Asm. Patrick O'Donnell

This measure would designate October 20, 2019, and each 20th day of October thereafter, as Leyte Landing Commemoration Day in recognition of the significance of the Leyte landing in liberating the Philippines from Japanese occupation and would also honor the significant contributions to California made by generations of Filipino Americans since that time.

(1) Existing law, the Teachers' Retirement Law, establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. STRS is administered by the Teachers' Retirement Board. Existing law also creates the Cash Balance Benefit Program, which is administered by the board, to provide a retirement plan for the benefit of participating employees who provide creditable service for less than 50% of full time. Existing law requires a person who is hired by a STRS employer to perform creditable service on a full-time basis to become a member of the Defined Benefit Program on the first day of employment, except as specified. Existing law prohibits aggregating creditable service in more than one position for the purpose of determining mandatory membership as a full-time employee in this context. This bill would prohibit aggregating creditable service in more than one position for the purpose of determining mandatory membership on a part-time basis for 50% or more of the time the employer requires for a full-time position, as specified. (2) Existing law prescribes the employment characteristics of people for whom membership in the Defined Benefit Program or the Cash Balance Benefit Program may be required, excluded, or elective. In this regard, existing law mandates membership in the Defined Benefit Program for a person employed by a school district or county office of education to perform creditable service for 50% or more of a full-time position on the first day of the pay period following employment to provide creditable service, as specified. Existing law establishes similar requirements for a person employed by a community college district for creditable service on a part-time basis whose employment is not subject to specified provisions relating to temporary positions. Existing law mandates membership in the Defined Benefit Program for a person employed to perform creditable service as a substitute employee by a school district or county office of education on the first day of the pay period following the pay period in which the person performed 100 or more complete days of creditable service, as specified. Existing law also mandates membership in the Defined Benefit Program for a person employed by a school district or county office of education to perform creditable service on a part-time basis as of the first day of the pay period following the pay period in which the person performed at least 60 hours of creditable service, if employed on an hourly basis, or 10 days of creditable service, if employed on a daily basis, as specified. This bill would recast these provisions to provide for membership start dates as of the first day of employment or the date of the employer's governing board's action to provide the program or the effective date of the employer's governing board's action to provide the program, whichever occurs later. The bill would also prescribe requirements for those serving on a part-time daily basis for a school district or county. The bill would make other clarifying, clean-up, and conforming changes. (3) Under existing law, a person employed by a school district or county office of education to perform part-time service of less than 50%, as specified, is excluded from the Defined Benefit Program, as is a person employed by a community college district pursuant to specified provisions relating to temporary employment. Existing law also excludes a person employed by a school district, community college district, or county superintendent's office as a substitute teacher who performs less than 100 complete days of creditable service, as specified. Existing law provides a similar exclusion for people who are employed to provide creditable service on a part-time hourly basis of less than 60 hours in a pay period, as specified. The Cash Balance Benefit Program generally provides for membership for people with these employment characteristics. This bill would recast and clarify these provisions, including to provide more specificity with regard to how the Cash Balance Benefit Program applies to employees. The bill would make similar, conforming changes in provisions of the Cash Balance Benefit Program. (4) Existing law authorizes certain employees participating in the Cash Balance Benefit Program to elect coverage under the federal Social Security Act or an alternative retirement plan. Existing law requires members of the Cash Balance Benefit Program to terminate coverage under that program when they become subject to mandatory membership in the Defined Benefit Program in various instances. This bill would specify that an employee's election for coverage under the federal Social Security Act or an alternative retirement plan does not preclude that employee from electing to participate in the Cash Balance Benefit Program for creditable service performed for that employer at a later date, if the program is still offered and the employee is still eligible.

(1) Existing law requires each law enforcement agency to annually furnish specified information to the Department of Justice regarding the use of force by a peace officer. Existing law requires the Department of Justice, once per year, to update a summary of information contained in the reports received on its internet website. Existing law requires a department or agency that employs peace officers or custodial officers to establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against those officers. This bill would, by no later than January 1, 2021, require each law enforcement agency to maintain a policy that provides guidelines on the use of force, utilizing deescalation techniques and other alternatives to force when feasible, specific guidelines for the application of deadly force, and factors for evaluating and reviewing all use of force incidents, among other things. The bill would require each agency to make their use of force policy accessible to the public. By imposing additional duties on local agencies, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training in the Department of Justice and requires the commission to adopt rules establishing minimum standards regarding the recruitment of peace officers. Existing law requires the commission to develop guidelines and implement courses of instruction regarding racial profiling, domestic violence, hate crimes, vehicle pursuits, and human trafficking, among others. This bill would require the commission to implement a course or courses of instruction for the regular and periodic training of law enforcement officers in the use of force. The bill would require the commission to develop uniform, minimum guidelines for adoption and promulgation by California law enforcement agencies for the use of force, as specified. The bill would require law enforcement agencies to adopt and promulgate a use of force policy and would state the intent of the Legislature that each law enforcement agency adopt, promulgate, and require regular and periodic training consistent with the agency's policy that complies with the guidelines developed under this bill. This bill would make findings and declarations regarding the intent of the bill, as it pertains to law enforcement agencies' use of force polices, including that those policies may be introduced in legal proceedings and may be considered as a factor in determining the reasonableness of an officer's actions, but do not impose a legal duty on an officer to act in accordance with the policy. (3) 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 the statutory provisions noted above. (4) This bill would also make its provisions operative contingent on the enactment of Assembly Bill 392 of the 2019–20 Regular Session.

This measure would, among other things, designate the year 2019 as "State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," would designate April 24, 2019, as "State of California Day of Commemoration of the 104th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," and would call upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide.

This measure would request the President and the Congress of the United States to enact legislation that would strengthen the communication between federal, state, local, and tribal officials, and that would require the United States Department of Justice, United States Department of the Interior, and United States Department of Health and Human Services to seek recommendations from tribes in enhancing the safety of Native American women and girls. The measure would also request that the Attorney General of the State of California begin the collection of data as it relates to missing and murdered Native American women and girls.

This measure would recognize August 15, 2019, as India's Independence Day, and urge all Californians to join in celebrating India's independence.

This measure would call for continued support and recognition of the many benefits provided by Special Olympics.

This measure would urge the Congress and the President of the United States to work together to enact the robust bipartisan federal infrastructure legislation necessary to restore California's and other states' crumbling road and freight infrastructure, respond to growing traffic congestion, and increase investment in public transportation, most particularly, by expanding paratransit services for the elderly and those with special needs. The measure would additionally urge the Congress and the President of the United States to address the shortfall in the federal Highway Trust Fund by restoring the lost purchasing power of the federal fuel tax, in order to provide the long-term funding stability necessary for California and other states.