Asm. Rocky J. Chávez

Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. This bill would require the trustees, and would request the regents, to determine the amounts of undergraduate tuition and mandatory systemwide fees for each incoming first-year class. The bill would require that the tuition and mandatory systemwide fees set for an incoming first-year class under the bill not be increased for that class for at least 6 academic years, except as adjusted for inflation, as specified.

Existing law authorizes the establishment of a charter school through the circulation of a petition and submission of the petition to the governing board of the school district for review and approval, as specified. Under existing law, if the governing board of a school district denies the petition, the petitioner may submit the petition to the county board of education, and, if the county board of education denies the petition, the petitioner may file the petition or appeal to the State Board of Education for approval. Existing law authorizes the state board, by mutual agreement, to designate its supervisorial and oversight responsibilities for a charter school it has approved to any local educational agency in the county in which the charter school is located or to the governing board of the school district that first denied the petition. This bill would instead authorize the state board, by mutual agreement, to designate its supervisorial and oversight responsibilities for a charter school it has approved to any local educational agency.

Existing law, known as the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, establishes, among other programs, the Cal Grant A Entitlement Program, the Cal Grant B Entitlement Program, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Program, and the Competitive Cal Grant A and B award program, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs. This bill would, commencing with the 2014–15 academic year, entitle an otherwise eligible student who is a member or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States, as defined, who meets prescribed requirements, including, but not limited to, enrollment in a qualifying undergraduate certificate or degree program, to a Cal Grant A Entitlement Award or a Cal Grant B Entitlement Award. The bill also would require the commission to make preliminary awards to all applicants currently eligible for an award under the program, and would require each person who receives a preliminary award to affirm, in writing, that he or she meets specified requirements for eligibility in the program. The bill would require the commission to randomly select at least 10% of the new and renewal awards made under the program and verify that the student meets specified requirements for eligibility. The bill would require the commission to seek repayment of any funds found to be improperly disbursed under the program, and would require the commission to submit an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding, among other things, the number of awards made under this program.

Existing law establishes a variety of offenses relating to cruelty to animals. Existing law generally provides that a person that violates certain animal at-large provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is required to be punished by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000, by imprisonment of not less than 10 days nor more than 1 year, or by both the fine and imprisonment, as prescribed. This bill would require any person, with certain exceptions, who willfully or knowingly documents evidence of animal cruelty to provide a copy of the documentary evidence obtained to local law enforcement within 120 hours of documentation, and would make a violation of this requirement an infraction punishable by a fine of $250. The bill would provide that a person shall not be civilly or criminally liable for providing documentary evidence of suspected animal cruelty as required by the bill, or for providing a law enforcement agency with information about the person or employer suspected of animal cruelty. The bill would define animal cruelty for its purposes as any act involving an animal, as defined, or poultry, as defined, described in prescribed criminal offenses. The bill would enact other related provisions. Because a violation of the requirement to provide a copy of documentary evidence of animal cruelty to local law enforcement, as prescribed, would be an infraction, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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 states that the Legislature recognizes that all pupils need to be provided with opportunities to explore and make career choices and to seek appropriate instruction and training to support those choices. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to annually encourage school districts to plan programs and activities that utilize the resources of fairs and youth leadership activities as an integral part of the vocational instructional program and career decisionmaking. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to the latter provision.

Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services, to dispose of state surplus property, subject to specified conditions, including authorization by the Legislature. This bill would authorize the Director of Parks and Recreation, with the approval of the Director of General Services, to enter into an agreement with the City of Carlsbad for the exchange of specified parcels of real property subject to certain conditions.

Existing law, relative to private energy producers, requires every electric utility, as defined, to make available to an eligible customer-generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. This bill would make various nonsubstantive changes to this requirement.

The Charter Schools Act of 1992 specifies the procedures for the submission, review, and approval or denial of a petition to establish a countywide charter school, under which the charter school may operate at one or more sites within the geographic boundaries of the county. Existing law specifies the procedures for submission, review, and approval or denial of a petition for the operation of a state charter school, and authorizes the state board to approve a charter for the operation of the charter school at multiple sites throughout the state. This bill would specify that a petition for the establishment of a countywide charter school or a statewide benefit charter school may seek to establish multiple charter schools, which would be considered individual schools for purposes that include, but are not limited to, compliance, monitoring, data reporting and collection, pupil performance data, oversight, and apportionment.