Existing property tax law establishes a veterans' organization exemption under which property is exempt from taxation if, among other things, that property is used exclusively for charitable purposes and is owned by a veterans' organization. This bill would provide that the veterans' organization exemption shall not be denied to a property on the basis that the property is used for fraternal, lodge, or social club purposes, and would make specific findings and declarations in that regard. The bill would also provide that the exemption shall not apply to any portion of a property that consists of a bar where alcoholic beverages are served. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Sponsored bills
This measure would recognize August 6, 2017, as the 52nd anniversary of the signing of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This measure would proclaim the period of October 23, 2017, to October 31, 2017, inclusive, as Red Ribbon Week and would encourage all Californians to help build drug-free communities and to participate in drug prevention activities.
(1) The Horse Racing Law provides that any unallocated balance from the total revenue received by the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to that law, except as specified, is hereby appropriated without regard to fiscal years for allocation by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture for capital outlay to California fairs for, among other things, fair projects involving public health and safety and projects that are required to protect fair property. That law also provides that a portion of these funds may be allocated to California fairs for general support. This bill would revise these provisions to include revenue deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund pursuant to a specified provision and funding appropriated by the Legislature or otherwise designated for California fairs pursuant to the Horse Racing Law or any other law that is to be appropriated without regard to fiscal years for allocation by the secretary for those capital outlay purposes. (2) Existing law provides that all funds appropriated for California fairs and expositions pursuant to specified provisions of law shall not be utilized for the purposes specified in those provisions but shall instead be utilized for the construction or operation of recreational and cultural facilities of general public interest and may be allocated by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to all state-designated fairs for those purposes. This bill would delete these provisions and instead require that all funds appropriated or designated for California fairs and expositions pursuant to specified law or any other law be deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund and be continuously appropriated as provided in specified provisions of the Horse Racing Law. (3) By increasing the amounts to be deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund, which is continuously appropriated, and by appropriating these amounts for new purposes, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of his or her employment. Under existing law, an employer must provide reasonably required treatments, including, but not limited to, medical and surgical treatment, to cure or relieve an employee's injuries sustained in the course of his or her employment. This bill would require employers to provide immediate support from a nurse case manager to employees injured in the course of employment by an act of domestic terrorism, as defined, would require employer-appointed nurse case managers to assist claimants to obtain medically necessary medical treatments, as specified, and would require an employer to provide a prescribed notice to claimants, as specified. The bill would make its provisions applicable only if the Governor declares a state of emergency, as defined, in connection with the act of domestic terrorism. This bill would make related legislative findings and declarations.
Existing law authorizes individuals to contribute amounts in excess of their personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds, including the Emergency Food Assistance Program Fund. Existing law also has general administrative provisions applicable to voluntary contributions. Existing law provides for any new or extended voluntary contribution fund, to include the words "voluntary tax contribution" in the name of the fund, require the administering agency to include specified information about the fund on its Internet Web site, continuously appropriate from the fund the contributions made to the administering agency, and set a minimum contribution amount for the continuation of any voluntary tax contribution on the tax return form and include a generally applicable repeal date for a voluntary tax contribution. Existing law requires that the Emergency Food Assistance Program Fund equal or exceed a minimum contribution amount, which initially was $250,000 and which was required to be and has been adjusted for inflation. This bill would change the name of the Emergency Food Assistance Program Fund to the Emergency Food for Families Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, would provide that the required calendar year minimum contribution amount for the fund to continue appearing on the return is an unadjusted $250,000, and would extend the provisions that apply to that voluntary contribution fund to January 1, 2026. The bill would make a continuous appropriation from the Emergency Food for Families Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for reimbursement of all costs incurred in the administration of these provisions and to the State Department of Social Services for allocation to the Emergency Food Assistance Program. The bill would also make additional changes to conform to the provisions described above.
Existing law, with certain exceptions, requires every public and private school, as provided, to have restroom facilities that are open as prescribed during school hours, and at all times to keep every restroom maintained and cleaned regularly, fully operational, and stocked with soap and paper supplies. This bill would require a public school maintaining any combination of classes from grade 6 to grade 12, inclusive, that meets a 40% pupil poverty threshold specified in federal law to stock 50% of the school's restrooms with feminine hygiene products, as defined. The bill would prohibit a public school from charging for any menstrual products, including feminine hygiene products, provided to pupils. By imposing additional duties on public schools, 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, 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.
Existing law requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal for each needy pupil during each schoolday, except as specified. Existing law authorizes a school district or county office of education to use funds made available through any applicable federal or state program or to use its own funds to provide the required meals. This bill would enact the Child Hunger Prevention and Fair Treatment Act of 2017. The act would require certain local educational agencies, as defined, that provide school meals through the federal National School Lunch Program or the federal School Breakfast Program to ensure that a pupil whose parent or guardian has unpaid school meal fees is not shamed, treated differently, or served a meal that differs from what a pupil whose parent or guardian does not have unpaid school meal fees would receive under that local educational agency's policy. The act would prohibit school personnel and volunteers at a local educational agency that serves nutritionally adequate meals to pupils during the instructional day from allowing any disciplinary action that is taken against a pupil to result in the denial or delay of a nutritionally adequate meal to that pupil. The act would require a local educational agency to notify a parent or guardian of the negative balance of a pupil's school meal account no later than 10 days after the pupil's school meal account has reached a negative balance. The act would require a local educational agency, before sending this notification to the parent or guardian, to exhaust all options and methods to directly certify the pupil for free or reduced-price meals. The act would require a local educational agency to reimburse school meal fees paid by a pupil's parent or guardian when fees were paid or unpaid fees debt accrued when a pupil would have been determined to be eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. To the extent that these provisions would place additional requirements on local educational agencies, 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, 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.
Existing law regulates the sale or offer to sell by a dealer to a consumer of a collectible in or from this state, as specified. Existing law defines the term "collectible" to mean any autographed item, as specified, sold or offered for sale in or from this state by a dealer, to a consumer for $5 or more. Existing law defines the term "autographed" to mean bearing the actual signature of a personality signed by that individual's own hand. Existing law defines a "dealer," among other things, as a person who is principally in the business of selling or offering for sale collectibles in or from this state or a person who by his or her occupation holds himself or herself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to collectibles. Existing law includes a person engaged in a cable television business for the sale of collectibles in the definition of dealer. Existing law excludes, among other persons, the personality who signs the memorabilia from the definition of dealer. Existing law also excludes from the definition of dealer a provider or operator of an online marketplace, provided that the marketplace provider or operator is not principally in the business of selling, or offering for sale, collectibles, in or from the state, exclusively or nonexclusively, or does not hold itself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to collectibles. This bill would instead define "autographed collectible" to mean an autographed sports or entertainment media item, as specified, sold or offered for sale by a dealer to a consumer for $50 or more, bearing the signature of a particular person that increases the sale value of the item over that of a comparable item without the actual signature. The bill would exclude, among other items, works of fine art, signed books, furniture, and decorative objects, from the definition of an autographed collectible. The bill would amend the definition of a dealer to be, among other things, a person who is in the business of selling autographed collectibles and who sells 3 or more autographed collectibles in a period of 12 months. The bill would include a person engaged in any television business for the sale of autographed collectibles and an auctioneer or auction company in the definition of dealer. The bill would delete the exclusion of a provider or operator of an online marketplace from the definition of dealer. Existing law requires a dealer to provide a certificate of authenticity, as specified, for each collectible to, among other things, indicate to a buyer whether a collectible item was purchased from a 3rd party and if so, the name and address of the 3rd party. This bill instead would require a dealer to provide an express warranty, as specified. The bill also would require a dealer, for items obtained on and after January 1, 2018, separate from the express warranty, to maintain a record stating whether the autographed collectible was purchased by the dealer from a 3rd party and the name and address of the 3rd party. The bill would permit discovery of this information in a civil dispute, as specified. The bill would require the dealer to keep the 3rd-party information on file for 7 years. Existing law requires a dealer displaying or offering for sale a collectible in this state to have at the location and in close proximity to the collectible merchandise a conspicuous sign that informs consumers of the written certificate of authenticity requirement, as specified. Existing law exempts auctioneers selling collectibles from this requirement. Existing law also requires a dealer engaged in a mail-order, telephone-order, or online business for the sale of collectibles in or from this state to, among other things, include in each television or online advertisement a similar disclosure in an onscreen message, as specified. This bill would require an auctioneer, auction company, and a vendor at a trade show to display specified signage regarding the express warranty requirements for autographed collectibles. Existing law grants certain individuals the right to cancel or to rescind certain contracts within a specified number of business days. Existing law requires a retail seller that sells goods to the public in this state that has a policy as to any of those goods of not giving full refunds, or of not allowing equal exchanges, or any combination thereof, for at least 7 days following purchase of the goods, as specified, to conspicuously display that policy, as specified. The bill would grant a consumer the right to cancel the contract for the purchase of an autographed collectible represented by a dealer as authentic until at least midnight of the 3rd day after the day on which the consumer purchased the autographed collectible, except when the autographed collectible is purchased at a public auction or trade show, or as part of a trade or barter, as specified. The bill would specify procedures and conditions of the cancellation. The bill would require the 3-day right of return, except as specified, to be included in the sign and the onscreen message a dealer is required to display. Existing law prohibits a dealer from displaying or offering for sale a collectible in this state at any trade show or similar event primarily featuring sales of collectibles or other memorabilia that offers onsite admission ticket sales, except as provided. Existing law requires a promoter who arranges or organizes a trade show featuring collectibles and autograph signings to provide a specified notification to any dealer who agrees to purchase or rent space in the trade show. This bill would repeal those provisions. Existing law provides that a consumer who is injured by a failure of the dealer to provide a certificate of authenticity is entitled to recover from that dealer, among other things, 10 times his or her actual damages. Existing law also authorizes the court to award additional damages based on the egregiousness of the dealer's conduct. This bill instead would provide for specified civil penalties in a civil action against the dealer for failure to comply with the provisions regarding express warranties. The bill would provide for separate specified civil penalties for providing a false warranty, providing a false warranty as the result of gross negligence, and knowingly providing a false warranty, as well as attorney's fees and other costs to be paid to the consumer. The bill would authorize the court to award punitive damages based on the egregiousness of the dealer's conduct. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires certain elected officers to forfeit their office upon the conviction of a crime pursuant to the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2005 that involves a false claim of receipt of any military decoration or medal, as specified, or the California Stolen Valor Act that involves a false claim, made with the intent to defraud, that the person is a veteran or a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. Existing law, the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2013, prohibits a person, with the intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible property, from fraudulently holding oneself out to be a recipient of a military decoration or medal, as specified. This bill would instead require these elected officers to forfeit their office upon the conviction of a crime pursuant to the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2013 or the California Stolen Valor Act that involves a fraudulent claim, made with the intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, as defined, that the person is a veteran or a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, as prescribed in those acts. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to falsely represent himself or herself as a veteran or member of the Armed Forces of the United States in connection with specified acts. Existing law provides that any person who, orally, in writing, or by wearing any military decoration, falsely represents himself or herself to have been awarded any military decoration, with the intent to defraud, is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would conform those provisions to the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2013, and impose a misdemeanor only if the prescribed actions described above are made fraudulently with the intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, as defined. The bill would expand the above-described crime related to misrepresentation to include a person who fraudulently represents himself or herself as a veteran or member of other specified armed forces with the intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit. The bill would additionally make it a misdemeanor for a person to misrepresent himself or herself as a member or veteran of specified armed forces in connection with certain acts, such as, among other things, the forgery or use of falsified military documentation, or for purposes of employment or promoting a business, charity, or other endeavor, as prescribed. By creating new crimes, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.