Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to authorize the placement of vending machines in safety roadside rests, except as specified, and requires the department to give preference in the placement of vending machines to vendors operating under the Business Enterprises Program for the Blind. Existing law requires the department to determine the costs for specified activities, including any maintenance and operation, related to the vending machines and requires that the department be reimbursed for those costs from the revenues derived from the operation of the machines. This bill would prohibit the department from being reimbursed for utility costs incurred by vendors operating under the Business Enterprises Program for the Blind and would require the department to pay for those utility costs using state funds.
Sponsored bills
Existing law authorizes certain state bodies to impose and enforce civil and administrative penalties upon businesses for regulatory violations. Existing law establishes the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency and various boards, commissions, departments, divisions, and offices within those 2 agencies. This bill would require an agency, board, commission, department, division, or office within the California Environmental Protection Agency or the Natural Resources Agency, prior to the imposition of an administrative or civil penalty for a minor violation, to allow a business with 50 or fewer employees an opportunity to cure the violation.
(1) Existing law, as amended by Proposition 83, the Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act (Jessica's Law) , approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, provides that a defendant shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life if convicted of certain crimes, including rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse of a child, or rape, spousal rape, or sexual penetration in concert, if certain circumstances were present, including, among other things, in the commission of that offense, any person kidnapped the victim, tortured the victim, or committed the offense during the commission of a burglary, as specified. Existing law further provides that a defendant shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 15 years to life if convicted of certain crimes, including rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse of a child, or rape, spousal rape, or sexual penetration in concert, if certain circumstances were present, including, among other things, in the commission of that offense any person, except as specified in the provisions above, kidnapped the victim, committed the offense during the commission of a burglary, or used a dangerous or deadly weapon in the commission of the offense. Proposition 83 provides that the Legislature may amend the provisions of the act to expand the scope of their application or increase the punishment or penalties by a statute passed by a majority vote of each house. This bill would add the crimes of rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, and oral copulation, perpetrated against a person who is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, to the above provisions, if the victim is developmentally disabled, as defined. By applying the above enhancements to these crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law provides that a defendant shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life if convicted of certain crimes, including rape, spousal rape or sexual penetration in concert, sexual penetration, sodomy, or oral copulation if certain circumstances were present, including, among other things, in the commission of that offense any person kidnapped the victim, committed the offense during the commission of a burglary, or used a dangerous or deadly weapon in the commission of the offense, or under other specified circumstances, and the crime was committed against a minor 14 years of age or older. This bill would add the crimes of rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, and oral copulation, perpetrated against a person who is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, to the above provisions, if the victim is developmentally disabled, as defined. By applying the above enhancements to these crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires that a person who commits certain enumerated crimes, including rape, sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration, against a person who is 65 years of age or older, or against a person who is blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, a paraplegic, or a quadriplegic, or against a person who is under 14 years of age, receive a one-year sentence enhancement and requires that any person having a prior conviction for any of the enumerated offenses receive a 2-year sentence enhancement. This bill would add to the enumerated list of crimes rape, sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration, perpetrated against a person who is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent. By applying the above enhancements to these crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) 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 prescribes procedures governing disputes between exclusive bargaining representatives of public transportation employees and local agencies, and authorizes the Governor, when it appears a strike will significantly disrupt transportation services and endanger public health, safety, and welfare, to appoint a board to investigate issues in connection with these labor negotiations and make a report. Existing law prohibits a strike during the period of investigation and permits the Governor, upon receiving a report from a board of investigation, to request the Attorney General to petition a court to enjoin the strike, as specified. This bill would repeal those provisions that authorize the Governor to appoint a board to investigate when it appears a strike will significantly disrupt transportation services, prohibit a strike during the period of investigation, and that authorize the Governor to request the Attorney General to petition a court to enjoin the strike. The bill would instead prohibit a state or local public transportation employee or public transportation employee organization from engaging in, causing, instigating, encouraging, or condoning a strike. The bill would also provide that a person who, on behalf of a public transportation employer, exercises authority, supervision, or direction over a public transportation employee shall not have the power to, and shall not purport to, authorize, approve, condone, or consent to a strike by a public transportation employee. The bill would establish a process for a public transportation employee to object to a determination by the chief executive officer of the public transportation employer that he or she violated these provisions by filing a sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury, thus expanding the definition of a crime. The bill would require the chief executive officer, if he or she determines that the objection raises a question of fact that if resolved in favor of the employee would establish that the employee did not commit the violation, to appoint an officer to conduct a hearing on the matter at which the employee would bear the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she did not commit the violation, as specified. The bill would require the Public Employment Relations Board to hold a hearing to determine whether an employee organization violated these provisions, and would require the employer and the employee organization to be permitted to be represented by counsel. The bill would provide that a public transportation employee who violates these provisions is subject to removal or other disciplinary action, and would authorize the chief financial officer of the employer to deduct from the compensation of a public transportation employee found to have violated these provisions an amount equal to twice his or her daily rate of pay for each day or part thereof that it was determined that he or she violated these provisions. The bill would also require the board, if it determines that an employee organization violated these provisions, to order forfeiture of specified rights granted by state law to recognized employee organizations. The bill would also require the chief executive officer of the employer, within 60 days of the end of a strike, to prepare a written report, to be made public, that contains specified information regarding the circumstances surrounding the strike, the names of those public transit employees who the chief executive officer has reason to believe were responsible for causing, instigating, or encouraging the strike, and the sanctions imposed or proceedings pending against those employees. Because the bill would expand the definition of a crime and require local officers to perform additional duties, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law authorizes the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to award compensation to a crime victim or derivative victim, as defined, from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for the pecuniary losses that he or she suffers as a direct result of a criminal act. Existing law requires the board to approve or deny applications, based on recommendations of the board staff, within an average of 90 calendar days and no later than 180 calendar days of acceptance by the board or victim center. Existing law requires quarterly reports to the Legislature if the board does not meet the 90-day average standard, until the standard is met for 2 consecutive quarters. Existing law requires the board, if it fails to approve or deny an individual application within 180 days of the date it is accepted, to advise the applicant and his or her representative, in writing, of the reason for the failure to approve or deny the application. Existing law provides for emergency awards under specified circumstances, and requires that disbursements of funds for emergency awards be made within 30 calendar days of application. This bill would shorten the time period in which the board must approve or deny an application to within 30 calendar days of the date of acceptance by the board or victim center. The bill would require quarterly reports to the Legislature if the board does not meet a 30-day deadline until the board meets the 30-day deadline for accepted applications for 2 consecutive quarters. The bill would require written advisement if the board fails to approve or deny an individual application by the 30-day deadline. The bill would also shorten the time period in which the board must make disbursements of funds for emergency awards to within 5 business days of application.
Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, when income is derived directly from real property acquired and operated by the state as a wildlife management area, as defined, to pay annually to the county in which the property is located an amount equal to the county taxes levied upon the property at the time title to the property was transferred to the state, and any assessments levied upon the property by any irrigation, drainage, or reclamation district. This bill would appropriate $19,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to make payments to counties for unpaid amounts under these provisions. The bill would also appropriate $2,000,000 annually, beginning with the 2014–15 fiscal year, from the General Fund to the department to make payments to counties under these provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure urges the President of the United States of America to use his executive powers to call for the release of Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi from prison in Mexico.
Existing law imposes weight fees on the registration of commercial motor vehicles and provides for the deposit of net weight fee revenues into the State Highway Account. Existing law provides for the transfer of certain weight fee revenues from the State Highway Account to the Transportation Debt Service Account to reimburse the General Fund for payment of debt service on general obligation bonds issued for transportation purposes. Existing law also provides for the transfer of certain weight fee revenues to the Transportation Bond Direct Payment Account for direct payment of debt service on designated bonds, which are defined to be certain transportation general obligation bonds issued pursuant to Proposition 1B of 2006. This bill, notwithstanding these provisions or any other law, effective January 1, 2016, would prohibit weight fee revenue from being transferred from the State Highway Account to the Transportation Debt Service Fund or to the Transportation Bond Direct Payment Account, and from being used to pay the debt service on transportation general obligation bonds.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing state board regulations require specified entities to comply with a market-based compliance mechanism beginning January 1, 2013, and require additional specified entities to comply with that market-based compliance mechanism beginning January 1, 2015. This bill instead would exempt categories of persons or entities that did not have a compliance obligation, as defined, under a market-based compliance mechanism beginning January 1, 2013, from being subject to that market-based compliance mechanism through December 31, 2020. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law imposes an annual minimum franchise tax, except as provided, on every corporation incorporated in this state, qualified to transact intrastate business in this state, or doing business in this state. Existing law exempts a corporation that incorporates or qualifies to do business in this state from the payment of the minimum franchise tax in its first taxable year. Existing law imposes an annual tax in an amount equal to the minimum franchise tax on every limited liability company doing business in this state. In addition, existing law requires every limited liability company if the articles of organization have been accepted by, or a certificate of registration has been issued by, the Secretary of State to pay an annual tax in an amount equal to the minimum franchise tax. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, and before January 1, 2018, reduce that minimum franchise tax for a corporation and that annual tax for a limited liability company, as provided, that is a new veteran-owned small business, as defined, and would eliminate the tax if the business operates at a loss or ceases operation. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.