Rep. Mike Eng

This measure would proclaim February 29, 2012, as Rare Disease Day in California.

This measure would designate the month of February 2012 as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, and would encourage all Californians to observe Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month with appropriate programs and activities that raise awareness about teen dating violence and promote healthy teen relationships in their communities.

This measure would declare the week of June 4, 2012, to June 10, 2012, inclusive, as Fire Safety and Disaster Preparedness Week.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates mass mailings, known as slate mailers, that support or oppose multiple candidates or ballot measures for an election. The act requires that each slate mailer identify the slate mailer organization or committee primarily formed to support or oppose one or more ballot measures that is sending the slate mailer, and to contain other specified information in specified formatting. The act requires that each candidate and each ballot measure that has paid to appear in the slate mailer be designated by an asterisk. This bill would instead require that a candidate or ballot measure appearing in the slate mailer be designated by an asterisk if the slate mailer organization or committee primarily formed to support or oppose one or more ballot measures that is sending the slate mailer has received payment to include the candidate or ballot measure in the slate mailer. The bill would also recast the language of the prescribed notice to voters that must be included on a slate mailer. The act also regulates advertisements, which are defined as any general or public advertisement that is authorized and paid for by a person or committee for the purpose supporting or opposing a candidate for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures. The act places certain disclosure requirements on advertisements for or against any ballot measure, including that the advertisement disclose any person who has made cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more, as prescribed. The act places more specific disclosure requirements on broadcast or mass mailing advertisements that are paid for by independent expenditures that support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure. This bill would repeal provisions relating to disclosures for advertisements paid for by an independent expenditure and required disclosures of persons who have made cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. This bill would, instead, impose specified disclosure requirements on radio, television, and video advertisements, and certain mass mailing and print advertisements that support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure or solicit contributions in support of those purposes. The bill would require radio, television, and video advertisements that are authorized by a candidate or agent of the candidate to include a statement in which the candidate identifies himself or herself and states that he or she approves the message, as specified. The bill would require radio, television, video, and certain mass mailings and print advertisements that are not authorized by a candidate or an agent of the candidate to disclose, in a prescribed format, the 3 largest identifiable contributors, as defined, of the committee that paid for the advertisement. The bill would require mass mailings or print advertisements that are paid for by certain persons who are not committees to disclose the name of that person as the funder of the mass mailing or print advertisement. The bill would also require that certain committees establish and maintain a committee disclosure Internet Web site, as defined, which discloses the top 10 identifiable contributors and provides a link to either the Internet Web site maintained by the Secretary of State for campaign finance disclosures of the committee, or a page on the committee disclosure Internet Web site that discloses all identifiable contributors to that committee, as specified. The bill would require these advertisements to identify the address for the committee disclosure Internet Web site. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes. 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 Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the act may be amended by a statute that becomes effective upon approval of the voters. This measure would call a special statewide election to be consolidated with the statewide general election scheduled for November 4, 2014. It would provide for the submission to the voters of the provisions of this bill amending the Political Reform Act of 1974, as summarized above, at that election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an act calling an election.

(1) Existing law generally requires secondhand dealers and coin dealers, as defined, to report specified transactions involving tangible personal property, on forms provided or approved by the Department of Justice, to the local law enforcement agency where their businesses are located. Existing law defines "tangible personal property" for these purposes, and excludes from that definition, among other items, commercial grade ingots defined to include, among other items, 0.99 fine ingots of gold, silver, or platinum. This bill would revise the definition of commercial grade ingots to include 0.99 fine or finer ingots of gold, silver, palladium, or platinum. Under existing law, secondhand dealers and coin dealers are required to report the information described above using an electronic reporting system 12 months after the Department of Justice develops that system. This bill would eliminate the electronic filing requirements for coin dealers, and would instead require that secondhand dealers report this information using the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system on and after the date that the system is implemented, as specified. (2) Existing law requires a local law enforcement agency to issue a license to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer or pawnbroker to an applicant who meets designated criteria. Existing law authorizes the local licensing authority and the Department of Justice to charge an initial licensure fee and a renewal fee, as specified. This bill would require the Department of Justice to charge a licensure fee and a renewal fee of no more than $300, as specified. The bill would also require licensees issued a license before the effective date of this bill to pay an additional fee of no more than $288 for the purpose of funding the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system, with payment due within 120 days of the enactment of this bill. The bill would require that the fees assessed by the department be deposited in the Secondhand Dealer and Pawnbroker Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury. The bill would require that the money in the fund be used by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of paying for specified regulatory costs, including the cost of implementing, operating, and maintaining the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system. The bill would also require applicants for a license to submit fingerprint images relative to a required criminal background check, with associated fee revenue to be deposited in the Fingerprint Fee Account, and would make those revenues available to the Department of Justice, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for these purposes. This bill would make findings and declarations of the Legislature, and state the intent of the Legislature, with regard to these matters. The bill would make other related conforming changes. The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would recognize National Flag Day on June 14, 2012, honor the 52nd anniversary of the flying of the current American flag, and encourage all Californians to celebrate the occasion with appropriate activities.

(1) Existing state and federal laws, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, require elections officials to provide language assistance to voters with limited English proficiency in order to access voting information and cast their votes at the polling place. Existing law also requires elections officials, under specified circumstances, to make reasonable efforts to recruit elections officials who are fluent in a language used by citizens who lack sufficient skill in English to vote without assistance. This bill would revise the recruitment provisions to apply to precincts in which the precinct board is required to post translated facsimile ballots and would require a county, not later than August 1, 2015, and not later than August 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, to submit a specified report to the Secretary of State describing the county's plan for compliance with state and federal laws enacted to assist voters with limited English proficiency. The bill would require the Secretary of State to post those reports on his or her Internet Web site not later than 90 days prior to each statewide election held in an even-numbered year, and would further require the Secretary of State to issue guidance for a uniform standard report format for this purpose that includes, at a minimum, specified information that sets forth the county's plan for protecting the rights of voters with limited English proficiency. By increasing the duties of local elections officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require a county elections official to evaluate complaints filed against precinct board members and would require the Secretary of State to develop a list of the best practices for elections officials and for precinct board member training, as specified. The Secretary of State would also be required to consult with an advisory body composed of specified members for this purpose. (2) Under existing law, in counties where the Secretary of State has determined that it is appropriate, each precinct board is required to post, in a conspicuous location in the polling place, at least one facsimile copy of the ballot with the ballot measures and ballot instructions printed in Spanish. Existing law also requires the Secretary of State, in determining whether it is appropriate to post the election materials in Spanish or other languages, to determine the number of residents of voting age in each county and precinct who are members of a single language minority, and who lack sufficient skills in English to vote without assistance based on a specified formula or information provided by interested citizens or organizations. Existing law also requires the Secretary of State to make these determinations and findings by January 1 of each year in which the Governor is elected. This bill would provide that interested citizens or organizations may, alternatively, provide this information to the local elections official and would require the Secretary of State to make these determinations and findings not less frequently than by January 1 of each year in which the Governor is elected and each year following an adjustment of district boundary lines pursuant to Article XXI of the California Constitution and specified provisions of the Elections Code. The bill would apply these provisions to new precincts. (3) 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 measure would recognize August 8, 2012, as "Are You Dense?" Day 2012, to raise awareness of the risks associated with breast density and the potential benefits of other screening tools to supplement mammography.

This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to pursue a comprehensive approach to stem the trafficking of illicit United States firearms and ammunition into Mexico, that includes, among other things, enhanced collaboration among local, state, and federal agencies, the allocation of a permanent source of federal funding to sustain local and state law enforcement operations to combat firearms and ammunition trafficking and other border-related crimes, the redirection of federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) , United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and United States Customs and Border Protection resources towards this effort, reenactment of a strong federal assault weapons ban, and stronger federal authority to crack down on corrupt gun dealers.