(1) Existing law prohibits an employer who employs 25 or more employees working at the same location from discharging or discriminating against an employee who is a parent, guardian, or grandparent having custody of a child in a licensed child day care facility or in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, for taking off up to 40 hours each year for the purpose of participating in school activities, subject to specified conditions. Existing law requires an employee to provide documentation regarding these activities upon request by an employer and provides remedies to employees discharged, demoted, or in any other manner discriminated against as a result of his or her exercise of this right to take time off. This bill would revise references to a child day care facility to instead refer to a child care provider. The bill would include the addressing of a child care provider emergency or a school emergency, as defined, and the finding, enrolling, or reenrolling of a child in a school or with a child care provider as activities for which a parent having custody of a child shall not be discriminated against or discharged, as described above. The bill would define "parent" for these purposes as a parent, guardian, stepparent, foster parent, or grandparent of, or a person who stands in loco parentis to, a child, thereby extending these protections to an employee who is a stepparent or foster parent or who stands in loco parentis to a child. (2) Existing law requires an employer who provides sick leave for employees to permit an employee to use the employee's accrued and available sick leave entitlement to attend to the illness of a child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner and prohibits an employer from denying an employee the right to use sick leave or taking specific discriminatory action against an employee for using, or attempting to exercise the right to use, sick leave to attend to such an illness. Existing law defines "sick leave" for these purposes as leave provided for use by the employee during an absence from employment for specified reasons, including, but not limited to, an employee's inability to perform his or her duties due to illness, injury, or a medical condition of the employee. The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 requires an employer, upon the request of an employee, to provide paid sick days for a victim of domestic violence or the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, the employee or the employee's family member, which is defined as including, in addition to the above-described relatives, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings. This bill would instead require an employer to permit an employee to use sick leave for the purposes specified in the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, would redefine "sick leave" as leave provided for use by the employee during an absence from employment for these purposes, and would prohibit an employer from denying an employee the right to use sick leave or taking specific discriminatory action against an employee for using, or attempting to exercise the right to use, sick leave for these purposes.
Sponsored bills
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in specified conformity with federal income tax laws regarding qualified tuition programs, provide that distributions from a qualified tuition program are generally not included in the income of the donor or the beneficiary, as specified. Existing federal law, the Stephen Beck Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (ABLE Act) , for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, encourages and assists individuals and families to save private funds for the purpose of supporting persons with disabilities to maintain their health, independence, and quality of life by excluding from gross income distributions used for qualified disability expenses by a beneficiary of a Qualified ABLE Program established and maintained by a state, as specified. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, conform to these federal income tax law provisions relating to the ABLE Act under the Corporation Tax Law, as provided. The bill would also establish in state government the ABLE program trust for purposes of implementing the federal ABLE Act. The bill would authorize the ABLE Act Board to adopt regulations to implement the program. The bill would create the program fund, a continuously appropriated fund, thereby making an appropriation, and the administrative fund, as specified. The bill would require the board to administer the program in compliance with the requirements of the federal ABLE Act. This bill would become operative only if SB 324 is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2016.
Existing law prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes to people under 18 years of age. Existing law defines "electronic cigarette" as a device that can provide an inhalable dose of nicotine by delivering a vaporized solution. This bill would prohibit the sale of any device intended to deliver a nonnicotine product in a vapor state, to be directly inhaled by the user, to a person under 18 years of age, or to a person under 21 years of age if SB 151 of the 2015–16 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect. The bill would exempt from its prohibition the sale of a drug or medical device that has been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. Because this bill would create a new crime or infraction, 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 County Sanitation District Act authorizes a sanitation district to acquire, construct, and complete certain works, property, or structures necessary or convenient for sewage collection, treatment, and disposal. This bill would authorize specified sanitation districts in the County of Los Angeles to acquire, construct, operate, maintain, and furnish facilities for the diversion, management, and treatment of stormwater and dry weather runoff, the discharge of the water to the stormwater drainage system, and the beneficial use of the water. The bill would require a district to consult with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District and the relevant watermaster or water replenishment district prior to initiating a stormwater or dry weather runoff program within the boundaries of an adjudicated groundwater basin or within the service area of a water replenishment district, as applicable. The bill would make related changes. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.
Existing law provides for the protection, enhancement, and restoration of rivers in this state. Existing law establishes the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy for the purpose of, among others, providing for the public's enjoyment and enhancement of recreational and education experiences on public lands in the San Gabriel Watershed and Lower Los Angeles River. This bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to appoint, in consultation with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to the extent the board wishes to consult, a local working group to develop a revitalization plan for the Lower Los Angeles River watershed, called the Lower Los Angeles River Working Group. The bill would require the secretary to consider requests from local agency representatives to participate in the working group and would authorize the working group to include specified representatives. The bill would require, by March 1, 2017, the working group to develop, through watershed-based planning methods, a revitalization plan that addresses the unique and diverse needs of the Lower Los Angeles River, that is consistent with, enhances, and is authorized to be incorporated into the County of Los Angeles's Master Plan, and that includes watershed education programs. The bill would require the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy to provide any necessary staffing to assist the working group. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Lower Los Angeles River.
Existing law requires an employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's infant child. Existing law requires the employer to make reasonable efforts to provide the employee with the use of a room or other location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work area, for the employee to express milk in private. Existing law establishes the California School Age Families Education Program, which is a comprehensive, continuous, and community linked school-based program that focuses on youth development and dropout prevention for pregnant and parenting pupils and on child care and development services for their children. Existing federal law requires an educational institution to treat pregnancy, childbirth, recovery from childbirth, and other specified conditions in the same manner and under the same policies as any other temporary disability. Existing law also prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, gender, or other specified characteristics in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state financial aid. This bill would require a school operated by a school district or a county office of education, the California School for the Deaf, the California School for the Blind, and a charter school to provide, only if there is at least one lactating pupil on the school campus, reasonable accommodations to a lactating pupil on a school campus to express breast milk, breast-feed an infant child, or address other needs related to breast-feeding. The bill would require that these reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to, access to a private and secure room, other than a restroom, to express breast milk or breast-feed an infant child, permission to bring onto a school campus any equipment used to express breast milk, access to a power source for that equipment, and access to a place to safely store expressed breast milk. The bill would also require that a lactating pupil on a school campus be given a reasonable amount of time to accommodate the need to express breast milk or breast-feed an infant child. The bill would prohibit a pupil from incurring an academic penalty as a result of her use, during the schoolday, of these reasonable accommodations. The bill would authorize a complaint of noncompliance with the requirements of the bill to be filed with the local educational agency, and would require the local educational agency to respond to such a complaint, in accordance with specified procedures. The bill would also authorize a complainant to appeal a decision of the local educational agency to the State Department of Education and would require the department to issue a written decision within 60 days of its receipt of the appeal. The bill would require a local educational agency to provide a remedy to the affected pupil if the local educational agency finds merit in a complaint or if the Superintendent of Public Instruction finds merit in an appeal. The bill would also include a statement of legislative findings and declarations. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, 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.
Prior law required, until July 1, 2015, the obligation of a person to pay child support pursuant to an order that is being enforced by a local child support agency under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act to be suspended for the period of time exceeding 90 days in which the person required to pay support is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, with specified exceptions. Prior law required that, upon the release of the obligor, the obligation to pay child support immediately resume in the amount otherwise specified in the child support order prior to the suspension of that obligation. Prior law required the court to provide notice to the parties of the support obligation suspension at the time the order was issued or modified. Prior law authorized an obligor, upon release from incarceration or involuntary institutionalization, to petition the court for an adjustment of the arrears pursuant to the suspension of the support obligation. This bill would enact similar provisions to require the suspension of a child support order to occur by operation of law when an obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, unless the obligor has the means to pay support, or the obligor was incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized for either an offense constituting domestic violence or the failure to pay child support. The bill would also authorize the local child support agency to administratively adjust account balances for a money judgment or order for support of a child that is suspended by operation of law if the agency verifies that arrears and interest were accrued in violation of these provisions, that specified conditions relating to the obligor's inability to pay while incarcerated and the underlying offense for which he or she was incarcerated do not exist, and neither the obligor nor the obligee object to the adjustment. The bill would require the local child support agency to give notice, as prescribed, of the adjustment to the obligor and obligee. If either the obligor or the obligee objects to the adjustment, the bill would require the agency to file a motion with the court to adjust the arrears and would allow the adjustment only after approval by the court. The bill would require the child support obligation to resume on the first day of the first full month after the release of the person owing support. The bill would require the Department of Child Support Services, in consultation with the Judicial Council, to develop forms to implement these provisions, and would require them to report specified information relating to these provisions to the Assembly Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee on or before January 1, 2019. The bill would make these provisions operative only until January 1, 2020. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law authorizes the trustees by rule to require all persons to pay fees, rents, deposits, and charges for services, facilities, or materials provided by the trustees to those persons. Existing law prohibits specified California State University campus-based mandatory fees from being reallocated without an affirmative vote of the majority of the members of either the student body or a specified campus fee advisory committee voting on the fee reallocation, unless the vote that established the fee authorizes an alternative or automatic reallocation mechanism for that fee. Existing law prohibits a campus or the Chancellor of the California State University from approving a student success fee, as defined, before January 1, 2016. Existing law requires the chancellor to conduct a review of the trustees' fee policy related to student success fees, submit recommended changes to the fee policy to the trustees, consider specified information in conducting that review and in preparing his or her recommended changes to the policy, and to submit a report regarding those proposed changes to the Department of Finance and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, on or before February 1, 2015. This bill would revise and recast the requirements related to student success fees. The bill would prohibit a campus of the California State University, or the Chancellor of the California State University, from imposing a student success fee, as defined, unless certain requirements are met. The bill would establish procedures for campus elections for the adoption or rescission of student success fees. The bill would require the chancellor to report a summary of the fees adopted or rescinded in the prior academic year, and the uses of proposed and currently implemented fees, annually to the Department of Finance and the Legislature.
Existing law establishes various plans and programs intended to preserve, protect, and rehabilitate lands adjacent to rivers in the state. Existing law provides that a conservation easement, as defined, is an interest in real property voluntarily created and freely transferable for specified purposes and provides for the creation and transfer of conservation easements. Existing law authorizes certain tax exempt nonprofit organizations, state or local governmental entities, and California Native American tribes to acquire and hold conservation easements if those entities meet specified criteria. This bill would enact the Greenway Development and Sustainment Act and would apply to greenway easements certain creation and transfer provisions similar to those of conservation easements. The bill would define greenway as a pedestrian and bicycle, nonmotorized vehicle transportation, and recreational travel corridor that meets specified requirements. The bill would also include greenways in the definition of "open-space land" for local planning purposes. The California Constitution provides that, unless otherwise provided in the Constitution or by federal law, all property in the state is taxable and is assessed at its fair market value. Existing law requires the county assessor to consider, when valuing real property for property taxation purposes, the effect of any enforceable restrictions, including recorded conservation easements, to which the use of the land may be subjected. This bill would provide that a recorded greenway easement constitutes an enforceable restriction for purposes of these tax provisions. By changing the manner in which county assessors assess property for property taxation purposes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make findings with regard to the development of a greenway along the Los Angeles River and its tributaries. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 402.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, proposed by AB 668, to be operative only if AB 668 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last. 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 Alcoholic Beverage Control Act contains various provisions regulating the application for, the issuance of, the suspension of, and the conditions imposed upon, alcoholic beverage licenses by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Existing law provides for various annual fees for the issuance of alcoholic beverage licenses, depending upon the type of license issued. This bill, the Craft Distillers Act of 2015, would authorize the department to issue a craft distiller's license to manufacture distilled spirits, subject to specified conditions, including that the licensee manufacture no more than 100,000 gallons of distilled spirits per fiscal year, excluding brandy the craft distiller manufactures or has manufactured for them. The bill would allow the craft distiller's licensee to sell distilled spirits to specified consumers, to own interests in on-sale retail licenses, and to sell beer, wines, brandies, and distilled spirits to consumers for consumption on the premises of a bona fide eating place, as provided. The bill would impose an original fee and an annual renewal fee for the license, which would be deposited in the Alcohol Beverage Control Fund. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act authorizes a licensed distilled spirits manufacturer to conduct tastings of distilled spirits produced or bottled by, or produced or bottled for, the licensee, on the licensed premises, under specified conditions, including that tasting not be given in the form of a cocktail or mixed drink. This bill would extend that authorization to a licensed craft distiller and would revise the tasting conditions by allowing a tasting to be given in the form of a cocktail or mixed drink. Existing law prohibits a distilled spirits manufacturer's or distilled spirits manufacturer's agent's license from being held by a person that holds any ownership or interest in any distilled spirits wholesaler's, rectifier's, or retailer's license, as specified. This bill would additionally prohibit a distilled spirits manufacturer's or distilled spirits manufacturer's agent's license from being held by a person that holds any ownership or interest in a craft distiller's license.