Asm. William P. Brough

Existing law defines the National Guard to include general officers, the several staff corps and departments prescribed in the tables of organization of the United States Army or United States Air Force or tables of organization for the National Guard, the officers and enlisted men and women on the retired and the reserve lists, and the organizations forming the National Guard and persons enlisted or commissioned therein. Existing law authorizes the award of bonuses to specified members of the National Guard. This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would provide financial relief to members of the National Guard ordered to repay enlistment bonuses that were accepted in good faith

The California Coastal Act of 1976 establishes the California Coastal Commission and prescribes the membership, functions, and duties of the commission with regard to the administration and implementation of the act. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in those provisions prescribing the membership of the commission.

The California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) requires a public retirement system, as defined, to modify its plan or plans to comply with the act and, among other provisions, establishes new retirement formulas that may not be exceeded by a public employer offering a defined benefit pension plan for employees first hired on or after January 1, 2013. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to the provision of PEPRA that makes it applicable to those employees.

Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. Existing law defines "sale" and "purchase" for these purposes and provides certain exclusions from those definitions. This bill, before January 1, 2023, would provide that "sale" and "purchase" do not include alterations to new or used garments if the alteration occurs after the retail sale of the new garment, the person performing the alteration was not the retailer of the new garment, and the person performing the alteration does not have an agreement with a clothing retailer to perform alterations for the clothing retailer or the clothing retailer's customers, thus excluding the purchase or sale of those alterations from imposition of sales and use tax. As a result, the retail sale subject to tax would be the sale of tangible personal property used or furnished in the alteration to the person who performs the alteration. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes cities and counties to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse cities and counties for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding these provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse cities and counties for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy, but its operative date would depend on its effective date.

Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including, among others, the right to attend school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities, consistent with the child's age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational stability. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before March 1, 2018, to convene a workgroup and would require the workgroup to develop an implementation plan for the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Program. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2019, upon appropriation by the Legislature and in consideration of the implementation plan, to establish that program in order to provide grants of $500 or less to qualified foster youth to enable the foster youth to participate in activities that enhance the foster youth's skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. The bill would specify eligibility criteria for receipt of a grant and the authorized uses of a grant. The bill would require a recipient, within 6 months after receipt of a grant, to submit copies of receipts showing the purchase of the program, product, or service, and payment of any directly related costs purchased with the grant. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature that addresses, among other things, data on the number of applications received and the number of grants awarded. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023.

Existing law generally sets out the requirements for the submission of written reports by public agencies to the Legislature, the Governor, the Controller, and state legislative and other executive entities. This bill would require a written report, as defined, submitted by any state agency or department to the Legislature, a Member of the Legislature, or any state legislative or executive body to include a signed statement by the head of the agency or department declaring that the factual contents of the written report are true, accurate, and complete to the best of his or her knowledge. This bill would also make any person who declares as true any material matter pursuant to these provisions that he or she knows to be false liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $20,000.

Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, measured by sales price. Those laws partially exempt from those taxes, for a specified period, the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, specified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person, as defined, to be used primarily in manufacturing or other processes, and in research and development. On and after July 1, 2014, tangible personal property with a useful life of one or more years, as defined by reference to state income or franchise taxes, is deemed to have a useful life of one or more years for purposes of the exemption. This bill would define "useful life" for periods on and after July 1, 2014, to also include tangible personal property that is expensed for state income or franchise tax purposes and that has a physical useful life of one or more years. The bill, with respect to property with a useful life of one or more years as redefined by this bill, would require the State Board of Equalization to cancel any notice of determination and any related penalties and interest and would prohibit the board from issuing any notice of determination with respect to the purchase or sale of that property. The bill would authorize a qualified person to offset the amount of sales tax reimbursement or use tax paid against any sales and use tax imposed on the qualified person when a qualified person has paid sales tax reimbursement or use tax on purchases of qualified tangible personal property that has a useful life of one or more years, as redefined by the bill, as provided. The bill, beginning on and after January 1, 2018, and before July 1, 2026, would additionally exempt from those taxes special purpose buildings and foundations used for the generation or production or storage and distribution, as defined, of electric power and qualified tangible personal property purchased for used by a qualified person to be used primarily in the generation or production or storage and distribution of electric power or purchased for use by a contractor for the qualified person, as specified. The bill, on and after January 1, 2018, would expand the definition of qualified person to include, among others, a person primarily engaged in the business of electric power generation. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would improve the state's sales and use tax incentives to promote a stronger California economy by securing a greater share of the high-paying, high-skilled jobs in manufacturing and research and development.

Existing law establishes the Homeless Youth and Exploitation Program, under which homeless youth emergency service projects are established in the Counties of Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Diego, and the City and County of San Francisco through a grant program to eligible private, nonprofit agencies with a demonstrated record of success in the delivery of services to homeless youth. Under existing law, this program is administered by the Office of Emergency Services. Existing law requires each project to provide specified services, including food and access to overnight shelter, counseling to address immediate emotional crises and problems, and long-term stabilization planning. This bill would establish the Transitional Housing for Homeless Youth Grant Program to be administered by the Office of Emergency Services to award grants to qualified nonprofit entities to provide transitional living services, such as long-term residential services, access to resources, and counseling services, to homeless youth ages 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, for a period of up to 36 months. The bill would require the office, in consultation with specified stakeholders, to establish minimum standards and procedures for awarding the grant moneys. The bill would require each grant recipient to submit a report to the office on or before January 31, 2020, and on or before January 31 each year thereafter, that contains specified information regarding services provided during the previous calendar year, including the number of youth served that year and the average length of stay for each youth who left the program. The bill would require the office to submit a report to the Legislature on or before March 31, 2020, and on or before March 31 each year thereafter, that contains, in aggregate form, the information the grant recipients submitted to the office. The bill would appropriate $15,000,000 from the General Fund to the Office of Emergency Services for the purpose of awarding grants under the program.