This measure would declare February 23, 2010, to be Spay Day USA 2010 in California, and would request that Californians observe that day by having their dogs and cats spayed or neutered and by providing voluntary services or other support to organizations that provide spay and neuter services.
This resolution would respectfully request that the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, adopt the North American Emission Control Area, as proposed by the United States, Canada, and France at the 60th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee, scheduled for March 2010.
This measure would urge various state and private entities to withhold financial support of Arizona businesses in response to recent Arizona state laws relating to illegal immigration.
The California Constitution provides electors, through the initiative, the power to propose statutes and constitutional amendments and to adopt or reject them. An initiative measure may be proposed by presenting to the Secretary of State a certified petition signed by a specified number of electors. The Secretary of State is required to submit an initiative measure at the next general election held at least 131 days after the measure qualifies or at a special statewide election held prior to that general election. This measure would limit the number of initiative measures that the Secretary of State may place on each statewide election ballot to 5, prioritized according to the date of qualification. The measure would prohibit qualified initiative measures not placed on the statewide election ballot from being placed on the ballot at a subsequent election, but would allow a new initiative measure containing the same or a similar proposal to qualify for a subsequent election ballot.
(1) Existing law, the State Bar Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation. Existing law provides that it is the duty of an attorney to, among other things, never reject, for any consideration personal to himself or herself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed. Existing law provides that a lawyer may fulfill his or her ethical commitment to provide pro bono services, in part, by providing financial support to organizations providing free legal services to persons of limited means. This bill would prohibit a person or organization that is not a specified type of legal aid organization, as defined, from using the term "legal aid," or any confusingly similar name in any firm name, trade name, fictitious business name, or other designation, or on any advertisement, letterhead, business card, or sign. The bill would subject a person or organization that violates this prohibition to specified civil liability. (2) Existing law provides that, in all general civil cases, as defined, a party who has provided notice may appear by telephone at certain conferences, hearings, and proceedings, except as specified. This bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2010, and periodically as appropriate, to enter into one or more master agreements with a vendor or vendors to provide for telephone appearances in civil cases under the provisions described above, or as otherwise permitted by law. The bill would impose requirements regarding those master agreements, including that the vendor charge a party for an appearance by telephone in an amount set by the Judicial Council, and that the vendor pay to the state $15 for each appearance by telephone and a proportionate share of an amount equal to the total revenue received from vendors by all courts for providing telephone appearances for the 2008–09 fiscal year. The bill would require those funds to be deposited in the Trial Court Trust Fund and used for specified purposes. (3) Existing law requires that, when a witness is incapable of understanding the English language or is incapable of expressing himself or herself in the English language so as to be understood directly by counsel, court, and jury, an interpreter be sworn to interpret for him or her. This bill would require the Judicial Council, by September 1, 2010, to establish a working group to review, identify, and develop best practices to provide interpreters in civil actions and proceedings, as specified. The bill would require the Judicial Council to select up to 5 courts to participate in a pilot project, to commence on July 1, 2011, to provide interpreters in civil proceedings. The bill would provide that the initial pilot courts shall participate until June 30, 2014, and would require the Judicial Council to consider whether a pilot court shall continue participating in the project and whether to select another court or additional courts. The pilot project would be funded from the revenue derived from the telephonic appearance fee described above. (4) Existing law requires the Judicial Council to conduct a study of language and interpreter use and need in court proceedings, with commentary, and to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature every 5 years. Existing law requires that this study serve as the basis for determining the need to establish interpreter programs and certification and establishing these programs and examinations through the normal budgetary process. This bill would require, in addition, as of January 1, 2011, that the study described above serve as the basis of determining the need for and use of interpreters in civil and criminal court proceedings. The bill would require trial courts to collect and report the use of interpreters in all criminal and civil proceedings in the manner specified by the Judicial Council.
This measure would declare February 19, 2010, as a Day of Remembrance in order to increase public awareness of the events surrounding the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, County Peace Officers' Retirement Law, County Fire Service Retirement Law, and County Peace Officer and Fire Service Retirement Plan Law set forth a comprehensive system of retirement benefits for specified firemen. This bill would replace the term "firemen" with "firefighters" and make other related technical changes.
This measure would memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to enact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which would make supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and state and local fiscal stabilization.
This measure would recognize February 2010 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents, achievements, and contributions that African Americans make to their communities.
Existing law requires that employees of the state who have exhausted all available sick leave be permitted to take a leave of absence with pay, not exceeding 30 days for the purpose of organ donation and not exceeding 5 days for bone marrow donation, as prescribed. This bill would require private employers to permit employees to take similar paid leaves of absence for organ and bone marrow donation. The bill would require a private employer to restore an employee returning from leave for organ or bone marrow donation to the same position held by the employee when the leave began or an equivalent position. The bill would prohibit a private employer from interfering with an employee taking organ or bone marrow donation leave and from retaliating against an employee for taking that leave or opposing an unlawful employment practice related to organ or bone marrow donation leave. The bill would also create a private right of action for an aggrieved employee to seek enforcement of these provisions.
