Asm. Cheryl R. Brown

This measure would proclaim January 13, 2015, as Korean-American Day.

This measure would proclaim January 26, 2015, as India Republic Day, and would urge all Californians to join in celebrating India Republic Day.

Existing law establishes the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development and requires the office to perform various duties, including preparing a Health Manpower Plan for California, which includes establishing appropriate standards for determining the adequacy of supply in the state of specified categories of certain health personnel. Existing law establishes the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission to, in part, identify areas of the state where unmet priority needs for dentists, physicians, and registered nurses exist. This bill would require the Director of Statewide Health Planning and Development and the commission to adopt regulations relating to the designation of health access zones, as defined, for the purpose of targeting state resources to reduce health disparities, increase access to primary care for the state's growing Medi-Cal population, improve health outcomes, and reduce health care costs and hospital admissions and readmissions in certain parts of the state. The bill would require the director and the commission to begin accepting applications from nonprofit community-based organizations and local government agencies for health access zone designation no later than July 1, 2015, and would require the director and the commission to designate areas as health access zones in accordance with specified criteria. The bill would also authorize the director and the commission to issue grants to the nonprofit community-based organizations, local government agencies, and health access zone practitioners, as defined, for specified purposes. The bill would create the Health Access Zone Reserve Fund, which would consist of moneys appropriated by the Legislature, to be used, upon appropriation of the Legislature, by the director and the commission for these purposes. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2021. The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various credits against the tax imposed by that law. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2021, allow a credit against that tax in an amount equal to $5,000 for each net increase in qualified full-time health access zone employees, as defined, hired during the taxable year by a qualified health access zone employer, as defined. 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 Program provisions. Existing federal law requires the state to provide payment for primary care services furnished in the 2013 and 2014 calendar years by Medi-Cal providers with specified primary specialty designations at a rate not less than 100% of the payment rate that applies to those services and physicians under the Medicare Program. This bill would require, notwithstanding any other law, that payment for primary care services provided on or before December 31, 2020, by a physician in an area designated as a health access zone be made at the payment rate that applies under those provisions.

Existing law authorizes a peace officer who determines that a person was driving a vehicle while his or her driving privilege was suspended or revoked, driving in violation of a driver's license restriction, or driving a vehicle without ever having been issued a driver's license, to cause the removal and seizure of the vehicle. Existing law requires a 30-day impoundment period for these seized vehicles, subject to exceptions allowing earlier release. This bill would, until January 1, 2018, prohibit the impoundment of a vehicle on the basis that the driver has not been issued a driver's license if the driver establishes that he or she has applied for, but not yet received, a driver's license pursuant to a specified law. Existing law requires the impounding agency, within 2 working days of impoundment, to send a notice of impoundment to the legal owner of the vehicle. Under existing law, failure to notify the legal owner within 2 working days prohibits the impounding agency from charging for more than 15 days' impoundment when the legal owner redeems the impounded vehicle. This bill would expand these provisions to require that a registered owner of the vehicle receive a notice of impoundment. Existing law authorizes the imposition of a lien on a vehicle to compensate a person who is legally entitled for compensation for towing or storage of the vehicle, and provides procedures for the sale of a vehicle at a lien sale. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to prohibit a lien sale of a vehicle subject to a 30-day impoundment under the above-described provisions prior to the conclusion of the 30-day period.

The California Clean Energy Jobs Act, an initiative approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election as Proposition 39, made changes to corporate income taxes and, except as specified, provides for the transfer of $550,000,000 annually from the General Fund to the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund for 5 fiscal years beginning with the 2013–14 fiscal year. Moneys in the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of funding eligible projects that create jobs in California, improving energy efficiency and expanding clean energy generation. Existing law, among other things, provides for allocation of available funds to job training and workforce development. Existing law appropriates $3,000,000 from the fund to the California Workforce Investment Board to develop and implement a competitive grant program for eligible community-based and other training workforce organizations preparing disadvantaged youth or veterans for employment. This bill would additionally require the California Workforce Investment Board to require a grant recipient to report to the board specified information. The bill would require the board, after the first year of implementation of the program, to review and assess the program in achieving the job training and workforce development goals, identify problems and barriers, and provide solutions to improve program performance.

Under existing law, various provisions govern conservation programs and authorize public entities to enact water conservation programs to reduce the quantity of water used by persons for the purpose of conserving water supplies. Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, sets forth the emergency powers of the Governor under its provisions. This bill would prohibit a city or county, during a drought emergency declared by the Governor, from enforcing a law or ordinance requiring a resident to water his or her lawn. This bill would provide that a requirement imposed by a governmental entity or a public utility to limit, restrict, or conserve water during a drought emergency declared by the Governor does not constitute a diminution of rent or value of a premise or property.

The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of the Department of Industrial Relations is generally charged with enforcing employment statutes and regulations, either in administrative actions or through litigation. Under existing law an employer may face administrative sanctions, civil fines and penalties, and criminal penalties for violations of employment statutes or regulations. This bill, until January 1, 2019, would permit a person to raise as an affirmative defense that, at the time of an alleged violation of statute or regulation in a judicial or administrative proceeding, the person was acting in good faith, had sought, relied upon, and conformed with a published opinion letter or enforcement policy of the division and had provided true and correct information to the division in seeking the opinion letter or enforcement policy. The bill would require any person who asserts the affirmative defense to post a bond as prescribed.

This measure would request the Congress of the United States to, among other things, act immediately to avert federal spending cuts known as "sequestration" to protect the California and national economies.

(1) Existing law, the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water and water supply reliability program. Existing law provides for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. This bill would repeal these provisions. (2) Under existing law, various measures have been approved by the voters to provide funds for water supply and protection facilities and programs. Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 84 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, natural resource protection, and park improvements. Existing law, the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1E at the November 7, 2006, general statewide election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,090,000,000 for the purposes of financing disaster preparedness and flood prevention projects. Existing law, the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 50 at the November 5, 2002, statewide general election, authorizes, for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, water quality, and water reliability program, the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,440,000,000. Existing law, the Costa-Machado Water Act of 2000, approved by the voters as Proposition 13 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $1,970,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, clean water, watershed protection, and flood protection program. Existing law, the Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act, approved by the voters as Proposition 204 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $995,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe, clean, reliable water supply program. Existing law, the Water Conservation and Water Quality Bond Law of 1986, approved by the voters as Proposition 44 at the June 3, 1986, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $150,000,000 for the purposes of financing a water conservation and water quality program. This bill would enact the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7,120,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill, upon voter approval, would reallocate $425,000,000 of the unissued bonds authorized for the purposes of Propositions 1E, 13, 44, 50, 84, and 204 to finance the purposes of a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.