Asm. Sharon Quirk-Silva

This measure would declare and recognize that the state is currently suffering a supply chain crisis. The measure would urge the state's public agencies, departments, and local governments to provide all due and proper assistance to carriers, cargo owners, public seaports, terminals, workers, and facilities to facilitate the essential service of delivering goods to Californians.

This measure would recognize August 15, 2022, as India's Independence Day and urge all Californians to join in celebrating India's independence.

This measure would declare the month of September 2022 as California Emergency Preparedness Month.

Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law prohibits the granting of CalWORKs aid to a child who has attained 18 years of age unless the child is less than 19 years of age, is attending high school or vocational training on a full-time basis, and is reasonably expected to complete the educational or training program before the child's 19th birthday. This bill would extend this exception to make a person who is less than 20 years of age eligible for CalWORKs assistance if the child is attending high school or vocational training on a full-time basis and is reasonably expected to complete the educational or training program before the child's 20th birthday. By expanding eligibility for CalWORKs, which is administered by counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law establishes, among other housing programs, the Multifamily Housing Program, pursuant to which the Department of Housing and Community Development provides financial assistance in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for the eligible costs of development for specified types of housing projects. Existing law, the Mitigation Fee Act, establishes procedures and limitations with respect to the establishment, increase, or imposition of fees, as defined, as a condition of approval of a development project by a local agency, including requiring the local agency to determine the reasonable relationship between the fee's use and the type of development project on which the fee is imposed. This bill would establish the Housing Cost Reduction Incentive Program, to be administered by the department, for the purpose of reimbursing cities, counties, and cities and counties for development impact fee reductions provided to qualified housing developments, as defined, and for the reasonable interest costs associated with impact fee deferrals. Upon appropriation, the bill would require the department to provide grants to applicants in an amount equal to 50% of the amount of development impact fee reduced for a qualified housing development and grants to applicants in an amount equal to the accrued interest on a deferred development impact fee, as provided. This bill would require the department to administer these grants by issuing a Notice of Funding Availability before December 31 of the year that the program receives funding, as specified, and accepting grant applications after the subsequent year. The bill would require a public entity that receives grant funds under the program to use those funds solely for those purposes for which the development impact fee that was reduced or deferred would have been used. The bill would require the department to adopt guidelines to implement the program and exempt those guidelines from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would require the department to solicit and consider stakeholder comments in the design and implementation of the program, as specified, and to provide responses in writing to substantive written comments.

Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, and the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as the 2 segments of public postsecondary education in the state generally authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees. The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents act, by appropriate resolution, to make those provisions applicable. A provision of the act expresses the intent of the Legislature that, in determining the standards and criteria for undergraduate and graduate admissions to the University of California and the California State University, the governing bodies of the segments develop processes that, among other things, strive to be fair and are easily understandable. This bill would require the trustees, and request the regents, before adopting a change in undergraduate student eligibility policy that adds new eligibility requirements, as described, that impact students across its segment, to engage in public discussions with and coordinate with other educational segments that will be impacted by the policy to understand the impacts of the policy in order to try to align preparation and their respective student eligibility policies. The bill would also require the trustees, and request the regents, to commission an independent study by a third-party research organization to assess the impact of the change in student eligibility policy on the eligibility rates of the graduates of public secondary schools who are members of underrepresented student groups, and specifically examine the impact on eligibility and admission rates of all high school graduates, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, income, and region. The bill would also require, or request, as applicable, if either the trustees or the regents approve a change in student eligibility policy that adds new eligibility requirements that impact students across its segment, that an implementation committee, that meets publicly and with members selected as designated, be convened to develop a multiyear plan for that segment to work with the public elementary and secondary school system, the California Community Colleges, and the governing body of the other segment to implement the change, and would require in those circumstances the implementation committee to provide annual progress reports to the Governor, the Legislature, and the governing bodies of the two segments, as specified.

Existing law requires every public agency, as defined, that conducts an establishment serving the public or open to the public and that maintains restroom facilities for the public, to make every water closet available without cost or charge, as provided. Existing law also requires publicly and privately owned facilities where the public congregates to be equipped with sufficient temporary or permanent restrooms to meet the needs of the public at peak hours. This bill would require each local government, as defined, to complete an inventory of public restrooms owned and maintained by the local government, either directly or by contract, that are available to the general population in its jurisdiction. The bill would require local governments to report their findings to the State Department of Public Health, which would be required to compile the information and to make the inventory available in a searchable database on its internet website, as specified. The bill would require the database to be updated quarterly. The bill would require the department to conduct educational outreach to the general public and homelessness service providers that the database is available on its internet website. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2027. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. By imposing additional duties on local governments, 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to prepare, adopt, and submit building standards and other fire and life safety regulations to the California Building Standards Commission for approval establishing minimum requirements for the storage, handling, and use of hazardous materials. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to seek the advice of the Secretary for Environmental Protection in establishing those requirements. This bill would prohibit the legislative body of a city or county from approving a discretionary entitlement, as defined, that would result in a new residential development project, as defined, being located within a very high fire hazard severity zone, unless the city or county finds that the residential development project will meet specified standards intended to address wildfire risks, as specified, and would provide that these provisions do not limit or prohibit a legislative body of a city or county from adopting more stringent standards. By imposing new requirements on cities and counties in the review of residential development projects, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, through a joint powers agreement pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, to develop and administer a comprehensive wildfire mitigation program to, among other things, encourage cost-effective structure hardening and retrofitting to create fire-resistant homes, businesses, and public buildings. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with specified state officials, to identify building retrofits and structure hardening measures that are eligible for financial assistance under the program. Existing law makes the operation of the program contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature and repeals the program's provisions on July 1, 2025. This bill, upon appropriation by Legislature and consistent with the above-described comprehensive wildfire mitigation program, would additionally require the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with specified state officials, to provide financial assistance to fire harden at least 300,000 existing vulnerable homes within the next 3 years in very high fire hazard severity zones and an additional 300,000 existing vulnerable homes every 3 years thereafter, as specified. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to report back to the Legislature annually on the pace of fire hardening and what constraints impair the ability to realize the targets established by these provisions. 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.