Sen. Bob Wieckowski

Existing law, the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999, authorizes the University of California to establish a spinal cord injury research fund, independent of the State Treasury, to accept public and private funds for purposes of spinal cord injury research, as specified. This bill would appropriate $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the spinal cord injury research fund authorized by the act.

The Trial Court Employment Protection and Governance Act establishes a trial court employee personnel system that provides authority to hire trial court personnel, regulates the classification and compensation of trial court employees, labor relations, and personnel files, and requires each trial court to establish a system of employment selection and advancement and an employment protection system. Existing law authorizes state agencies to use personal services contracts to achieve cost savings if specified standards are satisfied, including, among other things, the contract does not cause the displacement of civil service employees and the contract is awarded through a publicized, competitive bidding process. The State Personnel Board is required to review a proposed contract upon the request of an employee organization for compliance with those standards. This bill, until January 1, 2020, would establish specified standards if a trial court intends to enter into a new contract, or renew or extend an existing contract, for any services that are currently or customarily performed by that trial court's employees. Among other things, the bill would require the trial court to clearly demonstrate that the contract will result in actual overall cost savings to the trial court for the duration of the entire contract as compared with the trial court's actual costs of providing the same services. The bill would require a contract for services in excess of $100,000 annually to include specific, measurable performance standards and provisions for audits on performance and cost savings, as specified. This bill would provide that these standards apply to any contract entered into, renewed, or extended after the effective date of this measure. The bill would provide that its provisions do not apply to a contract under specified circumstances, including when services are incidental to a contract for the purchase or lease of real or personal property. This bill would require each trial court to provide a report by February 1, 2014, to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Judiciary Committee if the trial court entered into a contract between July 1, 2013, and the effective date of this measure for services that were provided or are customarily provided by its trial court employees if the contract has a term extending beyond March 31, 2014. This report would be required to include specified information relating to these contracts, including an analysis of whether the contract resulted in the displacement of trial court employees. The bill would provide that its provisions are severable.

Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program (Cal Grant Program) , establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards, the Cal Grant C Awards, and the Cal Grant T Awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. One of the eligibility requirements for these awards is that the household income and assets of an applicant not exceed levels that are specified in the act and adjusted annually to reflect changes in the cost of living. The Cal Grant Program authorizes the renewal of Cal Grant awards by eligible students, who are known as renewing recipients under the Cal Grant Program, in accordance with prescribed requirements. This bill would specify eligibility criteria that, commencing with the 2014–15 academic year, would apply to Cal Grant award recipients who were determined to be ineligible for a renewal award because they exceeded the maximum household income or asset level, or failed to meet the minimum need threshold, as specified, but who subsequently meet eligibility requirements for a Cal Grant award.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would, under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, allow a credit against those taxes in an amount equal to 15% of the qualified royalties, as defined, paid by a qualified taxpayer, as defined. The bill would calculate the cut-off date for the above-described credit based upon an estimate by the Franchise Tax Board of claims cumulatively totaling $100,000,000 for all taxable years, as specified. The bill would require a qualified taxpayer to commercialize, as defined, a qualified patent for at least 5 consecutive years. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law, known as the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, establishes, among other programs, the Cal Grant A Entitlement Program, the Cal Grant B Entitlement Program, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Program, and the Competitive Cal Grant A and B award program, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs. This bill would, commencing with the 2014–15 academic year, entitle an otherwise eligible student who is a member or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States, as defined, who meets prescribed requirements, including, but not limited to, enrollment in a qualifying undergraduate certificate or degree program, to a Cal Grant A Entitlement Award or a Cal Grant B Entitlement Award. The bill also would require the commission to make preliminary awards to all applicants currently eligible for an award under the program, and would require each person who receives a preliminary award to affirm, in writing, that he or she meets specified requirements for eligibility in the program. The bill would require the commission to randomly select at least 10% of the new and renewal awards made under the program and verify that the student meets specified requirements for eligibility. The bill would require the commission to seek repayment of any funds found to be improperly disbursed under the program, and would require the commission to submit an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding, among other things, the number of awards made under this program.

The California Constitution establishes the Commission on Judicial Performance and the Judicial Council. Existing law authorizes the commission to investigate the conduct or performance of any retired judge serving on senior judge status pursuant to rules adopted by the Judicial Council. In the course of an investigation described above, the commission or special masters appointed by the Supreme Court may, among other things, issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant materials and testimony, as specified. Existing law provides that if a person refuses to comply with the subpoena, the commission or the masters may petition a superior court, as specified, for an order compelling the person to attend or testify or to produce the writings or things required by the subpoena. Existing law provides that if the person fails to obey the order, that person shall be punishable for contempt of court. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.