Existing law requires instruction in social sciences to include a study of the role and contributions of both men and women and specified categories of persons to the development of California and the United States. This bill would update references to certain categories of persons and additionally would require instruction in social sciences to include a study of the role and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other cultural groups, to the development of California and the United States. Existing law prohibits instruction or school sponsored activities that promote a discriminatory bias because of race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin, or ancestry. Existing law prohibits the State Board of Education and the governing board of any school district from adopting textbooks or other instructional materials that contain any matter that reflects adversely upon persons because of their race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin, or ancestry. This bill would revise the list of characteristics included in these provisions by referring to race or ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, nationality, and sexual orientation, or other characteristic listed as specified. Existing law prohibits a governing board of a school district from adopting instructional materials that contain any matter reflecting adversely upon persons because of their race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, handicap, or occupation, or that contain any sectarian or denominational doctrine or propaganda contrary to law. This bill would revise the list of characteristics included in this provision to include race or ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, nationality, sexual orientation, and occupation, or other characteristic listed as specified. Existing law requires that when adopting instructional materials for use in the schools, governing boards of school districts shall include materials that accurately portray the role and contributions of culturally and racially diverse groups including Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, and members of other ethnic and cultural groups to the total development of California and the United States. This bill would revise the list of culturally and racially diverse groups to also include Pacific Islanders, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, and persons with disabilities. Existing law provides that there shall be no discrimination on the basis of specified characteristics in any operation of alternative schools or charter schools. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that alternative and charter schools take notice of the provisions of this bill in light of provisions of existing law that prohibit discrimination in any aspect of their operation. This bill also would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
Sponsored bills
The California Constitution provides that the electors may propose statutes or amendments to the state constitution through the initiative process by presenting to the Secretary of State a petition that sets forth the text of the proposed statute or amendment to the Constitution and is certified to have been signed by a certain number of electors. This measure would require the Legislative Analyst to review an initiative measure not later than 15 days after its qualification for the ballot, and report the results of the review to the Secretary of State. This measure would prohibit an initiative measure that the Legislative Analyst determines would result in a net increase in state or local government costs exceeding $5,000,000, other than costs attributable to the issuance, sale, or repayment of bonds, from being submitted to the electors or having any effect unless the Legislative Analyst determines that the initiative measure provides for additional revenues in an amount that meets or exceeds the net increase in costs. This requirement would provide for an annual adjustment to the amount of that cost threshold, and would not apply to, or have any effect on, an initiative measure that reduces tax revenues or fees.
Under existing law, any person who is convicted of pimping or procuring a minor under the age of 16 for prostitution may be ordered by a court to pay an additional fine not to exceed $5,000 to be deposited in the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund to be available for appropriation to fund child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse victim counseling centers and prevention programs, as provided. This bill would enact the Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual Slavery Act of 2011, and would require that a person who is convicted of seeking to procure or procuring the sexual services of a prostitute, if the prostitute is under 18 years of age, be ordered to pay an additional fine not to exceed $25,000 to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature to fund programs and services for commercially sexually exploited minors in the counties where the underlying offenses are committed.
This measure would recognize May 2011 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.
Existing law prohibits a member of the governing board of a school district from being absent from the state for a period of more than 60 days, with specified exceptions, including that the absence may be extended by the governing board of the school district for an additional 30 days in the case of illness or other urgent necessity. This bill would apply these provisions to a member of the board of a community college district, and would additionally authorize the governing board of a school district or a community college district to authorize an absence of an unlimited duration in the case of illness or other urgent necessity.
This measure declares that Sundays are "Eat Local, Buy California Grown Day," and encourages families, restaurants, and grocers to buy California-grown floriculture, fiber, and foods.
This resolution would declare February 6, 2011, as Ronald Reagan Day.
This measure would memorialize the President of the United States and the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation to award a federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan to enable the timely construction of the State Route 91 Corridor Improvement Project in the interest of economic competitiveness of California and the United States.
This measure would designate the week of April 18 to 24, 2011, as "California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," and would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to observe the California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide by participating in the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Project.