The California Constitution allows the Legislature, by statute, to authorize cities and counties to provide for bingo games for charitable purposes. Existing statutory law permits cities and counties to allow bingo games to be conducted by specified organizations for charitable purposes, and also permits cities and counties to allow remote caller bingo games, as defined. Existing law allows a maximum of 10 unaffiliated organizations to enter into an agreement to cosponsor a remote caller bingo game if the game does not have more than 10 locations. This bill would, instead, allow a maximum of 100 unaffiliated organizations to enter into an agreement to cosponsor a remote caller bingo game if the game does not have more than 100 locations. Existing law prohibits electronics or video displays from being used in connection with the game of bingo, except as specified. Existing law establishes the Charity Bingo Mitigation Fund, administered by the California Gambling Control Commission, for the purpose of making payments to specified nonprofit organizations that, as of July 1, 2008, used electronic devices other than card-minding devices to conduct bingo games. Existing law requires an organization applying for mitigation payments to provide proof that its board of directors has adopted a resolution and its chief executive officer has signed a statement executed under penalty of perjury stating that, as of January 1, 2009, the organization has ceased using electronic devices, other than card-minding devices, as a fundraising tool. Existing law allows each eligible organization to apply to the commission no later than January 31, 2009, for the mitigation payments. This bill would, with respect to an organization applying for mitigation payments from the Charity Bingo Mitigation Fund, extend the date by which that organization must have ceased using electronic devices to October 1, 2009. The bill would also extend the deadline for applying to the commission for mitigation payments to October 31, 2009.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, on or before January 1, 2004, requires the State Water Resources Control Board, in consultation with others, to adopt regulations or standards for the permitting and operation of specified onsite sewage treatment systems. The act requires the board to apply those regulations or standards to those systems commencing 6 months after their adoption. This bill would repeal those provisions.
The Personal Income Tax Law provides for the specified treatment of amounts deposited in an education savings account that meets specified requirements. This bill would allow amounts to be deposited in an education savings account, as defined, established for purposes of paying for qualified education expenses, as defined. Interest earned by the account and distributions would not be subject to taxation, as provided. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires the Attorney General, upon receipt of a draft of a petition for a proposed initiative or referendum, to prepare a title and summary of the proposed measure. Under existing law, the Attorney General is required to determine the effect of a proposed initiative measure on revenues and expenditures of the state or local government. If the Attorney General determines that a proposed measure would affect state or local revenues or expenditures, he or she must include in the title either the estimate of the amount of change in state or local revenues or costs or an opinion as to whether a substantial net change in state or local finances would result if the proposed initiative is adopted. Existing law requires the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to prepare jointly the fiscal estimate that is included in the title. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst, instead of the Attorney General, to prepare the ballot title and summary for all measures submitted to the voters of the state and would require the Legislative Analyst, instead of the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, to prepare any fiscal estimate or opinion required by a proposed initiative measure. The bill would make its operation contingent upon the approval by the voters of ACA 20 of the 2009–10 Regular Session.
The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including a credit in an amount equal to 50% of specified adoption costs, not to exceed $2,500 per minor child who is a citizen or legal resident of the United States and who is in the custody of a public agency in this state. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2010, and before January 1, 2015, increase the credit limitation to a maximum of $5,000 with respect to the adoption of a minor child, as described, who is over 12 years of age or who was living in a group home or residential treatment facility, as defined, for a period of at least 6 months within 18 months prior to the time the adoption is completed. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of his or her employment. Existing law requires an employer to provide a claim form and a notice of potential eligibility for workers' compensation benefits within one working day of receiving notice or knowledge of an employee's injury that results in lost time beyond the employee's work shift at the time of injury or that results in medical treatment beyond first aid. First aid is defined to mean any one-time treatment, and any followup visit, for the purpose of observation of minor industrial injuries that do not ordinarily require medical care. This bill would delete the above-described definition of first aid in existing law and would authorize the administrative director to adopt regulations to define various terms, as specified. Until these regulations are adopted, the bill would define medical treatment and first aid.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt procedures for determining the compliance of any system designed for the control of gasoline vapor emissions during gasoline marketing operations, including storage and transfer operations, and additional performance standards to ensure that systems for the control of gasoline vapors from motor vehicle fueling operations do not cause excessive spillage and emissions. Existing law prohibits the state board from requiring a gasoline dispensing facility that meets certain requirements from undergoing an Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II upgrade until April 1, 2011. Regulations adopted by the state board require an Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II upgrade by April 1, 2009, as provided. This bill would prohibit the state board from requiring a gasoline dispensing facility owned or operated by a local government that does not meet these requirements from undergoing an Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II upgrade until April 1, 2010. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires a person desiring to vote at a polling place to announce his or her name and address to a precinct board member and to write this information on the roster of voters. This bill would also require the person to present proof of his or her identity to a member of the precinct board before receiving a ballot. The bill would require the proof of identity to contain the person's name and photograph, to be either unexpired or expired after the last general election, and to be issued by the United States, the State of California, or a tribal government. The bill would permit a voter who is unable to present proof of identity to cast a provisional ballot and would require the voter to provide identification to the county registrar of voters within 5 business days of voting. The bill, by requiring county elections officials to perform new duties, 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, 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.
The Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, and provides various exemptions from the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would exempt from a specified portion of those taxes, for calendar years beginning on and after January 1, 2011, the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, sustainable development equipment investments of tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person, as specified, and tangible personal property used primarily during the research and development process on qualified research. The bill would also exempt from a specified portion of those taxes, for calendar years beginning on and after January 1, 2013, the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, tangible personal property purchased by a qualified person for use primarily in any stage of the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of property, as specified, and tangible personal property purchased for use by a contractor purchasing that property for use in the performance of a construction contract for the qualified person who will use the property as an integral part of the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling process, or as a storage facility for use in connection with the manufacturing process. This bill would specify that this exemption does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of emissions of greenhouse gases and to monitor and enforce compliance with the reporting and verification program, and requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The state board is required to evaluate the total potential costs and total potential economic and noneconomic benefits of the plan. The state board is required by January 1, 2011, to adopt greenhouse gas emissions limits and emission reduction measures by regulation to achieve the prescribed emission reductions. This bill would require the state board to complete a study to reevaluate the evaluation of costs discussed above, and provide this study to the Legislature by October 1, 2009. The state board would be required to report to the Legislature by November 1, 2009, on whether the revised analysis has led, or will lead, to any changes to the scoping plan, and whether any changes should be made to the act's timelines. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst to review the state board's implementation of these requirements, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.