Asm. Chad Mayes

This measure would designate the month of May 2022 as California Fairgrounds Appreciation Month and would extend the Legislature's warmest regards and appreciation to the thousands of volunteers, fair directors, staff, business supporters, and sponsors who keep the network of California state fairgrounds strong, vibrant, relevant, and successful.

This measure would proclaim Friday, May 27, 2022, as National Poppy Day.

This measure would declare June 8, 2022, as California Nonprofits Day in recognition of the importance of nonprofit organizations to the economy and well-being of this state.

Existing statutory law imposes taxes on the gross premiums of an insurer, as defined, and allows various credits against those taxes. The California Constitution imposes exactions against insurers from another state or country under specified conditions. This bill would establish the California Jumpstart Act. The act would allow a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2025, until January 1, 2030, in an amount equal to the amount of a relief contribution, as defined, that meets specified requirements. The bill would prohibit a taxpayer allowed a credit under the act for a qualified relief investment from being eligible for any other credit, as specified, with respect to that investment. The bill would require the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA) to, among other things, accept applications for approval as a relief fund that meet specified requirements, including that the application include a signed certification from the chief executive officer or another similar officer of each investor committing to make a relief contribution and stating the amount of that commitment, among other attestations. The bill also would authorize the CPCFA to recover any tax credit allowed and revoke the tax credit certificates issued to a taxpayer if the taxpayer engages in specified behavior, including, failing to invest 100% of its investment authority in relief investments within 2 years of the closing date. The bill would require the CPCFA to act in consultation with the Department of Insurance to accomplish these responsibilities where specified. This bill would require, among other things, the CPCFA to undertake outreach activities to encourage investment in impact businesses, including, but not limited to, partnering with organizations representing persons and business enterprises from small businesses more than 50% owned by minorities, women, disabled veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender persons, as described. The bill would also establish the Treasury Relief Investment Fund in the State Treasury, and would continuously appropriate the fund for purposes of these provisions. The bill would authorize CPCFA to direct the Treasurer to invest moneys in the fund, as specified, and would authorize CPCFA to use proceeds in the fund for administrative purposes. By continuously appropriating moneys in the fund, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would provide that the California Jumpstart Act is only operative for taxable years for which an appropriation is made for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or other statute. This bill would require various certifications by officers of an investor and would require a relief fund that has not decertified to annually certify under penalty of perjury that the relief fund has not violated any of the grounds for recovery and revocation of credits. By expanding the crime of perjury, 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.

This measure would designate the month of May 2022 as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Month in California.

This measure would proclaim the month of May 2022 as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month.

(1) Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law creates the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program to provide CalWORKs recipients with a one-time $500 education incentive award for the completion of a high school diploma or its equivalent and a one-time $1,000 education stipend for enrollment in an education or training program leading to a career technical education program certificate, an associate's degree, or a bachelor's degree. Existing law requires a county to comply with the provisions of the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program only to the extent funding for this purpose is appropriated in the annual Budget Act and available to the county. Under this bill, the issuance of an education incentive award or education stipend would be treated in the same manner as the federal earned income refund for the purpose of determining eligibility to receive benefits for public social services, as specified, and would not be taken into account as income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under any other state or local program to the extent that the exemption would not conflict with federal law, as specified. The bill would, subject to an appropriation, authorize the State Department of Social Services to establish a mechanism for the issuance of the awards or stipends in the form of a tax refund payment, without modifying or otherwise affecting the county process. The bill would set forth certain terms if the department elects to establish this mechanism, including requiring the Franchise Tax Board to determine the form and manner of the tax refund designation. The bill would also exempt the awards or stipends from a garnishment order, to the extent not in conflict with federal law. (2) The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year, but, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various exclusions from gross income. Existing law allows the California Earned Income Tax Credit against personal income tax, as specified. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure, as defined to include a credit or exclusion, to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements, as specified. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and until January 1, 2028, would exclude the education incentive awards or education stipends from the gross income of recipients for personal income tax purposes and would specify that the amount received would not be considered earned income for purposes of eligibility for the California Earned Income Tax Credit. The bill would include legislative findings relating to the purpose of the tax expenditure and would require the State Department of Social Services to submit a report to the Legislature, containing specified information, in each fiscal year during which an appropriation is made for the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program. (3) Existing law authorizes the Franchise Tax Board, as part of its administrative duties with respect to the collection of taxes, to seize assets of a delinquent taxpayer. Existing law authorizes the board to issue an order to specified financial institutions, persons, and entities, including an officer or department of the state, to withhold and remit liquid assets of a delinquent taxpayer in order to satisfy the tax obligations of that taxpayer. Under this bill, until January 1, 2028, the education incentive awards or education stipends would not be subject to withholding or levy for liabilities due, as specified. (4) Existing law requires the Controller to state an account with persons that receive funds or property belonging to the state and fail to properly render account thereof to the state, and persons that fail to pay to the State Treasury any money belonging to the state. Existing law requires the Controller to offset delinquent accounts against personal income tax refunds. Existing law authorizes the Controller to offset any amount due a state agency from a person or entity against any amount owing that person or entity by any state agency. This bill would, until, January 1, 2028, prohibit the Controller from offsetting delinquent accounts against the payment of an education incentive award or education stipend. (5) The California Constitution generally prohibits the total annual appropriations subject to limitation of the state from exceeding the appropriations limit for the prior fiscal year, adjusted for the change in the cost of living and the change in population, and defines "appropriations subject to limitation" to mean any authorization to expend during a fiscal year the proceeds of taxes levied by or for the state, except for, among other things, refunds of taxes. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the payment of an education incentive award or education stipend, if processed pursuant to the above-described tax refund mechanism, would constitute a refund of various taxes and would therefore be excluded from the appropriations subject to limitation.

(1) 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. These provisions qualify 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. This bill, except as specified, would prohibit the boards of specified state and local public retirement systems from making additional or new investments in prohibited companies, as defined, domiciled in Russia or Belarus, as defined, companies that the United States government has designated as complicit in the aggressor countries', as defined, war in Ukraine, or companies that supply military equipment to the aggressor countries, and to liquidate the investments of the board in those companies, as specified. The bill would also require the board, on or before January 1, 2023, and every year thereafter, to file a specified report with the Legislature. The bill would repeal these provisions on specified triggering events. By requiring the boards of local public retirement systems to take specified actions, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law specifies the duties of the Treasurer, which include receiving and keeping in the vaults of the State Treasury or depositing in banks or credit unions all moneys belonging to the state, and, except as specified, receiving and keeping in the vaults of the State Treasury or depositing for safekeeping with any federal reserve bank or any branch thereof, or with any trust company or the trust department of any state or national bank located in a city designated as a reserve or central reserve city by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, bonds and other securities or investments belonging to the state. This bill, except as specified, would prohibit the Treasurer from making additional or new investments or renewing existing investments of state moneys in any investment vehicle in the government of Russia or the government of Belarus that meets certain conditions, or in or from a Russian or Belarusian financial institution currently under sanctions imposed by the United States, as defined and specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on specified triggering events. (3) Existing law specifies how money received into the treasury must be credited and how those state funds are to be used. Existing law prohibits state funds from being used to reimburse a state contractor for costs incurred to assist, promote, or deter union organizing, as defined and specified. Existing law also prohibits state trust moneys from being used to make additional or new investments or to renew existing investments in business firms that engage in discriminatory practices in further of or in compliance with the Arab League's economic boycott of Israel, as defined and specified. This bill, except as specified, would prohibit a state agency, as defined, from making additional or new investments or renewing existing investments of state moneys in any investment vehicle in the government of Russia or the government of Belarus that meets certain conditions, or in or from Russian or Belarusian financial institutions currently under sanctions imposed by the United States, and would require a state agency to liquidate those investments. The bill would also require a state agency to file a specified report with the Legislature and the Governor. The bill would urge companies operating in California and the Regents of the University of California to divest and separate themselves from the government of Russia, Russian financial institutions, Russian businesses, the government of Belarus, Belarusian financial institutions, and Belarusian businesses, and would request companies doing business in California to report their investments in and contracts with the government of Russia, Russian financial institutions, Russian businesses, the government of Belarus, Belarusian financial institutions, and Belarusian businesses, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on specified triggering events. (4) Existing law authorizes state agencies to contract for goods, information technology, or services with certain suppliers, as specified. Existing law also makes companies in Sudan involved in certain activities ineligible to bid or submit a proposal for, and forbids them from bidding on or submitting a proposal for, a contract with a state agency for goods or services, as specified. This bill, except as specified, would make a company that conducts business with the government of Russia or the government of Belarus ineligible to bid or submit a proposal for, and would forbid that company from bidding on or submitting a proposal for, a contract with a state agency for goods or services, as defined and specified. The bill would require a state agency to require a company that submits a bid or proposal with respect to a contract for goods or services to certify that the company is not a scrutinized company, as prescribed. The bill would, among other things, make a company that submits a false certification under these provisions liable for a civil penalty, and would require the Department of General Services to report the company to the Attorney General, who would be required to determine whether to bring a civil action against the company, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on specified triggering events. (5) 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 the statutory provisions noted above. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would urge President Joseph Biden and Congress to facilitate the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees and call upon Governor Newsom to aid in their resettlement within California.