This measure would designate April 3, 2016, to April 9, 2016, inclusive, as Women and Girls in STEM Week and would encourage all citizens and community organizations to support the observance of California Women and Girls in STEM Week by encouraging and celebrating women in the STEM fields.
This measure would declare the week of March 7, 2016, through March 13, 2016, as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law authorizes the trustees by rule to require all persons to pay fees, rents, deposits, and charges for services, facilities, or materials provided by the trustees to those persons. Existing law prohibits specified California State University campus-based mandatory fees from being reallocated without an affirmative vote of the majority of the members of either the student body or a specified campus fee advisory committee voting on the fee reallocation, unless the vote that established the fee authorizes an alternative or automatic reallocation mechanism for that fee. Existing law prohibits a campus of the California State University, or the Chancellor of the California State University, from imposing a student success fee, as defined, unless certain requirements are met. Among these requirements is an affirmative vote of a majority of the student body voting at a binding student election. This bill would increase the affirmative vote required for the imposition of a student success fee from a majority to 23 of the student body voting on that proposed fee. The bill would also make a technical conforming change in a related provision.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles, in conformance with certain provisions in existing law relating to personal services contracts with private parties, to establish contracts for electronic programs that allow qualified private industry partners to join the department to provide title and vehicle registration transactions. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into contractual agreements with 3 specified types of private industry partners for this purpose, and to charge a transaction fee for the information and services provided. This bill would expand the services for which the department would be authorized to establish contracts with private industry partners as described above, to include processing and payment programs for driver's license renewals, as specified.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive or preferential use of high-occupancy vehicles. When those exclusive or preferential use lanes are established and double parallel solid lines are in place to the right thereof, existing law prohibits any person driving a vehicle from crossing over those double lines to enter into or exit from the lanes, and entrance or exit from those lanes is authorized only in areas designated for these purposes or where a single broken line is in place to the right of the lanes, except as specified. This bill would prohibit, commencing July 1, 2017, a high-occupancy vehicle lane from being established on a state highway in southern California, unless that lane is established as a high-occupancy vehicle lane only during the hours of heavy commuter traffic, as determined by the department. The bill would require any existing high-occupancy vehicle lane in southern California to be modified to conform with those requirements. The bill would authorize the department, on or after May 1, 2018, to reinstate 24-hour high-occupancy vehicle lanes in southern California if the department makes a specified determination, and would require the department to report to the Legislature on the impact on traffic of limiting the use of high-occupancy lanes only during the hours of heavy commuter traffic, as provided in the bill.
This measure would proclaim the month of March 2016 as Grand Jury Awareness Month in California, recognize those who volunteer in a grand jury, and encourage all Californians to learn about its role in the judicial system.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires every state and local government agency to adopt and promulgate a Conflict of Interest Code and requires each Conflict of Interest Code to include, among other things, a requirement that each designated employee file statements, as specified, disclosing reportable investments, business positions, interests in real property and income. Existing law prohibits a faculty member or academic department or other adopting entity at an institution of higher education from demanding or receiving anything of value, as specified, for adopting specific course materials required for coursework or instruction, except as specified, including royalties or other compensation from sales of course materials that include the instructor's writing or other work. This bill would require that the Conflict of Interest Code of each public postsecondary educational institution require an employee of that institution to disclose any item of value, any royalties, or any other compensation the employee receives as a result of making or influencing a decision to adopt specific course materials required for coursework or instruction. By requiring the revision of Conflict of Interest Codes for community colleges, 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 these statutory provisions. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make public records available for inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies. Existing law requires an agency to justify withholding any record by demonstrating that the record is exempt under express provisions of the act or that the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure. The act requires a response to a written request for public records that includes a denial of the request, in whole or in part, to be in writing. This bill would require the written response demonstrating that the record in question is exempt under an express provision of the act also to identify the type or types of record withheld and the specific exemption that justifies withholding that type of record. Because local agencies would be required to comply with this new requirement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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.
Existing law, the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, provides for the issuance of $9 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail purposes and $950,000,000 for other related rail purposes. Article XVI of the California Constitution requires measures authorizing general obligation bonds to specify the single object or work to be funded by the bonds and further requires a bond act to be approved by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and a majority of the voters. This bill would provide that no further bonds shall be sold for high-speed rail purposes pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, except as specifically provided with respect to an existing appropriation for high-speed rail purposes for early improvement projects in the Phase 1 blended system. The bill, subject to the above exception, would require redirection of the unspent proceeds received from outstanding bonds issued and sold for other high-speed rail purposes prior to the effective date of these provisions, upon appropriation, for use in retiring the debt incurred from the issuance and sale of those outstanding bonds. The bill, subject to the above exception, would also require the net proceeds of other bonds subsequently issued and sold under the high-speed rail portion of the bond act to be made available, upon appropriation, to fund projects in the State Highway Operation and Protection Program. The bill would make no changes to the authorization under the bond act for issuance of $950,000,000 for rail purposes other than high-speed rail. These provisions would become effective only upon approval by the voters at the next statewide election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
