Existing law requires the Regents of the University of California, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, the Trustees of the California State University, and the governing board of each community college district to collect fees from students attending those postsecondary education institutions. This provision is applicable to the Regents of the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable. This bill would prohibit the regents, the trustees, and the governing board of each community college district from collecting any fees or tuition of any kind from a student in an undergraduate program who is the surviving dependent, as defined, of any individual killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, if the dependent meets the financial need requirements of the Cal Grant A Program and either the dependent was a resident of California on December 2, 2015, or the individual killed in the attack was a resident of California on that date. The bill would require the governing board of each community college district to waive fee requirements for any student in an undergraduate program who is a surviving dependent. The bill would require the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to identify all persons who are eligible for tuition and fee waivers pursuant to the bill, to notify these persons or their parents or guardians of that eligibility, and, if requested by the public segments of postsecondary education in the state, on a case-by-case basis, to confirm the eligibility of persons requesting the waiver of tuition and fees. The bill would apply to the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute 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, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the Corporate Securities Law of 1968, requires the offer and sale of securities in the state to be qualified with the Commissioner of Business Oversight, unless exempt. That law exempts specific securities or transactions from qualification, including, among others, any security other than evidences of indebtedness of an issuer organized exclusively for specified nonprofit purposes or as a chamber of commerce or trade or professional association. This bill would also exempt from qualification any security that is evidence of indebtedness of an issuer organized exclusively for specified nonprofit purposes or as a chamber of commerce or trade or professional association. This bill would exempt from qualification the offer or sale of any security in additional transactions that meet specified requirements that include, among others: that the aggregate amount of securities of an issuer that is a specified agricultural enterprise that are sold to all investors in a 12-month period does not exceed $2,000,000, and a specified amount of the proceeds are used for agricultural purposes, as provided; that the aggregate amount of securities of an issuer that is a cooperative corporation, nonprofit or mutual benefit corporation, or an entity controlled by tenants in multitenant housing that are sold to all investors in a 12-month period does not exceed $2,000,000, and a specified amount of the proceeds are used to purchase solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, or other necessary equipment or labor, as provided. The bill would change references throughout these provisions from husband and wife to spouses, generally.
Existing law establishes the Labor and Workforce Development Agency overseen by the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and provides that the agency consists of, among other entities, the California Workforce Investment Board, the Employment Development Department, and the Employment Training Panel. The California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. That act requires the establishment of a local workforce development board in each local workforce development area of the state to, among other things, carry out analyses of the economic conditions in the local region. This bill would enact the Removing Barriers to Employment Act, which would establish the Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The bill would require the initiative to be led by the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and authorizes the secretary to assign all or part of the administration of the initiative to one or more entities within the agency's oversight, or to authorize another state agency, under specified conditions, to administer a portion of the initiative. The bill would specify that the purpose of the initiative is to create a grant program to assist individuals who have multiple barriers to employment to receive the remedial education and work readiness skills that will help those individuals to successfully participate in training, apprenticeship, or employment opportunities that enhance skill development that will lead to self-sufficiency and economic stability, and would set forth the goals of the initiative. The bill would require the secretary to develop criteria for the selection of grant recipients, as specified, and would require the secretary, by January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, to post a report on the agency's Internet Web site that provides a status report on the implementation of the initiative and aggregates information provided by grant recipients. The bill would authorize the secretary, when implementing the initiative, to fund a project that uses a model that was previously funded as a pilot project under certain programs if specified criteria are met. The bill would make the funding of the initiative subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for that purpose and would make implementation of the initiative contingent on the secretary notifying the Department of Finance that sufficient moneys have been appropriated.
(1) The California Constitution requires that all property be taxed unless otherwise provided by the California Constitution or the laws of the United States. The California Constitution exempts, among other things, fruit and nut trees for 4 years after the season in which they were planted in orchard form. This measure would exempt from property taxation pistachio trees for 6 years after the season in which they were planted in orchard form. (2) The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, "full cash value" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under "full cash value" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to provide that persons over the age of 55 and persons who are severely disabled may transfer the base year value, as defined, of property to a replacement dwelling. This measure would expand the authorization for base year value transfers provided to persons over the age of 55 years to include each individual member of a married couple who is over the age of 55 years, but only with respect to a replacement property purchased or newly constructed on or after the effective date of this measure and only with respect to an individual member of a married couple who has not transferred a base year value prior to that same effective date. This measure would additionally authorize the Legislature to provide for transfer of base year value of property to a replacement dwelling for persons who are the parent or legal guardian of a severely disabled child and reside with that child.
The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various exclusions from gross income, and allows various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by that law, including miscellaneous itemized deductions that are allowed only to the extent that the aggregate amount of those deductions exceeds 2% of adjusted gross income. This bill, upon appropriation of specified funds by the Legislature, on and after January 1, 2017, and before January 1, 2019, would allow a deduction, not to exceed specified amounts, of the amount a qualified taxpayer, as defined, contributed in any taxable year to a homeownership savings account and would exclude from gross income any income earned on the moneys contributed to a homeownership savings account. The bill would provide that a qualified taxpayer may withdraw amounts from a homeownership savings account to pay for qualified homeownership savings expenses defined as expenses paid or incurred in connection with the purchase of a principal residence, which is defined by reference to a federal law and includes a mobilehome. The bill would provide that any amount withdrawn from that account that is not used for these expenses would be included as income for that taxpayer. The bill would define various terms for its purposes. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The State Contract Act requires an awarding department, before entering into any contract for a project, to prepare full, complete, and accurate plans and specifications and estimates of cost. That act prohibits, except in specified circumstances, a state agency responsible for letting public works contracts from drafting bid specifications in a manner that limits the bidding to any one concern or product, except under certain circumstances. Other existing law establishes specific requirements for competitive bidding for building and improvement projects by the Regents of the University of California, including the manner and type of specifications. The California State University Contract Law governs contracting for building and improvement projects by the California State University and imposes specific competitive bidding requirements for the Trustees of the California State University, including the preparation of specifications for a project. This bill would require an awarding department, on or before January 1, 2018, to prepare and submit to the Legislature and the Governor a report on the greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with emissions-intensive products, as defined, in projects within the jurisdiction of the department. The bill would require the emissions total to take into account the greenhouse gas emissions that are produced when the emissions-intensive product is manufactured or produced and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation of the emissions-intensive product from the site of its manufacture to the project site. The bill would require the department, as of January 1, 2018, to incorporate the greenhouse gas emissions information into its procurement processes, including bid specifications, to procure emissions-intensive products with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions profile that meet standards imposed by a state agency for quality or safety purposes. The bill would impose similar requirements on the Regents of the University of California and the Trustees of the California State University.
This measure would commend Muslim Americans for their economic, political, and cultural impact on California and the United States. This measure would call upon Members of the United States Congress to respect the First Amendment, and to speak out against and reject efforts to monitor mosques, efforts to police and profile Muslim Americans, and efforts to prohibit Muslims from immigrating to the United States, and to speak out against and reject any efforts to pursue an immigration policy based on religion.
This measure would declare the month of April 2016 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month, with the theme of "Prosperity Through Education," to raise public awareness about the continuing need for increased financial literacy.
This measure would recognize May 2016 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness.