The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act requires a mandated reporter, which includes a teacher or one of certain other types of school employees, to report whenever he or she, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or has observed a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to develop staff development seminars and any other appropriate means of instructing school personnel in the detection of child abuse and neglect and the proper action that school personnel should take in suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. Existing law requires school districts that do not train their employees in the duties of mandated reporters under the child abuse reporting laws to report to the State Department of Education the reasons why this training is not provided. This bill would require the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Office of Child Abuse Prevention in the State Department of Social Services, to develop and disseminate information to all school districts, county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter schools, and their school personnel in California, regarding the detection and reporting of child abuse, to provide statewide guidance on the responsibilities of mandated reporters, and to develop appropriate means of instructing school personnel in the detection of child abuse and neglect and the proper action that school personnel should take in suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, including, but not limited to, an online training module to be provided by the State Department of Social Services. The bill would require school districts, county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter schools to do both of the following: (1) annually train, using the online training module provided by the State Department of Social Services, or other training, as specified, employees and persons working on their behalf who are mandated reporters on the mandated reporting requirements, as specified; and (2) develop a process for all persons required to receive training under the bill to provide proof of completing this training within the first 6 weeks of each school year or within 6 weeks of that person's employment. By imposing these additional duties on local educational agencies, 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 these statutory provisions.
Sponsored bills
The Community Redevelopment Law authorizes the establishment of redevelopment agencies in communities to address the effects of blight, as defined by means of redevelopment projects financed by the issuance of bonds serviced by tax increment revenues derived from the project area. Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies and community development agencies, as of February 1, 2012, and provides for the designation of successor agencies to wind down the affairs of the dissolved agencies and to fulfill the enforceable obligations of those agencies. Existing law also provides for various economic development programs that foster community sustainability and community and economic development initiatives throughout the state. This bill would authorize certain local agencies to form a community revitalization authority (authority) within a community revitalization and investment area, as defined, to carry out provisions of the Community Redevelopment Law in that area for purposes related to, among other things, infrastructure, affordable housing, and economic revitalization. The bill would provide for the financing of these activities by, among other things, the issuance of bonds serviced by tax increment revenues, and would require the authority to adopt a community revitalization plan for the community revitalization and investment area that includes elements describing and governing revitalization activities. The bill would also provide for periodic audits of the authority with respect to affordable housing, conducted as provided by the Controller, and for annual public reports by the authority as well as periodic proceedings for the consideration of public protests.
Existing law, the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983, establishes, under the jurisdiction of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, a program of seismic safety building standards for certain hospitals constructed on and after March 7, 1973. Existing law requires that, after January 1, 2008, any general acute care hospital building that is determined to be a potential risk of collapse or pose significant loss of life be used only for nonacute care hospital purposes, except that the office may grant a 5-year extension under prescribed circumstances. Existing law also allows the office to grant an additional 2-year extension in specified circumstances. This bill would clarify that a general acute care hospital building described above may be used for purposes other than nonacute care hospital purposes if an extension of the January 1, 2008, deadline has been granted and, before the end of the extension, a replacement building has been constructed or a retrofit has been performed, as specified. The bill would authorize a hospital located in the County of Sacramento, San Mateo, or Santa Barbara or the City of San Jose that has received the additional 2-year extension to the January 2008 deadline pursuant to specified provisions to request an additional extension until September 1, 2015, to obtain either a certificate of occupancy for a replacement building or a construction final for a building on which a retrofit has been performed. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Sacramento, San Mateo, and Santa Barbara and the City of San Jose. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides for the Adoption Assistance Program, administered by the State Department of Social Services, which provides for the payment by the department and counties of cash assistance to eligible families that adopt eligible children, and bases the amount of the payment on the needs of the child and the circumstances of the family. Under existing law, the department, county adoption agency, or licensed adoption agency is required, among other duties, to provide the prospective adoptive family with information on the availability of mental health services through the Medi-Cal program or other programs. Existing law provides that a foster child whose adoption has become final and who is receiving or is eligible to receive Adoption Assistance Program assistance, including Medi-Cal, and whose foster care court supervision has been terminated, shall be provided medically necessary specialty mental health services by the local mental health plan in the county of residence of his or her adoptive parents, as specified. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to convene a stakeholder group to identify barriers to the provision of mental health services by mental health professionals with specialized clinical training in adoption or permanency issues to children receiving those medically necessary specialty mental health services. The bill would require the stakeholder group to make specific recommendations by January 31, 2016, for voluntary measures to address those barriers, but would provide that those recommendations are not binding on any state or local government agency or private entity. The bill would require the stakeholder group to coordinate with, and endeavor not to duplicate, existing local, state, or national initiatives.
Existing law authorizes the creation by a city, county, or city and county of an infrastructure financing district, as defined, for the sole purpose of financing public facilities, subject to adoption of a resolution by the legislative body and affected taxing entities proposed to be subject to division of taxes and 23 voter approval. Existing law authorizes the legislative body to, by majority vote, initiate proceedings to issue bonds for the financing of district projects by adopting a resolution, subject to specified procedures and 23 voter approval. Existing law requires an infrastructure financing plan to include the date on which an infrastructure financing district will cease to exist, which may not be more than 30 years from the date on which the ordinance forming the district is adopted. Existing law prohibits a district from including any portion of a redevelopment project area. Existing law, the Polanco Redevelopment Act, authorizes a redevelopment agency to take any action that the agency determines is necessary and consistent with state and federal laws to remedy or remove a release of hazardous substances on, under, or from property within a project area, whether the agency owns that property or not, subject to specified conditions. Existing law also declares the intent of the Legislature that the areas of the district created be substantially undeveloped, and that the establishment of a district should not ordinarily lead to the removal of dwelling units. This bill would authorize the creation by a city, county, city and county, or joint powers authority of an infrastructure and revitalization financing district, as defined, and the issuance of debt with 23 voter approval. The bill would authorize the creation of a district for up to 40 years and the issuance of debt with a final maturity date of up to 30 years, as specified. The bill would authorize a district to finance projects in redevelopment project areas and former redevelopment project areas and former military bases. The bill would authorize the legislative body to dedicate any portion of its funds received from the Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund to the district, if specified criteria are met. The bill would authorize the formation of a district to finance a project or projects on a former military base, if specified conditions are met. The bill would authorize a district to fund various projects, including, among others, watershed land used for the collection and treatment of water for urban uses, flood management, levees, bypasses, open space, habitat restoration, brownfields restoration, environmental mitigation, purchase of land and property for development purposes, including commercial property, hazardous cleanup, former military bases, and specified transportation purposes. The bill would authorize a district to implement hazardous cleanup pursuant to the Polanco Redevelopment Act, as specified. The bill would impose a specified reporting requirement on districts. The bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature that the establishment of a district should not ordinarily lead to the removal of existing functional, habitable, and safe dwelling units, as specified. The bill would define the term "public works" for purposes of these provisions. This bill would incorporate additional substantive changes in Section 33459 of the Health and Safety Code made by SB 470, to become operative if SB 470 and this bill become effective on or before January 1, 2014, and this bill is enacted last.
Under existing law, a person between the ages of 6 and 18 years who is not exempted by law is subject to compulsory full-time education. Existing law excludes a child under 6 years of age from the public schools, subject to specified exceptions. Existing law requires a school district maintaining a kindergarten to admit a child who will have his or her 5th birthday on or before certain specified dates during that school year. Existing law also requires that a child who will have his or her 6th birthday on or before specified dates be admitted to the first grade of an elementary school. This bill, beginning with the 2016–17 school year, would require a child to have completed one year of kindergarten before he or she may be admitted to the first grade, thereby imposing 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law prohibits a pupil from being suspended from school or recommended for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has committed a specified act, including, among other acts, disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties. This bill would eliminate the authority to suspend a pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive, and the authority to recommend for expulsion a pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, for disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of those school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties. The bill would make the restrictions inoperative on July 1, 2018.
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.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical, gas, water, and telephone corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. Existing law directs the commission to require every electrical, gas, water, wireless telecommunications service provider, and telephone corporation with annual gross revenues exceeding $25,000,000, and their regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, to implement a program developed by the commission to encourage, recruit, and utilize minority-, women-, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises, as defined, in the procurement of contracts from those corporations or from their regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, and to require the reporting of certain information. The commission, by its rulemaking authority, has adopted General Order 156, applicable to certain electrical, gas, and telephone corporations, to effectuate these requirements. Existing law includes the declaration by the Legislature that each electrical, gas, water, mobile telephony service provider, and telephone corporation that is not required to submit a plan, and each cable television corporation and direct broadcast satellite provider, is encouraged to voluntarily adopt a plan for increasing women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprise procurement in all categories. Existing law requires the commission, by rule or order, to adopt criteria for verifying and determining eligibility of women and minority business enterprises for procurement contracts. Existing law requires the commission to provide to the Legislature a specified report on the progress of activities undertaken by certain entities in the implementation of women, minority, and disabled business enterprise development programs. Existing law requires the commission to recommend a program and legislation for carrying out the policy of aiding the interests of women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises. This bill would extend these provisions to LGBT business enterprises, as defined. In initially adopting criteria for verifying and determining the eligibility of LGBT business enterprises for procurement contracts, the bill would require the commission to adopt the LGBT status qualifiers created by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. The bill would authorize the commission to update the LGBT status qualifiers as appropriate. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 8282 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by AB 2760, to be operative only if AB 2760 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. (3) Under existing law, a violation of any provision of any rules or orders of the commission is a crime. In addition, any person or corporation who falsely represents a business as a women, minority, or disabled veteran business enterprise for the purposes of the program discussed above is subject to criminal penalties. This bill would also subject any person or corporation who falsely represents a business as an LGBT business enterprise for the purposes of the program discussed above to criminal penalties. Because a violation of the requirements of the bill would be a crime under those provisions, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) 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.
(1) Existing law provides for the establishment of standards for various agricultural products, including fruits, nuts, and vegetables, and authorizes the use of the term "California grown" and similar terms for marketing, advertising, or promotional purposes only to identify food or agricultural products that have been produced in the state or harvested in its surface or coastal waters, and makes the fraudulent use of the term or a deliberately misleading or unwarranted use of the term a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $3,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 6 months, or by both the fine and imprisonment. This bill would make it unlawful for any person or entity, or employee or agent of that person or entity, to make any statement, representation, or assertion relating to the sale or availability of agricultural products that is false, deceptive, or misleading, as specified, and would make a violation of those provisions a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, by a fine not exceeding $2,500, or both the fine and imprisonment. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also authorize the Secretary of Food and Agriculture or a county agricultural commissioner, in lieu of prosecution, to levy a civil penalty, as specified. The bill would make those penalties applicable to the fraudulent use of the term "California grown," as specified above. The bill would require the civil penalties collected by a county agricultural commissioner to be paid to the county treasurer, and would require civil penalties collected by the secretary to be deposited in the Direct Agricultural Marketing Penalty Account, which would be created in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, as continuously appropriated funds to be used to conduct investigations and enforcement actions relating to false, deceptive, or misleading statements relating to agricultural products, and for other specified purposes. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law regulates the direct marketing of agricultural products, and authorizes the secretary to adopt regulations in that regard. This bill would define the terms "producer," "practice of agricultural arts," and "agricultural product" for purposes of the provisions relating to direct marketing. The bill would authorize the secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with any county agricultural commissioner for purposes relating to the direct marketing of agricultural products, and would require compensation to be paid under those cooperative agreements from moneys derived from assessments and fees collected pursuant to the provisions relating to direct marketing. The bill would authorize a certified farmers' market operator to contract with a county agricultural commissioner for verification inspections, as specified. (3) Existing law specifies that certified farmers' markets are locations established in accordance with local ordinances, and requires the governing body of a certified farmers' market with more than one participating certified producer to adopt written rules and procedures pertaining to the operation of the certified farmers' market. This bill would instead provide that certified farmers' markets are California agricultural product point of sale locations that are registered and operated in accordance with specified provisions of law. The bill would require vendors of agricultural products selling within a certified farmers' market to comply with specified signage and labeling requirements, and would make those representations subject to criminal, civil, and administrative penalties, as specified. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal provisions authorizing an aggrieved certified producer to submit a request to the Department of Food and Agriculture for an advisory opinion, and for the department to issue the advisory opinion, and would repeal provisions requiring the department to provide for an informal hearing process for grievances relating to certified farmers' markets. (4) Existing law requires the secretary to establish the Certified Farmers' Market Advisory Committee, composed of 17 members serving 2-year terms, to advise the secretary on matters relating to direct marketing and certified farmers' markets. This bill would revise the primary goals of the committee and the matters on which the committee may make recommendations to the secretary. The bill would decrease the number of members on the committee from 17 members to 14 members, and would specify that members of the committee serve for 2-year terms or at the pleasure of the secretary. (5) Existing law specifies that a certified farmers' market certificate or a certified producer's certificate obtained from a county agricultural commissioner is valid for 12 months and requires a county agricultural commissioner to inspect certified farmers' markets and the properties of certified producers, as specified. Existing law authorizes a county agricultural commissioner to charge a certification and inspection fee of up to $60 per hour, except as specified. This bill would instead require a certified farmers' market operator or producer to annually register with the department by applying for and receiving a certificate from a county agricultural commissioner, and would revise the requirements for obtaining that certificate. (6) Existing law requires, until January 1, 2018, that an operator of a certified farmers' market remit to the department a fee, as established by the department each year, equal to the number of certified producer certificates and other agricultural producers participating on each market day for the entire previous quarter, to be deposited in the Food and Agriculture Fund and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be used by the department for specified purposes. This bill would instead require a fee of $2 for each vendor participating and selling goods under the authority and management of the certified farmers' market operator participating on each market day for the entire previous quarter to be remitted to the department. The bill would authorize operators of certified farmers' markets meeting specified requirement to petition the secretary for a vendor fee of $1. The bill would revise the purposes for which the fees may be used, including, among other things, for investigation and enforcement expenses, including expenses incurred by county agricultural commissioners for actions conducted pursuant to the provisions relating to direct marketing. (7) Because the bill would create new crimes, and by imposing new requirements on county agricultural commissioners, the 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.