Existing law, known as the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, establishes, among other programs, the Cal Grant A Entitlement Program, the Cal Grant B Entitlement Program, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Program and the Competitive Cal Grant A and B award program, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs. This bill would, commencing with the 2010–11 academic year, entitle an otherwise eligible student who is a member or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States, as defined, who meets prescribed requirements, including enrollment in a qualifying undergraduate certificate or degree program, to a Cal Grant A Entitlement Award or a Cal Grant B Entitlement Award. The bill also would require the Student Aid Commission to make preliminary awards to all applicants currently eligible for an award under the program, and would require each person who receives a preliminary award to affirm, in writing, that he or she meets specified requirements for eligibility in the program. The bill would require the commission to randomly select at least 10% of the new and renewal awards made under the program and verify that the student meets specified requirements for eligibility. The bill would require the commission to seek repayment of any funds found to be improperly disbursed under the program, and would require the commission to submit an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding, among other things, the number of awards made under this program.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Department of Finance, in its role of assisting the Governor in preparing the annual state budget, to develop, issue, and implement consistent and adequate guidelines for agencies required to submit budgets. This bill would additionally require the Department of Finance to develop a performance budgeting pilot project under which the budgets of at least 4 departments in specified fiscal years would be analyzed by specified criteria. The bill would require these pilot project budgets to be considered by the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review and the Assembly Committee on Budget. The bill would require the Department of Finance to evaluate this pilot project and report its findings to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee on or before January 1, 2014.
Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (smog check) program, developed, implemented, and administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The duty of enforcing and administering the program is vested in the Chief of the Bureau of Automotive Repair within the department. Existing law provides for a repair assistance program available to an individual whose maximum income level is 185% of the federal poverty level, or 225% of the federal poverty level if a certain determination is made, and who is the owner of a motor vehicle that has failed a smog check inspection or received a notice to correct, or an individual who has failed a smog check inspection and is directed to a test-only facility. This bill would make the repair assistance program available only to low-income individuals whose income does not exceed 225% of the federal poverty level, as specified. The bill would make other conforming changes, and delete obsolete provisions of law.
Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, upon the recommendation of the governing board of a school district, to issue an eminence credential to a person who has achieved eminence in a field of endeavor taught or service practiced in the public schools of California. The eminence credential authorizes teaching in the public schools in the subject or subject area or the performance of services in the public schools at the level approved by the commission, as designated on the credential. An eminence credential is issued initially for a 2-year period and may be renewed for a 3-year period by the commission upon the request of the governing board of the school district. Upon completion of the 3-year renewal period, the holder of an eminence credential is eligible, upon application, for a clear teaching credential. This bill, in addition, would authorize a county board of education, upon the recommendation of a school district, to authorize a county superintendent of schools to issue an eminence credential to a person who has demonstrated subject matter competence through an examination, college degree, or work experience, and if the subject or service in which the person demonstrates eminence is one that the governing board wishes to have taught in the schools of the district. The issuance of an eminence credential would be required to be based on a recommendation from the governing board of the school district, a statement of proposed employment, and a verification of the eminence qualifications of the individual. The county board of education would be required to provide notice to the public of the individuals to whom it is considering issuing eminence credentials and would be authorized to charge the applicant a fee to recover costs incurred in processing an eminence credential application. An applicant for a county-issued eminence credential would be required to comply with specified requirements relating to demonstration of moral character, including, but not limited to, successfully completing a moral character review conducted by the commission. The county-issued eminence credential would authorize teaching in the public schools in the authorizing county in the subject or subject area and at the level approved by the county superintendent of schools and would be issued initially for a 3-year period and renewable for a 2-year period. The bill would set forth the minimum requirements for renewal, including the study of health education and computer-based technology and completion of a program of personalized preparation and 2 semester units, or passage of an examination, on the United States Constitution. The holder of a county-issued eminence credential would be eligible to apply to the commission for a clear teaching credential upon completion of the 2-year renewal period. The clear teaching credential would authorize teaching in any public school in the state, in subjects and levels as approved by the commission. A county office of education would be required to notify the commission when it issues and renews an eminence credential. The commission would be required to track and report on the county-issued eminence credentials in the same manner that existing eminence credentials are reported. These provisions would become inoperative on January 1, 2014, and would be repealed on January 1, 2015. By increasing the duties of county boards of education, 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 Commission on Teacher Credentialing to adopt standards for the issuance of teaching credentials to persons, as specified. The commission may approve any institution of higher education to recommend the issuance of credentials to persons who have successfully completed a teacher education program of the institution if the program meets the standards approved by the commission. Existing law also requires an institution of higher education whose teacher education program has been accredited by the commission to approve and electronically submit credential applications to the commission, and the commission is required to grant credentials to these applicants based upon that approval. This bill would authorize the commission to approve an institution, including an institution of higher education, school district, county office of education, or community-based or noneducational institution to recommend the issuance of credentials to persons who have successfully completed a teacher education program of the institution if the program meets the standards approved by the commission. The bill would further require an institution, including an institution of higher education, school district, county office of education, or community-based or noneducational institution whose educator preparation program has been accredited by the commission to approve and electronically submit credential applications to the commission, and would require the commission to grant credentials to these applicants based upon that approval. The bill would authorize the commission to assess a fee on an institution seeking approval for an educator preparation program unless the institution is regulated by another state agency.
(1) Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that school district governing boards establish a uniform system of evaluation and assessment of the performance of all certificated personnel within each school district of the state. Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to evaluate and assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates to the progress of pupils, instructional techniques and strategies, the employee's adherence to curricular objectives, and the establishment and maintenance of a suitable learning environment. This bill would authorize a school district to use data from the California Education Information System, including data from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, for purposes of evaluating the performance of a certificated employee and determining whether to require the employee to complete professional development activities as a result of the evaluation. (2) Existing law authorizes the dismissal of a permanent certificated employee only for one of several specified causes, including unsatisfactory performance. This bill would provide, for purposes of that provision, that unsatisfactory performance also includes, but is not limited to, the failure of a certificated employee to satisfactorily complete professional development activities required as a result of receiving an unsatisfactory rating on a performance evaluation that is based in whole or in part on data from the California Education Information System.
(1) Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt procedures for determining the compliance of any system designed for the control of gasoline vapor emissions during gasoline marketing operations, including storage and transfer operations, and additional performance standards to ensure that systems for the control of gasoline vapors from motor vehicle fueling operations do not cause excessive spillage and emissions. Existing law prohibits the state board from requiring a gasoline dispensing facility that meets certain requirements from undergoing an Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II upgrade until April 1, 2011. This bill would exempt a gasoline dispensing facility that does not meet these requirements from penalties for failing to undergo an Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II upgrade until April 1, 2010. (2) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution.
(1) Existing law requires that, when a reduction in the number of certificated employees employed by a school district is authorized for specified reasons, the notice of the termination of the services of an employee in the subsequent school year be given, in a prescribed manner, before May 15. This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to the effect of the outcome of the May 19, 2009, special election on school district budgets. The bill would require that, in 2009 only, the deadline for the notice of termination of services be changed to June 15. (2) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect, unless the project is exempt from the act. CEQA provides for various exemptions from its requirements. Existing law requires cities and counties to prepare, adopt, and amend general plans containing specified elements. This bill would exempt from CEQA any activity or approval, necessary or incidental to, the development, planning, design, site acquisition, subdivision, financing, leasing, construction, operation, or maintenance of a stadium complex and associated development included in the same project or approval together with any accessory roadway, utility, or other infrastructure improvement to that stadium complex and associated development, for which an application for the project or approval was submitted on or before January 31, 2009, to the City of Industry, if specified requirements are met. The bill would require the city to require the stadium complex and associated development to comply with those mitigation measures that are contained in a mitigation monitoring and reporting program that is adopted by the City of Industry in connection with the stadium complex and associated development. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of the exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill also would exempt from any legal requirement concerning the content of a general plan or consistency with a general plan, and prohibit those requirements from resulting in the invalidation of, the city's approval of, and decisions regarding, specified actions taken with respect to the stadium complex and associated development included in the same project or approval and any accessory improvements to that stadium complex and associated development. The bill additionally would provide that a consistency determination is not required by the city for any decision with respect to those actions. (2) The bill would have retroactive application. (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. (4) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution.
Under existing law, the Department of General Services, except in the case of contracts for professional bond services, is the administering agency of the California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program, which requires state agencies and all other state entities contracting for materials, supplies, equipment, alteration, repair, or improvement to have at least 3% participation goals for disabled veteran business enterprises. Existing law specifies the duties of the Department of General Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs in meeting that requirement, and sets standards for meeting the program's participation goals, as provided. This bill would require an awarding department, upon completion of an awarded contract for which a commitment to achieve a disabled veteran business enterprise goal was made, to require the prime contractor that entered into a subcontract with a disabled veteran business enterprise to certify to the awarding department certain information pertaining to the contract, and that all payments under the contract have been made to the disabled veteran business enterprise. This bill would also require an awarding department to keep that certification on file. This bill would specify that a person or entity that knowingly provides false information is subject to a civil penalty, as specified, and that an action for a civil penalty may be brought by any public prosecutor in the name of the people of the State of California. The bill would authorize a prime contractor, subject to the approval of the Department of General Services, to replace a disabled veteran business enterprise identified by the prime contractor in its bid or offer, as provided, with another disabled veteran business enterprise.