Asm. Ken Cooley

This measure would recognize April 17, 2016, as World Hemophilia Day.

Existing law requires various state agencies to administer programs relating to water supply, water quality, and flood management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The bill would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal, as defined, unless expressly authorized by an initiative voted on by the voters of California on or after January 1, 2017, and would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to complete a prescribed economic feasibility analysis prior to a vote authorizing the construction of a peripheral canal.

Existing law provides for the early implementation, by counties and foster family agencies, of the resource family approval process, which is a unified, family friendly, and child-centered approval process that replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving adoptive families. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to implement the resource family approval process in all counties and with all foster family agencies by January 1, 2017. Existing law requires a resource family to demonstrate, among other things, the financial ability within the household to ensure the stability and financial security of the family, and requires a resource family applicant to complete a psychosocial assessment. Existing law also provides, in specified circumstances, that AFDC-FC funding shall not be available until approval of the resource family has been completed. This bill would provide that a family who will rely on AFDC-FC, Kin-GAP, or Adoption Assistance Program benefits to meet additional household expenses incurred due to the placement of a child or children shall not, for that reason, be denied approval as a resource family. The bill would authorize a family member or nonrelated extended family member to be approved as a resource family only for the placement of a specific child or children in certain circumstances. The bill would require a family approved only for the placement of a specific child or children pursuant to that provision or on an emergency basis to be reviewed by the county prior to the placement of any other or additional children and would require any changes to be reflected in an updated permanency assessment. The bill would require the psychosocial assessment for an applicant who has a specific child or children placed with him or her on an emergency basis, or who is applying to become a resource family for a specific child or children, to consider the relationship between the applicant and the child or children. The bill would also provide, in specified circumstances, that if the resource family approval process is not completed within 90 days after placement due to circumstances outside the control of the resource family, then the beginning date of aid for AFDC-FC shall be no later than 90 days after placement. The bill would also require that a determination to deny approval of a resource family be reviewed by county or foster family agency staff at the supervisory or administrative level for compliance with the approval standards, as specified. By increasing duties on county staff, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing law requires that an application for CalWORKs filed on behalf of specified children in the juvenile dependency system be processed pursuant to an expedited process. Existing law makes that provision inapplicable if the person who applies for aid on behalf of that child is also an applicant for or a recipient of CalWORKs benefits. This bill would delete the latter provision and instead provide that a person who applies for aid on behalf of that child and who is an applicant for or recipient of CalWORKs benefits is responsible for applying for CalWORKs benefits, and complying with continuing eligibility requirements, for himself or herself. The bill would also require that those specified children in the juvenile dependency system receive the applicable regional CalWORKs grant for a recipient in an assistance unit of one, and provide that his or her application date for CalWORKs benefits is the date he or she was placed with his or her relative. By increasing the number of expedited applications the county is required to process, 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 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 establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt rules and regulations for the administration and funding of educational programs and support services provided to disabled students by community college districts. This bill would, until June 30, 2022, authorize the Los Rios Community College District to establish the Los Rios Community College Pilot Program to Support Special Needs Students to provide various forms of academic and personal support to students with special needs, including autism spectrum disorders. The pilot program would require specified individuals who provide support to these students to submit progress reports to the district and would require the district to compile this information and post it on its Internet Web site.

Existing law prohibits a person who has 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood from driving a vehicle. Existing law also prohibits a person, while having 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood from driving a vehicle and concurrently doing any act forbidden by law, or neglecting any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, when the act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to a person other than the driver. A violation of either of these prohibitions is a crime. Existing law authorizes a court, in addition to imposing penalties and sanctions for those violations, to require the person to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a driving-under-the-influence program, which may include, among other things, education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions. This bill would authorize the court to order a person convicted of a crime described above to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a qualified "24/7 Sobriety" monitoring program, as defined, as a condition of probation, if the program is available and deemed appropriate, and the person committed the crime within 10 years of one or more separate crimes described above that resulted in a conviction. The bill would define a "24/7 Sobriety program," in part, as requiring a person in the program to abstain from alcohol and unauthorized controlled substances and be subject to frequent testing for alcohol and controlled substances, as specified. The bill would require a person participating in the program to pay the program costs, commensurate with the person's ability to pay, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to study and report to the Legislature by January 1, 2020, on the success of the 24/7 Sobriety program in reducing the driving-under-the-influence recidivism rate in counties where it is used. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2021.

Existing law requires the court to impose as a condition of probation for a conviction for a first violation of driving under the influence, in a county where the board of supervisors has approved, and the State Department of Health Care Services has licensed, a driving-under-the-influence program, that the driver successfully complete the program in the driver's county of residence or employment, as designated by the court. Existing law provides that enrollment and participation in, and completion of, an approved program shall be subsequent to the date of the current violation. Existing law requires a county alcohol program administrator to coordinate court-established reporting requirements with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the State Department of Health Care Services. This bill would require that enrollment in an approved program take place within 30 days of conviction, unless an extension of no longer than 30 days is granted by the court, as specified. The bill would also require the court, for first time offenders, to consider a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more, by weight, in combination with the presence of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, as defined, except for marijuana or a controlled substance prescribed by a licensed physician or dentist, as an aggravating factor that may justify enhancing the terms and conditions of probation, as specified. The bill would require the county alcohol program administrator to additionally coordinate court referral and tracking documents with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the State Department of Health Care Services. By imposing new duties on a county employee, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes a court, as a condition of probation, to refer a person convicted for driving under the influence to a licensed program, as specified, even though the person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle is restricted, suspended, or revoked. Existing law requires a clerk of the court to indicate the duration of the treatment program the judge has ordered a person to participate in the abstract of the court record that is forwarded to the State Department of Health Care Services. This bill would instead require a court to refer a person with a 2nd or subsequent driving-under-the-influence conviction to a licensed program as a condition of probation even if the person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle is restricted, suspended, or revoked. The bill would require the clerk of the court to also indicate the duration of the treatment program ordered on court referral and tracking documents. 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 these statutory provisions.

Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, county adoption agency, or licensed adoption agency to require each person who files an application for adoption to be fingerprinted and to secure from an appropriate law enforcement agency a criminal records check to determine whether the person has ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation. Existing law requires the criminal record, if any, to be taken into consideration when evaluating the prospective adoptive parent, as specified. Existing law prohibits the department, county adoption agency, or licensed adoption agency from giving final approval for an adoptive placement in a home in which the prospective adoptive parent or an adult living in the home has been convicted of a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, crimes against a child, or a crime involving violence, including rape, sexual assault, and homicide. Existing law requires the county welfare department to initiate an assessment of a relative's or nonrelative extended family member's suitability, before placing a child in that person's home, including a consideration of the results of a criminal records check, as specified. Existing law requires the court or county social worker placing a child to cause a criminal records check to be conducted whenever a child may be placed in the home of a relative, or the home of any prospective guardian or other person who is not a licensed or certified foster parent. Existing law also requires the State Department of Social Services to implement a resource family approval process, as specified, that includes a criminal records clearance of all adults residing in, or regularly present in, the home. Existing law generally prohibits a child from being placed in an adoptive or foster home if a person in the home has been convicted of certain crimes, but authorizes the Director of Social Services to grant an exemption from disqualification, allowing a child to be placed in a home despite the conviction of a person in the home for certain crimes that would make the home ineligible for the placement of the child, as specified. This bill would prohibit the department, county adoption agency, or licensed adoption agency from giving final approval for an adoptive placement in a home in which the prospective adoptive parent or an adult living in the home has been convicted of a crime that is classified as a violent felony for purposes of various provisions of the Penal Code. This bill would also prohibit a child from being placed in the home of a relative, nonrelative, foster, or resource family if the person has been convicted of a felony conviction for specified crimes, including a crime against a child, or a crime involving violence, as defined. The bill would require the county social worker and the court to consider the criminal history in determining whether the placement is in the best interests of the child if the criminal records check indicates that the person has been convicted of any other crime, as specified. The bill would also limit the exception allowing the placement of a child in a home if the director has granted an exemption, as specified. By imposing a higher level of service on county employees, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

This measure would commend Muslim Americans for their economic, political, and cultural impact on California and the United States. This measure would call upon Members of the United States Congress to respect the First Amendment, and to speak out against and reject efforts to monitor mosques, efforts to police and profile Muslim Americans, and efforts to prohibit Muslims from immigrating to the United States, and to speak out against and reject any efforts to pursue an immigration policy based on religion.

This measure would declare the month of April 2016 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month, with the theme of "Prosperity Through Education," to raise public awareness about the continuing need for increased financial literacy.