Existing law establishes the Office of Education and the Environment in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to implement the statewide environmental educational program and requires the office, in cooperation with the State Department of Education and the State Board of Education, to develop and implement a unified education strategy on the environment for elementary and secondary schools in the state. Existing law requires the office to develop a model environmental curriculum incorporating certain environmental principles and to submit the model curriculum for consideration and approval, as prescribed. This bill would expressly authorize the office to revise the model curriculum, as needed, and would provide for the review of and comment on a revision. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to make the curriculum available electronically and requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to assume the costs associated with the printing of the approved model curriculum. This bill would instead require CalRecycle to make the curriculum available electronically and would delete the requirement with regard to the assumption of those costs. The bill would require CalRecycle to coordinate with specified state agencies to facilitate use of the model environmental curriculum and would authorize CalRecycle and those state agencies to collaborate with other specified entities to implement the program. Existing law establishes the Environmental Education Account in the State Treasury and authorizes the California Environmental Protection Agency to expend the moneys in the account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. Existing law authorizes the California Environmental Protection Agency to enter into an agreement with an external fiscal agent with regard to contributions received for the purpose of the program, until January 1, 2013, and requires an annual report to the Legislature in this regard. This bill would instead authorize CalRecycle to expend the funds in the account and would repeal the authorization for the agreement with an external fiscal agent.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other things, establish professional standards, assessments, and examinations for entry and advancement in the education profession. This bill would require the commission to convene an advisory panel to explore the recognition of leadership roles within the teaching career pathway, as specified. The commission would be required to consider the findings of the advisory panel and report to the Governor and the Legislature on recommendations for the recognition of teacher leaders within one year of the advisory panel being convened. The bill would require the commission to use private funds to support the advisory panel, and would prohibit the use of General Fund moneys for this purpose. The bill would require the advisory panel to be convened only after the Department of Finance determines that private funds, in an amount sufficient to fully support the activities of the advisory panel, have been deposited with the state. The bill would require the department to file a written statement with specified persons that the determination has been made.
This measure would recognize June 12, 2012, as the 114th Anniversary of Philippine Independence, and would call upon the people of the state to observe the month of June with appropriate ceremonies, programs, and activities.
This measure would proclaim February 29, 2012, as Rare Disease Day in California.
This measure would designate the month of February 2012 as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, and would encourage all Californians to observe Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month with appropriate programs and activities that raise awareness about teen dating violence and promote healthy teen relationships in their communities.
This measure would declare the week of June 4, 2012, to June 10, 2012, inclusive, as Fire Safety and Disaster Preparedness Week.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates mass mailings, known as slate mailers, that support or oppose multiple candidates or ballot measures for an election. The act requires that each slate mailer identify the slate mailer organization or committee primarily formed to support or oppose one or more ballot measures that is sending the slate mailer, and to contain other specified information in specified formatting. The act requires that each candidate and each ballot measure that has paid to appear in the slate mailer be designated by an asterisk. This bill would instead require that a candidate or ballot measure appearing in the slate mailer be designated by an asterisk if the slate mailer organization or committee primarily formed to support or oppose one or more ballot measures that is sending the slate mailer has received payment to include the candidate or ballot measure in the slate mailer. The bill would also recast the language of the prescribed notice to voters that must be included on a slate mailer. The act also regulates advertisements, which are defined as any general or public advertisement that is authorized and paid for by a person or committee for the purpose supporting or opposing a candidate for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures. The act places certain disclosure requirements on advertisements for or against any ballot measure, including that the advertisement disclose any person who has made cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more, as prescribed. The act places more specific disclosure requirements on broadcast or mass mailing advertisements that are paid for by independent expenditures that support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure. This bill would repeal provisions relating to disclosures for advertisements paid for by an independent expenditure and required disclosures of persons who have made cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. This bill would, instead, impose specified disclosure requirements on radio, television, and video advertisements, and certain mass mailing and print advertisements that support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure or solicit contributions in support of those purposes. The bill would require radio, television, and video advertisements that are authorized by a candidate or agent of the candidate to include a statement in which the candidate identifies himself or herself and states that he or she approves the message, as specified. The bill would require radio, television, video, and certain mass mailings and print advertisements that are not authorized by a candidate or an agent of the candidate to disclose, in a prescribed format, the 3 largest identifiable contributors, as defined, of the committee that paid for the advertisement. The bill would require mass mailings or print advertisements that are paid for by certain persons who are not committees to disclose the name of that person as the funder of the mass mailing or print advertisement. The bill would also require that certain committees establish and maintain a committee disclosure Internet Web site, as defined, which discloses the top 10 identifiable contributors and provides a link to either the Internet Web site maintained by the Secretary of State for campaign finance disclosures of the committee, or a page on the committee disclosure Internet Web site that discloses all identifiable contributors to that committee, as specified. The bill would require these advertisements to identify the address for the committee disclosure Internet Web site. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes. 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. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the act may be amended by a statute that becomes effective upon approval of the voters. This measure would call a special statewide election to be consolidated with the statewide general election scheduled for November 4, 2014. It would provide for the submission to the voters of the provisions of this bill amending the Political Reform Act of 1974, as summarized above, at that election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an act calling an election.
This measure would recognize National Flag Day on June 14, 2012, honor the 52nd anniversary of the flying of the current American flag, and encourage all Californians to celebrate the occasion with appropriate activities.
Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, protects and safeguards the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination or abridgment on account of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, or sexual orientation. This bill would include "family caregiver status" as an additional basis upon which the right to seek, obtain, and hold employment cannot be denied.