(1) Existing law establishes the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Program, which requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to award a grant, for the purpose of purchasing or leasing agricultural career technical education equipment, to an applicant school district that operates an agricultural career technical education program and that meets specified requirements. Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to annually adopt or update a local control and accountability plan that contains specified information. This bill would continuously appropriate the sum of $4,134,000 in each fiscal year beginning with the 2015–16 fiscal year from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for purposes of funding the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Program. The bill would require the Superintendent to award a grant to a school district that, in addition to meeting the existing requirements, demonstrates how the expenditure of the grant funds will be consistent with its adopted local control and accountability plan. The bill would also express various findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to agricultural career technical education. (2) Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
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Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Insurance Commissioner. Existing law prohibits a health care service plan or health insurer from requiring in-person contact between a health care provider and a patient before payment is made for covered services appropriately provided through telehealth, which is defined to mean the mode of delivering health care services via information and communication technologies, as specified. This bill would require a health care service plan or a health insurer, with respect to contracts and policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016, to cover telephone visits, as defined, provided by a contracted physician or a contracted qualified nonphysician health care provider. The bill would provide that a health care service plan or a health insurer is not required to reimburse separately for specified telephone visits, including a telephone visit provided as part of a bundle of services reimbursed in a specified manner. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, and before January 1, 2020, allow a credit in the amount of 20% of the monetary contributions made to a qualified tuition program, as defined, by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, not to exceed $500. This bill would provide for the payment of a credit amount in excess of tax liability upon an appropriation by the Legislature for that purpose. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law establishes the California Economic Development Fund and authorizes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide matching funds for economic development purposes from that fund. This bill would appropriate $6 million from the General Fund to the California Economic Development Fund to provide a cash match for federal funds to the administrative lead centers that have contracts with the United States Small Business Administration to administer the federal Small Business Development Center Program in California, subject to a specified condition. This bill would become operative only if AB 2670 of the 2013–14 Regular Session is enacted and becomes operative. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes within the Governor's office the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth, and authorizes the office to exercise various powers, including, among others, making recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding policies, programs, and actions to advance statewide economic goals. This bill would enact the Entrepreneur-in-Residence Act of 2014, which would establish the state entrepreneur-in-residence program within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development for the purpose of utilizing the expertise of private-sector entrepreneurs to help make state governmental activities and practices more streamlined and accessible to small businesses. The program would authorize the director of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to appoint a maximum of 10 persons each year to serve within a state agency as an entrepreneur-in-residence, with duties as established in the bill, on a voluntary basis. The bill would require the director to accept appointment applications for the position of an entrepreneur-in-residence and to establish prescribed procedures for complying with the bill no later than March 1, 2015. The bill would also require the director to establish an informal working group of entrepreneurs-in-residence to discuss best practices, experiences, obstacles, opportunities, and recommendations, and to report on the program to the Governor and the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy, as specified.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries arising out of and in the course of his or her employment. Existing law requires that aggregate disability payments for a single injury occurring on or after certain dates be limited, as provided. Existing law provides that whenever any member of the Department of Justice falling within the state peace officer/firefighter class is disabled by injury arising out of and in the course of his or her duties, he or she shall become entitled, regardless of his or her period of service with the Department of Justice to a leave of absence while so disabled without loss of salary, in lieu of disability payments under this chapter, for a period not exceeding one year. Existing law also provides that certain peace officers, firefighters, and other specified state and local public employees are entitled to a leave of absence without loss of salary while disabled by injury or illness arising out of and in the course of employment. This bill would provide that the above-specified leaves of absence without loss of salary are payable in addition to the maximum aggregate disability payments for a single injury that is applicable to all workers. The bill would make these provisions applicable to all claims, regardless of the date of injury. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. Existing law creates the California Competes Tax Credit Committee, which has specified duties in regard to tax credits for economic development. Existing law establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as "GO-Biz," to, among other duties, serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Existing law imposes an annual tax on the gross premiums of an insurer, as defined, doing business in this state at specified rates. This bill would allow a credit under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, and a credit against the tax imposed on an insurer, in modified conformity with a federal New Markets Tax Credit, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, and before January 1, 2027, in a specified amount for investments in low-income communities. The bill would limit the total annual amount of credit allowed pursuant to these provisions to an amount equal to any portion not granted under a specified sales and use tax exclusion, not to exceed $40,000,000 per calendar year, and would limit the allocation of the credit to a cumulative total of no more than $200,000,000, as provided. The bill would impose specified duties on the California Competes Tax Credit Committee and GO-Biz with regard to the application for, and allocation of, the credit. The bill would require GO-Biz to establish and impose reasonable fees upon entities that apply for the allocation of the credit, to be deposited in the California New Markets Tax Credit Fund established by the bill, and use the revenue, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to defray the cost of applying to, and administering the program, as specified. The bill would specify that the credit would not be allowed unless the Legislature makes an appropriation from the fund. The bill would provide that its provisions are severable. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Community Redevelopment Law authorizes the establishment of redevelopment agencies in communities to address the effects of blight, as defined by means of redevelopment projects financed by the issuance of bonds serviced by tax increment revenues derived from the project area. Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies and community development agencies, as of February 1, 2012, and provides for the designation of successor agencies to wind down the affairs of the dissolved agencies and to fulfill the enforceable obligations of those agencies. Existing law also provides for various economic development programs that foster community sustainability and community and economic development initiatives throughout the state. This bill would authorize certain local agencies to form a community revitalization authority (authority) within a community revitalization and investment area, as defined, to carry out provisions of the Community Redevelopment Law in that area for purposes related to, among other things, infrastructure, affordable housing, and economic revitalization. The bill would provide for the financing of these activities by, among other things, the issuance of bonds serviced by tax increment revenues, and would require the authority to adopt a community revitalization plan for the community revitalization and investment area that includes elements describing and governing revitalization activities. The bill would also provide for periodic audits of the authority with respect to affordable housing, conducted as provided by the Controller, and for annual public reports by the authority as well as periodic proceedings for the consideration of public protests.
Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies and community development agencies, as of February 1, 2012, and provides for the designation of successor agencies to wind down the affairs of the dissolved redevelopment agencies and to, among other things, make payments due for enforceable obligations and to perform obligations required pursuant to any enforceable obligation. Existing law provides for the transfer of housing assets and functions previously performed by the dissolved redevelopment agency to one of several specified public entities. Existing law authorizes the successor housing entity to designate the use of, and commit, proceeds from indebtedness that was issued for affordable housing purposes prior to January 1, 2011, and was backed by the Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund. This bill would instead authorize a successor housing entity to designate the use of, and commit, proceeds from indebtedness that was issued for affordable housing purposes prior to June 28, 2011, and would require the proceeds from bonds issued between January 1, 2011, and June 28, 2011, be used for projects meeting certain criteria established in this bill for projects, to be funded by successor agencies generally, from proceeds of bonds issued during the same period. Existing law authorizes the Department of Finance to issue a finding of completion to a successor agency that completes a due diligence review and meets other requirements. Upon receiving a finding of completion, a successor agency is authorized to expend excess bond proceeds derived from bonds issued on or before December 31, 2010, in a manner consistent with the original bond covenants. The bill would expand this authorization to include the expenditure of excess bond proceeds derived from bonds issued on or before June 28, 2011, and would require proceeds derived from bonds issued between January 1, 2011, and June 28, 2011, to be used by successor agencies only for projects meeting certain criteria. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 34191.4 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 1582 and SB 1129 that would become operative only if this bill and either AB 1582 or SB 1129 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to collect and maintain available information and data about state and community correctional policies, practices, capacities, and needs, as specified. Existing law also requires the board to develop incentives for units of local government to develop comprehensive regional partnerships whereby adjacent jurisdictions pool grant funds in order to deliver services to a broader target population and maximize the impact of state funds at the local level. This bill would enact, until January 1, 2020, the Social Innovation Financing Program, and would require the board to administer the program. The bill would, among other things, authorize the Board of State and Community Corrections, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature for deposit in the Recidivism Reduction Fund, to award grants in amounts of not less than $500,000 and not more than $2,000,000 to each of 3 counties, selected as specified, for the purpose of entering into a pay for success or social innovation financing contract, pursuant to which private investors agree to provide financing to service providers to achieve social outcomes agreed upon in advance and the government agency that is a party to the contractual agreement agrees to pay a return on the investment to the investors if successful programmatic outcomes are achieved by the service provider. The bill would limit the total amount of the grants awarded to $5,000,000. The bill would require each county receiving an award to report annually to the Governor and Legislature on the status of its program. The bill would require the board to compile the county reports and submit a summary report to the Governor and the Legislature annually. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations in this regard.