The State Contract Act governs contracting between state agencies and private contractors, and sets forth requirements for the bidding, awarding, and overseeing, of contracts for projects. The act defines a project to include the construction or other improvement to a state structure, building, road, or other state improvement of any kind, that will exceed a total cost limit of $250,000 for the 2010 calendar year, as adjusted every 2 years. Existing regulatory law generally prohibits employers from asking an applicant for employment to disclose information concerning convictions that have been sealed, expunged, or statutorily eradicated, and certain marijuana-related convictions if the convictions are more than 2 years old. Existing law, commencing July 1, 2014, prohibits a state or local agency from asking an applicant to disclose information regarding a criminal conviction, except as specified, until the agency has determined the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications for the position. This bill would enact the Fair Chance Employment Act, which would require any person submitting a bid for a state contract involving onsite construction-related services to certify that the person will not ask an applicant for onsite construction-related employment to disclose information concerning his or her conviction history on or at the time of an initial employment application. The bill would not apply to a position for which a person or state agency is otherwise required by state or federal law to conduct a conviction or criminal history background check or to any contract position with a criminal justice agency, as specified. This bill would not apply to a person to the extent that he or she obtains workers from a hiring hall pursuant to a bona fide collective bargaining agreement.
Sponsored bills
Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services oversees the administration of county public social services, including child welfare services. Existing law authorizes the department to conduct or have conducted audits and reviews in order to meet its obligations for child welfare programs and to ensure the protection of children and families. This bill would require the department, in consultation with counties and labor organizations, to establish a process, no later than January 1, 2016, to receive voluntary disclosures from social workers, if a social worker has reasonable cause to believe that a policy, procedure, or practice related to the provision of child welfare services by a county child welfare agency, as defined, endangers the health or well-being of a child or children, as specified. The bill would prohibit the department from disclosing to any person or entity the identity of a social worker making a disclosure pursuant to these provisions, unless the social worker has consented to the disclosure or there is an immediate risk to the health and safety of a child. The bill would require the department, no later than January 1, 2018, to report to the Legislature, and post on its Internet Web site, the total number of relevant disclosures received and a summary description of the issues raised in those disclosures and of the actions taken by the department in response to those disclosures. Existing law authorizes the department and the county welfare department or agency to comment on a child fatality once certain documents from the child's case file have been released by the custodian of records, within the scope of the release. This bill would additionally authorize a county child welfare social worker to comment for purposes of these provisions, as specified. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, regulates labor relations between employees and management of local public agencies. Existing law grants the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) specified powers and duties in connection with the act, including making unit determinations in disputed cases and supervising representation elections. Existing law excepts the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles from the PERB grant of authority, providing instead that the employment relations commissions in those jurisdictions are responsible for those functions. This bill would prescribe requirements for an appointment to an employee relations commission of the County of Los Angeles or of the City of Los Angeles. The bill would require a nomination to be made within 30 days, as specified, from a list of nominees to be determined by the chief executive officer of the County of Los Angeles or by the chief administrative officer of the City of Los Angeles, as applicable, and a committee composed of employee organizations. The bill would require an appointee to have at least 5 years of full-time experience as a professional neutral party resolving disputes between employee organizations and public agencies or resolving disputes between private employers and labor organizations. The bill would prohibit an appointee from consulting or providing representation or advice regarding employee relations to any public or private employer or public or private employee organization while serving on an employee relations commission. The bill would also prohibit the County of Los Angeles or the City of Los Angeles, in contracting for services with a commission member or hearing officer assigned to make determinations for a commission, from requiring indemnity agreements or malpractice insurance, as specified, or from withholding or reducing payment from the member or officer after services are provided. The bill would specify that these provisions may be enforced by an action for a writ of mandate. By establishing new duties on local officials, this 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, 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 Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by those laws. Both laws allow a deduction for ordinary and necessary business expenses, including a deduction for amounts paid or incurred for specified types of fines or penalties. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, would disallow, under both laws, a deduction for the amount of any fine or penalty paid or incurred by an owner of all or part of a professional sports franchise where that fine or penalty is assessed or imposed by the professional sports league that includes that franchise. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing federal law, the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011, requires that each child in foster care under the responsibility of the state who has attained 16 years of age receive without cost a copy of any consumer report pertaining to the child each year until the child is discharged from care, and assistance in interpreting and resolving any inaccuracies in the report. Existing law provides for child welfare services, which are public social services directed toward, among other purposes, protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, including those in foster care placement. Existing law declares the policy of the Legislature that all children in foster care be free from abuse. Existing law requires a county welfare department, county probation department, or the State Department of Social Services to request a consumer credit disclosure on behalf of a child in a foster care placement in the county when the child reaches his or her 16th birthday, and each year thereafter while the child is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, as specified. This bill would instead require a county welfare department, county probation department, or the State Department of Social Services to inquire of each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies as to whether a child described above has any consumer credit history, as specified. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services, if it makes the inquiry, to notify the county welfare department or the county probation department in the county having jurisdiction over the child of the results of that inquiry. The bill would also provide that if an inquiry performed pursuant to these provisions indicates that a child has a consumer credit history with any major credit reporting agency, the responsible county welfare department or county probation department is required to request a consumer credit report from that agency. The bill would also require the State Department of Social Services to provide specified information related to the implementation of these provisions to the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, and the appropriate legislative policy committees by no later than February 1, 2016. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law prohibits a person from using or being under the influence of certain controlled substances, except as specified. A person convicted of violating this prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and the court is required to sentence the person to not less than 90 days or more than one year in a county jail. The court is authorized to place a person convicted under this provision on probation for not more than 5 years, and the court is required, as a condition of granting probation, to order the person to serve at least 90 days in a county jail. The court is prohibited, except with regards to specified drug treatment provisions, from absolving a person convicted under this provision from serving at least 90 days in a county jail. This bill would delete the requirement that a person convicted under this provision serve at least 90 days in a county jail, and would delete the requirement that, as a condition of granting probation, the person serve at least 90 days in a county jail. The bill would make additional conforming changes. The bill would also authorize the court to grant probation for not more than 5 years in addition to any jail sentence imposed.
The California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) requires a public retirement system, as defined, to modify its plan or plans to comply with the act and, among other provisions, establishes new retirement formulas that may not be exceeded by a public employer offering a defined benefit pension plan for employees first hired on or after January 1, 2013. PEPRA exempts from its provisions public employees whose collective bargaining rights are subject to specified provisions of federal law until a specified federal district court decision on a certification by the United States Secretary of Labor, or until January 1, 2015, whichever is sooner. This bill would extend that exemption with respect to the above-described date to January 1, 2016. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 7522.02 of the Government Code proposed by SB 1251, to be operative only if SB 1251 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides that every person who possesses for sale or purchases for purposes of sale cocaine base is subject to imprisonment in a county jail for a period of 3, 4, or 5 years. This bill instead would provide that every person who possesses for sale or purchases for purposes of sale cocaine base is subject to imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years. Existing law generally provides that the interest of any registered owner of a boat, airplane, or any vehicle, except as specified, that has been used to facilitate the manufacture of, or possession for sale or sale of, 14.25 grams or more of cocaine base or 28.5 grams or more of cocaine is subject to forfeiture, as specified. This bill would revise that provision to instead make property that has been used to facilitate the manufacture of, or possession for sale or sale of, 28.5 grams or more of cocaine base or cocaine subject to forfeiture. Existing law, except in unusual cases, prohibits granting probation or suspending a sentence for persons convicted of specified crimes relating to controlled substances, including possessing for sale a substance containing 57 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine, 14.25 grams or more of cocaine base, or 57 grams or more of a substance containing at least 5 grams of cocaine base, and transporting or importing for sale, selling, or offering to sell cocaine base. This bill would delete those provisions and would instead prohibit, except in unusual cases, granting probation or suspending a sentence for persons convicted of possessing for sale or selling a substance containing 28.5 grams or more of cocaine base or 57 grams or more of a substance containing at least 5 grams of cocaine or cocaine base. By making additional persons eligible for probation, 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.
Existing law generally regulates false advertising and specifically prohibits certain unfair acts or practices undertaken by, or omissions of, a person in the operation of a contest, including misrepresenting the odds of winning a prize or failing to award and distribute all prizes. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor. This bill would apply the prohibition described above to unfair acts or practices undertaken by, or omissions of, a person in the operation of a sweepstakes, as defined. The bill would prohibit using or offering to use any method intended to be used by a person interacting with an electronic video monitor to simulate gambling or play gambling-themed games in a business establishment, as defined, that directly or indirectly implements the predetermination of sweepstakes cash, cash-equivalent prizes, or other prizes of value, or otherwise connects a sweepstakes player or participant with sweepstakes cash, cash-equivalent prizes, or other prizes of value. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also except from this prohibition game promotions and sweepstakes conducted on a limited basis as an advertising and marketing tool incidental to substantial bona fide sales of consumer products or services, as specified. 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 regulates the sale of certain merchandise, including political items and sports memorabilia. This bill would prohibit the State of California from selling or displaying the Battle Flag of the Confederacy, or a similar image, or tangible personal property inscribed with those images, unless the image appears in a book, digital medium, or state museum that serves an educational or historical purpose.