Asm. Tasha Boerner

Existing law establishes the Employment Training Panel within the Employment Development Department. Under existing law, the panel is charged with performing various duties, including establishing a 3-year plan based on the demand of employers for trained workers, changes in the state's economy and labor markets, and continuous reviews of the effectiveness of panel training contracts. Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program with the purpose of, among other things, using labor market information to advise the chancellor's office and regional community college bodies on the workforce needs of the state's competitive and emerging industry sectors, and collaborating and coordinating investment with other state, regional, or local agencies involved in education and workforce training in California. Existing law authorizes the governing board of any community college district to contract education programs by agreement with any public or private agency, corporation, association, or any other person or body, to provide specific educational programs or training to meet the specific needs of those bodies. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the Employment Training Panel to establish a pilot project to enhance the regionally focused statewide business training center network of community college contract education centers to partner with other assistance providers serving small businesses. The bill would authorize the pilot project to be guided through a partnership with the Employment Training Panel, including the California Community Colleges, the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and the California Workforce Development Board. This bill would state that the purpose of the pilot project is to support the enhancement of a regionally focused statewide network of at least 10 regional business training centers, and their subcontracted community college partners, to support the upskilling of the regional workforce to meet the demand for jobs in essential industry sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the emerging and dominant industry sectors in the post COVID-19 economy, and to strengthen the capacity of a region's small business service providers to meet the demands being placed upon it by the COVID-19 pandemic, as specified. The bill would require community colleges participating in the pilot project to offer short-term training programs that assist displaced and incumbent workers in obtaining the skills necessary to work within essential, emerging, and dominant industry sectors, as specified. The bill would authorize the Employment Training Panel, and its partners, to establish an advisory board of businesses, workforces, and economic development stakeholders to provide advice and to review the pilot project. The bill would require the Employment Training Panel to submit 2 annual reports on the activities of the pilot project and a final report that includes an overall summary of the activities of the pilot project and an assessment of the effectiveness of the pilot project, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions January 1, 2025.

(1) Existing law establishes the California Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program for the purpose of basic and applied research on the artificial propagation, rearing, stocking, and distribution of adversely affected marine fish species that are important to sport or commercial fishing in ocean waters south of Point Arguello. Existing law provides funding for the program from the revenues derived from fees for sport fishing or commercial fishing ocean enhancement validations, which are required of persons taking fish, as specified, in those ocean waters. Under existing law, the program is administered by the Director of Fish and Wildlife with the advice and assistance of the Ocean Resources Enhancement Advisory Panel. Existing law specifies the membership of the advisory panel and establishes a specified appointing authority for each member of the advisory panel. Existing law prohibits financing of any part of the program unless it has been approved by the director and by a majority of the members of the advisory panel. This bill would expand the purpose of the program to encompass any marine fish species important to sport and commercial fishing. The bill would revise provisions relating to the advisory panel by, among other things, specifying which members are voting members, by adding a voting member representing the public or nongovernmental organization interests, or both, by providing for an alternate member to be designated for each voting member, and by establishing 3-year terms for each member and alternate member. The bill would require all members and alternate members to be appointed by the director after soliciting nominations for members and evaluating certain criteria. The bill would eliminate the advisory panel's nonadvisory functions, including the power to approve financing of any part of the program. The bill would require the director to establish an independent scientific advisory committee consisting of members appointed by the director with expertise in specified scientific areas, as provided. The bill would require the committee to provide advice to the director and the advisory panel and provide recommendations on specified matters relating to the program. From funds made available to the program, the bill would provide for the compensation of each member of the committee in an amount of $100 for each day of service with a limit of $500 per calendar year and would provide for each member's actual and necessary expenses. The bill would require the director to convene an annual public meeting where the committee would be required to present information regarding its evaluation of aspects of program science it completed during the preceding year and an outlook for future program activities. The bill would require the director, in the operation of the program, to consider the findings and results of a specified evaluation of the program. On or before July 1, 2027, the bill would require the director to submit a report to the relevant budget and policy committees of the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst's Office regarding the status of the program and the program's progress towards achieving its goals and objectives. The bill would require the report to include other specified information, including the findings of the committee. The bill would require the director to provide for the solicitation of input from every person who purchases a sport fishing or commercial fishing ocean enhancement validation on the direction of the program. (2) Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to contract with private nonprofit organizations that meet certain criteria to conduct research projects for purposes of the California Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into one or more agreements to accept services from any person, nonprofit organization, or other public or private entity for purposes relating to conservation programs, projects, and activities by the department. This bill would expand the department's contracting authority under the program by authorizing the department to contract with any public or private entity to conduct research projects. The bill would also specifically authorize the department to accept volunteer assistance for program operations, provided that volunteers do not displace existing state employees. The bill would require all research and research results conducted through the program to be publicly available. (3) This bill would repeal the California Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program on January 1, 2028.

Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, declares, among other things, that it is the policy of the State of California that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law provides that a party to a written complaint of prohibited discrimination at certain public postsecondary educational institutions may appeal the action to specified bodies. Existing law also requires that persons who have filed a complaint of prohibited discrimination be advised by the educational institution that civil law remedies may also be available to the complainant. This bill would require, no later than January 1, 2022, except as specified, a postsecondary institution that receives state financial assistance to comply with requirements relating to the protection of students from, and providing students with procedural protections relating to complaints of, sexual harassment. In particular, the bill would require the governing board or body of each of these institutions to (1) disseminate a notice of nondiscrimination to each employee, volunteer, and individual or entity contracted with the institution, (2) designate at least one employee of the institution to coordinate its efforts to comply with its responsibilities specified in this act, (3) adopt rules and procedures for the prevention of sexual harassment, (4) adopt and publish on its internet website grievance procedures providing for the prompt and equitable resolution of sexual harassment complaints, (5) publish on the institution's internet website the name, title, and contact information for the Title IX coordinator or other employee designated to coordinate the institution's efforts to comply with and carry out the responsibilities specified in this act and any individual official with the authority to investigate complaints or to institute corrective measures, as specified, (6) include specified training to each employee engaged in the grievance procedure, (7) include annual training for residential life student and nonstudent staff for the trauma-informed handling of reports regarding incidents of sexual harassment or violence at an institution with on-campus housing, (8) notify employees of the obligation to report sexual harassment to appropriate school officials, and (9) provide training to all employees on the identification of sexual harassment. The bill would authorize enforcement of these provisions through a civil action brought pursuant to existing law, as specified. By imposing new duties on community college districts, 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, 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 makes it a crime to commit various acts of sexual assault, including sexual battery and rape. Existing law makes it a crime to possess or use various controlled substances or for a person who is under 21 years of age to purchase or consume alcohol, as specified. Existing law provides, with respect to specified proceedings or investigations regarding felony offenses, that if a person refuses to answer a question or produce evidence on the ground that the person may be incriminated and if the person is ordered to comply but would have been privileged to withhold the answer given or the evidence produced except for the order, the person shall not be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for, or on account of, any fact or act concerning which the person was required to answer or produce evidence, except as specified. Under existing law, a district attorney or other prosecuting agency may request an order granting use immunity or transactional immunity to a witness compelled to give testimony or produce evidence. This bill would make the testimony of a victim or witness in a felony prosecution for a violation or attempted violation of specified crimes of sexual assault that states that the victim or witness, at or around the time of the violation or attempted violation, unlawfully possessed or used a controlled substance or alcohol inadmissible in a separate prosecution of that victim or witness to prove illegal possession or use of that controlled substance or alcohol. The bill would specify that evidence that the testifying witness unlawfully possessed or used a controlled substance or alcohol is not excluded from use in the felony prosecution for a violation or attempted violation of specified crimes of sexual assault. The bill would specify that evidence that a witness received use immunity for testimony is not excluded in the felony prosecution of a violation or attempted violation of specified crimes of sexual assault. The California Constitution provides for the Right to Truth-In-Evidence, which requires a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding, as specified. Because this bill would exclude from a criminal action a person's statement regarding their use of controlled substances or alcohol that would otherwise be admissible, it requires a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature.

Existing law prohibits the purchase or receipt of a firearm by, or the sale or transfer of a firearm to, any person who does not have a firearm safety certificate, as specified. Existing law also prohibits the sale or transfer of a firearm by a licensed firearm dealer to a person under 21 years of age. Existing law exempts from these provisions the sale, transfer, purchase, or receipt of a firearm, other than a handgun, to or by a person without a firearm safety certificate, but in possession of a valid, unexpired hunting license, as specified. Existing law also exempts the sale or transfer of a firearm, other than a handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle, to a person 18 years of age or older who possesses a valid, unexpired hunting license, as specified. This bill would, for purposes of these provisions, define a valid and unexpired hunting license. Existing law, subject to exceptions, imposes a 10-day waiting period for delivery of a firearm, during which time a background check is conducted by the Department of Justice to determine if the proposed recipient of the firearm is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. This bill would require the department, commencing July 1, 2021, for sales of firearms to persons under 21 years of age who are eligible to purchase a firearm based upon their possession of a hunting license, to confirm the validity of the hunting license as part of the background check. Existing law permits the Department of Justice to charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for specified costs related to the sale or transfer of firearms, such as the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of required reports and costs associated with the submission of a Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) , as specified. Existing law requires that firearm purchaser information be provided to the department exclusively by electronic means. Existing law directs the department to electronically approve the purchase or transfer of ammunition through a vendor at the time of purchase or transfer and prior to the purchaser taking possession of the ammunition, and permits the department to collect certain fees for these purposes. Existing law, commencing on July 1, 2022, directs the department to electronically approve the purchase or transfer of firearm precursor parts through a vendor at the time of purchase or transfer and before the purchaser taking possession of the firearm precursor part, and permits the department to collect certain fees for these purposes. This bill would delete obsolete provisions relating to the department's authority to impose fees for nonelectronic transfers of firearm purchaser information to the department. This bill would make other nonsubstantive conforming changes.

Existing law establishes the Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program, under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to provide supplemental funding to county offices of education, or a consortium of county offices of education, to coordinate and ensure that local educational agencies within its jurisdiction are providing services to foster youth pupils pursuant to a foster youth services coordinating plan with the purpose of ensuring positive educational outcomes. As part of the program, existing law authorizes a county office of education, or a consortium of county offices of education, to apply to the Superintendent for grant funding to operate an education-based foster youth services coordinating program. As a condition of receiving funds, existing law requires a program to develop and implement a foster youth services plan that includes, among other things, a description of how the local program will facilitate coordination with local postsecondary educational institutions to ensure foster youth pupils meet admission requirements and access programs that support their matriculation needs. This bill would require the plan to also describe how the program will coordinate efforts to ensure, to the extent possible, the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream Act Application for foster youth pupils who are in grade 12. Existing law requires the Superintendent, by July 1 of each even-numbered year, to report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and the Governor on the Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program. Existing law requires the report to include aggregate educational outcome data for each county in which there were at least 15 pupils in foster care who attended school in the county with information on, among other things, the number of participating foster youth pupils who successfully transition to postsecondary education. This bill would require the report to also include the number and percentage of pupils in foster care who successfully complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or California Dream Act Application while in grade 12.

Existing law provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible persons who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Existing law deems an employee unemployed in any week if the employee works less than their usual weekly hours of work for the employee's regular employer as the result of the employer's participation in a work sharing plan that meets specified requirements and has been approved by the Director of Employment Development, pursuant to which the employer, in lieu of layoff, reduces employment and stabilizes the workforce. Existing law requires an employer who wishes to participate in the work sharing program to submit to the director a signed, written work sharing plan application form that meets specified requirements. This bill, until January 1, 2024, would create an alternative process for the submission and approval of employer work sharing plan applications. The bill would require the Director of Employment Development to accept an application to participate in, or renew participation in, the work sharing program that is submitted electronically and would require the Employment Development Department to create a portal on its internet website for the provision and receipt of these applications. For work sharing plan applications submitted by eligible employers between September 15, 2020, and September 1, 2023, the bill would require that, upon approval by the director, they be deemed approved for one year, except as specified. The bill would require the department to mail to an eligible employer a claim packet for each participating employee within 5 business days following approval of the application. The bill would require the department to make online claim forms available to the approved employer for each participating employee within five business days following approval of the application if an employer submitted its work sharing plan application online. Upon completion of the documents in the claim packet, the department would establish an unemployment insurance claim pursuant to applicable requirements. Among other things, the bill would require participating employers and employees to meet the required unemployment insurance claim filing and weekly certification requirements and for employers to be responsible for the completeness and integrity of work sharing certification forms issued to participating employees. The bill would require that these provisions be implemented consistently with the requirements of federal law. This bill would also authorize the Employment Development Department to collaborate with the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to, among other things, develop and implement strategic outreach to increase participation by employers in the work sharing program described above. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law vests the Department of Parks and Recreation with control of the state park system, which includes state beaches. Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of the state highway system and associated property. This bill would prohibit certain joint powers agencies from constructing, funding, or operating a major thoroughfare within a specified area of Southern California, and would restrict the authority of the Department of Transportation to approve, permit, take possession of, or otherwise authorize the construction of a major thoroughfare in that same area, as specified. The bill would prohibit a state agency, city, county, joint powers authority, regional transportation agency, or other local government entity, or any other person or entity, from constructing, funding, approving, or otherwise authorizing the building of a street, road, or highway in or on, or that encroaches on, San Onofre State Beach or lands that are part of the Richard H. and Donna O'Neill Conservancy, with specified exceptions.

(1) Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) , grants a consumer various rights with regard to personal information relating to that consumer collected by a business, including the right to know the categories and the specific pieces of personal information that have been collected and to opt out of the sale of personal information. The act also grants a consumer the right to request a business to delete any personal information about the consumer collected by the business and requires a business to do so upon receipt of a verified request, except as specified. The act excepts certain categories of personal information and entities from its provisions, including medical information, as specified. This bill would except from the CCPA information that was deidentified in accordance with specified federal law, or was derived from medical information, protected health information, individually identifiable health information, or identifiable private information, consistent with specified federal policy, as provided. The bill also would except from the CCPA a business associate of a covered entity, as defined, that is governed by federal privacy, security, and data breach notification rules if the business associate maintains, uses, and discloses patient information in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would further except information that is collected for, used in, or disclosed in research, as defined. The bill would define terms for these purposes. This bill would additionally prohibit a business or other person from reidentifying information that was deidentified, unless a specified exception is met. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2021, require a contract for the sale or license of deidentified information to include specified provisions relating to the prohibition of reidentification, as provided. (2) The CCPA requires a business to make certain disclosures to consumers, in a specified form, in its online privacy policy, if the business has an online privacy policy, and in any California-specific description of consumers' privacy rights, or, if the business does not maintain an online privacy policy or policies, on its internet website, and to update that information at least once every 12 months. This bill would require a business that sells or discloses information that was deidentified in accordance with specified federal law, was derived from protected health information, individually identifiable health information, or identifiable private information to also disclose whether the business sells or discloses deidentified patient information derived from patient information and, if so, whether that information was deidentified pursuant to specified methods. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.