Asm. Sharon Quirk-Silva

(1) Existing law provides that a person, other than a nonimmigrant alien, as defined, who has attended high school in California for 3 or more years, who has graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent thereof, who has registered at or attends an accredited institution of higher education in California not earlier than the fall semester or quarter of the 2001–02 academic year, and who, if he or she is an alien without lawful immigration status, has filed an affidavit, as specified, is exempt from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the California State University. This bill would provide that a student may qualify for exemption from nonresident tuition pursuant to the above-referenced provision either by high school attendance in California for 3 or more years or by either elementary or secondary school attendance, or both, in California for a total of 3 or more years and attainment of credits earned in California from a California high school equivalent to 3 or more years of full-time high school coursework, in addition to the other conditions referenced above. Because this bill would require community college districts to determine whether students qualify for exemption from nonresident tuition, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) 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.

Existing law authorizes the Adjutant General and the Military Department to solicit and accept funds or other donations for deposit in the California Military Department Support Fund. Money in the fund is available, upon appropriation, for specified purposes relating to the programs of the department. Former law, repealed by its own provisions, allowed taxpayers to designate on their tax returns that a specified amount in excess of their tax liability be transferred to the California Military Family Relief Fund, established to accept contributions from taxpayers and from other sources. Money in the California Military Family Relief Fund, upon appropriation, was required to be allocated to the department to provide financial aid grants to eligible members of the California National Guard. The former law provided that, notwithstanding repeal, any contribution amounts designated prior to repeal were to continue to be transferred and disbursed in accordance with those repealed provisions. This bill would establish the California National Guard Military Family Relief Fund as an account within the California Military Department Support Fund for the purpose of providing financial aid grants to eligible members of the California National Guard who are California residents and who have been called to active duty. The bill would require the department to establish eligibility criteria for the grants by January 1, 2015. The bill would transfer any and all moneys remaining in the California Military Family Relief Fund to the California Military Department Support Fund and would require those moneys to continue to be disbursed in accordance with the original intent of the contributions made by taxpayers to the California Military Family Relief Fund as established under former law.

Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards, the Cal Grant C awards, and the Cal Grant T awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. Existing law limits the number of Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards that may be granted in an academic year to 22,500. This bill would require the commission to calculate a target for awards to be paid in an award year as specified, estimate a take rate for awards by dividing the total number of awards paid by the total number of offers made during the 3 award years immediately preceding that award year, and estimate the number of award offers that the commission may make to achieve the target for awards to be paid, as specified. The bill would also authorize the commission to exceed the 22,500 award limit in an academic year when the number of acceptances exceeds 22,500, under specified conditions.

Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture, which is tasked with, among other things, promoting and protecting the agricultural industry of the state, and seeking to enhance, protect, and perpetuate the ability of the private sector to produce food and fiber in a way that benefits the general welfare and economy of the state. Existing law also establishes the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative for the purpose of promoting healthy food access in the state. This bill would create the Office of Farm to Fork within the department, and would require the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, including, among others, the agricultural industry and other organizations involved in promoting food access, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. The bill would require the office to, among other things, identify urban and rural communities that lack access to healthy food, and to coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies to promote and increase awareness of programs that promote greater food access. The bill would create the Farm to Fork Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund that would consist of money made available from federal, state, industry, and other sources, and would continuously appropriate the money deposited in the account without regard to fiscal years to carry out the purposes of the Office of Farm to Fork. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill, until January 1, 2020, would also require the department, in any year in which funds are received into or expended from the Farm to Fork Account, to submit to the Legislature an overview of the account's income and expenditures.

Existing law generally regulates false advertising and specifically prohibits certain unfair acts or practices undertaken by, or omissions of, a person in the operation of a contest, including misrepresenting the odds of winning a prize or failing to award and distribute all prizes. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor. This bill would apply the prohibition described above to unfair acts or practices undertaken by, or omissions of, a person in the operation of a sweepstakes, as defined. The bill would prohibit using or offering to use any method intended to be used by a person interacting with an electronic video monitor to simulate gambling or play gambling-themed games in a business establishment, as defined, that directly or indirectly implements the predetermination of sweepstakes cash, cash-equivalent prizes, or other prizes of value, or otherwise connects a sweepstakes player or participant with sweepstakes cash, cash-equivalent prizes, or other prizes of value. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also except from this prohibition game promotions and sweepstakes conducted on a limited basis as an advertising and marketing tool incidental to substantial bona fide sales of consumer products or services, as specified. 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.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Members of the board are required to be selected from outstanding lay citizens of California who have a strong interest in the further development and improvement of community colleges. This bill would specify that members of the board, to the greatest extent possible, should be inclusive and representative of the many demographic groups found in California, and that the board should reflect diversity of race and gender, and include, among others, disabled persons and veterans. The bill would also provide that each member of the board should bring his or her own best thinking and personal views to the board's discussion, 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 against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in an amount equal to an applicable percentage of either 20% or 25%, respectively, of the qualified expenditures, as defined, attributable to the production of a qualified motion picture in California, or, where the qualified motion picture is a television series that relocated to California or is an independent film, as provided. Existing law imposes specified duties on the California Film Commission related to the administration of the credits, including a requirement to allocate the tax credits until July 1, 2017, and limits the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated to qualified motion pictures in any fiscal year to $100,000,000 through the 2016–17 fiscal year. Existing law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, also allows a credit against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. Existing law provides for a tentative minimum tax and further provides that, except for specified credits, no other credit shall reduce the tax imposed below the tentative minimum tax. This bill would establish similar credits under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2020. This bill would, as compared to the existing tax credits, extend the scope of the credits for a qualified motion picture to the applicable percentage of qualified expenditures up to $100,000,000, would extend the credit to qualified expenditures for television pilot episodes, and would determine an applicable percentage of 25% or 20% for qualified expenditures, with an additional credit amount available, as specified. This bill would limit the aggregate amount of these new credits to be allocated in each fiscal year to up to $330 million, and would, subject to a computation and ranking of applicants based on the jobs ratio, as defined, require the California Film Commission to allocate credit amounts subject to specified categories of qualified motion pictures. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, allow a credit against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. This bill would also require the Legislative Analyst's Office to prepare reports related to the effectiveness and administration of the qualified motion picture credit under the Sales and Use Tax Law, the Personal Income Tax Law, and the Corporation Tax Law. This bill would, for taxable years, beginning on or after January 1, 2016, additionally allow the credit under the Corporation Tax Law for qualified expenditures for the production of qualified motion pictures to reduce the tentative minimum tax. This bill would also make findings and declarations related to the entertainment industry, and would urge the United States Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to investigate and impose sanctions on specified motion picture productions and elements of production to combat unfair and illegal competition. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The bill would state that its provisions are severable. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 23036 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, proposed by AB 2754, to be operative only if AB 2754 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law allows a credit against the taxes imposed under the Corporation Tax Law and the Personal Income Tax Law for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2025, in an amount as provided in a written agreement between the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and the taxpayer, agreed upon by the California Competes Tax Credit Committee, and based on specified factors, including the number of jobs the taxpayer will create or retain in the state and the amount of investment in the state by the taxpayer. Existing law limits the aggregate amount of credits allocated to taxpayers to a specified sum per fiscal year. This bill would authorize the Director of Finance to increase the aggregate amount of the economic development credits that may be allocated to taxpayers each fiscal year by $25 million per fiscal year through the 2017–18 fiscal year. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialty license plates, including environmental license plates and specified special environmental design license plates. Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. The DMV is required to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. Existing law establishes the Breast Cancer Control Account in the Breast Cancer Fund, and requires that funds in that account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated for the provision of early breast cancer detection services for uninsured and underinsured women. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to apply to sponsor a breast cancer awareness license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue the license plates if the State Department of Health Care Services meets certain requirements. The bill would authorize the State Department of Health Care Services to accept and use donated artwork from California artists for the license plate. The bill would require the revenue generated from the license plates, as specified, to be deposited in the Breast Cancer Control Account in the Breast Cancer Fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialty license plates, including environmental license plates and specified special environmental design license plates. Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. The DMV is required to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. Existing law establishes a Family Violence Prevention Program within the Office of Emergency Services to provide financial and technical assistance to local domestic and family violence centers in implementing family violence prevention programs. This bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to apply to the DMV to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual assault awareness license plate program. The bill would establish the California Domestic Violence Prevention Fund in the State Treasury for the deposit of the revenue derived from these license plates, and would require that these funds be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Office of Emergency Services for purposes of funding the Family Violence Prevention Program.