Under existing law, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is required to establish 3 pilot programs to provide intensive training and counseling for female parolees to assist in the successful reintegration of those parolees into the community. Existing law authorizes the department to establish and operate a specialized sex offender treatment pilot program for inmates whom the department determines pose a high risk to the public of committing violent sex crimes. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish up to 5 reentry work training programs for parolees between 18 and 24 years of age to assist in community reintegration upon discharge from prison. The reentry programs would include construction training, academic services, counseling and mentoring, and tracking of graduates after completion of the program. The bill would require the department to maintain statistical information related to the reentry programs, and would require the department to report this information to the Legislature, as provided. The bill would also provide that these provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2017.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the Small Business Procurement and Contract Act, provides for various programs to encourage the participation of small businesses, as certified by the Department of General Services, in state agency contracts, including a microbusiness and a disabled veteran business enterprise. Existing law requires directors of state agencies, in awarding prescribed contracts, to provide a 5% preference to small businesses and microbusinesses, and a preference of up to 5% to a nonsmall business that provides for small business or microbusiness subcontractor participation, not to exceed prescribed amounts. This bill would raise the microbusiness preference to 7% and would raise the preference for a nonsmall business with microbusiness subcontractor participation to a maximum of 7%, as provided.
Existing law establishes the Public Employees' Retirement System, which is governed by its Board of Administration. Existing law establishes the powers and duties of the board and generally requires that the board and its officers and employees discharge their duties with respect to the system solely in the interest of the participant and beneficiaries. Existing law creates the Public Employees' Retirement Fund, a trust fund that is continuously appropriated solely for the benefit of the members, annuitants, and their survivors and beneficiaries. This bill would authorize an organization that provides employee representation or membership services to annuitants of the system to submit a request to the board for assistance in performing direct mailing, subject to specified requirements. The bill would require the board, upon receiving a request, to provide a direct mailing to the annuitants of the system who are members of the organization or eligible to become members of the organization. The bill would require the organization to provide the board with copies of all materials that will be included in the direct mailing. The bill would require the organization requesting the direct mailing to pay all reasonable expenses of the mailing. By authorizing continuously appropriated funds to be used for a new purpose, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill would also make a statement of legislative findings and declarations.
The Enterprise Zone Act provides for the designation and oversight by the Department of Housing and Community Development of various types of economic development areas throughout the state, including enterprise zones, targeted tax areas, and manufacturing enhancement areas, collectively known as geographically targeted economic development areas, or G-TEDAs. Pursuant to these provisions, qualifying entities in those areas may receive certain tax and regulatory incentives. This bill would revise various definitions for purposes of the act and modify specified requirements for designating and administering enterprise zones and G-TEDAs, collectively. The bill would impose new requirements on the Department of Housing and Community Development with respect to the enterprise zone program and modify department and Franchise Tax Board reporting requirements. Existing law, the Enterprise Zone Act, authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development to assess a fee of not more than $15 on each enterprise zone and manufacturing enhancement area for each application for issuance of a certificate pursuant to specified tax credit provisions. This bill would instead authorize the department to charge a fee for those applications not to exceed the reasonable cost of administering the Enterprise Zone Act, but not to exceed $20. The bill would require any increase in the fee higher than the amount that was charged by the department as of January 1, 2014, to be adopted by regulation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Medi-Cal Act establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced by 1% or 5%, and provider payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 1%, for dates of service on and after March 1, 2009, and until June 1, 2011. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments and payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 10% for dates of service on and after June 1, 2011. This bill would instead require that, to the extent permitted by federal law, this payment reduction not apply to skilled nursing facilities or subacute care units that are a distinct part of a general acute care hospital, intermediate care or other specified facilities serving developmentally disabled individuals, or specified Medi-Cal provider payments for fee-for-service benefits, including payments to pharmacies, for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011. The bill would also provide that this payment reduction shall not apply to managed health care plans for dates of service after the effective date of the bill. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) The Economic Revitalization Act establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as "GO-Biz," to, among other duties, serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Existing law establishes the California Economic Development Fund holding funds that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, GO-Biz may use for economic development purposes, as specified. This bill would create the California Innovation Hub Program (iHub Program) within GO-Biz to create regional offices that would provide specialized counseling, training, and networking services to assist entrepreneurs establish and grow businesses for local and in-state job retention, creation, and future expansion. This bill would authorize GO-Biz, in collaboration with the Department of General Services, to identify unoccupied and underutilized real property owned or leased by the state, and use that real property to support the iHub Program, as specified. This bill would modify the California Economic Development Fund to be a continuously appropriated fund for the economic development purposes of GO-Biz, and in doing so, would make an appropriation. (2) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit for certain research and development expenses, as provided. This bill would, for taxable years commencing on and after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2019, increase the credit for research and development expenses, as provided. (3) This bill would provide that the provisions of this bill are severable. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides for the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes and avoid institutionalization. Under existing law, the state, a county, a public authority, a nonprofit consortium, or an IHSS recipient may be considered the employer of an IHSS provider. Existing federal law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , enacts various health care coverage market reforms that take effect January 1, 2014. Among other things, PPACA imposes an assessment on certain employers who fail to offer to their full-time employees and their dependents the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage under an eligible employer-sponsored plan. This bill would establish an advisory committee to assess the impact of PPACA on health care benefits for IHSS providers and would provide for the appointment of members to the committee by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Committee on Rules, as specified. The bill would require the advisory committee to provide a report to specified legislative committees on or before March 1, 2014, on the appropriate employer in the IHSS program to provide health care benefits to IHSS providers under PPACA.
Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which nutrition assistance benefits, formerly referred to as food stamps, are allocated to each state by the federal government for the purchase of certain eligible foods at approved retail food stores. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law permits a county to elect to deliver CalWORKs and SNAP benefits through the use of an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system. Existing law specifies criteria for the development and administration of the EBT system, including issuance to a recipient of an EBT card. This bill would require all convenience stores and bookstores on any campus of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges to accept the use of electronic benefits transfer cards. The bill would also make related legislative findings and declarations.
This measure would designate that January 20, 2014, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America. This measure would also recognize the anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington in connection with the advancement of civil rights.