Existing law authorizes the creation of retirement systems for public employees by counties, cities, and districts. Existing law creates the Public Employees' Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System, which provide a defined benefit to their members based on age at retirement, service credit, and final compensation. Existing law establishes the criteria for membership in the various public employee retirement systems and may exclude certain employment classifications from membership. Existing law prohibits Members of the Legislature elected on or after November 1, 1990, from accruing any retirement or pension benefit, provided that other elective officers provided for by the California Constitution may elect to become members of Legislators' Retirement System. The California Constitution provides for the division of the state into counties and requires that a county have an elected sheriff, elected district attorney, elected assessor, and elected governing body. Existing law provides for the incorporation of cities in various forms and requires that certain city offices be filled pursuant to elections, as prescribed. Existing law provides for the creation of districts, the governing bodies of which may be elected. This bill would prohibit a person who is publicly elected to an office of any kind that is less than full time, as defined, on and after January 1, 2013, from becoming a member of a retirement system by virtue of that service or acquiring any retirement right or benefit for serving in that elective office. The bill would also apply these prohibitions to a person who is appointed to fill the term of a person so elected. The bill would except from this prohibition a person who obtained membership by virtue of holding an elective public office prior to January 1, 2013, and remains in that office or is reelected to it.
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Existing law requires members of the public to obtain license, permits, or to register with state agencies prior to undertaking certain types of tasks. This bill would require the Governor to establish a Internet Web site, known as the California Licensing and Permit Center (CLPC) , to assist the public with licensing, permitting, and registration requirements of state agencies. This bill would require the Governor to operate, via both e-mail and telephone methods, a help center to assist applicants with licensing, permitting, and registration requirements. This bill would require state agencies that the Governor determines has licensing authority to cooperate with this program by providing accurate updated information about their licensing requirements. This bill would create the California License and Permit Fund in the State Treasury, and require state agencies that are required to participate in the CLPC to reallocate a portion of their operating budget, as specified, to pay for the operating cost of the CLPC. This bill would state that upon appropriation by the Legislature, revenues from the fund will be used only for purposes of the bill. This bill would require the CLPC to be provided to the public free of charge.
Existing law authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to petition the superior court of the county in which an insurer has its principal office for an order vesting title of all assets of that insurer in the commissioner, in his or her official capacity, under specified circumstances. Upon taking possession of the property and business, the commissioner is authorized to act, except as specified, as either conservator or liquidator. Existing law provides that there is associated with the Department of Insurance a Conservation and Liquidation Office with certain duties and obligations. This bill would require the Conservation and Liquidation Office to report and publish all specified claims on a quarterly basis through a public filing with the court in which an insurer's liquidation proceeding is pending. The bill would require the office to contact the claimants whose claims have been allowed, as provided. The bill would also require the receiver, the Commissioner, or the Conservation and Liquidation Office, as applicable, upon receipt of notice that an allowed claim has been assigned to another party, to process that claim within 21 days.
The Vehicle License Fee Law, in lieu of any ad valorem property tax upon vehicles, imposes an annual license fee for any vehicle subject to registration in this state in the amount of 1% of the market value of that vehicle, as provided, for a specified amount of time. Existing law, operative until June 30, 2011, also imposes an additional tax to the vehicle license fee equal to 0.15% of the market value of specified vehicles, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to be deposited in the General Fund and transferred to the Local Safety and Protection Account, a continuously appropriated fund. This bill would appropriate $506,400,000 from the General Fund to be deposited in the Local Safety and Protection Account, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
Existing law provides for the discharge from actual custody of a defendant upon the taking of bail. The taking of bail consists in the acceptance, by a competent court or magistrate, of the undertaking of sufficient bail for the appearance of the defendant, according to the terms of the undertaking, or that the bail will pay to the people of this state a specified sum. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the court to grant probation, as defined, to certain persons convicted of a crime. Persons placed on probation by a court are under the supervision of the county probation officer who determines both the level and type of supervision consistent with the court-ordered conditions of probation. Existing law also provides that if, at any time during the probationary period, the court has reason to believe that the probationer is violating any term or condition of his or her probation, the court may modify, revoke, or terminate the probation. This bill would provide, in addition, that in lieu of revoking probation, the court, as a condition for continuing a defendant's probation, may order the defendant to post a bond from a licensed surety not to exceed $10,000 if the defendant was convicted of a misdemeanor and not to exceed $25,000 if the defendant was convicted of a felony, to secure compliance with any or all of the terms and conditions of probation. The bill would require the court, within 10 days of noncompliance with the terms of probation after a bond has been posted, to notify the defendant, the surety, and the bail agent of the probation revocation hearing. The bill would require the court to declare the bond forfeited if the defendant does not appear at the hearing. The bill would provide that, in lieu of forfeiture, the bond may be reinstated, as provided. In the case of forfeiture, this bill would require that the surety be notified within 30 days of the forfeiture. If the defendant is returned to custody within 180 days, this bill would require that the bond be exonerated.
Existing law regulating the issuance of bail bonds requires any person advertising or engaging in the business of executing, delivering, or furnishing bail bonds to hold a bail agent's license, a bail permittee's license, or a bail solicitor's license, as specified, issued by the Insurance Commissioner. This bill would provide for the regulation of bail fugitive recovery persons, defined as a person given written authorization by the bail or depositor of bail and contracted to investigate, surveil, locate, and arrest a bail fugitive and any person employed to assist the bail or depositor of bail to investigate, surveil, locate, and arrest a bail fugitive. This bill would require that bail fugitive recovery persons be at least 18 years of age and complete one power of arrest course, as specified. This bill would permit an authorized person to arrest a bail fugitive at any time or place and permit that person to enter into the residence of the fugitive or the residence of a third party provided that there is probable cause to believe that the fugitive is present in the residence. This bill would require that a person authorized to apprehend a bail fugitive notify local law enforcement of his or her intent to apprehend a bail fugitive no more than 6 hours prior to attempting to apprehend a bail fugitive, except as specified. The bill would require any person authorized to apprehend a bail fugitive to carry a certification of completion of required courses and training programs, and would permit an individual authorized to apprehend a bail fugitive to wear a uniform, badge, jacket, or other clothing that displays the words "bail enforcement agent," "bail recovery agent," "bail fugitive recovery," or "bail fugitive recovery person." Because this bill states that any person who is not in compliance with, or who violates, these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable, as specified, this bill would create a new crime, thereby imposing 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides that no handgun ammunition vendor, as defined, shall sell, offer for sale, or display for sale, any handgun ammunition in a manner that allows that ammunition to be accessible to a purchaser without the assistance of the vendor or employee thereof. Existing law requires, subject to exceptions, commencing February 1, 2011, that handgun ammunition vendors obtain a thumbprint and other information from ammunition purchasers, as specified. Existing law provides, subject to exceptions, that commencing February 1, 2011, the delivery or transfer of ownership of handgun ammunition may only occur in a face-to-face transaction, with the deliverer or transferor being provided bona fide evidence of identity of the purchaser or other transferee. Violations of any of the above provisions are misdemeanors, some with specified penalties. This bill would repeal these provisions and make related conforming and technical changes.
Under existing law, in each city and county there is a public agency known as the housing authority of the city or county. This bill would require operators of transitional housing to notify the city or county and residents within 300 feet of the property when a transitional housing facility will be established so that the city or county and residents have specified knowledge about the transitional housing facility. The bill would exempt certain domestic violence shelters from this requirement.
Existing law provides that it is the duty of the superior court judges in each county to prepare, adopt, and annually revise a uniform countywide schedule of bail for all bailable felony offenses and for all misdemeanor and infraction offenses, except Vehicle Code infractions. Under existing law a court may prescribe the procedure by which the uniform countywide schedule is prepared, adopted, and annually revised by the judges. Existing law provides that if the court does not adopt a local rule, the uniform countywide schedule of bail shall be prepared, adopted, and annually revised by a majority of the judges. Various provisions of existing law require courts to follow the countywide schedule of bail prepared pursuant to these provisions. This bill would repeal the uniform countywide schedule of bail and instead would establish the Statewide Bail Commission. The bill would instead require the commission to prepare, adopt, and annually revise a statewide bail schedule for all bailable felony offenses and for all misdemeanor and infraction offenses except Vehicle Code infractions. This bill would make conforming changes.