Under existing law, upon the proclamation of a state of emergency, as defined, by the President of the United States or the Governor, or upon the declaration of a local emergency, as defined, by the executive officer of any county, city, or city and county, and for 30 days following the proclamation or declaration of emergency, it is a misdemeanor for a person, contractor, business, or other entity to sell or offer to sell certain goods or services for a price 10% greater than the price charged by that person immediately prior to the proclamation or declaration of emergency. Existing law makes a greater price increase lawful under these provisions if the person can prove that the increase in price was directly attributable to additional costs imposed on it by the supplier of the goods, or directly attributable to additional costs for the labor or materials used to provide the services, during the state of emergency or local emergency, and the price is no more than 10% greater than the total of the cost to the seller plus the markup customarily applied by the seller. Existing law authorizes the local legislative body, local official, Governor, or Legislature, to extend the duration of this prohibition for additional 30 day periods, if deemed necessary to protect the lives, property, or welfare of the citizens. This bill would expand that crime to also include selling or offering to sell those goods or services for a price 10% greater than the price charged immediately prior to a date set by the proclamation or declaration of emergency. The bill would also make it a crime for a person, contractor, business, or other entity who did not charge a price for the goods or services immediately prior to the proclamation or declaration of emergency to charge a price that is more than 50% greater than the seller's existing costs, as specified. The bill would authorize the Governor or the Legislature to extend the duration of these prohibitions for periods greater than 30 days, and during the extension, authorize specified price increases that exceed the otherwise permissible amount, as specified. This bill would make those crimes punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would create 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.
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Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including fire and property insurance. Existing law requires a residential property insurer to allow an insured that has suffered a loss relating to a declared state of emergency to combine the policy limits for primary dwelling and other structures, and to use the combined amount to rebuild or replace the dwelling, as specified. Existing law requires a policy to provide coverage for additional living expenses for a period of no less than 24 months from the inception of the loss, for a loss relating to a state of emergency. Existing law prohibits, in the event of a total loss of the insured structure, a policy from limiting or denying payment of the building code upgrade cost or the replacement cost on the basis that the insured has decided to rebuild at a new location or to purchase an already built home at a new location. For a total loss of a furnished residence related to a declared state of emergency, this bill would require an insurer to provide a payment for contents of no less than 30% of the policy limit, as specified, without requiring an itemized claim. For a covered loss relating to a state of emergency, on and after July 1, 2021, the bill would prohibit a policy that provides coverage for additional living expenses from limiting the policyholder's right to recovery if the insured home is rendered uninhabitable by a covered peril, but would authorize an insurer to provide a reasonable alternative remedy that addresses the property condition that precludes reasonable habitation of the insured premises. On and after July 1, 2021, the bill would require additional living expense coverage to be provided for at least 2 weeks, with additional 2-week extensions, in the event of a state of emergency and an order of civil authority restricting access to the home, as specified. The bill would require the measure of damages available to a policyholder to use to rebuild or replace the insured home at another location to be the amount that would have been recoverable had the insured dwelling been rebuilt at its original location, without deduction for the value of land at the new location. Existing law requires the Insurance Commissioner to establish the California Home Insurance Finder on the Department of Insurance internet website to connect homeowners in need of insurance assistance to an insurance agent or broker for residential property insurance. Under existing law, the California FAIR Plan Association, a joint reinsurance association in which all insurers licensed to write basic property insurance participate, administers a program for the equitable apportionment of basic property insurance for persons who are unable to obtain that coverage through normal channels. Existing law requires an insurance agent or broker to assist a person to obtain property insurance coverage by one of several specified methods. This bill would require a notice of nonrenewal for a residential property insurance policy expiring on or after July 1, 2021, to be accompanied by a specified statement that includes an explanation of how the California Home Insurance Finder can help a person find a homeowners' insurance policy and information about FAIR Plan policies. The bill would require the California FAIR Plan Association, on or before July 1, 2021, to develop and implement a clearinghouse program to help reduce the number of existing FAIR Plan policies and provide the opportunity for admitted insurers to offer homeowners' insurance policies to FAIR Plan policyholders. The bill would require an insurer that participates in the clearinghouse program to sign an agreement that sets forth the terms and conditions for the insurer to offer homeowners insurance through the policy's listed agent or broker of record. Existing law creates the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) and requires all insurers admitted to transact specified insurance lines in this state to become members. Under existing law, CIGA pays and discharges covered claims, which are the obligations of an insolvent insurer that meet specified requirements, including, for a policy of workers' compensation insurance, that the obligation is to provide workers' compensation benefits under California's workers' compensation law. Under existing law, an obligation to a state or to the federal government is not a covered claim. Existing law requires CIGA to collect premium payments from its member insurers sufficient to discharge its obligations. Existing law requires CIGA to adopt a plan of operation that requires a member insurer to recoup the premium charge paid by the member insurer through a surcharge on premiums charged for insurance policies. Existing law requires CIGA to reimburse member insurers who report surcharge collections that are less than what they paid in the preceding year's premium charge. This bill would expand covered claims under CIGA to include benefits under the workers' compensation law of any state if the injured worker is a California resident and not otherwise entitled to coverage from another organization similar to CIGA, obligations for medical services provided by a medical facility owned in whole or in part by a state or federal agency, and claims arising under a policy that has been statutorily allocated to or assumed by a company that is later placed in liquidation if the claim would have been a covered claim if the original company had been placed in liquidation. The bill would require each member insurer to file a report to CIGA within 90 days after filing an annual statement indicating the amount of premiums not subject to CIGA's premium charge and the amount of special excess workers' compensation premiums for the preceding calendar year. The bill would authorize an insurer to amend its reports indicating the amount of surcharges collected for the prior 5 years if it discovers there was an error in the original reports. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 678 of the Insurance Code proposed by AB 2756 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2756 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(1) Existing law establishes, among other housing programs administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Multifamily Housing Program, pursuant to which the department provides assistance in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for specified eligible costs of development of specified housing projects. This bill would authorize the department, in administering the Multifamily Housing Program, to establish set-asides for specific project types or projects that serve specific target populations. (2) Existing law requires the department to establish and administer the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program. Subject to the availability of funds in the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, existing law requires the department to provide grants, loans, or both to specified entities for the construction or rehabilitation of housing for agricultural employees, as defined, and their families or for the acquisition of manufactured housing to remedy the impacts of the displacement of farmworker families. Existing law requires the department to supervise grantees of program funds as specified. Existing law authorizes the department, with respect to program grantees, to enter upon and inspect the lands, buildings, and equipment of a grantee and to supervise the operation and maintenance of any housing assisted by the program. Existing law establishes the CalHome Program, administered by the department, to enable low- and very low income households to become or remain homeowners. This bill would authorize Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program funds to be used for additional purposes, including loans for the construction or rehabilitation of rental housing for lower-income agricultural employees, loans that assist development projects involving multiple home ownership units for lower-income agricultural employees, and grants for programs that assist lower-income agricultural employees to become or remain homeowners. The bill would authorize the department to determine the amount of appropriated moneys allocated to each of these authorized purposes. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to make funds available at the same time it makes funds, if any, available under the Multifamily Housing Program or CalHome Program, as specified, rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program or CalHome Program, as specified, and administer the funds consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program or CalHome Program, as specified. The bill would remove the provisions establishing the supervision requirements described above. The bill would also delete the authorizations of the department to enter upon and inspect the lands, buildings, and equipment of a grantee and to supervise the operation and maintenance of any housing assisted by the program. By authorizing moneys in a continuously appropriated fund to be used for a new purpose, this bill would make an appropriation. (3) Existing law requires the department to administer the Infill Incentive Grant Program of 2007, also known as the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program, and award competitive grants under that program to selected capital improvement projects that are an integral part of, or necessary to facilitate the development of, a qualifying infill project or a qualifying infill area. This bill would require the department, in administering the Infill Incentive Grant Program of 2007 with regard to qualifying infill projects, to make funds available at the same time it makes funds available under the Multifamily Housing Program, rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program, and administer program funds consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program. The bill would make other conforming changes in this regard. Existing law requires a project or infill area to satisfy certain conditions to be eligible for funding under the program, including that it be located in an area designated for mixed-use or residential development pursuant to a general plan, project area redevelopment plan, or a regional blueprint plan. This bill would instead require the project or infill area be located in an area designated for mixed-use or residential development pursuant to a general plan, regional sustainable communities strategy, or alternative planning strategy, as specified. (4) Existing law establishes the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019, which requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature, to establish and administer a grant program to allocate those funds to capital improvement projects that are an integral part of, or necessary to facilitate the development of, a qualifying infill project or qualifying infill area, as those terms are defined, pursuant to specified requirements. Existing law defines "eligible applicant" to include a nonprofit or for-profit developer of a qualifying infill project that applies jointly with the city, county, city and county, or public housing authority that has jurisdiction over a qualifying infill area. This bill would, as of the effective date of these provisions, instead define "eligible applicant" to include a nonprofit or for-profit developer of a qualifying infill project that receives a letter of support from the governing body of the city or county that has jurisdiction over a qualifying infill area. (5) Existing law establishes the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Program, to be administered by the department, to provide grants to local agencies and loans to developers for the purpose of developing or facilitating the development of higher density uses within close proximity to transit stations. This bill would remove the authorization to award grants to local agencies and instead require the local assistance program to provide loans only to developers. Existing law requires the department, in administering the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Program, to make loans for development and construction of housing developments that meet specified requirements, including that at least 15% of the units in the proposed development are made available to persons of very low or low income for at least 55 years and the development be located within 14 of a mile of a transit station. This bill would additionally require a housing development to meet density requirements established by the department, be located in an area designated by the appropriate council of governments for infill development, and meet any other requirements established by the department in order to be eligible for funding. The bill would also require the department, in administering the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Program, to make funds available at the same time it makes funds available under the Multifamily Housing Program or CalHome Program, rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program or CalHome Program, and administer program funds consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program or CalHome Program, depending on whether the funds are for the development of rental housing or owner-occupied housing. The bill would also require that the loan terms of any loan issued pursuant to the program be consistent with the loan terms of the Multifamily Housing Program or CalHome Program, as specified. The bill would make additional conforming changes in this regard. (6) Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish the Housing for a Healthy California Program to create supportive housing opportunities through grants to counties for capital, rental assistance, and operating subsidies or through operating reserve grants and capital loans to developers. This bill would require the department, in administering the operating reserve grants and capital loans available to developers under the Housing for a Healthy California Program, to make funds available at the same time it makes funds available under the Multifamily Housing Program, rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program, and administer program funds consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program. (7) Existing law, the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014, requires the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (referred to collectively as "the departments") to establish and implement programs that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness, as specified. In this regard, existing law requires the departments to establish and implement programs that, among other things, prioritize projects that combine housing and supportive services. This bill would instead require the departments to establish and implement programs that ensure that projects combine housing and supportive services. The bill would also require the departments, in administering the programs, to make funds available at the same time funds are made available under the Multifamily Housing Program, rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program, and administer program funds consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program. The bill would also require that the loan terms of any loan issued pursuant to the programs to be consistent with the loan terms of the Multifamily Housing Program, as specified. (8) Except as specified above, the bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2022.
The California Constitution specifies various requirements with respect to the levying of assessments and property-related fees and charges by a local agency, including requiring that the local agency provide public notice and a majority protest procedure in the case of assessments and submit property-related fees and charges for approval by property owners subject to the fee or charge or the electorate residing in the affected area following a public hearing. Existing law, known as the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act, prescribes specific procedures and parameters for local jurisdictions to comply with these requirements and, among other things, authorizes an agency providing water, wastewater, sewer, or refuse collection services to adopt a schedule of fees or charges authorizing automatic adjustments that pass through increases in wholesale charges for water, sewage treatment, or wastewater treatment or adjustments for inflation under certain circumstances. Existing law defines, among other terms, the term "water" for these purposes to mean any system of public improvements intended to provide for the production, storage, supply, treatment, or distribution of water from any source. This bill would specify that hydrants, as defined, are part of the system of public improvements included in the definition of "water" for purposes of the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act. The bill would specify that the fees or charges for property-related water service imposed or increased, as specified, may include the costs to construct, maintain, repair, or replace hydrants as needed or consistent with fire codes and industry standards, and may include the cost of water distributed through hydrants. The bill would also authorize the fees or charges for the aspects of water service related to hydrants and the water distributed through them to be fixed and collected as a separate fee or charge, or included in the other water rates and charges fixed and collected by a public agency, as specified.
(1) Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) , grants a consumer various rights with regard to personal information relating to that consumer collected by a business, including the right to know the categories and the specific pieces of personal information that have been collected and to opt out of the sale of personal information. The act also grants a consumer the right to request a business to delete any personal information about the consumer collected by the business and requires a business to do so upon receipt of a verified request, except as specified. The act excepts certain categories of personal information and entities from its provisions, including medical information, as specified. This bill would except from the CCPA information that was deidentified in accordance with specified federal law, or was derived from medical information, protected health information, individually identifiable health information, or identifiable private information, consistent with specified federal policy, as provided. The bill also would except from the CCPA a business associate of a covered entity, as defined, that is governed by federal privacy, security, and data breach notification rules if the business associate maintains, uses, and discloses patient information in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would further except information that is collected for, used in, or disclosed in research, as defined. The bill would define terms for these purposes. This bill would additionally prohibit a business or other person from reidentifying information that was deidentified, unless a specified exception is met. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2021, require a contract for the sale or license of deidentified information to include specified provisions relating to the prohibition of reidentification, as provided. (2) The CCPA requires a business to make certain disclosures to consumers, in a specified form, in its online privacy policy, if the business has an online privacy policy, and in any California-specific description of consumers' privacy rights, or, if the business does not maintain an online privacy policy or policies, on its internet website, and to update that information at least once every 12 months. This bill would require a business that sells or discloses information that was deidentified in accordance with specified federal law, was derived from protected health information, individually identifiable health information, or identifiable private information to also disclose whether the business sells or discloses deidentified patient information derived from patient information and, if so, whether that information was deidentified pursuant to specified methods. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, headed by the Labor Commissioner, within the Department of Industrial Relations, for the purpose of enforcing labor laws. Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner to collect unpaid wages and monetary benefits due to an employee. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to report annually to the Legislature regarding the amount of wages unlawfully withheld from workers and the amount of unpaid wages recovered for workers. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2021, require the Labor Commissioner to create an online portal on their internet website that would allow wage claimants to file unpaid wage claims, track those claims, and submit requested documents regarding those claims.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee, as defined, for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Existing law creates a disputable presumption that specified injuries sustained in the course of employment of a specified member of law enforcement or a specified first responder arose out of and in the course of the employment. Existing law governs the procedures for filing a claim for workers' compensation, including filing a claim form, and provides that an injury is presumed compensable if liability is not rejected within 90 days after the claim form is filed, as specified. Existing case law provides for how certain presumptions may be rebutted. This bill would define "injury" for an employee to include illness or death resulting from the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) under specified circumstances, until January 1, 2023. The bill would create a disputable presumption, as specified, that the injury arose out of and in the course of the employment and is compensable, for specified dates of injury. The bill would limit the applicability of the presumption under certain circumstances. The bill would require an employee to exhaust their paid sick leave benefits and meet specified certification requirements before receiving any temporary disability benefits or, for police officers, firefighters, and other specified employees, a leave of absence. The bill would also make a claim relating to a COVID-19 illness presumptively compensable, as described above, after 30 days or 45 days, rather than 90 days. Until January 1, 2023, the bill would allow for a presumption of injury for all employees whose fellow employees at their place of employment experience specified levels of positive testing, and whose employer has 5 or more employees. This bill would require the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation to conduct a study of the impacts of COVID-19 and the specific presumptions created by this bill and report its findings to the Legislature and the Governor, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would designate a specified portion of State Route 50 in the County of El Dorado as the Deputy Sheriff Brian "Ish" Ishmael Memorial Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, erect those signs.
Existing law establishes the Veterans' Home of California system for the operation of veterans' homes at various sites. Existing law sets forth the duties of the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the administration and regulation of veterans' homes. Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services to lease or let any real property held by the department for a home, as specified, to any entity or person upon terms and conditions determined to be in the best interests of the home. This bill would prohibit a lease or let from exceeding 5 years, unless the lessee is a local government or a nonprofit organization that provides services exclusively for veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States and their families, or the contract for the lease was executed before January 1, 2021. The bill would require each use, other than an easement, of real property held by the department for a home by a person or entity, other than the home or a resident of the home, to be in writing and meet certain criteria, including that it provide substantial and direct benefits to the home and its members and be appropriate and compatible with the nature of the home.
This measure would proclaim June 19, 2020, as Veterans of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Day.