Asm. Curt Hagman

Under existing law, each county may enter into performance agreements with nonprofit agencies to encourage innovation in the delivery of children's services, to develop services not available in the community, and to promote change in the child welfare services system. Existing law limits these performance agreements to a period of 3 years. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to renew or extend the performance agreements described above for up to an additional 3 years beyond the original 3-year time period, would require an independent evaluation and report regarding the waiver, and would make conforming changes.

Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of escrow agents by the Commissioner of Corporations. Existing law, until January 1, 2010, requires each escrow agent to pay an annual license fee of up to $2,800 for each office or location and authorizes the commissioner to additionally levy a special assessment of up to $500, which is required to be paid by the escrow agent within 30 days of receipt of notification by the commissioner, for each office or location in certain circumstances. Commencing January 1, 2010, existing law instead requires each escrow agent to pay to the commissioner the agent's pro rata share of the commissioner's annual administrative costs and expenses, as specified. This bill would repeal the provisions that would require an escrow agent, commencing January 1, 2010, to pay to the commissioner the agent's pro rata share of the commissioner's annual administrative costs and expenses. The bill would, instead, continue the requirement for an escrow agent to pay an annual license fee of up to $2,800 for each office or location. The bill would authorize the special assessment that may be levied by the commissioner to be in an amount of up to $1,000 for each office or location. The bill would require an escrow agent to pay the special assessment within 60 days of notification by the commissioner. Existing law provides that the license of an escrow agent remains in effect until surrendered, revoked, or suspended. Existing law sets forth the procedure for the surrender of the license of an escrow agent, and requires a surrendering licensee to, among other things, tender his or her license and all other indicia of licensure to the commissioner, and submit a closing audit to the commissioner, as specified. Existing law provides that a license is not surrendered until the commissioner has reviewed and accepted the closing audit, made a determination that there is no violation of law, and, in writing, accepted tender of the license. This bill would delete the requirement that the commissioner make a determination that there is no violation of law and instead require a determination that acceptance of the surrender is in the public interest. Existing law requires a person engaging in business as an exchange facilitator, as defined, to comply with certain bonding and insurance requirements that may include, among other things, maintaining a fidelity bond or bond and a policy of errors and omissions insurance executed by an insurer authorized to do business in this state. Existing law authorizes a person to file a claim to recover damages on the bonds, deposits, or letters of credit maintained by an exchange facilitator for a failure to comply with the provisions regulating exchange facilitators. This bill would authorize the fidelity bond or bonds and the policy of errors and omissions insurance maintained by an exchange facilitator to be executed by specified eligible surplus line insurers. The bill would require claims for damages to be subject to the terms and conditions of the bonds, deposits, or letters of credit maintained by an exchange facilitator and would provide that the amounts of those bonds, deposits, or letters of credit shall be reduced to the extent of any payment made.

Existing law regarding misdemeanor release procedures provides that an officer may book an arrested person prior to release or indicate on the citation that the arrested person shall appear at the arresting agency to be booked or indicate on the citation that the arrested person shall appear at the arresting agency to be fingerprinted prior to the arrested person's court date. This bill would specify that an officer may book the arrested person at the scene or at the arresting agency prior to release. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 853.6 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 688 contingent on the prior enactment of that bill.

(1) Existing law requires each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years, who is not otherwise exempt, to attend the public full-time day school in the school district in which his or her parent or guardian is a resident. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to accept interdistrict transfers by adopting a resolution to become a school district of choice, as defined, and authorizes the governing board to ensure, by resolution, that pupils accepted for transfer are selected through a random, unbiased process that prohibits an evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be enrolled based upon his or her academic or athletic performance. This bill would require any communication made by a participating school district to parents or guardians to be factually accurate and not target individual parents or guardians or residential neighborhoods on the basis of specified personal characteristics of pupils. The bill would require a school district of choice, at its expense, to ensure that the auditor who conducts the annual financial audit of the district, as specified, reviews compliance with the requirements for a random, unbiased selection process and appropriate communications at the same time that he or she is conducting the annual audit, and would require the district to notify the auditor regarding this compliance review prior to the commencement of the annual audit. (2) Existing law authorizes a school district of choice to reject the transfer of a pupil if the transfer requires the district to create a new program to serve that pupil. This bill would prohibit a school district of choice from rejecting the transfer of a special needs pupil, including an individual with exceptional needs or an English learner. (3) Existing law authorizes a school district of choice to give priority to children of military personnel if the school district elected to accept transfer pupils by a resolution adopted prior to April 1, 2005. This bill would delete the condition that requires a school board to have adopted the resolution prior to that date. (4) Existing law authorizes a school district of residence, as defined, to limit the number of pupils who transfer out each year by a certain percentage, and also authorizes a school district with an average daily attendance of less than 50,000 to limit the maximum number of pupils transferring out for the duration of the program to 10% of the average daily attendance for that period. This bill would authorize a school district of residence to limit transfers if it has a negative or qualified status on the most recent budget certification, or to limit the number of pupils to a number identified by the county superintendent of schools, as specified, if the county superintendent determines that the district will not meet the standards and criteria for fiscal stability in a specified statutory provision for the subsequent fiscal year due to the impact of additional pupil transfers in that fiscal year. The bill, notwithstanding any other provision regarding interdistrict transfers, would permit a pupil attending a school district of choice or a pupil who received a notice of eligibility to enroll in a school district of choice, including a pupil selected by means of a random selection process conducted on or before June 30, 2009, to attend the school district of choice. (5) Existing law requires each school district that elects to become a school district of choice to keep an accounting of all requests made for alternative attendance, as specified, and to report this information to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Existing law requires the Superintendent annually to make this information available to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public on or before April 1. This bill would add specified categories to the required accounting of requests for transfers. The bill would require each school district of choice to also report the specified information to the Department of Finance. The bill would delete the requirement that the Superintendent annually make the information provided by school districts available to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public on or before April 1, and instead require the Department of Finance to make the information available upon request to the Legislative Analyst. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst annually to make specified information regarding interdistrict transfers available to the Governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature. (6) Commencing August 24, 2007, existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from electing to become a school district of choice. This bill would delete that prohibition. (7) Existing law makes the provisions governing interdistrict transfers inoperative on July 1, 2009, and repeals them on January 1, 2010. This bill would extend those inoperative and repeal dates to July 1, 2016, and January 1, 2017, respectively. (8) The bill would require the Legislative Analyst to conduct, after consulting with appropriate legislative staff, a comprehensive evaluation of the interdistrict transfer program, make recommendations regarding the extension of the program, incorporate in that evaluation the data annually made available by the Department of Finance, and complete and submit the evaluation and the recommendations to the appropriate education policy committees of the Legislature and the Governor by November 1, 2014. (9) The bill would also make conforming changes.

(1) Existing law, the Collateral Recovery Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of repossession agencies by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services under the supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Any person who violates these provisions is guilty of a crime punishable by fine and imprisonment. The act requires an applicant for a qualification certificate to satisfy specified requirements, including possessing 2 years lawful experience that may include experience recovering collateral as a salaried employee of a financial institution or vehicle dealer and that is to consist of a minimum of 4,000 hours of compensated work. The act requires every repossession agency office to be under the active charge of a qualified certificate holder. The act requires licensees to serve a debtor with a specified notice of seizure after the recovery of collateral by the licensee. This bill would make a tow vehicle that is used to violate the act subject to removal and impoundment. The bill would provide that lawful experience for a qualification certificate does not include any employment performing work other than skip tracing, debt collection, or actual collateral recovery. The bill would specify that a licensee may have more than one qualified certificate holder in an office. The bill would require a licensee's notice provided to a debtor after recovery of collateral to include a disclosure that electrical or tire failure or any damage to, as a result of, or caused by, certain aftermarket parts and accessories on a vehicle shall not be the responsibility of the licensee, except as specified. Because a violation of these provisions by a licensee would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law provides that a peace officer or, in certain other cases, a magistrate, may cause the removal and seizure of a vehicle, as specified. Existing law provides that a vehicle so seized may be impounded for 30 days. Under existing law, a vehicle removed and seized may be released to the legal owner or the legal owner's agent prior to the end of 30 days' impoundment if certain conditions are met, including, but not limited to, the requirement that the legal owner or the legal owner's agent pay all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of the vehicle. This bill would require a law enforcement agency that has impounded a vehicle to remain open to issue a release to the registered owner or legal owner of a vehicle whenever the agency is open to serve the public for regular, nonemergency business. The bill would require specified facilities where impounded vehicles are stored to accept valid bank credit cards, as defined, or cash as payment for towing, storage, and related fees and would make the facility civilly liable, as specified, for a failure to do so. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for a legal owner of an impounded vehicle to knowingly release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle in certain circumstances. The bill would impose additional requirements with respect to the release of an impounded vehicle. By establishing new crimes and imposing new duties on law enforcement agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law imposes various taillamp, stoplamp, turn signal requirements, and multisafety chain requirements applicable to towing vehicles. This bill would delete specified provisions requiring a tow vehicle to use an extension cord to display rear stoplamps and turn signals. The bill would exempt a repossessor's towing vehicle from the multisafety chain requirements applicable to towing vehicles if the repossessor is towing a vehicle no more than one mile on a public highway and the vehicle is secured by one safety chain. (4) This bill would also incorporate additional changes in Section 21100.4 of the Vehicle Code proposed by SB 201, to be operative only if SB 201, and this bill are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is enacted last. (5) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

This measure would recognize the pioneering work of promotores and community health workers in delivering vital and cost-effective health care services in communities throughout California and declare October 2009 as California Promotores Month.

This measure would proclaim October 23 to October 31, 2009, inclusive, as Red Ribbon Week, and would encourage all Californians to help build drug-free communities and participate in drug prevention activities.

This measure would recognize the importance of California Native American Day, celebrated this year on September 25, 2009, and the concurrent California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference to the enhancement of awareness of California Indian culture.

This measure would designate the month of October 2009, and every October thereafter, as Italian American Heritage Month. This measure would encourage public schools to highlight and include Italian American achievements and contributions to the culture of California and to take steps to promote the inclusion of the role and contributions of Italian Americans to the culture and history of California and the United States in elementary and secondary social science textbooks during the revision process for those textbooks.

This measure would urge the State Air Resources Board to meet the statutory requirements of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 by ensuring that its analysis of specified emission reduction measures include prescribed components.