Existing law requires each state agency, on or before December 31 of each year, to make a review of all proprietary state lands over which it has jurisdiction, to determine what, if any, land is in excess of its foreseeable needs and to report thereon, in writing, to the Department of General Services, as specified. Existing law requires that jurisdiction of all land reported as excess be transferred to the Department of General Services, when requested by the director of that department, for sale or disposition. Existing law requires the Department of General Services to then determine whether the land is needed by any other state agency, and authorizes the department to transfer the jurisdiction of this land to the state agency that needs it upon the terms and conditions as it may deem in the best interests of the state. This bill would expressly identify the Department of Veterans Affairs as a state agency that the Department of General Services shall consider when it determines whether or not use of the land is needed by another state agency, and expressly authorize the Department of General Services to transfer the land to the Department of Veterans Affairs if it determines that the land is needed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sponsored bills
The Williamson Act, also known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, authorizes a city or county to enter into contracts with owners of land devoted to agricultural use, whereby the owners agree to continue using the property for that purpose, and the city or county agrees to value the land accordingly for purposes of property taxation. Existing law sets forth procedures for reimbursing cities and counties for property tax revenues not received as a result of these contracts and continuously appropriates General Fund moneys for that purpose. This bill, for the 2020–21 fiscal year, would appropriate an additional $40,000,000 from the General Fund to the Controller to make subvention payments to counties, as provided, in proportion to the losses incurred by those counties by reason of the reduction of assessed property taxes. The bill would make various findings in this regard.
The Child Care and Development Services Act has a purpose of providing a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of childcare and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents, including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public instruction to adopt rules and regulations on eligibility, enrollment, and priority of services needed to implement the act. Existing law requires, in order to be eligible for federal- and state- subsidized child development services, a family to meet at least one requirement in 2 specified areas, with one of those requirements being that the family is homeless. Existing law requires that first priority for childcare and developments services go to those children who are neglected or abused who are recipients of child protective services, or children who are at risk of being neglected or abused, as provided. This bill would require that first priority for child development services also go to children experiencing homelessness. The bill would provide that a child experiencing homelessness enrolled in a childcare and development program pursuant to the act is not required to provide a fixed address or mailing address. The bill would require childcare and development service providers to conduct outreach to families experiencing homelessness, including through collaboration with local educational agency liaisons for homeless children and youth, as provided. The act requires a physical examination and evaluation, including age-appropriate immunization, before, or within 6 weeks of, enrollment in a childcare and development program. This bill would prohibit a child eligible to enroll in a childcare and development program who is experiencing homelessness from being denied immediate enrollment into that program for failure to supply documentation of age-appropriate immunization.
Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife and prescribes the functions and responsibilities of the department with regard to the implementation, administration, and enforcement of laws regulating fish and wildlife in the state. Existing law also establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and requires the department to implement and administer various fire prevention and suppression programs on lands under the jurisdiction of the department. This bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before December 31, 2021, and by December 31 each year thereafter, to study, investigate, and report to the Legislature on the impacts on wildlife and wildlife habitat resulting from any catastrophic wildfire, as defined, that occurred within the Sierra Nevada region during that calendar year, including specified information on a catastrophic wildfire's impact on ecosystems, biodiversity, and protected species. For the report required to be submitted on or before December 31, 2021, the bill would also require the report to include information about catastrophic wildfires that occurred in the Sierra Nevada region during the calendar years 2017 to 2020, inclusive. Existing law, the California Endangered Species Act, among other things, requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, upon a specific appropriation of funds by the Legislature or if other funding is available, to review species listed as endangered or threatened every 5 years to determine if the conditions that led to the original listing are still present, and prescribes procedures to be followed by the department in making that determination. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law allows a person who was arrested or convicted of a nonviolent offense while they were a victim of human trafficking to petition the court for vacatur relief. Existing law requires the petitioner to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the arrest and conviction was the direct result of being a victim of human trafficking. This bill would prohibit a court from refusing to hear the petition on the basis of the petitioner's outstanding fines and fees or the petitioners's failure to meet the conditions of probation. With the exception of restitution, the bill would require that the collection of fines imposed as a result of a nonviolent offense that is the subject of the petition be stayed while the petition is pending.
This measure would designate the week of February 24, 2020, to March 1, 2020, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
The Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 authorizes an aggrieved employee on behalf of the employee and other current or former employees to bring a civil action to recover specified civil penalties that would otherwise be assessed and collected by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency for the violation of certain provisions affecting employees. The act requires compliance with specified filing requirements by the aggrieved employee in order to bring the action, including providing notice to the agency and the employer with the specific provisions of the Labor Code alleged to have been violated, and the facts and theories that support the alleged violations. This bill would also require the aggrieved employee to inform the employer which specific violations of the code are being brought under each subdivision of the act and to inform the employer if statutory right to cure provisions apply.
Existing law allows a person who was arrested or convicted of a nonviolent offense while they were a victim of human trafficking to petition the court for vacatur relief. Existing law requires the petitioner to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the arrest and conviction was the direct result of being a victim of human trafficking. Existing law requires that a petition be made and heard within a reasonable time after the person has ceased to be a victim of human trafficking, or within a reasonable time after the petitioner has sought services, whichever is later. Existing law allows a petitioner, or the petitioner's attorney, to be excused from appearing in person at a hearing on the petition only if the court finds a compelling reason why the petitioner cannot attend, in which case existing law allows the petitioner to appear by electronic means. This bill would allow the petitioner to appear at all hearings on the petition by counsel if the petition is unopposed. The bill would allow a petition to be made and heard at any time after the person has ceased to be a victim of human trafficking, or at any time after the petitioner has sought services for being a victim of human trafficking. The bill would specify that the right to petition for relief pursuant to these provisions do not expire with the passage of time.
Existing law makes the State Department of Health Care Services the sole authority in state government to license adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities and prohibits a person, firm, corporation, or other specified entity from operating that type of facility without a valid license. Existing law also prohibits specified persons, programs, or entities from giving or receiving remuneration or anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment services. Existing law authorizes the department to investigate allegations of violations of that prohibition and to impose sanctions for a violation, including assessing a penalty upon, or suspending or revoking the license or certification of, a facility. This bill would enact Brandon's Law, which would prohibit an operator of a licensed alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility or a certified alcohol or other drug program from engaging in various acts, including making a false or misleading statement about the entity's products, goods, services, or geographical locations. The bill would also prohibit a picture, description, staff information, or the location of an entity from being included on an internet website along with false contact information that surreptitiously directs the reader to a business that does not have a contract with the entity. The bill would authorize the department to investigate allegations of a violation of these provisions and, upon finding a violation, to impose the sanctions available pursuant to existing law, as specified.
Existing law requires the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson to be established in the State Department of Social Services with prescribed powers and duties relating to the management of foster children, including the dissemination of information on the rights of children and youth in foster care. Existing law requires the Director of Social Services, in consultation with a committee of interested individuals chosen by the director, to appoint the ombudsperson for a term of 4 years. This bill would instead require the Governor, in consultation with a committee of interested individuals, to appoint the ombudsperson, subject to Senate confirmation. The bill would authorize the director to select the committee members, as specified.