Asm. Cristina Garcia

This measure would designate the month of May 2022 as California Fairgrounds Appreciation Month and would extend the Legislature's warmest regards and appreciation to the thousands of volunteers, fair directors, staff, business supporters, and sponsors who keep the network of California state fairgrounds strong, vibrant, relevant, and successful.

This measure would proclaim Friday, May 27, 2022, as National Poppy Day.

This measure would declare June 8, 2022, as California Nonprofits Day in recognition of the importance of nonprofit organizations to the economy and well-being of this state.

(1) The Personal Income Tax Law, beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income tax credit against personal income tax and a payment from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for an allowable credit in excess of tax liability to an eligible individual that is equal to that portion of the earned income tax credit allowed by federal law as determined by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as specified. The law provides that the amount of the credit is calculated as a percentage of the eligible individual's earned income and is phased out above a specified amount as income increases and provides alternative calculation factors under specified circumstances. The law requires, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, specified earned income amounts, phaseout amounts, and the amount of disqualified income that would disallow this credit to be recomputed annually in the same manner as the recomputation of income tax brackets, as prescribed. This bill, upon appropriation, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2022, would revise the alternative calculation factors and phaseout amounts and remove the earned income threshold at which the phaseout ends, thereby increasing the amount of eligible taxpayers. (2) The Personal Income Tax Law allows a young child tax credit against the taxes imposed under that law and a payment from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for an allowable credit in excess of tax liability to a qualified taxpayer in a specified amount multiplied by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as provided. Existing law defines "qualified taxpayer" for this purpose to include an eligible individual who has a qualifying child, as defined, and is allowed an earned income tax credit, as specified. That law limits the definition of "qualifying child" for this purpose to a child younger than 6 years of age. This bill, for taxable years for which an appropriation is made by the Legislature, would increase the amount of the young child tax credit, would allow a young child tax credit to a qualified taxpayer for each qualifying child, would expand the definition of "qualifying child," as specified, and would expand the definition of "qualified taxpayer," as specified.

This measure would urge the President, the Congress of the United States, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to take all measures to ensure that military veterans can access necessary treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders in a timely manner.

This measure would designate the month of May 2022 as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Month in California.

This measure would proclaim the month of May 2022 as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month.

Existing law provides that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to their personal reproductive decisions. Existing law prohibits the state from denying or interfering with the right to choose or obtain an abortion before the fetus is viable, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. Existing law requires an abortion to be performed by a specified licensed or certified health care provider and prohibits an abortion from being performed on a viable fetus if continuation of the pregnancy did not pose a risk to the life or health of the pregnant person. The United States Constitution generally requires a state to give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. Existing law sets forth procedures by which a person may enforce a judgment for the payment of money issued by the court of a state other than California. This bill would declare another state's law authorizing a civil action against a person or entity that receives or seeks, performs or induces, or aids or abets the performance of an abortion, or who attempts or intends to engage in those actions, to be contrary to the public policy of this state. The bill would prohibit the application of that law to a case or controversy heard in state court, and would prohibit the enforcement or satisfaction of a civil judgment received under that law. The bill would declare these provisions to be severable. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016, as part of the hazardous waste control laws, prohibits a person from disposing, or attempting to dispose, of a lead-acid battery at a solid waste facility or on or in any land, surface waters, watercourses, or marine waters, but authorizes a person to dispose of a lead-acid battery at certain locations. The act imposes a California battery fee on a person for specified types of replacement lead-acid batteries purchased from a dealer in the amount of $1 until March 31, 2022, and in the amount of $2 commencing April 1, 2022. The act requires a dealer to post a written notice or include on the purchaser's receipt for one of these lead-acid batteries specified language, including language stating that the dealer is required by law to charge a nonrefundable $1 California battery fee. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. This bill would revise the language required to be included in that notice or on the purchaser's receipt by increasing the stated amount of the California battery fee from $1 to $2. Because the failure of a dealer to include this revised language would be a crime under the hazardous waste control laws, 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, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency, as those terms are defined, be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate. The act contains specified provisions regarding the timelines for posting an agenda and providing for the ability of the public to observe and provide comment. The act allows for meetings to occur via teleconferencing subject to certain requirements, particularly that the legislative body notice each teleconference location of each member that will be participating in the public meeting, that each teleconference location be accessible to the public, that members of the public be allowed to address the legislative body at each teleconference location, that the legislative body post an agenda at each teleconference location, and that at least a quorum of the legislative body participate from locations within the boundaries of the local agency's jurisdiction. The act provides an exemption to the jurisdictional requirement for health authorities, as defined. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, authorizes a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with those specified teleconferencing requirements in specified circumstances when a declared state of emergency is in effect, or in other situations related to public health. This bill would require the agenda to identify any member of the legislative body that will participate in the meeting remotely. The bill would also require an updated agenda reflecting all of the members participating in the meeting remotely to be posted, if a member of the legislative body elects to participate in the meeting remotely after the agenda is posted. This bill would authorize, upon a determination by a majority vote of the legislative body, a member to be exempt from identifying the address of the member's teleconference location in the notice and agenda or having the location be accessible to the public, if the member elects to teleconference from a location that is not a public place, including, beginning January 1, 2024, that at least a quorum of members of the legislative body participates from a single physical location that is clearly identified on the agenda, open to the public, and situated within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency has jurisdiction. This bill would require all open and public meetings of a legislative body that elects to use teleconferencing to provide a video stream accessible to members of the public and an option for members of the public to address the body remotely during the public comment period through an audio-visual or call-in option. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. 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. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.