The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA requires the lead agency to consult with a public agency that is a responsible agency or a trustee agency during the environmental review process. Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to impose and collect a filing fee to defray the costs of managing and protecting fish and wildlife trust resources, including, but not limited to, consulting with other public agencies, reviewing environmental documents, recommending mitigation measures, developing monitoring requirements for purposes of CEQA, and other activities protecting those trust resources identified in the review pursuant to CEQA. This bill would require the department to separately track and account for all revenues collected under the above filing fee provision and all costs incurred in its role as a responsible agency or trustee agency under CEQA.
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Existing law authorizes the governing boards of 2 or more school districts to enter into an agreement, for a term not to exceed 5 school years, for the interdistrict attendance of pupils who are residents of the school districts. Existing law, regardless of whether there is an agreement or permit, prohibits a school district of residence from prohibiting the transfer of a pupil who is a child of an active military duty parent to the school district of proposed enrollment if the school district of proposed enrollment approves the application for transfer. This bill would also prohibit a school district of residence from prohibiting the transfer of a pupil who is not receiving in-person instruction to a school district of proposed enrollment that is offering in-person instruction if the school district of proposed enrollment approves the application for transfer. The bill would define "in-person instruction" for its purposes to mean instruction under the immediate physical supervision and control of a certificated employee of the local educational agency while engaged in educational activities required of the pupil and to include both full-time and hybrid instructional models. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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 directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public. The act generally requires all regular and special meetings of the legislative body be held within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, subject to certain exceptions. 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. Executive Order No. N-29-20 suspends the Ralph M. Brown Act's requirements for teleconferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic provided that notice and accessibility requirements are met, the public members are allowed to observe and address the legislative body at the meeting, and that a legislative body of a local agency has a procedure for receiving and swiftly resolving requests for reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, as specified. This bill would require, in addition to the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act, the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, and the governing body of a charter school to make any public meeting of the board or body accessible electronically online to all members of the public seeking to attend and ensure the opportunity for the members of the public participating electronically to comment on agenda items in the same manner as a person attending a meeting in person. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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. 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.
Under existing law, public school employees have the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. Existing law requires public school employers, as defined, upon receiving notice from an exclusive representative of public school employees who are in a unit for which an exclusive representative has been selected, to deduct the amount of the fair share service fee from the wages and salary of affected employees and pay those amounts to the employee organization. Existing law prohibits an employee who is a member of a religious body whose traditional tenets or teachings include objections to joining or financially supporting employee organizations from being required to join, maintain membership in, or financially support any employee organization as a condition of employment, except that the employee may be required, in lieu of a fair share service fee, to pay sums equal to the fair share service fee either to a nonreligious, nonlabor organization, or a charitable fund exempt from taxation, as provided. Existing law requires the employer of a public school employee to provide the exclusive representative of the employee with the home address of each bargaining unit member. This bill would prohibit a public school employer from deducting the amount of the fair share service fee or the alternative fee described above from the wages and salary of a public school employee unless the employer has received explicit written permission from the employee, as specified, and would require an employee's authorization to only be valid for the calendar year in which it is given unless terminated, as provided. The bill would repeal the above provision requiring a public school employer to provide the exclusive representative with the home address of each bargaining unit member. Existing law authorizes an employee organization to become the exclusive representative for the employees of an appropriate unit for purposes of meeting and negotiating by filing a request with a public school employer alleging that a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit wish to be represented by the organization and asking the public school employer to recognize it as the exclusive representative. Existing law requires a public school employer to grant a request for recognition, except as specified. This bill would authorize the decertification of a recognized employee organization if a majority of all the employees in the negotiating unit vote to decertify, the request for a vote is supported by a petition containing signatures of 30% of the employees in the negotiating unit, and the signatures are obtained in one academic year. The bill would authorize the recertification of an employee organization as the exclusive bargaining representative by a similar petition and voting process no sooner than one year after decertification. The bill would require the Public Employment Relations Board to bear the cost of conducting decertification and recertification elections.
Existing law provides for unemployment compensation benefits to eligible persons who are unemployed through no fault of their own. These provisions are generally administered by the Employment Development Department. Existing law requires unemployment compensation benefits that are directly deposited to an account of the recipient's choice to be deposited to a qualifying account. Existing law defines "qualifying account" for these purposes to mean a demand deposit or savings account at an insured financial institution in the name of the person entitled to receipt of public assistance payments or a prepaid card account that meets certain requirements, including that the prepaid card account may not be attached to any credit or overdraft feature that is automatically repaid from the account after delivery of the payment. This bill would, by July 1, 2021, provide that the recipient of the unemployment compensation benefits has the right to choose whether the benefits payments are directly deposited into a qualifying account or applied to a prepaid debit card. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, when a vacancy occurs in the office of Representative in Congress, or in either house of the Legislature, the Governor is required, within 14 calendar days after the occurrence of the vacancy, to call an election to fill the vacancy, as specified. With regard to a vacancy in the office of United States Senator, however, existing law authorizes the Governor to appoint a person to fill the vacancy, as specified. This bill would instead require that a vacancy in the office of United States Senator be filled in the same manner as a vacancy in a congressional representative or state legislative office. The bill would make conforming and technical changes.
The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Bagley-Keene Act) , requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body, as defined, be open and public, and all persons be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body, except as provided. The Bagley-Keene Act, among other things, requires a state body that elects to conduct a meeting or proceeding by teleconference to post agendas at all teleconference locations, to identify each teleconference location in the notice and agenda, and to make each teleconference location accessible to the public. The Bagley-Keene Act requires the agenda to provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the state body directly at each teleconference location, as specified. The Bagley-Keene Act requires at least one member of the state body to be physically present at the location specified in the notice of the meeting. This bill, whenever a state educational entity holds a meeting involving stakeholder input on educational matters in the state, would require the state educational entity, in addition to any applicable requirement under the Bagley-Keene Act, to make the meeting accessible electronically online to all members of the public seeking to attend, ensure the opportunity for the members of the public participating electronically to comment on agenda items in the same manner as a person attending the meeting in person, provide online access to the agenda and any resource materials that are being provided to the members of the state educational entity for the meeting, and provide a listing of the scheduled meetings on the state educational entity's internet website with links to access the meeting and to the agenda and resource materials for the meeting. The bill would define "state educational entity" for these purposes to mean the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or a state advisory board, committee, commission, or task force established under certain statutory provisions.
Existing law authorizes the Employment Development Department (department) to administer the federal-state unemployment insurance program and provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible individuals who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Existing law establishes procedures for the filing, determination, and payment of benefit claims, and those benefits are payable from the Unemployment Fund. Existing law requires the department to promptly pay benefits if it finds the claimant is eligible and to promptly deny benefits if it finds the claimant is ineligible for benefits. Existing law requires the department to consider facts submitted by an employer in making this determination and also provides for the department to audit claims, as specified. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2021, require the department, as part of its process for determining eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits, cross-check all claimant information with state and county correctional facility inmate data in an effort to detect fraudulent applications. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 imposes various limitations on contributions that may be made to, or accepted by, candidates for elective office. The act generally prohibits a person from making a contribution totaling more than $3,000 to a candidate for elective state office, and a candidate for elective state office from accepting a contribution totaling more than $3,000, except as specified. A violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor and subject to specified penalties. This bill would prohibit an electrical corporation or a gas corporation, as defined, from making a contribution to a candidate for elective state office. The bill would also prohibit a candidate for elective state office from accepting a contribution from an electrical corporation or a gas corporation. The bill would clarify that it does not prohibit the making or acceptance of an independent expenditure or a contribution to a political party or political party committee, a legal defense fund, an officeholder account, a small contributor committee, a political action committee, or a candidate controlled ballot measure committee, except as otherwise prohibited by law. By expanding the scope of existing crimes with regard to contribution limitations, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Existing law establishes the Employment Development Department, administered by the Director of Employment Development, within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and sets forth its powers and duties related to the administration of the state unemployment and disability compensation programs. This bill would require the department to establish, upon appropriation by the Legislature, an advisory committee to advise the department on matters within the department's jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, unemployment insurance. The bill would require the committee to include members representing a diverse spectrum of private and public employers and employees impacted by programs overseen by the department, as provided. The bill would require the committee to hold open and public meetings in compliance with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act at least once a quarter. The bill would require, commencing on January 1, 2023, the committee to prepare and publicly publish an annual report describing its activities, including, but not limited to, recommendations made by the advisory committee and the department's response to those recommendations. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.