Asm. Laura Friedman

This measure would recognize the month of June 2018 as California's Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month and Thursday, June 21, 2018, as The Longest Day in California, and would urge all Californians to wear purple on this day to help spread global awareness of the Alzheimer's Association's vision of a world without Alzheimer's disease.

Existing law declares that the fostering, continuance, and development of public transportation systems are a matter of statewide concern. Existing law creates the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, with various powers and duties with respect to transportation planning, programming, construction, and operations. This bill would authorize the authority to adopt, and revise as necessary, a commute benefit ordinance that requires covered employers operating within the authority's area with a specified number of employees to offer certain employees commute benefits, as specified, except that the bill would prohibit the ordinance from affecting employers covered by certain South Coast Air Quality Management District rules or regulations. The bill would require the ordinance to specify certain matters, including any consequences for noncompliance. The bill would, if the authority adopts a commute benefit ordinance, require the authority, before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the transportation policy committees of each house of the Legislature and the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality that includes specified elements.

Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of all state highways and associated property, and sets forth the powers and duties of the department with respect to the operation, maintenance, and improvement of state highways. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into an agreement to accept funds, materials, equipment, or services from any person for maintenance or roadside enhancement of a section of a state highway. Existing law requires the department to discontinue further water intensive freeway landscaping and to use drought resistant landscaping whenever feasible, taking into consideration specified factors. This bill would require planting projects undertaken or approved by the department to include, when appropriate and consistent with integrated pest management strategies, California native wildflowers and native and climate-appropriate vegetation as an integral and permanent part of the planting design, with priority given to those species of wildflower and native and climate-appropriate vegetation that will help rebuild pollinator populations.

This measure would proclaim and acknowledge the month of June 2018 as Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month in California and would reiterate the importance of annually recognizing Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month in the state.

This measure would proclaim June 27, 2018, as HIV Testing Day in California and would encourage Californians to learn their HIV statuses.

This bill would recognize the month of June 2018 as Portuguese National Heritage Month.