Rep. Matthew Harper

This measure would recognize May 2018 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness.

Existing law imposes an excise tax on motor vehicle fuel (gasoline) and requires these taxes to be deposited in the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account. Existing law requires the moneys attributable to the excise tax on gasoline related to specified off-highway motor vehicles and off-highway vehicle activities to be transferred monthly from the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account to the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund. With respect to the portion of those moneys attributable to an increase in the excise tax as a result of the elimination of the sales tax on gasoline effective July 1, 2010, existing law instead requires those moneys to be transferred to the General Fund. With respect to the portion of those moneys from a $0.12 per gallon increase in the excise tax commencing November 1, 2017, and future inflation adjustments from that increase, existing law instead requires those funds to be transferred to the State Parks and Recreation Fund, to be used for state parks, off-highway vehicle programs, or boating programs. Existing law also requires the Controller to withhold $833,000 from the monthly transfer to the Off Highway Vehicle Trust Fund, and transfer that amount to the General Fund. This bill would, on June 30, 2019, eliminate the requirement that the Controller withhold $833,000 from the monthly transfer to the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund and transfer that amount to the General Fund. The bill would thereby transfer this amount monthly to the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund.

Existing law requires that all expenses authorized and necessarily incurred to prepare for and conduct an election be paid from the county treasuries, except as otherwise provided. This bill would require the state to pay expenses authorized and necessarily incurred to prepare for and conduct certain vacancy elections, as specified.

The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year, but excludes certain items of income from the computation of tax, including an exclusion for combat-related special compensation. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2028, would exclude from gross income retirement pay received by a taxpayer from the federal government for service performed in the uniformed services, as defined. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This measure would declare the support of the Legislature for the expansion of sensory-friendly movie screenings and similar programs for people with autism, and would encourage families to attend a sensory-friendly movie screening during April 2018, which is National Autism Awareness Month.

This measure would, among other things, designate the year 2018 as "State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," would designate April 24, 2018, as "State of California Day of Commemoration of the 103rd 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 proclaim April 16, 2018, as California Holocaust Memorial Day and would urge all Californians to observe this day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.

This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to implement revised dam safety and inspection requirements, with specified components, for all federally operated and regulated dams and reservoirs for the purpose of ensuring public safety.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 establishes certain limits on the amount of contributions that a person or group can make to a candidate for elective state office, or to a committee. Existing law prohibits a person from making a contribution to a committee or candidate that is earmarked unless the contribution is disclosed in compliance with the requirements for contributions made by an intermediary. Dues, assessments, fees, and similar payments made to a membership organization or its sponsored committee in an amount less than $500 per calendar year from a single source for the purpose of making contributions or expenditures are not considered earmarked. This bill would reduce this exception for payments to a membership organization or its sponsored committee to $100. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, 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. 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 of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.