or if a determination is made by the Legislature, the Department of State, the Congress of the United States, or another appropriate federal agency that the government of either Turkey or both Turkey and Azerbaijan has adopted a policy to cease their economic blockade of Armenia. 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 measure would designate the week of February 24, 2020, to March 1, 2020, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law prohibits a person or corporation from merging, acquiring, or controlling, either directly or indirectly, any public utility organized and doing business in this state without first securing authorization to do so from the commission. Existing law requires that the commission make specific findings, or consider specific criteria or elements, before authorizing such a merger, acquisition, or change in control when a party to that transaction has gross annual California revenues exceeding a specified amount. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions relating to mergers, acquisitions, and changes in control. Existing law requires the commission to make various reports to the Legislature relating to energy efficiency. This bill would consolidate 3 of those reports into a single report and, in doing so, would increase the frequency with which certain energy efficiency information would be reported. Existing law requires electrical and gas corporations to perform home weatherization services for low-income customers, as specified. This bill would update a cross-reference related to that requirement.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, gas corporations, heat corporations, telegraph corporations, telephone corporations, and water corporations. Existing law requires the commission to require a public utility to establish and maintain a balancing account reflecting the balance between related costs and revenues whenever the commission authorizes any change in rates reflecting and passing through to the public utility's customers specific changes in costs, except as specified. Existing law requires the commission to adopt balancing account review or audit procedures that prioritize the review of certain balancing accounts based, in part, on the accounts' quarterly balances and authorized revenue amounts and that prioritize review of those accounts that have not been reviewed or audited in the previous 3 years. Existing law authorizes the commission to forgo the review or audit of a balancing account if the Public Advocate's Office of the Public Utilities Commission or an independent auditor plans to review or audit the balancing account. This bill would revise those balancing account review or audit procedures to instead prioritize accounts based on year-end, rather than quarterly, balances and authorized revenue amounts. The bill would authorize the commission to additionally forgo the review or audit of a balancing account that the Public Advocate's Office has reviewed, or an independent auditor has audited, in the previous 3 years, as specified.
Existing law establishes a statewide system of public elementary and secondary education under which local educational agencies throughout the state provide instruction and other services to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law establishes the State Department of Education, under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and assigns to that department numerous duties and responsibilities with respect to the funding and governance of this system. The California State Lottery Act of 1984, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 6, 1984, statewide general election, authorizes a California State Lottery and provides for its operation and administration by the California State Lottery Commission and the Director of the California State Lottery, with certain limitations. The act requires all revenues from the imposition of the lottery after accrual of all obligations for prizes and expenses to be deposited in the California State Lottery Education Fund. The act continuously appropriates the moneys in the fund for the benefit of public education, as specified. Following the end of each fiscal year, existing law requires the commission to calculate and report to the Controller and the Legislature the amount of total net revenues allocated to the benefit of public education from that fund. This bill would require the department, commencing on or before October 1, 2021, and on or before October 1 of each year thereafter, to submit a report of the total amount of lottery funds allocated to public elementary and secondary schools in the school year ending the preceding July 1. The bill would require the report to specify the amount received by each school and to describe how each school expended these funds. The bill would require the report to be submitted to the Governor and to the respective chairpersons of the Committees on Budget and Education of the Assembly and the Senate. This bill would amend the California State Lottery Act to specify that revenues of the California State Lottery are to be allocated so as to ensure that the relationship between increases in the net revenue of the California State Lottery and increases in funding allocated to public education is directly proportional. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes of the California State Lottery Act.
The California Franchise Relations Act sets forth certain requirements related to the termination, nonrenewal, and transfer of franchises between a franchisor, subfranchisor, and franchisee, as those terms are defined. The act authorizes a franchisor, upon the termination or nonrenewal of a franchise, to offset any amounts owed to the franchisee against any amounts owed by the franchisee to the franchisor. This bill would authorize that offset provided the franchisee agrees to the amount owed or the franchisor has received a final adjudication of any amounts owed. Existing law requires a franchisee, before the sale, assignment, or transfer of a franchise, as specified, to another person, to notify, in writing, the franchisor of the franchisee's intent to sell, transfer, or assign the franchise. Existing law requires this notice of transfer to include specified information and meet certain criteria. This bill would specify that these provisions apply to any transfer if a new franchise agreement is required to be signed as a result of the transfer. The bill would limit its application to a franchise agreement entered into, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, or to franchises of an indefinite duration that may be terminated without cause.