Existing federal law provides for tax-qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts or individual retirement annuities by which private citizens may save money for retirement. This bill would create the California Employee Savings Program, which would be operative only upon a specified appropriation in the annual Budget Act or if sufficient funds are made available through a nonprofit or private entity or federal funding, as specified. The program would be administered by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) , with the intent of promoting greater retirement savings for California private employees in a convenient, low-cost, and portable manner. The bill would require the board, under this program, to offer one or more individual retirement accounts or defined benefit plans, as specified, to eligible employees of participating eligible employers, as defined. The bill would specify that eligible employees of participating employers are not members of PERS. The bill would permit the board, in initiating and administering the program, to, among other things, employ staff and 3rd-party administrators, as necessary, collaborate with various entities in the private sector, recover expenses from contributions or investment returns, as specified, and evaluate and establish the process by which eligible employees who want to contribute a portion of their paycheck to an account offered by the program are able to notify their employers and require the employer to forward the contribution and related information to the program. The bill would require the Employment Development Department to cooperate in this regard. The bill would authorize the Employment Development Department to charge a fee for any administrative costs it incurs by reason of implementing and administering the program. The bill would require the board to make reports to employers on the progress and status of the program. The bill would also require the board to make specified reports to the Legislature, including a report upon determining that all specified conditions necessary to implement the program can be satisfied, a report if it finds that the program is not self-sustaining, and annual reports on the status of the program, as specified. The bill would require PERS, after specified acts have occurred, to request funding through a Budget Act appropriation or from a nonprofit or private entity or from federal funding for the purpose of implementing the program. The bill would require the board to keep program funds and accounts separate from those of PERS and would prohibit the use of funds in PERS, as specified, to initiate, develop, implement, or administer the program. In addition, the bill would require that all expenses and obligations created by the program be funded by its contributions, returns, and assets, except as the Legislature may appropriate funds for this purpose, to be deposited in the California Employee Savings Program Administrative Fund, which this bill would establish as a continuously appropriated fund. The bill would require PERS to obtain the necessary approvals from federal authorities for the program's implementation. The bill would prohibit any claim, tax lien, or other right of setoff from applying to funds or assets of the program, as specified. The bill would indemnify from the General Fund and hold harmless the present, former, and future board members, officers, employees of, and investment managers under contract with, PERS in connection with any decision or action related to the administration of the program. The bill would provide that the program may only be implemented if the board determines that certain conditions are satisfied, and would permit the board to discontinue the program on its determination, as specified. The bill would permit the board to adopt regulations in regard to the program, and would provide that the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation is exempted from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Subject to the availability of funds, as specified, the bill would require the board to report to Legislature regarding the feasibility of creating a defined benefit plan option to be available to employers. The bill would also make a statement of findings.
Sponsored bills
Existing laws imposes various taxes and allows specified credits, deductions, exclusions, and exemptions in computing those taxes. Existing law requires the Department of Finance to provide an annual report to the Legislature on tax expenditures by no later than September 15 of each year, and requires that annual report to include, among other things, a comprehensive list of tax expenditures exceeding $5,000,000 in annual cost. This bill would require the Legislature, on and after January 1, 2014, to review each "tax expenditure subject to limitation" and each "tax expenditure not subject to limitation," as defined, for the purpose of ensuring that only tax expenditures with a measurable benefit, as defined, are provided by the state. The bill would require the Legislature, based on the information from the review, to assess whether each tax expenditure not subject to limitation meets stated objectives and for each not meeting its objectives, to restrict or eliminate that tax expenditure not subject to limitation in accordance with specified procedures. The bill would specify that each tax expenditure subject to limitation shall cease to be operative and shall be repealed on January 1 of the 5th calendar year after the calendar year of enactment.
(1) Existing law, the California Constitution, prohibits the Legislature from creating a debt or liability that singly or in the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities exceeds the sum of $300,000, except by an act that (A) authorizes the debt for a single object or work specified in the act, (B) has been passed by a 23 vote of all the members elected to each house of the Legislature, (C) has been submitted to the people at a statewide general or primary election, and (D) has received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at that election. The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 (Greene Act) requires the State Allocation Board (board) to allocate to applicant school districts prescribed per-unhoused-pupil state funding for construction and modernization of school facilities, including hardship funding, and supplemental funding for site development and acquisition. This bill would enact the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2010, to become operative only if approved by the voters at the November 2, 2010, statewide general election, and would provide for the submission of that act to the voters at that election. The bond act, if approved by the voters, would provide for the issuance of $6,100,000,000 of the general obligation bonds to provide aid to school districts, county superintendents of schools, and county boards of education, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, the Hastings College of the Law, and the California State University to construct and modernize education facilities. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes a credit against the taxes imposed by that law in an amount equal to the lesser of 5% of the purchase price or $10,000 in the case of the purchase of a qualified principal residence on and after March 1, 2009, and before March 1, 2010, but not to exceed an aggregate limitation of $100,000,000 for all credits allowable. Existing law requires a certification that the residence has never been occupied be provided to the Franchise Tax Board within one week of the sale of the qualified principal residence. This bill would limit the credit to taxpayers who purchased a qualified principal residence on and after March 1, 2009, and before July 3, 2009, and on and after the effective date of this bill and before March 1, 2010. This bill would also require the aggregate limitation of credits to be reduced by a specified amount per certification received by the Franchise Tax Board. (2) The bill would appropriate the sum of $44,000 from the General Fund to the Franchise Tax Board, in augmentation of a specified appropriation made in the 2009-10 Budget Act. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would commend the Girl Scouts for 98 years of service and for inspiring millions of girls with the highest ideals of confidence, courage, and character.
This measure would recognize the week of April 18, 2010, through April 24, 2010, as Crime Victims' Rights Week.
(1) The Administrative Procedure Act generally sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. An agency that is considering adopting, amending, or repealing a regulation is authorized to consult with interested persons before initiating regulatory action, and requires an agency to do so when the regulation involves complex or numerous proposals. This bill would require the agency, if it does not, or is unable to, consult with these parties to inform in writing the Office of Small Business Advocate and the Department of Finance of its decision and the reasons for not consulting the impacted businesses. (2) The act requires every state agency subject to the act to submit, with the notice of the proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, an initial statement of reasons for proposing the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, which is required to include, among other things, a description of any reasonable alternatives that would lessen any adverse impact on small business and the agency's reasons for rejecting those reasonable alternatives. The act specifies the agency is not required, in this initial statement, to artificially construct alternatives, describe unreasonable alternatives, or justify why it has not described alternatives. This bill would require the agency to describe the agency's reasons for rejecting each specific alternative, and would delete the specification that an agency is not required to artificially construct alternatives, describe unreasonable alternatives, or justify why it has not described alternatives. (3) The act requires a state agency to assess the potential of a proposal to adopt, amend, or repeal a regulation to adversely affect business enterprises and individuals. This bill would also require an agency to submit an economic impact statement that makes that assessment and would also require an agency, before submitting a proposal, to prepare a small business economic impact statement that contains specified information. (4) Under the act, the agency must issue a notice of proposed action that includes prescribed information, including, if a state agency makes an initial determination that the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation will not have a significant statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting business, a declaration of that determination. This bill would delete that requirement and instead require, if an agency declares that it is not aware of any cost impact, that the notice of proposed action include a statement describing how a private person or business could comply with the proposed regulation without incurring a cost. This bill would also require that the notice of proposed action include the small business economic impact statement that this bill requires an agency to prepare. (5) The act also requires the Department of Finance to adopt and update, as necessary, instructions for inclusion in the State Administrative Manual prescribing the methods that any agency is required to use in making the determinations relating to mandates on local agencies or school districts, as specified. This bill would also require the Department of Finance to adopt and update, as necessary, instructions prescribing the methods that any agency is required to use in making the determinations relating to significant, statewide adverse economic impacts directly affecting business, as specified. (6) The act requires the Office of Administrative Law to review and approve regulations that are adopted, amended, or repealed, using prescribed standards. The act requires that the office reject a proposed regulation in specified circumstances. This bill would require that the office reject a proposed regulation if the adopting agency does not provide specified information relating to the small business economic impact statement. (7) The act authorizes any interested person to obtain a judicial declaration as to the validity of specified regulations or orders of repeal, by bringing an action for declaratory relief in the superior court in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure. This bill would specify that an interested person includes, but is not limited to, a small business or an organization or trade association that represents small businesses and whose members are affected by the regulation. (8) The bill would also make conforming changes to the act.
This measure would proclaim the month of May to be Women Veterans Recognition Month.
Existing law, until January 1, 2011, requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish a pilot program in Alameda County for parolees returning to Alameda County to conduct needs-based assessments of the individual parolees, as specified. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish reentry programs for parolees between 16 and 23 years of age to assist in community reintegration upon release, parole, or discharge from detention, as specified. The reentry programs would include construction training, academic services, counseling, and tracking of graduates after completion of the program. The bill would require the department to maintain statistical information related to the reentry programs, as specified. The bill would also provide that these provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2014.
(1) The Enterprise Zone Act provides for the designation of enterprise zones by the Department of Community Housing and Development based on the department's approval of applications from a city, county, or city and county with a geographic area meeting certain criteria. Certain entities within a designated enterprise zone may receive regulatory, tax, and other incentives for private investment and employment. Existing law provides that no more than 42 enterprise zones be designated at any one time pursuant to the act. Upon the expiration or termination of a designation, existing law authorizes the department to designate another enterprise zone to maintain a total of 42 enterprise zones. This bill would authorize the department to designate one special enterprise zone within the City of Fremont consisting of a geographical area encompassing a facility that manufactures automobiles and to designate, until 90 days after the act takes effect, an additional 10 special enterprise zones limited to one nonrenewable 15-year term. The bill would exclude these enterprise zones from the calculation of the overall number of enterprise zones authorized under the act. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute. (2) The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act established the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. The authority is authorized to do all things necessary and convenient to carry out the purposes of the act. The authority is also required to establish a renewable energy program to provide financial assistance, as defined, to certain entities for projects to generate new and renewable energy sources, develop clean and efficient distributed generation, and demonstrate the economic feasibility of new technologies. Existing law provides that the transfer of title of tangible personal property constituting a project under the act to the authority by a participating party or the lease or transfer of tangible personal property constituting a project under the act by the authority to a participating party pursuant to the act is not a "sale" or "purchase" for the purposes of the Sales and Use Tax Law. This bill would include as a project, machinery, or equipment that is utilized for the design, technology transfer, manufacture, production, assembly, distribution, or service of an alternative source component. The bill would include as "financial assistance" for the purposes of the act purchases, sales, or lease arrangements that qualify for exclusion from the Sales and Use Tax Law. The bill would require the authority to consider specified criteria in approving a project for which the purchase, sale, or lease of tangible personal property qualifies for the sales and use tax exclusion. The bill would require, when the sales and use tax exclusion for projects approved by the authority exceed $100,000,000 annually, the authority to provide a 20-day notice to the Legislature for additional project approval.