Asm. Lorena Gonzalez

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires that any expense resulting from a bonus paid to an executive officer, as defined, of a public utility that has ceased to pay its debts in the ordinary course of business, be borne by the shareholders of the public utility and prohibits any expense from being recovered in rates. This bill would prohibit an electrical corporation or gas corporation from recovering from ratepayers expenses for excess compensation, as defined, paid to an officer of the utility for a period of 5 years following a triggering event, as defined, unless the utility obtains the approval of the commission. The bill would provide that anytime within a 5-year period following a triggering event, and prior to paying or seeking recovery of excess compensation, the electrical corporation or gas corporation would be required to file an application with the commission containing specified information. The bill would require the commission, following a duly noticed public hearing in the proceeding to consider the application, to issue a written decision determining whether any expenses for excess compensation proposed to be paid by the corporation should be recovered in rates, or if previously authorized to be recovered in rates, should be refunded to ratepayers. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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 describes the California Interscholastic Federation, provides the intent of the Legislature regarding its policies, and requires it to report to the Legislature and the Governor on its evaluation and accountability activities on or before January 1, 2016. Existing federal law, Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972, prohibits sex discrimination in an educational institution's programs and activities. This bill would require the California Interscholastic Federation, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to, no later than July 1, 2017, develop guidelines, procedures, and safety standards for the purpose of classifying competition cheer as an interscholastic sport, as specified. The bill would require the California Interscholastic Federation to seek a United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Title IX compliance designation for competition cheer, and would specify that competition cheer shall not be counted toward a school's Title IX compliance unless the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights deems competition cheer compliant with its definition of a sport.

Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of his or her employment. Existing law establishes, in the Department of Industrial Relations, a Division of Workers' Compensation to administer those provisions. In administering and enforcing those provisions, existing law requires the division to protect the interests of injured workers and requires all forms and notices to be given to employees by the division to be in English and Spanish. This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations and the Division of Workers' Compensation to make specified forms, notices, and fact sheets available in Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, and Vietnamese. The bill would also require the Administrative Director to make recommendations regarding any other documents that should be translated into languages other than English, as specified, and require the department and the division to submit the recommendations and any translated documents to the Legislature, as specified.

Existing law regulates the payment of compensation to employees by employers and prohibits an employer from conditioning employment on requiring an employee to refrain from disclosing the amount of his or her wages, signing a waiver of the right to disclose the amount of those wages, or discriminating against an employee for making such a disclosure. Existing law generally prohibits an employer from paying an employee at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions. Existing law establishes exceptions to that prohibition where the payment is made pursuant to a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or a differential based on any bona fide factor other than sex. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for an employer or other person acting either individually or as an officer, agent, or employee of another person to pay or cause to be paid to any employee a wage less than the rate paid to an employee of the opposite sex as required by these provisions, or who reduces the wages of any employee in order to comply with these provisions. This bill would revise that prohibition to eliminate the requirement that the wage differential be within the same establishment, and instead would prohibit an employer from paying any of its employees at wage rates less than those paid to employees of the opposite sex for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, as specified. The bill would revise and recast the exceptions to require the employer to affirmatively demonstrate that a wage differential is based upon one or more specified factors, including a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or a bona fide factor other than sex, as specified. The bill would also require the employer to demonstrate that each factor relied upon is applied reasonably, and that the one or more factors relied upon account for the entire differential. The bill would prohibit an employer from discharging, or in any manner discriminating or retaliating against, any employee by reason of any action taken by the employee to invoke or assist in any manner the enforcement of these provisions. The bill would authorize an employee who has been discharged or discriminated or retaliated against, in the terms and conditions of his or her employment because the employee engaged in any conduct delineated in these provisions, to recover in a civil action reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the employer, including interest thereon, as well as appropriate equitable relief. The bill would prohibit an employer from prohibiting an employee from disclosing the employee's own wages, discussing the wages of others, inquiring about another employee's wages, or aiding or encouraging any other employee to exercise his or her rights under these provisions. The bill would also increase the duration of employer recordkeeping requirements from 2 years to 3 years. By changing the definition of a 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 generally requires that an inmate released on parole or postrelease community supervision be returned to the county of last legal residence. Existing law provides, however, that an inmate who is released on parole for an offense involving stalking shall not be returned to a location within 35 miles of the victim's actual residence or place of employment if specified criteria are satisfied. This bill would make that provision applicable to an inmate released on postrelease community supervision. The bill would also authorize a supervising county agency to transfer an inmate who is released on postrelease community supervision to another county, upon approval of the receiving county, when the inmate cannot be placed in his or her county of last legal residence in compliance with this provision. The bill would make other clarifying changes. By imposing additional duties on supervising county agencies, 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, 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 establishes a statewide policy strictly limiting strip and body cavity searches of prearraignment detainees arrested for infraction or misdemeanor offenses and of minors detained prior to a detention hearing on the grounds that he or she is alleged to have committed a misdemeanor or infraction offense. Existing law provides that if a person is arrested and taken into custody, that person may be subjected to patdown searches, metal detector searches, and thorough clothing searches in order to discover and retrieve concealed weapons and contraband substances prior to being placed in a booking cell. Existing law requires, among other things, that all persons conducting or otherwise present during a strip search or visual or physical body cavity search to be of the same sex as the person being searched, except for physicians or licensed medical personnel. Under existing law, a person who knowingly and willfully authorizes or conducts a strip, visual, or physical body cavity search in violation of the prescribed provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would additionally require that all persons within sight of the inmate during a strip search or visual or physical body cavity search be of the same sex as the person being searched, except for physicians or licensed medical personnel. The bill would extend the protections regarding the manner in which a strip search is conducted to all minors held in a juvenile detention facility. By expanding the definition of a crime, creating a new crime, and imposing additional requirements on local law enforcement, this bill would create 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 requires state agencies, boards, or commissions that directly or by contract collect demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians, and state agencies conducting surveys as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of state civil service employees, to use separate collection categories for each major Asian and Pacific Islander group. This bill would require any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demographic data, as soon as reasonably feasible and in no event later than January 1, 2022, to provide forms that offer respondents the option of selecting one more ethnic or racial designations.

Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health licenses and regulates clinics, as defined. Under existing law, specified types of clinics are exempted from these licensing provisions, including a clinic operated by a licensed primary care community or free clinic, that is operated on separate premises from the licensed clinic, and that is open for limited services of no more than 20 hours a week. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to violate any provision related to the licensure and regulation of clinics. This bill would increase the number of hours that a clinic may be open under this licensure exemption provision to 30 hours a week. The bill would also require a licensed primary care community or free clinic to report to the department, when renewing its license, whether it is currently operating an intermittent clinic, the location of any intermittent clinic, and the estimated hours of operation of any intermittent clinic. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1206 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 941 that would become operative if this bill and AB 941 are chaptered and this bill is chaptered last. By expanding the scope of an existing 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 authorizes the court, in addition to any other penalty in an infraction, misdemeanor, or felony case, to impose a civil assessment of up to $300 against any defendant who fails, after notice and without good cause, to appear in court for any proceeding authorized by law, or who fails to pay all or any portion of a fine ordered by the court or to pay an installment of bail, as specified. Existing law provides that the assessment shall not become effective until at least 10 calendar days after the court mails a warning notice to the defendant, and requires the court, if the defendant appears within the time specified in the notice and shows good cause for the failure to appear or for the failure to pay a fine or installment of bail, to vacate the assessment. This bill would instead provide that the assessment would not become effective until at least 20 calendar days after the court mails a warning notice to the defendant. The bill would provide that payment of bail, fines, penalties, fees, or a civil assessment is not required in order for the court to vacate the assessment at the time the person makes an appearance, as specified. The bill would also provide that payment of a civil assessment is not required to schedule a court hearing on a pending underlying charge. Existing law requires a county to establish an amnesty program for fines and bail initially due on or before January 1, 2013, for Vehicle Code infractions to be conducted in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Judicial Council. Existing law requires the program to accept payments from October 1, 2015, to March 31, 2017, inclusive. Eligibility criteria for the program include, among other things, that the person is not currently making payments to a comprehensive collection program for fines or bail already due, as specified. This bill would revise that criterion to make a person eligible for the program if he or she has not made any payments after September 30, 2015, to a comprehensive collection program for fines or bail already due. The bill would authorize the Judicial Council to consider, adopt, or develop recommendations for an appropriate mechanism to allow reinstatement of the driving privileges of a person who otherwise meets the criteria for amnesty but who has violations in more than one county. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act authorizes the Governor to annually award and present in the name of the State of California a Medal of Valor to one or more public safety officers, as defined, who are cited by the Attorney General, upon the recommendation of the Medal of Valor Review Board, for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. The act also establishes the Medal of Valor Review Board that recommends candidates to the Attorney General for the Medal of Valor from among the applications received by the board. This bill would add ocean lifeguards to the list of public safety officers eligible to receive the award and authorize the United States Lifesaving Association to represent ocean lifeguards on the review board.