Asm. Julia Brownley

(1) Under existing law, the governing board of a school district may provide transportation to and from schools under specified circumstances. In some circumstances, the governing board may require the parents and guardians of all or some of the pupils transported to pay a portion of the costs. This bill would require governing boards that provide transportation to take into account the transportation needs of foster youth, as specified. Under existing law, the state provides for specified funding for school districts, including funding for home-to-school transportation. This bill would include transportation of foster youth to their school of origin in the definition of home-to-school transportation for these funding purposes. Existing law specifies a process to be conducted by the local educational agency and the county placing agency to determine the placement of a foster child in school, including determining the school of origin, methods for transfer, if appropriate, procedures for students who miss school for specified reasons, and the payment of transportation costs. The local educational agency and the county placing agency are encouraged to collaborate in this process. This bill would make specified changes to the overall process and would specify that, as part of the collaborative efforts, a memorandum of understanding or equivalent mutual agreement be entered into to support a collaborative process for providing transportation for foster youth to their school of origin, as specified. Existing law requires that a local educational agency ensure that no lowering of grades occur under prescribed circumstances, including when a pupil in foster care is absent due to a decision made by a court or placing agency to change the placement of the pupil or to a verified court appearance or other court activity. This bill would add to these circumstances an absence of a child in foster care caused by a delay in securing appropriate transportation to the child's school of origin. By imposing new duties upon local educational agencies, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature to preserve and strengthen a child's family ties whenever possible, removing the child from the custody of his or her parents only when necessary for his or her welfare or for the safety and protection of the public. Existing law includes various provisions relating to the provision of appropriate placement and other services for children in foster care. When placement is determined for a child who has been adjudged a dependent of the juvenile court, existing law requires a social study to be made by a social worker or child advocate appointed by the court. Existing law requires the child's case plan to include a health and education summary, which, among other components, is required to include assurances that the placement takes into account proximity to the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement. This bill would require the social study of a dependent child of the juvenile court to address whether the proposed placement takes school proximity into account and whether a transportation plan has been developed to ensure that the child remains enrolled in his or her school of origin, unless inappropriate, if the child's proposed placement is not in proximity to that school. The bill would require that the health and education summary also include assurances that the child welfare agency has taken specified steps to ensure that the child remains in the school in which he or she is enrolled at the time of placement. The bill would also state that county placing agencies are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the foster youth remain in his or her school of origin, unless inappropriate, and for providing transportation. By imposing additional duties upon child welfare agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill also would require the State Department of Social Services to take all necessary actions to maximize eligibility for available federal funding for reasonable travel costs for children in foster care, in accordance with a specified provision of federal law. Under existing law, foster care providers are paid a specified rate for care and supervision of foster youth. This bill would include reasonable travel costs for the child to remain in his or her school of origin in those costs. (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, 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 requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store. Existing law imposes various requirements on at-store recycling programs, including requiring a store to maintain records describing the collection, transport, and recycling of plastic carryout bags collected by the store. Under existing law, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (department) administers laws related to waste management. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2011, prohibit a store, as defined, from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer unless the store charges a fee of not less than $0.25 per bag at the point of sale. The bill would exempt certain customers from paying the fee. The bill would establish the Bag Pollution Fund in the State Treasury and would require a store to remit the single-use carryout bag fees, less a specified amount, to the State Board of Equalization for deposit in that fund. The bill would prohibit a store from distributing a single-use carryout bag that is not a plastic or compostable carryout bag that meets specific requirements. The bill would require the department to administer and enforce the single-use carryout bag provisions and would require the State Board of Equalization to administer the collection of the fees imposed on those bags. The moneys in the fund would be required to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, in a specified order of priority, by the department for grants to cities and counties for programs related to single-use carryout bags and reusable bag giveaway programs, by the State Board of Equalization to reimburse its costs associated with collecting the fees, by the department for purposes of implementing the above provisions, and by the department, in consultation with specified state agencies, to develop and implement specified programs related to single-use carryout bags. The bill would expressly prohibit the expenditure of revenues from the fund for activities unrelated to the prevention or reduction of single-use bag pollution. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2014, to submit to the Legislature a report regarding the effectiveness of the above provisions and recommendations to further encourage the use of reusable bags.

(1) Existing law requires the governing board of any school district to give diligent care to the health and physical development of pupils. This bill would create the Clean and Healthy Schools Act, and would make findings and declarations regarding indoor air quality and cleaning products. The bill would require all school districts and all nonpublic elementary and secondary schools with 50 or more pupils, by the 2011–12 school year, or when it is economically feasible, to purchase and use exclusively environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance products, as specified. The bill would require a school district or school to submit a letter indicating that it will not purchase and use environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance products to the State Department of Education and the local governing board, annually, until it determines that it is economically feasible to comply with the requirements described above. The bill also would require the State Department of Education to post on its Internet Web site information to assist school districts and schools to comply with these provisions. Because this bill would require school districts to perform new duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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.

The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, "full cash value" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under "full cash value" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. Existing property tax law specifies those circumstances in which the transfer of ownership interests results in a change in ownership of the real property, and provides that certain transfers do not result in a change of ownership. This bill would provide that a transfer of a cotenancy interest, as defined, in real property from one cotenant to the other that takes effect upon the death of the transferor cotenant and before January 1, 2020, does not constitute a change of ownership, as provided. This bill would require the transferor cotenant to sign an affidavit, as specified, under penalty of perjury. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2020. By requiring the transferor cotenant to sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury, this bill would expand the scope of the existing crime of perjury, and thereby 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. Section 2229 of the Revenue and Taxation Code requires the Legislature to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2229 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child care and development programs, which offer a full range of services for children from infancy to 13 years of age who are eligible for child care and developmental services. Existing law requires the Governor to appoint an advisory committee to assist the State Department of Education in developing a state plan for child development programs pursuant to that act. This bill would require the advisory committee to assist the department in the development of a plan to implement any new federal grant funds made available after March 1, 2009, for child care and development programs and early childhood education.

Existing law, the State Assistance for Fire Equipment Act, authorizes the California Emergency Management Agency to acquire new or used firefighting apparatus and equipment and to resell it to local agencies providing fire suppression services. This bill would require the Secretary of California Emergency Management to acquire 131 fire engines to augment its existing fleet and to assign the fire engines to governmental fire protection agencies in this state pursuant to a written agreement containing specified terms. This bill would allow a local agency, as defined, to donate its used fire engines in exchange for receiving a priority in assignment of the new fire engines acquired by the secretary, and require the secretary to make those donated fire engines available to a fire suppression agency that serves a rural area or community. This bill would make an appropriation by transferring specified funds from the Federal Trust Fund to the secretary for the purposes of these provisions, to the extent authorized under federal law. The bill would express the Legislature's intent to create and fund an expenditure plan for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to replace, augment, and upgrade its fire engine fleet and its emergency equipment. This bill would also make technical, conforming changes to reflect the new name of the California Emergency Management Agency that is under the supervision of the Secretary of California Emergency Management.

Existing law requires an employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time for lactation purposes and specifies that the break time, if possible, shall run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. Under existing law, break time is unpaid if it does not run concurrently with the employee's authorized rest time. Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner to issue a citation for the violation of these provisions but exempts the violation from criminal prosecution. This bill would, instead, require an employer to provide a 20-minute paid rest period for lactation purposes during each 4-hour work period, immediately preceding or following the employee's rest period, and would specify that compliance with this requirement does not satisfy or affect an employer's separate obligation to provide a meal or rest period required by statute, an Industrial Welfare Commission order, or a collective bargaining agreement.

Existing law requires the Department of Personnel Administration to establish and adjust salary ranges for each class of position in the state civil service, subject to specified merit limits. Existing law requires the salary range to be based on the principle that like salaries shall be paid for comparable duties and responsibilities. Existing law allows the state to enter into memoranda of understanding relating to employer-employee relations with employee organizations representing certain state employees. This bill would make findings and declarations regarding the budget deficit facing the state. The bill would, until January 1, 2012, prohibit a person employed by the state whose base salary on or after the effective date of the bill is greater than $150,000 per year from receiving a salary increase while employed in the same position or classification, and from receiving payment for overtime work. The bill would exempt from this prohibition a person whose compensation is governed by an operative memorandum of understanding, as described above, a person who has been exempted by executive order of the Governor, as specified, and a person whose salary is set pursuant to the California Constitution.

The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California's public and independent segments of higher education, and their respective institutions of higher education. The act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the act applicable. Existing law requires that a person, other than a nonimmigrant alien, as defined, who has attended high school in California for 3 or more years, who has graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent thereof, who has registered at or attends an accredited institution of higher education in California not earlier than the fall semester or quarter of the 2001–02 academic year, and who, if he or she is a person without lawful immigration status, has filed a prescribed affidavit relating to obtaining lawful immigration status, is exempt from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the California State University. Existing law also requires the waiver of student fees charged by community college districts for students who demonstrate financial need or are otherwise eligible for the waiver. Existing law requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to allocate, to community college districts for determining financial need and delivering student financial aid services, an amount based on the amount of fees waived. This bill would amend the Donahoe Higher Education Act to require the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and to request the Regents of the University of California, to establish procedures and forms that enable persons who are exempt from paying nonresident tuition under that provision, or who meet equivalent requirements adopted by the regents, to be eligible to receive institutional financial aid awards. The bill would define institutional financial aid as financial assistance offered by a campus of the California Community Colleges, California State University, or University of California, including grant, scholarship, workstudy, and loan programs. The bill would specify that institutional financial aid does not include a specified board of governors fee waiver. The bill would declare that it is a state law within the meaning of a federal statute that permits a state to provide an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States with eligibility for a state or local public benefit only through the enactment of a state law affirmatively providing for that eligibility. The bill would apply to the University of California only if the regents, by appropriate resolution, act to make it applicable.