Existing law creates the Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act, which is administered by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System, which is granted all powers reasonably necessary to carry its responsibilities granted pursuant to the act. Existing law authorizes the board to contract with carriers for health benefit plans or with entities that provide services relating to the administration of these plans. Existing state and federal income tax laws allow a deduction for contributions to a qualifying medical savings account by a taxpayer who is covered under a high deductible health plan, as defined. Money within this type of account may be used to pay for qualified medical expenses, as defined. This bill would require the board to establish a wellness program for state employees and annuitants that is consistent with the requirements of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The bill would require the program to provide financial incentives for participation. The bill would require the program to include both provisions that require an individual to meet a standard related to a health factor to receive an incentive and provisions that only require participation. This bill would also, on and after January 1, 2014, require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to offer a high deductible health plan, as defined in the federal tax law, and a health savings account option to public employees and annuitants, as specified. The bill would establish the Public Employees' Health Savings Fund, a continuously appropriated fund within the State Treasury, for payment of qualified medical expenses of employees and annuitants who elect to enroll in the high deductible health plan and participate in the health savings account option, and would require those employees and annuitants, and their employers, to make specified contributions to that fund, thereby making an appropriation.
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The California Constitution requires that a bill be read by title 3 times in each house or a bill with amendments be printed and distributed to the Members of each house before it may be passed. This bill would provide that a vote shall not be taken in either house of the Legislature on the Budget Bill or any other bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill, as defined in the Constitution, until the bill has been made available to the public for 3 days on a publicly available Internet Web site.
Existing law, known as Laura's Law, until January 1, 2017, regulates designated assisted outpatient treatment services, which a county may choose to provide for its residents. In a county where assisted outpatient treatment services are available, a person is authorized to receive specified mental health services pursuant to an order if requisite criteria are met, as specified. Under that law, participating counties are required to provide prescribed assisted outpatient services, including a service planning and delivery process that provides for services that are client-directed and employ psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery principles. Existing law contains provisions governing the operation and financing of community mental health services for the mentally disordered in every county through locally administered and locally controlled community mental health programs. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, funds a system of county mental health plans for the provision of mental health services, as specified. The act provides that it may be amended by the Legislature by a 23 vote of each house as long as the amendment is consistent with and furthers the intent of the act, and that the Legislature may also clarify procedures and terms of the act by majority vote. The act establishes the Mental Health Services Fund, continuously appropriated to and administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, to fund specified county mental health programs, including prevention and early intervention programs, which include outreach, and programs implemented under the Adult and Older Adult Mental Health System of Care Act. The Adult and Older Adult Mental Health System of Care Act establishes services standards that require, among other things, that a service planning and delivery process provides for services that are client-directed and employ psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery principles. This bill would declare that it is consistent with and furthers the intent of the Mental Health Services Act. This bill would clarify that services provided under Laura's Law may be provided pursuant to the Mental Health Services Act. This bill would provide that outreach under prevention and early intervention programs may include the provision of funds to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools for the purposes of obtaining and providing training to identify students with mental health issues that may result in a threat to themselves or others. By allocating moneys in the Mental Health Services Fund for new purposes, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would delete obsolete provisions and make other conforming changes. Because the bill would amend Proposition 63, it would require a 23 vote of the Legislature.
The Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. That law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, a textbook purchased by a student from an institution of higher education or sold by an entity whose primary purpose is to provide textbooks to students attending institutions of higher education, for use as a learning resource in any course of study at that institution. The bill would define certain terms for those purposes. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides that the state will reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy, but its operative date would depend on its effective date.
Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each habitable structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, as defined, and requires that the fire prevention fee be adjusted annually using prescribed methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed, commencing with the 2011–12 fiscal year. Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and prohibits the collection of fire prevention fees if, commencing with the 2012–13 fiscal year, there are sufficient amounts of moneys in the fund to finance specified fire prevention activities for a fiscal year. Existing law requires that the fire prevention fees collected, except as provided, be deposited into the fund and be made available to the board and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for certain specified fire prevention activities that benefit the owners of structures in state responsibility areas who are required to pay the fee. Existing law further requires the board, on and after January 1, 2013, to submit an annual written report to the Legislature on specified topics. This bill would repeal these provisions.
Existing law, the Financial Integrity and State Manager's Accountability Act of 1983 (FISMA) , provides that state agency heads are responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a system or systems of internal accounting and administrative control within their agencies, as specified. Existing law requires that state agency heads covered by FISMA shall, biennially, conduct an internal review and prepare a report on the adequacy of the agency's systems of internal accounting, administrative control, and monitoring practices. Copies of the reports are required to be submitted to the Legislature, the California State Auditor, the Controller, the Treasurer, the Attorney General, the Governor, the director, and to the State Library where the copies are required to be available for public inspection. This bill would also require the report to be posted on the agency's Internet Web site within 5 days of finalization and would require the report to be signed by the head of the agency under penalty of perjury. By requiring the head of an agency to sign the report under penalty of perjury, this bill would expand circumstances under which a person may be convicted of a crime and, thereby, would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would provide that the head of an agency that fails to submit the report within 30 days of its deadline shall be suspended without pay until the agency comes into compliance with the reporting requirements. This bill would require the framework for conducting an internal review of an agency's systems of internal accounting and administrative control to include Protocols for auditing and monitoring of the agency's assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenditures, as well as reconciliation of accounting and budget documents reported to the Department of Finance and the Office of the Controller. Existing law requires the head of an internal audit staff of a state agency to investigate any allegation that an employee of the agency provided false or misleading information in connection with the review of the agency's systems of internal accounting and administrative control or in connection with the preparation of the biennial report on the systems of internal accounting, administrative control, and monitoring practices. Existing law requires the head of an internal audit staff or designated internal control person to report in writing to the head of the agency or the division if there is reasonable cause to believe that false or misleading information was provided. This bill would require the report to also be submitted to the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. 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 Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The act authorizes the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to exempt from those provisions of the act a person engaging in specified forest management activities, including, among other things, the harvesting of only trees less than 18 inches in stump diameter, measured at 8 inches above ground level. However, existing law permits the removal of trees less than 24 inches in stump diameter to achieve the goal of fuel reduction if the removal of any such tree is within 500 feet of a legally permitted structure, or in an area prioritized as a shaded fuel break in a community wildfire protection plan approved by a public fire agency, if the goal of fuel reduction cannot be achieved by removing only trees less than 18 inches in stump diameter. This bill would, instead, exempt the removal of trees less than 28 inches in stump diameter, measured at 8 inches above ground level. However, the bill would permit the removal of trees less than 28 inches in stump diameter to achieve the goal of fuel reduction if the removal of any such tree is within 500 feet of a legally permitted structure, in an area prioritized as a shaded fuel break in a community wildfire protection plan approved by a public fire agency, if the goal of fuel reduction cannot be achieved by removing only trees less than 28 inches in stump diameter.
Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, as defined, and requires that the fire prevention fee be adjusted annually using prescribed methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed, commencing with the 2011–12 fiscal year. Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and prohibits the collection of fire prevention fees if, commencing with the 2012–13 fiscal year, there are sufficient amounts of moneys in the fund to finance specified fire prevention activities for a fiscal year. Existing law requires that the fire prevention fees collected, except as provided, be deposited into the fund and be made available, to the board and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for certain specified fire protection activities that benefit the owners of structures in state responsibility areas who are required to pay the fee. Existing law further requires the board, on and after January 1, 2013, to submit an annual written report to the Legislature on specified topics. This bill would repeal the above provisions relating to the fire prevention fees.
Existing law provides that, when the services of employees are terminated pursuant to a reduction in workforce, a school district is required to terminate the employees in order of seniority. Existing law further provides those employees with a preferred right to reappointment and an opportunity for substitute service in order of seniority. Existing law authorizes a school district to deviate from the order of seniority for those purposes for specified reasons, including compliance with constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws. This bill would provide additional reasons for which a school district may deviate from terminating employees in order of seniority, including authorizing school districts to terminate an employee on the basis of performance evaluations and on the basis that the employee is assigned to a schoolsite that has implemented specific models of intervention and has been selected by the governing board of the school district for exemption from certificated reductions in workforce, based upon the needs of pupils in the educational program. The bill would provide an exception to this authorization for an employee who has 18 months or less from his or her date of retirement, or is on medical leave. The bill would prohibit a school district that deviates from the order of seniority for purposes of terminating a certificated employee from taking into consideration whether an employee has exercised any of the rights guaranteed in the Educational Employment Relations Act. The bill would also authorize a school district, during the period of an employee's preferred right to reappointment, to deviate from the order of seniority in offering the opportunity for substitute service for either of specified reasons. The bill would specify that the equal protection exception to the general requirement that terminations and reappointments occur in order of seniority applies to equal protection as that protection relates to pupils. The bill would make various nonsubstantive and clarifying changes.
(1) Existing law prohibits a permanent school employee from being dismissed except for one or more specified causes. This bill would include serious or egregious unprofessional conduct, as defined, as a ground for dismissal of a permanent school employee. The bill would also prohibit a collective bargaining agreement entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2015, from requiring the removal from an employee's record, after a specified time period, of records pertaining to discipline, complaints, reprimands, or investigations relating to the employee's commission, or potential commission, of one of those specified offenses. (2) Existing law authorizes a governing board of a school district to give notice to a permanent employee of its intention to dismiss or suspend him or her for specified causes at the expiration of 30 days from the date of service of the notice, unless the employee demands a hearing. Existing law prohibits that notice from being given between May 15th and September 15th in any year. This bill would remove that prohibition. (3) Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from acting upon any charges of unprofessional conduct, or unsatisfactory performance, unless at least 45, or 90, calendar days, respectively, prior to the date of the filing of the charges the governing board, or its authorized representative, has given the employee written notice, as specified. This bill would remove those 45-day and 90-day requirements. (4) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district, upon the filing of written charges or upon a written staetment of charges for certain conduct, to immediately suspend the employee from his or her duties in accordance with specified procedures. This bill would authorize the governing board to immediately suspend an employee for serious or egregious unprofessional conduct pursuant to those procedures. (5) Existing law establishes a Commission on Professional Competence for each dismissal or suspension hearing requested by an employee, consisting of specified members, and requires the proceeding to be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Existing law deems the decision of the Commission on Professional Competence to be the final decision of the governing board of the school district. This bill, for a hearing that involves serious or egregious unprofessional conduct, would require the proceedings to be conducted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act by an administrative law judge. The bill would provide that the decision of the administrative law judge would be advisory, and the final decision regarding the discipline of the employee would be determined by action of the governing board of the school district. (6) By imposing additional requirements on governing boards of school districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (7) 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.