The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development serves as the Governor's lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. The office, among others, makes recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding policies, programs, and actions to advance statewide economic goals. This bill would require the office to lead the preparation of a California Economic Development Strategic Plan, as specified. Existing law establishes the California Economic Development Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of receiving federal, state, local, and private economic development funds, and receiving repayment of loans or grant proceeds and interest on those loans or grants. This bill would provide that moneys in the fund may be expended by the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to provide matching funds for loans or grants to public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private entities, and for other economic development purposes, consistent with the purposes for which the moneys were received, thereby making an appropriation. Existing law provides that an employer, with certain exceptions, may not order a mass layoff, relocation, or termination, as defined, at a covered establishment without giving 60 days' prior written notice to employees and the Employment Development Department and other local agencies, as well as complying with specified federal guidelines. This bill would require the employer to also provide written notice to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and require the Employment Development Department to post the notice on its Internet Web site.
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(1) Existing law encourages local governments as well as California communities and the public agencies that serve them to promote development of a microenterprise, as defined. This bill would revise the definition of a microenterprise. (2) The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provides for workforce investment activities, including activities in which states may participate. Under existing law, the California Workforce Investment Board is responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system. Existing law requires the board, among other things, to assist the Governor with promoting the development of a well-educated and highly skilled workforce and developing the State Workforce Investment Plan. This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature with respect to the self-employment workforce in the state, and the importance of all Californians having the opportunity to receive the training for entrepreneurial and self-employment provided for under the federal act. This bill would additionally require the board to assist the Governor by developing specified guidelines for certain high-wage industry sectors and making recommendations on how to target resources to specified high-wage industry sectors, and by recommending policy and providing technical assistance on entrepreneurial training opportunities that could be made available through local workforce investment board programs as authorized under the federal act. (3) The bill would also require the board, by January 1, 2015, to develop and distribute guidelines, or provide other assistance to, local workforce investment boards to help them implement entrepreneurial and self-employment training programs. (4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 14013 of the Unemployment Insurance Code proposed by Senate Bill 118 that would become operative if this bill and Senate Bill 118 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law provides for various programs to encourage the participation of small businesses, as certified by the Department of General Services, in state agency contracts, and sets forth the duties of the Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services in this regard. This bill would require the head of a state agency to ensure that a state contracting program is administered in a manner that promotes small business participation. This bill would require the head of a state agency to annually review small business participation levels and to develop a plan for increasing small business participation levels within 60 days when participation levels are low. This bill would require the Department of General Services and the Office of the Small Business Advocate to serve as a resource to assist the heads of state agencies in identifying best practices for utilization of small businesses in their contracting programs. This bill would encourage independent state entities, as specified, to take all necessary actions to comply with the intent and the requirements of this bill. This bill would require a state agency to proactively pursue an annual 25% small business participation level in state contracting and, for an agency that does not achieve this level, to submit to the Governor's office, the Office of the Small Business Advocate, and the Legislature, within 60 days of the close of the calendar year, notice that the small business participation was not achieved and a plan for improving small business contracting. This bill would require the Department of General Services, and authorize the Office of the Small Business Advocate, to provide guidance to state agencies in developing a plan for, and taking the necessary actions toward, achieving the 25% participation level. This bill would not require an action that would result in the violation of a court order or a loss of eligibility for federal funding. This bill would also make findings and declarations regarding small business participation in state contracting.
Existing law requires a school district to accept from the parent or legal guardian of a pupil reasonable evidence that the pupil meets the residency requirements for school attendance in the school district. Existing law prohibits this requirement from limiting access to pupil enrollment for a homeless child, without any proof or documentation of residency under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. This bill would, if a local educational agency designates a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youth pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, require the local educational agency to ensure that the liaison is properly trained regarding the rights of homeless children to receive educational services, including, but not limited to, an overview of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The bill would require the designated liaison to provide notice to homeless families at schools and in the community of the educational rights of homeless children and youth and to facilitate access to school services including, but not limited to, transportation services. The bill would, as a condition of receiving a grant funded by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, require the State Department of Education to require a local educational agency that applies for a grant to designate a local educational agency liaison to train its school administrators and certified and classified staff at least once a year regarding the educational rights of homeless children and youth, as specified.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, in the amount of $3,000 for each qualified full-time employee hired by a qualified employer. Those laws define "qualified employer" as a taxpayer that employed 20 or fewer employees as of the last day of the preceding taxable year. This bill would, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, expand the definition of "qualified employer" to mean a taxpayer that employed 50 or fewer employees as of the last day of the preceding taxable year. 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 state and federal law regulate the activities of financial institutions. Existing state law regulates reverse mortgage loans and requires a lender to refer a prospective borrower to a housing counseling agency, as specified, and prohibits a lender from accepting a full and complete application for a reverse mortgage loan or assessing any fees without receiving certification, as specified, that the borrower has received loan counseling. Existing law prohibits a lender from taking a reverse mortgage application before having provided an applicant a specified disclosure notice and written checklist. This bill would prohibit a lender from taking a reverse mortgage application or assessing any fees until seven days from the date of loan counseling, as specified. The bill would make specified changes to the disclosure notice. The bill would delete the requirement that the lender provide a written checklist and would, instead, prohibit a lender from taking a reverse mortgage application unless the applicant has received from the lender a specified reverse mortgage worksheet guide. The bill would require that the worksheet contain certain issues that the borrower is advised to consider and discuss with the counselor. The bill would require the counselor and the prospective borrower to sign the worksheet, as specified.
The California Emergency Services Act authorizes local governments to create disaster councils by ordinance and requires the councils to develop plans for meeting any condition constituting a local emergency or state of emergency, including, but not limited to, earthquakes, natural or manmade disasters specific to that jurisdiction, or a state of war emergency. The Public Utilities Act requires a gas corporation to develop a plan for the safe and reliable operation of its commission-regulated gas pipeline facility, as provided. This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, gas corporations, and electric corporations, that provide gas or electric service to more than 5,000 customers, to develop and publish plans to respond to emergencies, including natural disasters, that have the potential to disrupt natural gas or electric service and cause damage, as provided.