This measure would urge the President and Congress of the United States of America to repeal the excise tax on medical devices to protect the medical device industry and its consumers.
Existing law, applicable to residential mortgages, prohibits a person who negotiates, arranges, or otherwise offers to perform a mortgage loan modification or other form of mortgage loan forbearance for a fee or other compensation from, among other things, demanding or receiving any compensation until every service that the person contracted to perform or represented that he or she would perform is accomplished. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions by a natural person a misdemeanor punishable by a specified fine or imprisonment, or both. This bill would authorize a violation of these provisions to be punished as a felony with imprisonment, as specified. By changing the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also prohibit a person who engages in mortgage loan modification from accepting payment for services in advance of the loan modification approval. The bill would assess civil penalties for various related violations and would authorize designated state and local government officials to commence civil actions to recover those penalties. The bill would specify the manner of distribution of penalties recovered and would establish the Mortgage Loan Modification Fraud Account in the General Fund for deposit of funds payable to the state, to be available for expenditure upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would, in addition to the civil penalties described above, authorize further civil penalties for unlawful or fraudulent mortgage modifications perpetrated against seniors or disabled persons, as defined, and provide criteria for the assessment of these additional penalties. The bill would authorize a court to order the offender to pay restitution to the senior or disabled victim, as specified. This bill would also authorize the court to provide injunctive relief, and would provide that a person who intentionally violates an injunction prohibiting offering loan modification services for a fee under these provisions is subject to civil penalties. The bill would authorize designated state and local government officials to commence civil actions to recover those penalties, and would specify the manner of distribution of penalties recovered. This bill would impose a 4-year statute of limitations for actions brought pursuant to 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.
Existing law authorizes a superior court to appoint official reporters and official reporters pro tempore as are deemed necessary for the performance of the duties of the court and its members. Existing law also authorizes a court to use electronic recording equipment to record an action or proceeding in a limited civil case, or a misdemeanor or infraction case, if an official reporter or an official reporter pro tempore is unavailable. This bill would additionally allow a court to use electronic recording equipment in a family law case if an official reporter or an official reporter pro tempore is unavailable.
This measure would designate that January 20, 2014, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America. This measure would also recognize the anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington in connection with the advancement of civil rights.
Existing law establishes the public elementary and secondary schools and the system of public community colleges in this state, and provides for a system for their funding. Provisions of the California Constitution require that a minimum amount of aggregate funding, calculated as specified, be allocated to school districts and community college districts unless this requirement is suspended, as provided. Pursuant to existing statutes, school districts, community college districts, and other local educational agencies receive a portion of their funding through apportionments of state funds made in accordance with payment schedules. This measure would require that the total amount due for allocation to school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and community college districts pursuant to the constitutional minimum funding requirement described above for a fiscal year, as estimated at the time of enactment of the annual Budget Act for that fiscal year, be apportioned pursuant to statute during that fiscal year, unless that minimum funding requirement is suspended for that fiscal year. The measure would require this estimate to be set forth in the Budget Bill passed by the Legislature. The measure would require apportionments of state aid to school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and community college districts to be made no later than the times specified by the statutory payment schedule that was in effect during the 2000–01 fiscal year, except that the Legislature may require by statute that these apportionments be made earlier in the fiscal year.
Existing law requires certain veterans of a war in which the United States is or has been engaged, upon application and presentation to the Department of Parks and Recreation of certain proof, including proof of a disability or proof of being held captive as a prisoner of war, to be issued a pass entitling the bearer use of all facilities, including boat launching facilities, in units of the state park system. This bill would authorize the department to offer a veteran, as defined, or current active duty or reserve military personnel for the United States Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state, a reduced fee or free day use of the California state parks, as provided, on Memorial Day and Veterans Day if certain conditions are met, including that proper proof is supplied.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows taxpayers, until January 1, 2015, to contribute amounts in excess of their tax liability for the support of the California Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Research Fund, unless earlier repealed for failure to meet annual minimum contribution amounts. This bill would instead make these provisions effective for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2020.
Under the Personal Income Tax Law, taxpayers are allowed to contribute amounts in excess of their tax liability for the support of the California Fund for Senior Citizens until the year in which the minimum contribution is not received, or January 1, 2015, which ever occurs first. This bill would extend the date of January 1, 2015, to taxable years beginning before January 1, 2020.
Existing law, the State Bar Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation. This bill would make it a violation of specified provisions of law relating to the unauthorized practice of law for any person who is not an attorney to literally translate from English into another language the phrases "notary public," "notary," "licensed," "attorney," "lawyer," or any other terms that imply that the person is an attorney. The bill would prescribe penalties, not to exceed $1,000 per day for each violation, for a person who violates these provisions. The bill would authorize these penalties to be allocated to a specified fund for purposes of providing free legal services related to immigration reform act services to clients of limited means, or to a fund for the purposes of mitigating unpaid claims of injured immigrant clients, as specified, as directed by the Board of Trustees of the State Bar. The bill would require the Board of Trustees of the State Bar to annually report any collection and expenditure of these moneys to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary. This bill would require, when a contract for legal services is required in writing pursuant to specified provisions of law, that an attorney providing immigration reform act services, as defined, provide a written notice informing the client that he or she may report complaints to specified entities. The bill would make these provisions operative when the State Bar posts the form and specified translations of the form on its Internet Web site, but no later than 45 days after the effective date of the bill. Existing law provides for the regulation of a person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of an immigration consultant, and provides that a violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law requires an immigration consultant to provide a client with a written contract containing specified information prior to providing services. Existing law requires an immigration consultant to file a bond of $50,000 with the Secretary of State in accordance with specified provisions of law. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2014, increase the amount of this bond to $100,000. The bill would require that the written contract contain additional information relating to an explanation of the purpose of each service to be performed. The bill would require an immigration consultant to establish a client trust account and to deposit in this account any funds received from the client prior to performing immigration reform act services, as defined, for that client, and would impose certain requirements relating to the expenditure of funds from this trust account. The bill would prohibit an attorney or an immigration consultant from demanding or accepting the advance payment of any funds from a person before the enactment of an immigration reform act, as defined, and would require any funds received after the effective date of this bill, but before the enactment of an immigration reform act, to be refunded to the client promptly, but no later than 30 days after the receipt of any funds. The bill would require any funds that were received before the effective date of the bill for services not rendered before the effective date of the bill to be either refunded to the client or deposited in a client trust fund in accordance with specified provisions. The bill would prescribe penalties, not to exceed $1,000 per day for each violation, for immigration consultants who violate these provisions. Existing law prohibits an immigration consultant from literally translating the phrase "notary public" into Spanish. This bill would provide that a violation of these provisions constitutes a violation of specified provisions of law relating to the unauthorized practice of law. The bill also would prescribe penalties, not to exceed $1,000 per day for each violation, for immigration consultants who violate these provisions. Because a violation of these provisions by an immigration consultant would be a crime, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
