Asm. Matthew Dababneh

(1) Existing law, the Money Transmission Act, prohibits a person from engaging in the business of money transmission in this state, or advertising, soliciting, or holding itself out as providing money transmission in this state, unless the person is licensed by the Commission of Business Oversight or exempt from licensure under the act. Existing law requires applicants for licensure to pay the commissioner a specified nonrefundable fee and to complete an application form requiring certain information. As security, existing law requires each licensee to deposit and maintain on deposit with the Treasurer cash in an amount not less than, or securities having a market value not less than, such amount as the commissioner may find and order from time to time as necessary to secure the faithful performance of the obligations of the licensee with respect to money transmission in this state. Existing law requires a licensee at all times to own eligible securities, as defined, in a specified aggregate amount not less than the amount of all of its outstanding money received for transmission, as specified. This bill, until January 1, 2022, would enact the Digital Currency Business Enrollment Program, to be administrated by the Commissioner of Business Oversight, who would be granted authority to make rules and regulations for this purpose. The bill would prescribe various definitions in this regard and would define digital currency as a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded and is used to facilitate the sale, purchase, and exchange of goods, services, or other digital representations of value, except as specified. The bill would define digital currency business as offering or providing the service of storing, transmitting, exchanging, or issuing digital currency, subject to various exceptions. The bill would define a person to include an individual or other business entities, however organized. The bill would prohibit a person from engaging in the digital currency business without enrolling in the program and would prohibit the conduct of digital currency business through an unenrolled agent. The bill would require a person seeking enrollment to pay a nonrefundable fee of up to $5,000, not to exceed the reasonable costs of enrolling a person in the program, and would require the person to provide the commissioner specified personal and business information in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. The bill would also require the person to provide fingerprints and would authorize the commissioner to deliver the fingerprints to law enforcement agencies. The bill would require the commission to permit enrollment in the program unless it appears to the commissioner that the person, or related parties, are not of good character. The bill would prohibit a person from directly or indirectly acquiring control of an enrollee in the program without approval by the commissioner and would prescribe a process and a fee for applying for approval. The bill would require an application to acquire control of an enrollee to be under oath. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require an enrollee to pay an annual fee of $2,500 to maintain enrollment in the program. The bill would require that all moneys received by the commissioner in connection with its provisions to be placed in the Digital Currency Business Enrollment Program Account, which would be created in the State Corporations Fund, to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the commissioner for expenditure for the purposes of the program. The bill would prohibit an enrollee in the program from advertising products, services, and activities without a statement regarding the program and that a government agency has not reviewed the safety or soundness of the business or digital currencies. The bill would require an enrollee to maintain advertising and marketing materials and would prohibit the materials from making false, misleading, or deceptive representations or omissions. The bill would require an enrollee to make a variety of specified disclosures in English and in any other language spoken by a majority of the enrollee's customers prior to entering into an initial transaction for, or on behalf of, a customer, when opening an account for a new customer, and prior to each transaction. The bill would also require an enrollee to provide a customer a receipt containing specified information when accepting digital currency or money. The bill would require that the English version of the receipt govern disputes over its terms and would provide that discrepancies between the English version and a translation be construed against the enrollee, as specified. The bill would prescribe a fine of $100 for each violation of the provisions relating to receipts. The bill would authorize the commissioner to require an enrollee and its agents to submit surveys, investigations, and questionnaires for the purpose of gathering information and to ascertain detailed facts about the enrollee's business model, capitalization and net worth, and cybersecurity, among other things. The bill would require an enrollee and its officers, agents, and employees to make the enrollee's accounts, books, correspondence, and other records available upon request and to facilitate the commissioner's fact-gathering. The bill would provide that these materials are not public records and shall be held in confidence. The bill would require an enrollee to provide an audit report containing specified information and prepared pursuant to prescribed standards and an annual report, the content of which would be determined by the commissioner. The bill would provide that these reports are not public records and shall be held in confidence. The bill would prescribe fines and penalties for the failure to make reports or include required information, which would include disenrollment for repeated failures. The bill would require the commissioner to prepare and make available to the public an annual report on the state of the digital currency business industry by compiling the information received pursuant to these provisions. The bill would grant the commissioner the authority to issue cease and desist orders when, in the commissioner's opinion, an unenrolled person is engaging in the digital currency business or violating provisions of the program. The bill would provide for a hearing after an order is served and a request for hearing is filed in writing within 30 days of service. If a request for a hearing is not filed within this time, the order would be deemed final and would not be subject to any judicial review. The bill would authorize the commissioner to bring actions to enjoin acts or practices in violation of its provisions and to enforce its provisions. The bill would authorize a superior court, upon proper showing, to appoint a receiver, monitor, conservator, or other designated fiduciary or officer of the court for a defendant or the defendant's assets. The bill would authorize the commissioner to include in civil actions claims for ancillary relief, including restitution and disgorgement, on behalf of a person injured, as well as attorney's fees and costs, and civil penalties of up to $25,000. The bill would provide a limitations period in this regard of four years after an act constituting a violation occurred. The bill would authorize the commissioner to disenroll an enrollee if, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, the commissioner makes specified findings. The bill would authorize the commissioner to refer evidence regarding violations of the bill's provisions to the Attorney General, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the United States Department of the Treasury, or the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred, who would be authorized, with or without this type of a reference, to institute appropriate proceedings. (2) Existing law, the General Corporation Law, prohibits a corporation, social purpose corporation, association, or individual from issuing or putting in circulation, as money, anything but the lawful money of the United States. This bill would delete that prohibition. (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. (4) 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) The California Marine Resources Legacy Act establishes a program, administered by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to allow partial removal of offshore oil structures. The act authorizes the department to approve the partial removal of offshore oil structures, if specified criteria are satisfied. The act requires the first person to file an application to partially remove an offshore oil structure to pay, in addition to other specified costs, the startup costs incurred by the department or the State Lands Commission to implement the act, including the costs to develop and adopt regulations, and requires the payment of startup costs to be reimbursed by the department, as specified. The act requires an applicant, upon conditional approval for removal, to apportion a percentage of the cost-savings funds in accordance with a prescribed schedule to specified entities and funds. The act defines "cost savings" to mean the difference between the estimated cost to the applicant of complete removal of an oil platform, as required by state and federal leases, and the estimated costs to the applicant of partial removal of the oil platform pursuant to the act. Before the first application to partially remove an offshore oil structure is filed, this bill would authorize a prospective applicant to pay a portion of the startup costs in an amount determined by the department to be necessary for staff and other costs in anticipation of receipt of the first application. The bill would require an applicant, upon conditional approval for partial removal of an offshore oil structure, to apportion and transmit a portion of the cost savings to the department, instead of to the specified entities and funds. The bill would require the department to apportion those cost-savings funds received from the applicant in accordance with the prescribed schedule to the specified entities if certain criteria are satisfied. The bill would require the department to apportion the cost-savings funds received from the applicant who elects to pay a portion of the startup costs before the first application is filed and who files the first application in accordance with the prescribed schedule based on when the application was submitted rather than when the cost savings are transmitted. The bill would authorize the applicant to withdraw the application at any time before final approval and would require the department to return specified funds, including startup costs, submitted to process the application that have not been expended as of the date of receipt of the notification of withdrawal. The bill would require the department to promptly return the cost savings to the applicant if the partial removal of the offshore oil structure is not permitted by a court or governmental agency and the applicant is required to carry out full removal of the structure. (2) Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency to serve as the lead agency for the environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) of a proposed project to partially remove an offshore oil structure pursuant to the California Marine Resources Legacy Act. Upon certification of environmental documents pursuant to CEQA, the California Marine Resources Legacy Act requires the State Lands Commission to determine the cost savings of partial removal compared to full removal of the structure and requires the Ocean Protection Council to determine whether partial removal provides a net environmental benefit to the marine environment compared to the full removal of the structure. This bill would instead require the commission to serve as the lead agency for the environmental review under CEQA. The bill would require the council, in determining whether partial removal of the structure would provide a net benefit to the marine environment compared to full removal of the structure, to take certain adverse impacts to air quality and greenhouse gas emissions into account and to consult with the State Air Resources Board, among other entities. In making that determination, the bill would require the council to determine the appropriate weight to be assigned to adverse impacts to air quality and greenhouse gas emissions as compared to adverse impacts to biological resources and water quality.

The Personal Income Tax Law provides for various exclusions from gross income, including a reward from a crime hotline. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2021, also would exclude from gross income the value of any medal given by the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee, and any prize money or honoraria received from the United States Olympic Committee, on account of either the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This measure would encourage the Department of Consumer Affairs and its boards, bureaus, and committees to create policies that promote fairness and equity to guarantee that each licensee pays a fair amount, especially in regard to initial and ongoing license fees.

This measure would recognize that the Legislature supports the development of safe and secure data sharing between public education, social service, and research entities through the Silicon Valley Regional Data Trust as it pertains specifically to at-risk, foster, homeless, and justice-involved children and youth and their families, in order to better serve, protect, and improve the futures of these Californians.

Existing law establishes procedures by which a person may claim a refund for an overpayment of the taxes, fees, and surcharges imposed by the Sales and Use Tax Law, the Use Fuel Tax Law, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law, the Alcoholic Beverage Tax Law, the Energy Resources Surcharge Law, the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act, the Hazardous Substances Tax Law, the Integrated Waste Management Fee Law, the Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Law, the Underground Storage Tank Maintenance Fee Law, and the Diesel Fuel Tax Law, and of taxes, fees, and surcharges imposed in accordance with the Fee Collection Procedures Law. Existing law generally requires that a claim be filed within 3 years after specified periods in which the overpayment was made. This bill would, with respect to each of the above-described laws, provide that a claim that is otherwise valid that is made in the case in which the amount of tax determined, as defined, has not been paid in full is deemed a timely filed claim for refund with respect to all subsequent payments applied to that determination. The bill would specify that its provisions apply only to claims for refund on or after its effective date.

Existing law, beginning January 1, 2018, requires, among other things, that a mortgage guaranty insurer limit its coverage to no more than a net of 30% at risk of the entire indebtedness to the insured for the class of insurance that insures against financial loss by reason of nonpayment of principal, interest, and other sums under any evidence of indebtedness secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument constituting a first lien or charge on a residential building or a condominium unit or buildings designed for occupancy by not more than 4 families. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2018, also authorizes a mortgage guaranty insurer to extend its coverage for this class of insurance beyond the established limits if the excess is insured by a contract of reinsurance. This bill would delete the above provisions.

This measure would proclaim May 19, 2016, as Viral Hepatitis Awareness Day in California.