Existing law, known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California's public and independent segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make a provision applicable. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act known as the Equity in Higher Education Act declares, among other things, that it is the policy of the State of California that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state. This bill would express various legislative findings and declarations relating to pregnancy discrimination. The bill would add to the Equity in Higher Education Act a provision specifying that this policy of freedom from discrimination includes, but is not limited to, freedom from pregnancy discrimination as described in a specified federal statute. This bill would prohibit postsecondary educational institutions, including the faculty, staff, or other employees of these institutions, from requiring a graduate student to take a leave of absence, withdraw from the graduate program, or limit his or her graduate studies solely due to pregnancy or pregnancy-related issues. The bill would require postsecondary educational institutions, including the faculty, staff, or other employees of these institutions, to reasonably accommodate pregnant graduate students, as specified, so that they may complete their graduate courses of study and research. The bill would also allow a graduate student who chooses to take a leave of absence because she is pregnant or has recently given birth a period consistent with the policies of the postsecondary educational institution, or a period of 12 additional months, whichever period is longer, to prepare for and take preliminary and qualifying examinations and an extension of at least 12 months toward normative time to degree while they are in candidacy for a graduate degree, unless a longer extension is medically necessary. The bill would allow a graduate student who is not the birth parent and who chooses to take a leave of absence because of the birth of his or her child a period consistent with the policies of the postsecondary educational institution, or a period of one month, whichever period is longer, to prepare for and take preliminary and qualifying examinations, and an extension of at least one month toward normative time to degree while he or she is in candidacy for a graduate degree, unless a longer period or extension is medically necessary to care for his or her partner or their child. The bill would provide that an enrolled graduate student in good academic standing who chooses to take a leave of absence because she is pregnant or has recently given birth would return to her program in good academic standing following a leave period that is consistent with the policies of the postsecondary educational institution, or a period of up to one academic year, whichever period is longer, subject to the reasonable administrative requirements of the institution, unless there is a medical reason for a longer absence, in which case her standing in the graduate program would be maintained during that period of absence. The bill would also provide that an enrolled graduate student in good academic standing who is not the birth parent and who chooses to take a leave of absence because of the birth of his or her child would return to his or her program in good academic standing following a leave period that is consistent with the policies of the postsecondary educational institution, or a period of up to one month, whichever period is longer, subject to the reasonable administrative requirements of the institution. The bill would require each postsecondary educational institution to have a written policy for graduate students on pregnancy discrimination and procedures for addressing pregnancy discrimination complaints under Title IX or this bill. The bill would require a copy of this policy to be made available to faculty, staff, and employees in their required training, and made available to all graduate students attending orientation sessions at a postsecondary educational institution.
Asm. Lorena Gonzalez
Sponsored bills
Existing law provides for the calling of a special election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy. Under existing law, the governing body of a local agency is authorized to conduct a local, special, or consolidated election wholly by mail under specified conditions. This bill would, until January 1, 2020, authorize San Diego County to conduct, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy under specified conditions. The bill would also authorize the county to process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election, and would authorize the county to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election, as specified. The bill would express the intent of the Legislature that voter education and outreach efforts be conducted in order to assist voters accustomed to voting at the polls if an all-mailed ballot election is conducted, as specified. The bill would require the county to submit a report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State that includes specified statistics related to any all-mailed ballot election conducted under the pilot program, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of San Diego.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the administration of the California Diabetes Program. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to submit a report to the Legislature by December 31, 2015, that includes, among other things, information on the progress of the implementation of evidence-based strategies aimed at preventing and managing diabetes, and actionable items for consideration by the Legislature that will aid in attaining the goals set forth by the department in the California Wellness Plan for 2014 and the Diabetes Burden Report. The bill would also authorize the department to update the report as necessary and at the department's discretion. The bill would require the department to make the report and any updates available on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to also include guidelines to reduce the fiscal burden of diabetes to the state in the Diabetes Burden Report, which is to be completed by December 31, 2014. The bill would also make related findings and declarations. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer to comply with specified minimum medical loss ratios and requires a plan or insurer to provide an annual rebate to enrollees and insureds if the ratio of the amount of premium revenue expended by the plan or insurer on specified costs to the total amount of premium revenue is less than a certain percentage. Existing law specifies that these requirements do not apply to specialized health care service plan contracts or specialized health insurance policies. This bill would require health care services plans that issue, sell, renew, or offer specialized dental health care service plan contracts and health insurers that issue, sell, renew, or offer specialized dental health insurance policies to, no later than September 30, 2015, and each year thereafter, file a report, to be known as the MLR annual report, with the departments that contains the same information required in the 2013 federal Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Annual Reporting Form. The bill would require the Department of Managed Health Care or the Department of Insurance, as applicable and, if a financial examination is determined to be necessary to verify the representations in the MLR annual report, to provide the health care service plan or health insurer with a notification before conducting the examination, and would require the plan or insurer to electronically submit to the appropriate department specified requested records, books, and papers. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the data reported pursuant to these provisions be considered by the Legislature in adopting a medical loss ratio standard for health care service plans and specialized health insurance policies that cover dental services that would take effect no later than January 1, 2018. The bill would authorize the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance, until January 1, 2018, to issue guidance to health care service plans and health insurers of specialized health insurance policies subject to these provisions regarding compliance with these provisions, as specified. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, 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.
Existing law establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Industrial Relations to enforce employment safety laws. Existing law authorizes the division to conduct hearings, inspections, and investigations regarding alleged violations of employment safety laws and to issue a citation for a violation of those laws, including violations that regulations adopted by the division classify as serious, repeat, or willful violations. Existing law authorizes the division to propose appropriate modifications concerning the characterization of violations and corresponding modifications to civil penalties for violations. Existing law requires the division, if a serious violation is not abated at the time of the initial or subsequent inspection, to require the employer to submit a signed statement under penalty of perjury that he or she has complied with the abatement terms within the period fixed for abatement of the violation. Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board in the department, and prescribes procedures for the appeals board to hear and decide appeals of a citation. Regulations adopted by the appeals board generally stay the abatement period of a citation until the conclusion of the appeal. This bill would prohibit the division from granting, for serious violations, a proposed modification to civil penalties for abatement or credit for abatement unless the employer has abated the violation, as specified, or has submitted a statement to the division in accordance with existing law, and would additionally require supporting evidence with the statement where necessary. The bill would authorize the division to grant such a modification only if the violation has been abated, as specified, or the signed statement and supporting evidence is received within 10 working days after the end of the period fixed for abatement. The bill would generally prohibit the stay or suspension of a requirement to abate the hazards affirmed by the decision or order during the pendency before the appeals board of a petition for reconsideration of a citation for a violation that is classified as a serious violation, repeat serious violation, or willful serious violation. The bill would authorize the appeals board to stay or suspend an abatement, upon petition by the employer, only if the employer demonstrates that a stay or suspension will not adversely affect the health and safety of employees.
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act governs the management and operation of common interest developments. Existing law provides that, unless otherwise provided in the common interest development declaration, the association is responsible for repairing, replacing, or maintaining the common area, other than exclusive use common area, and the owner of each separate interest is responsible for maintaining that separate interest and any exclusive use common area appurtenant to that interest. Existing law makes void and unenforceable any provision of the governing documents of a common interest development or association that prohibits use of low water-using plants, or prohibits or restricts compliance with water-efficient landscape ordinances or regulations on the use of water, as specified. Existing law prohibits an association from imposing a fine or assessment on separate interest owners for reducing or eliminating watering of vegetation or lawns during any period for which the Governor has declared a state of emergency or the local government has declared a local emergency due to drought. This bill would exempt from these prohibitions against imposing a fine or assessment an association that uses recycled water for landscape irrigation. This bill would also provide that a provision of the governing documents is void and unenforceable if it requires pressure washing, as defined, the exterior of a separate interest and any exclusive use common area appurtenant to the separate interest during a state or local government declared drought emergency. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 4735 of the Civil Code proposed in AB 2104, that would become operative only if AB 2104 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in an amount equal to an applicable percentage of either 20% or 25%, respectively, of the qualified expenditures, as defined, attributable to the production of a qualified motion picture in California, or, where the qualified motion picture is a television series that relocated to California or is an independent film, as provided. Existing law imposes specified duties on the California Film Commission related to the administration of the credits, including a requirement to allocate the tax credits until July 1, 2017, and limits the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated to qualified motion pictures in any fiscal year to $100,000,000 through the 2016–17 fiscal year. Existing law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, also allows a credit against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. Existing law provides for a tentative minimum tax and further provides that, except for specified credits, no other credit shall reduce the tax imposed below the tentative minimum tax. This bill would establish similar credits under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2020. This bill would, as compared to the existing tax credits, extend the scope of the credits for a qualified motion picture to the applicable percentage of qualified expenditures up to $100,000,000, would extend the credit to qualified expenditures for television pilot episodes, and would determine an applicable percentage of 25% or 20% for qualified expenditures, with an additional credit amount available, as specified. This bill would limit the aggregate amount of these new credits to be allocated in each fiscal year to up to $330 million, and would, subject to a computation and ranking of applicants based on the jobs ratio, as defined, require the California Film Commission to allocate credit amounts subject to specified categories of qualified motion pictures. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, allow a credit against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. This bill would also require the Legislative Analyst's Office to prepare reports related to the effectiveness and administration of the qualified motion picture credit under the Sales and Use Tax Law, the Personal Income Tax Law, and the Corporation Tax Law. This bill would, for taxable years, beginning on or after January 1, 2016, additionally allow the credit under the Corporation Tax Law for qualified expenditures for the production of qualified motion pictures to reduce the tentative minimum tax. This bill would also make findings and declarations related to the entertainment industry, and would urge the United States Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to investigate and impose sanctions on specified motion picture productions and elements of production to combat unfair and illegal competition. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The bill would state that its provisions are severable. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 23036 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, proposed by AB 2754, to be operative only if AB 2754 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act provides for the creation and regulation of common interest developments. That act provides that a provision of any of the common interest development governing documents, as defined, that governs the operation of a common interest development, is void and unenforceable if it prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of low water-using plants as a group, or if it has the effect of prohibiting or restricting compliance with a local water-efficient landscape ordinance or water conservation measure. This bill would provide that a provision of the governing documents or of the architectural or landscaping guidelines or policies shall be void and unenforceable if it contains the above-described prohibitions or prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, low water-using plants as a replacement of existing turf.
Existing unemployment insurance law requires all standard information employee pamphlets provided by the Employment Development Department concerning unemployment and disability insurance programs to be printed in English and separately in Spanish, or both. This bill would instead require those pamphlets to be printed in English and the 7 other most commonly used languages among participants in each program. This bill would require the department to make pages on its Internet Web site that provide information regarding applying for, and receiving, unemployment insurance benefits available in the 7 languages, other than English, most commonly used by unemployment insurance applicants and claimants. Existing unemployment insurance law requires the Employment Development Department to pay unemployment compensation benefits to unemployed individuals meeting specified requirements. This bill would require the Director of Employment Development to periodically review policies and practices used to determine eligibility for and the amount of benefits in the unemployment insurance program, as specified, and report to the Legislature the results of the first review on or before July 1, 2015. Existing law prohibits an unemployed individual from being disqualified for benefits solely on the basis that he or she is a student. This bill would prohibit an unemployed individual who is meeting specified requirements and is certifying for continued unemployment compensation from being scheduled for a determination of eligibility for a week in which the individual commenced or is participating in a training or education program and has notified the Employment Development Department of the training or education program. This bill would permit the department to schedule and conduct a determination of eligibility if the department determines that the commencement of, or the ongoing participation in, a training or education program conflicts with the eligibility requirements for unemployment compensation. Because this bill would make changes to existing eligibility requirements for unemployment compensation benefits that would result in additional amounts being payable from the Unemployment Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law requires claims for unemployment compensation to be made in accordance with authorized regulations of the director. This bill would require a continued claim for unemployment benefits to be submitted within a specified period. It would also prohibit an unemployed individual from being disqualified for unemployment compensation benefits solely on the basis that the continued claim was submitted within a specified period.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialty license plates, including environmental license plates and specified special environmental design license plates. Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. The DMV is required to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. Existing law establishes the Breast Cancer Control Account in the Breast Cancer Fund, and requires that funds in that account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated for the provision of early breast cancer detection services for uninsured and underinsured women. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to apply to sponsor a breast cancer awareness license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue the license plates if the State Department of Health Care Services meets certain requirements. The bill would authorize the State Department of Health Care Services to accept and use donated artwork from California artists for the license plate. The bill would require the revenue generated from the license plates, as specified, to be deposited in the Breast Cancer Control Account in the Breast Cancer Fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.