Asm. Heath Flora

The California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, approved by the voters as Proposition 68 at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access for all program. The California Constitution requires a measure authorizing general obligation bonds to specify the single object or work to be funded by the bonds and further requires the measure to be approved by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and a majority of the voters. This bill would enact the California Flood Protection Bond Act of 2024 which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,500,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law for flood protection projects, as specified. The bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates May 17, 2024, as Bike to School Day in California to encourage students to ride bicycles or electric bikes to their schools. The resolution highlights the environmental, health, and recreational benefits of cycling while acknowledging the state's existing bike-friendly infrastructure and recent cycling events. It serves as a commemorative measure rather than a law that changes regulations or funding, and it directs the Assembly's Chief Clerk to distribute copies of the text for public awareness.

Existing law, the State Civil Service Act, requires the Department of Human Resources to administer the Personnel Classification Plan of the State of California, including allocating every position to the appropriate class. Existing law requires the allocation of a position to a class be derived from, and determined by, ascertaining the duties and responsibilities of the position, and be based on the principle that all positions are to be included in the same class if certain qualifications apply, including, but not limited to, that the positions are sufficiently similar in respect to duties and responsibilities that the same descriptive title may be used, and substantially the same requirements as to education, experience, knowledge, and ability are demanded of incumbents. Existing law also prescribes a comprehensive civil service personnel system for the state and specifically provides certain preferences for veterans. Existing law grants to a person retired from the United States military, honorably discharged from active military duty with a service-connected disability, or honorably discharged from active duty eligibility for civil service examinations for which they meet the minimum qualifications for the classification. Existing law requires that, in evaluating minimum qualifications, related military experience be considered state civil service experience in a comparable class, based on the duties and responsibilities assigned. This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2026, to review the department Personnel Classification Plan of the State of California and identify which classes are compatible with creating a waiver for a bachelor's degree requirement for a veteran, as defined, who has served at the level of E-6 or higher for more than 2 years. For a class identified by the department, where a bachelor's degree is required as a minimum qualification for a civil service examination, the bill would require the department to, commencing July 1, 2026, waive the bachelor's degree requirement for a veteran who has served at the level of E-6 or higher for more than 2 years.

Existing law authorizes the Attorney General or a district attorney to make an application, as specified, to a judge of a superior court, for an order authorizing the interception of wire or electronic communications. Existing law authorizes a judge, upon a finding of probable cause as that an individual is committing, has committed, or is about to commit offenses involving a substance containing fentanyl or its precursors or analogs that exceeds 10 gallons by liquid volume or 3 pounds of solid substance by weight, to issue an order authorizing the interception. This bill would reduce the above-described amounts for an order authorizing interception to 1.67 gallons by liquid volume and 8 ounces of solid substance by weight of a substance containing fentanyl or its precursors or analogs.

The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal law, generally defines "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides various exclusions from gross income for purposes of computing tax liability. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, and before January 1, 2035, would provide an exclusion from gross income for survivor benefits or payments, not to exceed $20,000 per taxable year, received during the taxable year under the federal Survivor Benefit Plan. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The California Constitution entitles the victim of a crime to restitution. Existing law requires the court to order a person who is convicted of a crime to pay restitution to the victim or victims for the full amount of economic loss. Existing law also requires that order to include noneconomic losses, including, but not limited to, psychological harm, for felony violations of specified crimes relating to child sexual abuse. This bill would expand those provisions to also include noneconomic losses from felony violations of the crime of human trafficking, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Governor as the primary state officer representing California's interest in international affairs, to the extent that representation is not in conflict with federal law or the California Constitution. Existing law establishes the Lieutenant Governor as the Chair of the Commission for Economic Development to improve trade opportunities for California, and develop international partnerships for foreign companies to do business in the state and for California. Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research to maintain and update a list of all state agreements made with foreign governments. Existing law additionally requires the Director of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to provide the Legislature with an updated strategy for international trade and investment, that includes, at a minimum, specified components, once every five years. This bill would require the Governor to establish the California-Ireland Trade Commission within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development as an advisory body to the Governor and the Legislature, consisting of specified appointed members, upon availability of sufficient funding resources for this purpose, as provided. The bill would establish the various purposes of the commission, which would include advancing bilateral trade and investment between California and Ireland. This bill would require the commission to report its findings, results, and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature within one year of its initial organizational meeting and by February 1 of each succeeding year, as specified. The bill would require the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to consider the commission's recommendations when updating its strategy for international trade and investment. The bill would include related legislative findings.

Existing law authorizes school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to provide emergency naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to school nurses or voluntary trained personnel, and authorizes those nurses and voluntary trained personnel to use naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an opioid overdose, as provided. This bill would require each individual public school operated by a school district, county office of education, or charter school that has elected to make a school nurse or trained personnel available at the school pursuant to those provisions to maintain at least 2 units of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist for purposes of those authorizations.

Notwithstanding any other law, the California Constitution, as amended by Proposition 57 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, grants the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation the authority to award credits earned for good behavior and approved rehabilitative or educational achievements. Under existing law, a prisoner can reduce their term of imprisonment by earning credit for, among other things, continuous incarceration, good behavior, and participation in approved rehabilitative programming. Existing law prohibits a prisoner convicted of specified felony offenses from earning credit if the prisoner previously has been convicted of one of those felony offenses 2 or more times and has served 2 or more separate prior prison terms. Under existing law, the felonies for which credits may not be earned include lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 years of age by use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear and continuous sexual abuse of a child, as specified. Under existing law, a person sentenced to a determinate sentence is released after serving the term of their sentence, minus any credits earned, and is required to serve a period of time after release under parole supervision. This bill would include specified felonies involving, among other things, the knowing depiction, production, distribution, advertising, possession, control, and use of material depicting a person under 18 years of age engaging in or simulating sexual conduct, as defined, in the list of felonies that the commission of which make a person ineligible for credits against a sentence as provided above. The bill would also expand the prohibition on lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 years of age to include acts that do not require the use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear.

Existing law authorizes a court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant suffering from a mental disorder, on an accusatory pleading alleging the commission of a misdemeanor or felony offense, in order to allow the defendant to undergo mental health treatment. Existing law prohibits defendants charged with specified offenses, including murder, from being placed in this diversion program. This bill would add attempted murder to the list of charged offenses that prohibit a defendant from being placed in this diversion program.