Existing provisions of the California Constitution require the Governor to submit to the Legislature a budget for the ensuing fiscal year within the first 10 days of each calendar year and prohibit the Legislature from sending to the Governor for consideration a Budget Bill that would appropriate from the General Fund a total amount that exceeds General Fund revenues for that fiscal year estimated as of the date of the Budget Bill's passage. This measure would require the Director of Finance to submit estimates of General Fund revenues and expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year and the 3 fiscal years thereafter within 10 days following the submission of a budget by the Governor, following the submission of proposed adjustments to the Governor's Budget, as required by statute, and following the enactment of the Budget Bill. Existing provisions of the California Constitution require the Legislature to establish a prudent state reserve fund in an amount the Legislature deems reasonable and necessary. Existing provisions of the California Constitution, approved by the electors on March 2, 2004, additionally establish the Budget Stabilization Account in the General Fund and require the Controller, commencing no later than September 30, 2006, and for each fiscal year thereafter, to transfer from the General Fund to the account a specified percentage of estimated General Fund revenues. Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution (Proposition 98) sets forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of General Fund revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts, as defined, and community college districts for each fiscal year. This measure would establish a replacement version of the Budget Stabilization Account, and would require the Controller, commencing with the 2015–16 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, to transfer from the General Fund to the account 1.5% of the estimated amount of General Fund revenues for that fiscal year. Commencing with the 2015–16 fiscal year, this measure would also require the Controller to annually transfer from the General Fund to the account amounts determined pursuant to specified formulae, consisting of General Fund proceeds of taxes derived from personal income taxes paid on net capital gains that exceed a designated level, based on estimates provided in the Budget Act. This measure, for the 2015–16 fiscal year through the 2029–30 fiscal year, would require the Legislature to appropriate 50% of these total amounts for one or more designated fiscal obligations of the state, including accrued school funding obligations, repayment of budgetary loans, payment of accrued claims for mandate costs, and payment of unfunded pension liabilities and prefunding of other postemployment benefits. For the 2030–31 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, this measure would instead authorize the Legislature to appropriate up to 50% of these total amounts for one or more of these designated fiscal obligations of the state. This measure would require the Department of Finance, commencing with the 2015–16 fiscal year, to annually report to the Legislature certain fiscal information necessary to calculate the amount of the transfer from the General Fund to the Budget Stabilization Account for that fiscal year, and would require certain of these estimates to be included in the annual Budget Act. Commencing with the 2017–18 fiscal year, the measure would require the department to provide updated estimates for each of the 2 preceding fiscal years, calculated separately, for the purpose of determining the maximum allowable transfer from the General Fund to the Budget Stabilization Account for each of these fiscal years. This measure would prohibit the balance in the Budget Stabilization Account from exceeding 10% of estimated General Fund proceeds of taxes. It also would limit the use of funds, that otherwise would be transferred to the account, to appropriation for the funding of infrastructure, as defined in a specified statute, including deferred maintenance. This measure would establish the Public School System Stabilization Account, to provide a reserve for public school funding. Commencing with the 2015–16 fiscal year and pursuant to specified calculations, the Controller would transfer certain moneys from the General Fund into the Public School System Stabilization Account, for subsequent allocation to school districts and community college districts in fiscal years for which the minimum state funding obligation under Proposition 98 falls below specified levels. The measure would prohibit the transfer of moneys into the Public School System Stabilization Account for a fiscal year for which a maintenance factor is created under Proposition 98 or before a previously determined maintenance factor has been fully reimbursed. The measure would also prohibit the transfer of funds into the account in a fiscal year in which provisions of Proposition 98 have been suspended. The funds transferred into the Public School System Stabilization Account under the measure in a fiscal year would be counted toward the state's annual funding obligation for that fiscal year under Proposition 98, rather than in a fiscal year in which those funds are allocated. The measure would authorize the Controller to utilize funds in the account, that he or she determines to be unnecessary to meet foreseeable obligations, to help manage General Fund daily cash flow needs if that use does not interfere with the purpose of the account. Existing provisions of the California Constitution authorize the Governor to issue a proclamation declaring an emergency in specified circumstances. This measure would authorize the Legislature, upon the Governor's proclamation declaring a budget emergency, as described, to enact a statute that returns funds from the Budget Stabilization Account to the General Fund for appropriation to address the budget emergency, appropriates funds in the Public School System Stabilization Account for the support of school districts and community college districts, or suspends or reduces the transfer of funds from the General Fund to the Budget Stabilization Account or the Public School System Stabilization Account. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to submit ACA 4 of the 2009–10 Regular Session, a proposed legislative constitutional amendment relating to state finance, to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. This bill would direct the Secretary of State to withdraw ACA 4 from the ballot.
Sponsored bills
This measure would recognize that active shooter incidents are increasing and would encourage local fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical services agencies in coordination with the Office of Emergency Services to develop standard operating procedures and coordinated training programs in an effort to more efficiently respond to active shooter incidents in California.
This measure would designate the month of March 2014 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
This measure would proclaim the month of March 2014 as Drug Abuse Awareness Month in California, and encourage all citizens to participate in prevention programs and activities, and to pledge to "Spread the Word ... One Pill Can Kill."
This measure would designate April 7, 2014, as DMV/Donate Life California Day in the State of California and the month of April 2014, as DMV/Donate Life California Month in the State of California, and would encourage all Californians to sign up with the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
This measure would recognize the Persian New Year celebration.
This measure would declare the last week of March every year as a statewide week of advocacy for Latino education.
This measure would designate March 2014 as Irish American Heritage Month in honor of the multitude of contributions that Irish Americans have made to the country and state.
This measure would designate the week of April 20 to 26, 2014, as "California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," and would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to observe the California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide by participating in the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Project.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would authorize the commission to require an electrical or gas corporation with 250,000 or more service connections to develop and implement an on-bill repayment program providing financial assistance for energy efficiency improvements for rental properties by allowing for the repayment of the financial assistance to be included in the utility customer's utility bill. Because a violation of any part of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Decisions of the Public Utilities Commission adopted the California Solar Initiative, which is administered by the state's electrical corporations pursuant to the regulatory supervision of the commission. The commission is authorized, pursuant to the initiative, to award monetary incentives for solar thermal and solar water heating devices in a total amount up to $100,800,000. The Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007 requires the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to establish eligibility criteria for solar water heating systems receiving gas customer funded incentives under the act. The act requires the criteria to include eligibility requirements for residential solar water heating systems or solar collectors used in systems for multifamily residential, commercial, government, nonprofit, educational, or industrial water heating systems, as specified. This bill would provide that residential solar water heating devices shall be eligible for any energy efficiency rebate program or financing program, or both, offered by a gas corporation for purposes of reducing natural gas demand for water heating. (3) 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.