Asm. Lorena Gonzalez

Existing law, as amended by the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, a measure approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, generally provides that the possession of Ketamine, gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) , or flunitrazepam is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year. This bill would make it a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months or 2 or 3 years, to possess Ketamine, GHB, or flunitrazepam with the intent to commit sexual assault. By creating a new crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law provides that, one year prior to the minimum eligible parole release date of an inmate serving an indeterminate sentence, a panel of 2 or more commissioners or deputy commissioners of the Board of Parole Hearings shall meet with the inmate and set a parole release date, as specified. Existing law, as amended by Proposition 9, the Victim's Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy's Law, at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, establishes procedures at all hearings for the purpose of reviewing a prisoner's parole suitability, or the setting, postponing, or rescinding of parole dates, and provides prisoners and victims specified rights at these hearings. This bill would require notification of the district attorney of the county in which the offense was committed, or his or her designee, to receive notification of specified parole proceedings. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3041.5 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 230 that would become operative if this bill and SB 230 are both chaptered and this bill is chaptered last.

The Planning and Zoning Law, among other things, establishes in each city or county a planning agency and requires each city or county to, by ordinance, assign the functions of the planning agency to a planning department, one or more planning commissions, administrative bodies or hearing officers, the legislative body itself, or any combination thereof, as it deems appropriate and necessary. The law requires, if a city or county does not make an assignment, as specified, the legislative body of the city or county to carry out all the functions of the planning agency. The law specifies the functions of a planning agency and the minimum membership of a planning commission to be at least 5 members who act in the public interest. This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, authorize a city to delegate to, or authorize pursuant to a contract with, a nonprofit public benefit corporation the performance of ministerial planning functions, as defined, and require that the city retain all nonministerial planning functions. The bill would require a nonprofit public benefit corporation performing ministerial planning functions to comply with city laws and plans and state laws, including, but not limited to, laws relating to the requirements for open meetings and the disclosure of public records, as specified. The bill would require any planning function approved by a nonprofit public benefit corporation to be able to be appealed to the legislative body of the city, as specified. The bill would require a nonprofit public benefit corporation, beginning on or before July 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, to report to the legislative body of the city on the planning functions it has undertaken in the previous calendar year, and require the legislative body of the city to review and approve each report at a noticed public hearing. The bill would also state that this is an issue of statewide concern.

Existing law requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, determined by the Director of Industrial Relations, be paid to workers employed on public works projects. Existing law defines "public works" to include, among other things, construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for, in whole or in part, out of public funds, but exempts from that definition, among other projects, an otherwise private development project if the state or political subdivision provides, directly or indirectly, a public subsidy to the private development project that is de minimis in the context of the project. This bill would provide that a public subsidy is de minimis if it is both less than $250,000 and less than 2% of the total project cost. The bill would specify that those provisions do not apply to a project that was advertised for bid, or a contract that was awarded, before July 1, 2016.

Existing law subjects an employer who is, or wishes to become, a contractor with the state for public works, or for goods or services, to various nondiscrimination requirements. Existing law authorizes requiring an employer to submit a nondiscrimination program to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing for approval and certification, prior to becoming a contractor or subcontractor with the state, as well as requiring the provision of periodic reports of contractor or subcontractor compliance with that program. This bill would enact the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act of 2015. The bill would require an employer with 100 or more employees in state, as specified, and a contract of 30 days or more, prior to becoming a contractor or subcontractor with the state, to submit a nondiscrimination program to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and to submit periodic reports no more than annually of its compliance with that program. The bill would authorize the department to require approval and certification of the program. The bill would permit the department to require an employer with fewer than 100 employees in state or a contract of less than 30 days to submit a nondiscrimination report. The bill would require the department to define an employee for these purposes. The bill would require the nondiscrimination program to include policies and procedures designed to ensure equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees, an analysis of employment selection procedures, and a workforce analysis, as specified. The bill would specify that its provisions are not to be construed to negate certain exemptions established by regulation that predate its enactment or to require the department to reevaluate the validity of these exemptions, as specified. The bill would make a statement of legislative findings.

Existing workers' compensation law generally requires employers to secure payment of workers' compensation, including medical treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, or in the course of, employment. An employer is liable only for the percentage of the permanent disability directly caused by the injury arising out of, and occurring in the course of, employment. Existing law requires apportionment of permanent disability to be based on causation, and a physician who prepares a report addressing the issue of permanent disability due to a claimed industrial injury is required to address the issue of causation of the permanent disability. The physician is required to make an apportionment determination by finding what approximate percentage of the permanent disability was caused by the direct result of injury arising out of and occurring in the course of employment, and what approximate percentage of the permanent disability was caused by other factors both before and subsequent to the industrial injury, including prior industrial injuries. This bill would prohibit apportionment of permanent disability, in the case of a physical injury occurring on or after January 1, 2016, from being based on pregnancy or menopause if the condition is contemporaneous with the claimed physical injury. The bill would also prohibit apportionment of permanent disability, in the case of a psychiatric injury occurring on or after January 1, 2016, from being based on psychiatric disability or impairment caused by sexual harassment, pregnancy, or menopause if the condition is contemporaneous with the claimed psychiatric injury. The bill would also provide, notwithstanding any other law, for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2016, that the impairment ratings for breast cancer and the aftereffects of the disease, known as sequelae, shall in no event be less than comparable ratings for prostate cancer and its sequelae.

Existing law imposes various restrictions on employers with respect to applicants for employment. A violation of those restrictions is a misdemeanor. This bill would prohibit an employer from seeking salary history information about an applicant for employment, except as otherwise provided. The bill would specify that a violation of its provisions would not be subject to the misdemeanor provision.

Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, authorizes a charter school to elect to operate as, or be operated by, a nonprofit public benefit corporation, as specified. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2017, prohibit a charter school from operating as, or being operated by, a for-profit corporation.

Existing law requires any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate collection categories and tabulations for specified Asian groups and Pacific Islander groups, and requires a state agency, board, or commission to include data on specified collection categories and tabulations in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of California residents that it publishes or releases. Existing law requires specified agencies to use additional separate collection categories and other tabulations for major Asian groups and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander groups, and also requires those agencies to take additional actions, including, among other things, posting, and annually updating, the demographic data collected on their Internet Web sites, and updating the reporting categories to reflect these Asian and Pacific Islander groups as they are reported for the 2020 decennial census. This bill would require the updating of the reporting categories for future decennial censuses. The bill would require, on or after July 1, 2016, the Department of Managed Health Care to use the additional separate collection categories and other tabulations for specified Asian groups and Pacific Islander groups, and to take additional actions as specified above, under certain circumstances. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2016, require the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California, whenever those entities collect demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of students for a report that includes student admission, enrollment, completion, or graduation rates, to use specified collection and tabulation categories for Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander groups, as specified. The bill would require each entity specified above to make this demographic data publicly available by posting the data on the applicable entity's Internet Web site and would require the updating of the reporting categories for each decennial census. The bill would not apply these categorization requirements to demographic data of graduate and professional schools of the University of California. The bill would be applicable to the University of California only if the Regents of the University of California, by resolution, make it applicable. To the extent the bill would impose additional requirements on community colleges, 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, 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.