Asm. Heath Flora

Existing law authorizes a city to hire a city attorney or a county to hire a county counsel for the representation of the city or county in legal matters. This bill would restrict political campaign contributions to a candidate for public office in a city or county represented, or seeking to be represented, on a contingency basis from a person or firm representing or seeking to represent the city or county, as specified. The bill would require any contract entered into by the city or county for legal services on a contingency fee basis under these provisions to meet specified requirements, and would require that any contingency fee be calculated on the basis of the judgment amount excluding any award for fine, civil penalty, or punitive damages.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires a board within the department to expedite the licensure process for an applicant who is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in this state if the applicant holds a current license in the same profession or vocation in another state, district, or territory. Existing law also requires a board to issue temporary licenses in specified professions to applicants as described above if certain requirements are met. This bill would require every board within the Department of Consumer Affairs to grant a fee waiver for application and issuance of an initial license for an applicant who is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States if the applicant holds a current license in the same profession or vocation in another state, district, or territory. The bill would require that an applicant be granted fee waivers for both the application for and issuance of a license if the board charges fees for both. The bill would prohibit fee waivers from being issued for renewal of a license, for an additional license, a certificate, a registration, or a permit associated with the initial license, or for the application for an examination.

This measure would proclaim the period of October 23, 2017, to October 31, 2017, inclusive, as Red Ribbon Week and would encourage all Californians to help build drug-free communities and to participate in drug prevention activities.

Under existing law, price, fitness, and quality being equal, any body, officer, or other person charged with the purchase, or permitted or authorized to purchase supplies for the use of the state, or of any of its institutions or offices, or for the use of any county or city, is required to always prefer supplies, defined to include produce, that are grown, manufactured, or produced in the state, and is required to next prefer supplies partially manufactured, grown, or produced in the state. This bill would remove produce grown or partially grown in the state from this requirement. The bill would require all California state-owned or state-run institutions, except public universities and colleges and school districts, to purchase agricultural products grown in California when the bid or price of the California-grown agricultural product does not exceed by more than 5% the lowest bid or price for an agricultural product produced outside the state and the quality of the produce is comparable. This bill would also require the institutions, when they solicit or intend to accept a bid or price for agricultural products grown outside the state, to accept the bid or price from a vendor that packs or processes these agricultural products in the state before accepting a bid or price from a vendor that packs or processes these agricultural products outside of the state when specified conditions are met. This bill would require a school district that solicits bids for the purchase of an agricultural product to accept a bid or price for that agricultural product when it is grown in California before accepting a bid or price for an agricultural product that is grown outside the state when the bid or price of the California-grown agricultural product does not exceed the lowest bid or price for an agricultural product produced outside the state and the quality of the produce is comparable.

Under the existing Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act, a penalty of $4 is imposed upon every conviction for a violation of the Vehicle Code, or a local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code, other than a parking offense. Existing law requires the county or the court that imposed the fine to transfer the moneys collected pursuant to this act to the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund. Under existing law, money in the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund is made available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Department of Health Care Services for specified purposes relating to emergency medical air transportation. Under existing law, the assessment of this $4 penalty will terminate on January 1, 2018, and any moneys unexpended and unencumbered in the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund on June 30, 2019, will transfer to the General Fund. Existing law repeals the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act on January 1, 2020. This bill would rename the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund as the Emergency Medical Air Transportation and Children's Coverage Fund and would authorize the department to use money from the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund children's health care coverage in addition to the purposes described above. This bill would extend the dates of the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act, so that the assessment of the penalties will terminate commencing January 1, 2020, and any moneys unexpended and unencumbered in the Emergency Medical Air Transportation and Children's Coverage Fund on June 30, 2021, would be transferred to the General Fund. The bill would extend the effective date of the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act until January 1, 2022. The bill would also make conforming changes.

Existing law, until January 1, 2025, authorizes the Department of General Services, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and certain local agencies to use the design-build procurement process for specified public works. Existing law defines a "local agency" and a "project" for purposes of these provisions. This bill would modify those definitions to authorize the Stanislaus Regional Water Authority to use the design-build procurement process for its Regional Surface Water Supply Project. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Stanislaus Regional Water Authority.

This measure would recognize September 11, 2017, as a day of solemn commemoration and extend the Legislature's deepest sympathies to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Existing law provides for apprenticeship programs within the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, which is within the Department of Industrial Relations, sponsored by specific entities and employers, and requires the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to perform various functions with respect to apprenticeship programs and the welfare of apprentices. This bill would require the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, in collaboration with the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee (CAL-JAC) , to develop a statewide firefighter preapprenticeship program designed to recruit candidates from underrepresented groups. This bill would require the preapprenticeship program to meet specified objectives. This bill would also require CAL-JAC to deliver the pilot classes established by the preapprenticeship program using existing facilities and training models. This bill would require CAL-JAC to provide the program model to fire protection agencies, and would authorize a fire protection agency to then use that model and related resources to establish a local preapprenticeship program for recruiting candidates from underrepresented groups. This bill would reference an appropriation made in the Budget Act of 2017–18 to the division to establish the preapprenticeship program and would require the division to use those funds for specified purposes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would recognize the importance of civic engagement across the State of California.

This measure would proclaim the month of September 2017 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and state the commitment of the Legislature to support efforts to find cures for, and achieve prevention of, childhood cancer.