Existing law, the California Control of Profits of Organized Crime Act, provides the procedure for the forfeiture of property and proceeds acquired through a pattern of criminal profiteering activity, as specified, and requires the prosecution to file a petition for forfeiture in conjunction with certain criminal charges. Under existing law, criminal profiteering activity is defined to include specified crimes, including human trafficking. This bill would include within the definition of criminal profiteering activity any crime in which the perpetrator induces, encourages, or persuades, or causes through force, fear, coercion, deceit, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person, a person under 18 years of age to engage in a commercial sex act. Under existing law, in any case involving human trafficking of minors for purposes of prostitution or lewd conduct, or in any case involving abduction or procurement by fraudulent inducement for prostitution, in lieu of the distribution procedure described above, the proceeds shall be deposited in the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund to be available for appropriation to fund child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse victim counseling centers and prevention programs. This bill would include the proceeds from any case in which the perpetrator induces, encourages, or persuades, or causes through force, fear, coercion, deceit, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person, a person under 18 years of age to engage in a commercial sex act, to be deposited in the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund to be available for appropriation to fund child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse victim counseling centers and prevention programs, as specified. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, 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.
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Existing law, part of the hazardous waste control law, requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt regulations to establish a process by which chemicals or chemical ingredients in products may be identified and prioritized for consideration as being chemicals of concern and to adopt regulations to establish a process by which chemicals of concern may be evaluated. The department is prohibited from duplicating or adopting conflicting regulations for regulated product categories. A violation of the hazardous waste control law is a crime. The bill would enact the Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act, which would, except as specified, prohibit, on and after July 1, 2013, the manufacture, sale, or distribution in commerce of any bottle or cup that contains bisphenol A, at a detectable level above 0.1 parts per billion (ppb) , if the bottle or cup is designed or intended to be filled with any liquid, food, or beverage intended primarily for consumption by children 3 years of age or younger. This prohibition would not apply to a product subject to a regulatory response by the department, on the date that a prescribed notice is posted regarding the department's adoption of the regulatory response. The bill would also require manufacturers to use the least toxic alternative when replacing bisphenolA in containers in accordance with this bill.
Existing federal law provides for the allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states, with California's version of this program known as the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. Under the CalWORKs program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals who meet specified eligibility criteria. Existing law imposes limits on the amount of income and personal and real property an individual or family may possess in order to be eligible for aid under the CalWORKs program, including specifying the allowable value of a licensed vehicle retained by an applicant for, or recipient of, that aid. This bill would delete existing requirements for assessing the value of a motor vehicle for purposes of CalWORKs program eligibility. The bill would exclude the value of a licensed motor vehicle from consideration when determining or redetermining CalWORKs eligibility. By increasing the duties of counties administering the CalWORKs program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continually appropriates money from the General Fund to pay for a share of aid grant costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would declare that no appropriation would be made for purposes of the bill pursuant to the provision continuously appropriating funds for the CalWORKs 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, 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing laws governing the taxation of insurers, the Personal Income Tax Law, and the Corporation Tax Law, authorize, until January 1, 2012, a credit in an amount equal to 20% of a qualified investment, as defined, made into a community development financial institution, as defined, but not to exceed, in the aggregate amount under all those laws, $10,000,000 per year. The bill would extend the operation of the credits until January 1, 2017, would eliminate specified limitations on the aggregate certified investments, and would eliminate certain requirements regarding certificates issued to taxpayers. The bill would, until December 1, 2015, authorize the Insurance Commissioner to establish a California Organized Investment Network Advisory Board, as specified, to advise the California Organized Investment Network on the best methods of increasing insurance investments while providing fair returns to investors and social benefits to underserved communities, increase the level and number of contacts among executives in the insurance industry, and recommend programmatic guidelines to the California Organized Investment Network program. The bill would also authorize the California Organized Investment Network, in allocating qualified investment credits, when certain conditions are met, to prioritize applications for those credits, as specified.
The California Constitution provides that the Legislature may by statute prohibit retirement board investments if it is in the public interest to do so, and providing that the prohibition satisfies specified fiduciary standards. The California Public Divest from Iran Act prohibits the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) from investing public employee retirement funds in a company with business operations in Iran that is invested in or engaged in business operations with entities in the defense or nuclear sectors of Iran, or the company is invested or engaged in business operations with entities involved in the development of petroleum or natural gas resources of Iran, and that company is subject to sanctions under federal law, as specified, or the company is engaged in business operations with an Iranian organization that has been labeled as a terrorist organization by the United States government. Existing law requires the Board of Administration of PERS and the Teachers' Retirement Board of STRS to sell or transfer any investments in a company with business operations in Iran, until Iran is removed from the United States Department of State's list of countries that have been determined to repeatedly provide support for acts of international terrorism and the President of the United States determines and certifies that Iran has ceased its efforts to design, develop, manufacture, or acquire a nuclear explosive device or related materials and technology, as specified. Existing law requires the boards of PERS and STRS, on or before June 30, 2008, to determine the companies that are subject to divestment and to notify those companies and request that those companies take substantial action to curtail or end business operations, as described above, in Iran. Existing law provides that the board is not required to divest if the board determines that the company has taken substantial action in a 90-day period to curtail or end those operations. Existing law excepts certain investments from these requirements, including those in companies providing humanitarian relief and promoting health, education, journalistic, religious, or welfare activities. Existing law provides that nothing in those provisions requires the Board of Administration of PERS or the Teachers' Retirement Board of STRS to take action as described in those provisions unless the board determines, in good faith and based on specified information, that the action is consistent with the fiduciary responsibilities of the board as described in a specified provision of the California Constitution. This bill would prohibit the boards from investing in a company that has an investment of $20,000,000 or more in the energy sector of Iran, as defined, including in a company that provides oil or liquefied natural gas tankers, or products used to construct or maintain pipelines used to transport oil or liquefied natural gas. The bill would require the boards to review their investments annually and would require that the boards' determinations that a company is taking substantial actions to end or curtail its operations, as described above, be supported by findings adopted by a rollcall vote of the boards following a presentation and discussion of the findings in open session, during a properly noticed public hearing of the full board. The bill would require all proposed findings to be made public 72 hours before they are considered by the board, and that the board maintain a list of interested parties to be notified of proposed findings 72 hours before the board's consideration. The bill would require the findings and any public comments regarding the adopted findings and determinations to be included in a report to the Legislature. The bill would make the same notice, rollcall vote, and public hearing requirements for adopted findings and determinations of the boards regarding divestments that are found to disadvantage the retirement funds. The bill would eliminate the exception provided for investments in certain companies providing humanitarian relief and promoting health, education, journalistic, religious, or welfare activities. The bill would revise the circumstances under which these provisions would cease to be operative to conform with current federal law. The bill would make findings regarding the California Public Divest from Iran Act and would provide that its provisions are severable.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing federal law, with certain exceptions, excludes federal financial participation for medical care provided to any individual who is an inmate in a public institution, and existing state law suspends Medi-Cal benefits, for a specified period of time, to an individual under 21 years of age who is an inmate of a public institution. Existing state law also provides that no person shall be denied benefits, for whom and for which federal financial participation is available, based solely on the individual's incarcerated status in a county or city jail or juvenile detention facility. Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the State Department of Health Care Services, to the extent that federal participation is not jeopardized and federal approval is obtained, to develop a process for the provision of inpatient hospital services to inmates who would otherwise be eligible for Medi-Cal, but for their institutional status as inmates. Existing law also authorizes, to the extent federal financial participation is available, the State Department of Health Care Services to provide Medi-Cal eligibility and reimbursement for inpatient hospital services to inmates, as defined. This bill would additionally require the State Department of Health Care Services to develop processes to allow counties and the Division of Juvenile Facilities within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to receive any available federal financial participation for acute inpatient hospital services and inpatient psychiatric services provided to juvenile inmates, as defined and as applicable, who are admitted as inpatients in a medical institution. The bill would require the department to consult with counties and the Division of Juvenile Facilities in the development of these processes, and would require the department to seek any federal approvals necessary to implement these provisions. The bill would provide that these provisions shall be implemented only to the extent that the Division of Juvenile Facilities and counties elect to voluntarily provide the nonfederal share of expenditures for acute inpatient hospital services and inpatient psychiatric services, and would require that the federal financial participation associated with services provided pursuant to these processes be paid to the participating counties or the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as applicable. The bill would provide that these provisions shall be implemented only to the extent that any necessary federal approval is obtained and existing levels of federal financial participation are not jeopardized. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
Existing law requires every person who manufactures an optical disc, as defined, for commercial purposes to permanently mark the manufactured optical disc with an identification mark or a unique identifying code, as specified. Existing law sets forth various definitions for purposes of these provisions. Existing law makes a manufacturer that violates these provisions guilty of a crime punishable by specified fines. Existing law also makes a person that engages in specified prohibited acts in violation of these provisions guilty of a crime punishable by specified fines or imprisonment. This bill would recast the definitions applicable to these provisions. The bill would prohibit a person who manufactures optical discs for commercial purposes from possessing, owning, controlling, or operating manufacturing equipment or any optical disc mold unless it has been adapted to apply the appropriate identification mark or unique identifying code. The bill would prohibit a person who manufactures optical discs for commercial purposes from making, possessing, or adapting any optical disc mold for the purpose of applying a forged, false, or deceptive identification mark or identifying code. The bill would authorize law enforcement officers to perform inspections, as specified, at commercial optical disc manufacturing facilities during regular business hours without a warrant for the purpose of verifying compliance with these provisions and would authorize law enforcement officers, in performing these investigations, to seize any optical disc or production part manufactured in violation of these provisions. The bill would require a person manufacturing optical discs for commercial purposes to maintain specified records. The bill would also increase the fines applicable to a manufacturer or person that violates the provisions regulating manufactured optical discs. Because a violation of the bill's provisions by a person who manufactures optical discs 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.
Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law authorizes the director to take enforcement action, including, but not limited to, actions to suspend or revoke a license and to impose civil penalties for violations. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would enact the RCFE Residents Foreclosure Protection Act of 2011 which would, with certain exceptions, require the licensee of a facility to notify the department, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and all residents, applicants, and, if applicable, their legal representatives, in writing within 2 business days of specified events, and would require the department to initiate a compliance plan, noncompliance conference, or other appropriate action upon receipt of this notice. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, 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.
The Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law, until February 20, 2009, authorized a claimant, as defined, to file a claim with the Controller to postpone the payment of ad valorem property taxes, where household income, as defined, did not exceed specified amounts. Existing law authorized the Controller, upon approval of the claim, to either make payment directly to specified entities, or to issue the claimant a certificate of eligibility that constituted a written promise of the state to pay the amount specified on the certificate, as provided. Existing law required these payments to be made out of specified funds appropriated to the Controller, as specified, and also required repaid property tax postponement payments to be transferred, as specified, to the General Fund. Existing law, on and after February 20, 2009, prohibits a person from filing a claim for postponement, and prohibits the Controller from accepting applications for postponement, under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law. This bill would establish the County Deferred Property Tax Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens, authorize a county to elect to participate in the program by adopting a resolution indicating the county's intention to participate in and administer the program, and specify that the requirements of a county or county officials set forth in the bill are conditioned upon the county's passage of the above-described resolution. Under the program, a participating county would be authorized to defer a claimant's property taxes retroactively, for property taxes due on or before February 20, 2011, and prospectively, as specified. This bill would require a claimant, as defined, to use the application form of a county to initiate participation in the program. The bill would authorize the county treasurer or county tax collector to review the claimant's application for program participation, as specified, and, if the claimant is eligible, and if there are sufficient funds within the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, which this bill would require a participating county to establish within its treasury, to (1) defer property taxes on the claimant's residential dwelling for that fiscal year, (2) issue a subvention payment to that county, in an amount equivalent to the amount of the deferred property taxes, from the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, (3) direct the county auditor to apportion that subvention payment in the same manner as if the property taxes had been paid, and (4) provide a letter or other written notice to the claimant, noting the relevant fiscal year of participation, for use as written confirmation of participation. The bill would authorize the county treasurer of a participating county, if he or she makes a specified determination, upon the adoption of a specified resolution by that county's board of supervisors, to deposit specified funds in the county treasury for the purpose of investment of those funds in the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund. This bill would require the amount of property taxes deferred, plus any interest accrued thereon, to be secured by a judgment lien, as specified. The bill would also require the lien to be evidenced by a notice of lien, and various county officials to process and record the notice of lien, as specified. The bill would require a participating county to charge a claimant a specified adjusted rate of interest on the amount owed for the deferment of property taxes. The bill would require the amount secured by the lien to be increased to reflect the accrual of interest on the property taxes deferred, or decreased by the amount of any payment made to reduce the amount secured by the lien, as specified. The bill would provide procedures for the release of the lien if the obligation is paid in full or otherwise discharged, and would require all amounts owed by a claimant under the program to become due immediately under specified circumstances. This bill would authorize a participating county to charge an application fee to the claimant to offset the actual costs of administering the program, and would require the fee proceeds to be deposited in an account within the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, to be used exclusively for those administrative costs. The bill would require the letter or other written confirmation of participation in the program provided by the county to be considered as evidence of program participation.
The Veterans' Farm and Home Purchase Act of 1974 authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans in acquiring homes and farms by generally providing that the department may purchase a farm or home which the department then sells to a purchaser, as defined. Existing law prohibits the department, except in limited circumstances, from acquiring a home in which the veteran has an interest of record. This bill would authorize the department to acquire a home for the purpose of refinancing an existing mortgage loan that is not an existing loan acquired under the Veterans' Farm and Home Purchase Act of 1974. This bill would require the department to adopt and publish rules and regulations, as specified.