Asm. Jacqui Irwin

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies. Existing law authorizes the commission to impose a surcharge to collect $330,000,000 for deposit into the CASF beginning January 1, 2018, and continuing through the 2022 calendar year. Existing law specifies the amount of surcharge revenues to be deposited into each account within the CASF, subject to appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would authorize the commission to impose the surcharge to fund the CASF until December 31, 2032, as specified. Existing law requires the commission, until April 1, 2023, to annually report specified information to the Legislature, including the remaining unserved areas in the state, the status of the CASF balance, and the projected amount to be collected in each year. This bill would require the commission to report that information in perpetuity. This bill would authorize the commission to require each internet service provider, as defined, to report specified information regarding each free, low-cost, income-qualified, or affordable internet service plan advertised by the provider. (2) Existing law requires the commission to require interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service providers to collect and remit surcharges on their California intrastate revenues in support of specified public purpose program funds. Existing law authorizes those providers to use certain methodologies to identify their intrastate revenues subject to the surcharge. This bill would repeal that authorization to use those methodologies. (3) Existing law establishes the deaf and disabled telecommunications program and requires the commission to establish a rate recovery mechanism through a surcharge not to exceed 12 of 1% uniformly applied to a subscriber's intrastate telephone service, other than one-way radio paging service and universal telephone service, until January 1, 2025, to allow providers of equipment and service pursuant to that program to recover their costs as they are incurred. This bill would revise those requirements to instead require the commission to administer a surcharge to collect revenues of up to $100,000,000 per year until January 1, 2025, subject to annual appropriation of moneys by the Legislature, to allow providers of equipment and service pursuant to the deaf and disabled telecommunications program to recover their costs as they are incurred. (4) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the 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. (5) This bill would become effective only if SB 4 of the 2021–22 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2022. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act governs charitable corporations, unincorporated associations, trustees, commercial fundraisers, fundraising counsel, commercial coventurers, and other legal entities holding or soliciting property for charitable purposes over which the state or the Attorney General has enforcement and supervisory powers. The act requires certain entities to register with and to file specified items with the Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts. Additionally, the act requires registration forms and written reports to be filed with the Attorney General under oath, in accordance with rules and regulations. Under the act, any person who violates any of the act's provisions with intent to deceive or defraud any charity or individual is liable for a specified civil penalty. The act also authorizes the Attorney General to impose other specified civil penalties for related acts and omissions. The act prohibits specified acts and practices in the planning, conduct, or execution of any solicitation or charitable sales promotion including misrepresenting or misleading anyone in any manner to believe that another person sponsors, endorses, or approves a charitable solicitation or charitable sales promotion when that person has not given consent in writing to the use of the person's name for these purposes. The act also prohibits representing that any part of the contributions solicited by a charitable organization will be given or donated to any other charitable organization unless that organization has consented in writing to the use of its name prior to the solicitation. This bill, beginning January 1, 2023, would establish that charitable fundraising platforms and platform charities are trustees for charitable purposes subject to the Attorney General's supervision. The bill would define "charitable fundraising platform" to mean certain legal entities that use the internet to provide a website, service, or other platform to persons in this state, and perform, permit, or otherwise enable certain acts of solicitation to occur. A "platform charity" would be defined to mean a trustee or charitable corporation as defined under the act that facilitates described acts of solicitation on a charitable fundraising platform. The bill would require a charitable fundraising platform, before soliciting, permitting, or otherwise enabling solicitations, to register with the Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts, under oath, on a form provided by the Attorney General. The bill would require persons or entities that meet the definition of a charitable fundraising platform and platform charity to register as a charitable fundraising platform. The bill would require annual renewal of registration. The bill would require the Attorney General to impose registration and renewal fees and deposit revenues in the Registry of Charitable Trusts Fund, for use as specified. The bill would require a charitable fundraising platform to file annual reports, under oath, with the registry on a form provided by the Attorney General. The bill would restrict a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity to soliciting, permitting, or otherwise enabling solicitations, or receiving, controlling, or distributing funds from donations for recipient or other charitable organizations in good standing, as defined. The bill would require a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity that performs, permits, or otherwise enables specific acts of solicitation, before a person can complete a donation or select or change a recipient charitable organization, to provide prescribed conspicuous disclosures that prevent a likelihood of deception, confusion, or misunderstanding. The bill would require a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity that solicits, permits, or otherwise enables solicitations to obtain the written consent of a recipient charitable organization before using its name in a solicitation, as prescribed. Written consent would not be required for certain acts of solicitation if specific requirements are met. The bill would require a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity, after donors contribute donations based on certain solicitations, to promptly provide a tax donation receipt in accordance with specified provisions. The bill would prohibit a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity from diverting or otherwise misusing the donations received through solicitation on the charitable fundraising platform, and require the entity to hold them in a separate account and to ensure donations and grants of recommended donations are sent promptly to recipient charitable organizations with an accounting of any fees imposed for processing the funds and in accordance with rules and regulations. The bill would require the Attorney General to establish rules and regulations they determine to be necessary for the administration of the bill's provisions, in accordance with prescribed requirements. The bill would make conforming changes to the act. By expanding the crime of perjury, the 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.

(1) Existing law generally authorizes the State Registrar, a local registrar, or a county recorder to furnish a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage certificate to an authorized person, as defined, who submits a written, faxed, or digitized image of a request accompanied by a notarized statement, sworn under penalty of perjury, that the applicant is an authorized person. Existing law, until January 1, 2022, additionally authorizes these officials to accept an electronic request for a certified copy of these records if the request is accompanied by an electronic verification of identity and an electronic statement sworn under penalty of perjury. The bill would delete the January 1, 2022, sunset date for authorizing an official to accept an electronic request, thereby applying those provisions indefinitely. By expanding the crime of perjury applicable to an electronic statement sworn under penalty of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also specify the guidelines for the electronic verification of identity and require the completion of a privacy risk assessment, as required by those guidelines. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (3) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Existing law establishes the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The California State University comprises 23 institutions of higher education. Existing law requires the California State University to provide specified information about the proficiency of freshmen at each of its campuses in a preliminary report submitted on or before December 15 of each year and in a final report to the Legislature submitted on or before February 1 of each year. This bill would instead require the California State University to provide specified information to the Legislature about the placement of freshmen at each of its campuses for purposes of certain general education requirements in one report to be submitted by April 1 of each year. This placement information would include the number of freshmen at each campus, the freshmen's levels of placement for general education written communication and mathematics and quantitative reasoning, an analysis of the factors used by the university in its determination of freshmen's levels of placement, an analysis of any equity gaps by income, race, or ethnicity within and across the university's levels of placement, and the university's plan to address any such gaps.

(1) Existing law prohibits, during the prosecution of specified sex crimes, the admission of evidence of the manner in which the victim was dressed, when offered by either the prosecution or the defendant on the issue of consent, unless the court finds the evidence relevant and admissible in the interests of justice. This bill would prohibit the court from admitting evidence, in the above circumstances, of the manner in which the victim was dressed, upon a finding that the evidence is relevant and admissible in the interests of justice. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1103 of the Evidence Code proposed by AB 1171 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1171 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (3) The California Constitution provides that relevant evidence shall not be excluded in any criminal proceeding except as provided by statute enacted by a 23 vote of the membership of each house of the Legislature. Because this bill would limit the admissibility of evidence in criminal proceedings, it would require a 23 vote.

(1) The California Hospice Licensure Act of 1990 generally requires a person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency to obtain a license from the State Department of Public Health to provide hospice to an individual who is experiencing the last phase of life due to a terminal disease and their family, except as provided. The act imposes criminal penalties on any person who violates any provision of the act or any rule or regulation promulgated under the act. This bill would prohibit a hospice provider, employed hospice staff, or an agent for the hospice from paying referral sources for the referral of patients to the hospice. The bill would prohibit a hospice salesperson, recruiter, agent, or employee who receives compensation or remuneration for hospice referrals or admissions from providing consultation on hospice services, hospice election, or informed consent to a patient, patient's family, or patient's representative. The bill would require a specified person, including a registered nurse or medical social worker, to complete the election of hospice, informed consent, completed signatures, and counsel on the election of hospice with a patient, patient's family, or patient's representative. The bill would require a hospice to provide verbal and written notice of the patient's rights and responsibilities to the patient or the patient's representative, in a language and manner the person understands, before providing care. Because the bill would expand the scope of the crime applicable for a violation of the act, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law establishes the California Board of Accountancy in the Department of Consumer Affairs for the purpose of licensing and regulating the practice of accountancy and provides that the officers of the board are a president, vice president, and a secretary-treasurer. Existing law requires the president to preside at all meetings of the board, and in the event of the president's absence or inability to act, requires the vice president to preside. This bill would require the secretary-treasurer to preside at meetings of the board if both the president and vice president are absent or unable to act. The bill would authorize the president to designate a board member who is not an officer to preside at a meeting of the board if all officers of the board are absent or unable to act at that meeting. Existing law prohibits a person from engaging in the practice of public accountancy in this state unless the person holds a valid permit issued by the board or a practice privilege, as specified. Existing law requires an applicant to report to the board a valid email address if the applicant has one, at the time of application for, or renewal of, a public accountant license. Existing law provides that these email addresses are not considered public records and prohibits these email addresses from being disclosed pursuant to specified provisions of law, unless required pursuant to a court order. This bill would recast these provisions to, in the interest of protecting the privacy of applicants and licensees, prohibit from disclosure all email addresses provided by applicants or licensees, and would make conforming changes. Existing law sets forth the requirements for an applicant to qualify for the certified public accountant license and requires an applicant for admission to the examination to present evidence to the board that the applicant has completed specified education requirements. This bill would, instead, authorize the board to admit an applicant to the certified public accountant examination before the applicant completes those education requirements if the applicant is enrolled in a degree-granting university, college, or other institution of learning and is within 180 days of completing the educational requirements to qualify for the certified public accountant license, as specified. The bill would require an applicant for licensure to provide documentation of completion of specified coursework, including coursework in ethics, accountants' professional responsibilities, auditing, or fraud. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Existing law, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, regulates common interest developments and requires a managing agent, at the written request of the board of directors of the association, to deposit funds the managing agent receives on behalf of the association into a bank, savings association, or credit union in the state if specified requirements are met, including, among other things, that the funds are covered by insurance provided by the federal government. This bill would require the bank, savings association, or credit union to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration Insurance Fund, or a guaranty corporation, as specified, and would make conforming changes. The bill would also impose certain limits on the use of funds deposited on behalf of an association, including prohibiting funds from being invested in stocks or high-risk investment options. Existing law prohibits transfers of greater than $10,000 or 5% of an association's total combined reserve and operating account deposits, whichever is lower, without written approval from the board. This bill would instead prohibit transfers of funds out of the association's reserve or operating accounts unless the amount of the transfer is the lesser of five thousand dollars $5,000 or 5% of the estimated income in the annual operating budget, for associations with 50 or less separate interests, or the lesser of $10,000 or 5% of the estimated income in the annual operating budget, for associations with 51 or more separate interests without prior written approval from the board. Existing law prohibits the managing agent from commingling the funds of the association with the managing agent's own money or with the money of others that the managing agent receives or accepts, unless specified requirements are met. This bill would remove the specified requirements and, without qualification, prohibit the managing agent from commingling the funds of the association with the managing agent's own money or with the money of others that the managing agent receives or accepts. Existing law requires the association to maintain fidelity bond coverage for its directors, officers, and employees, and requires the fidelity bond coverage to also include computer fraud and funds transfer fraud and, if the association uses a managing agent or management company, coverage for dishonest acts by that person or entity and its employees. This bill would specifically require the association to maintain crime insurance, employee dishonesty coverage, fidelity bond coverage, or their equivalent, for the association and the association's managing agent or management company and would require the protection against computer and funds transfer fraud to be in an equal amount. The bill would specify that self-insurance does not meet the requirements of these provisions.

The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018 established as a policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2045. The act requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , and State Air Resources Board to, as part of a public process, issue a joint report to the Legislature by January 1, 2021, and every 4 years thereafter, that includes specified information relating to the implementation of the policy. Existing law requires the PUC and the Energy Commission to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state's clean energy and pollution reduction objectives. This bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before June 1, 2022, to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits and to establish offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in coordination with specified agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to submit the strategic plan to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature on or before June 30, 2023. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in coordination with specified agencies, to work with stakeholders, state, local, and federal agencies, and the offshore wind energy industry to identify suitable sea space for wind energy areas in federal waters sufficient to accommodate the offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in coordination with relevant state and local agencies, to develop a plan to improve waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the PUC and Independent System Operator, to assess the transmission investments and upgrades necessary to support the offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to develop and produce a permitting roadmap that describes timeframes and milestones for a permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure off the coast of California. The bill would require the information described in this paragraph and potential impacts on coastal resources, fisheries, Native American and Indigenous peoples, and national defense, and strategies for addressing those potential impacts, to be included in the strategic plan, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before December 31, 2022, to submit to the Natural Resources Agency and the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature a preliminary assessment of the economic benefits of offshore wind as they relate to seaport investments and workforce development needs and standards. The bill would repeal all of these provisions on January 1, 2027.