Asm. Mike Feuer

This measure would designate the month of September of every year as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month throughout the State of California, and would encourage and promote efforts to educate the people and the health care practitioners of the state regarding ovarian cancer and its early detection and prevention, the risk factors involved in its development, and the early warning symptoms and signs.

This measure would proclaim May 2 through May 9, 2011, as Cinco de Mayo Week, and would urge all Californians to join in celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

Existing law requires agents and insurers to fulfill certain requirements with regard to the replacement of existing life insurance policies and annuities. This bill would require insurers and insurance producers, as defined, to comply with specified requirements regarding the purchase, exchange, or replacement of an annuity recommended to a consumer, including, but not limited to, having reasonable grounds for the insurance producer believing the annuity transaction would be suitable for the consumer, as provided. The bill would also prohibit an insurance producer from selling annuities unless he or she has received Insurance Commissioner-approved training, and would authorize the commissioner to require certain actions by, and impose sanctions and penalties on, insurers and their agents for a violation of the bill's provisions. The bill would further provide that sales by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker-dealer that comply with the suitability and supervision requirements of FINRA shall be deemed to satisfy the suitability and supervision requirements of this bill, as specified.

This measure would designate a specified location on State Highway Route 1 in the City of Guadalupe in Santa Barbara County as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. This measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering those costs, to erect those signs.

(1) The Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. That law provides various exemptions from those taxes. On and after March 1, 2012, this bill would provide partial exemptions equal to specified percentages of state sales and use taxes imposed at a combined rate of 5% for the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, tangible personal property, as defined, purchased for use by a qualified person, as defined, primarily in any stage of manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of tangible personal property; in research and development; to maintain, repair, measure, or test specified tangible personal property; and by a contractor for use in a construction contract with a qualified person, as specified. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board and the State Board of Equalization to provide specified information to the Director of Finance and would require the director to make certain determinations regarding whether this act has caused or will cause a net increase or decrease in the amount of revenues and to correspondingly increase or decrease the exemption to certain taxpayers that received only a limited exemption, as specified. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Exemptions from state sales and use taxes are incorporated in these laws. This bill would specify that this exemption does not apply to local sales and use taxes and transactions and use taxes. (2) The Personal Income Tax Law imposes taxes based upon taxable income. That law also allows specified credits, exemptions, and exclusions, and imposes an alternative minimum tax with respect to certain items of tax preferences. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, exclude from taxable income under this law an amount equal to 10% of the business income of a taxpayer, not to exceed $5,000, as specified, but would require the amount excluded to be included as an item of tax preferences for purposes of the alternative minimum tax. (3) The Personal Income Tax Law allows a standard deduction, as defined, in computing the income subject to tax. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, increase the standard deduction by 27%, as specified. (4) The Corporation Tax Law imposes taxes measured by income at a rate of 8.84%, as specified. The Corporation Tax Law imposes a minimum franchise tax of $800, except as provided, on every corporation incorporated in this state, qualified to transact intrastate business in this state, or doing business in this state, and a tax in an amount equal to the minimum franchise tax on every limited liability company registered, qualified to transact business, or doing business in this state, as specified. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2012, reduce that rate to 8.34% on the amount of net income that is less than or equal to $50,000 for the taxable year, except as specified. The bill would reduce the annual minimum franchise tax to $750 for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012. (5) The Corporation Tax Law imposes taxes measured by income and, in the case of a business with income derived from or attributable to sources both within and without this state, apportions the income between this state and other states and foreign countries in accordance with a specified 4-factor formula based on the property, payroll, and sales within and without this state, except that in the case of an apportioning trade or business that derives more than 50% of its gross business receipts from conducting one or more qualified business activities, as defined, business income is apportioned in accordance with a specified 3-factor formula. That law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, allows a taxpayer to have that income apportioned in accordance with a single sales factor formula, except as provided, pursuant to an irrevocable annual election, as specified. That law also provides that sales of tangible and intangible personal property are in this state in accordance with specified criteria. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, revise the rules which determine whether a taxpayer is doing business within this state, revise the provisions which determine whether specific sales occur in this state, and require a taxpayer, except as provided, to apportion its income in accordance with a single sales factor. (6) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. (7) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. Governor Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 6, 2010. Governor Brown issued a proclamation on January 20, 2011, declaring and reaffirming that a fiscal emergency exists and stating that his proclamation supersedes the earlier proclamation for purposes of that constitutional provision. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared and reaffirmed by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 20, 2011, pursuant to the California Constitution. (8) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This measure would proclaim October 22 to October 30, 2011, as including Red Ribbon Week, and would encourage all Californians to help build drug-free communities and participate in drug prevention activities.

This measure would proclaim the month of March of every year as Read Across California Month and request that public and private stakeholders work together to raise awareness of the importance of reading to young children and the importance of independent reading among our pupils and citizens of California by encouraging everyone to read for 30 minutes for 30 days during the month of March of every year, in conjunction with the Read Across America campaign held annually on March 2.

This measure would recognize June 19, 2011, as Veterans of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Day, in memory of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy and the victims of the Vietnam War, and in honor of the survivors, activists, and freedom fighters of that war.

This measure would recognize March 31, 2011, as the anniversary of the birth of César Chávez, and would call upon all Californians to participate in appropriate observances to remember César Chávez as a symbol of hope and justice to all persons.

This measure would continue designation and observance of the month of October as Italian American Heritage Month. This measure would also encourage the Legislature to continue the Italian American Legislator Project and welcome the exhibit "The Italian American Legislator Project of 2011: A Legacy of Service to the California Legislature" to the State Capitol Building in October 2011 and encourage all Californians, through the K–12 curriculum and otherwise, to learn about the history, role, and contributions of Italian Americans to the State of California.