Sen. Mark Leno

The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law imposes a tax on every distributor of cigarettes and tobacco products at specified rates. That law specifies that the taxes imposed by that law are in lieu of all other state, county, municipal, or district taxes on the privilege of distributing cigarettes or tobacco products. The California Constitution prohibits the Legislature from imposing taxes for local purposes, but allows the Legislature to authorize local governments to impose them. This bill would authorize the board of supervisors of a county or city and county to impose a tax on the privilege of distributing cigarettes and tobacco products in the county or city and county, including within an incorporated city within the county.

The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 requires the State Board of Equalization to administer a statewide program to license manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products. That act requires retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products to obtain a separate license for each retail location, to be issued by the board upon receipt of a completed application and payment of a one-time fee, unless specified conditions apply. This bill would require a fee of $265 to be submitted with each license application, as described above. The bill would require, for calendar years beginning on and after January 1, 2016, every retailer to file an application for renewal of a retailer's license accompanied with a fee of $265 per retail location, in the form and manner prescribed by the board. The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 requires every wholesaler and distributor who commences business selling or distributing cigarettes or tobacco products, or who commences doing so at a new or different place of business in the state, to apply for a license accompanied by a required fee of $1,000 for each location. The act also requires wholesalers and distributors to file an application for a renewal of license accompanied by a required fee of $1,000 for each location where cigarettes and tobacco products are sold. The bill would raise the fees described above to $1,200. The bill would require the board to report to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2019 regarding the adequacy of funding for the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, as specified.

This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration.

This measure would proclaim January 13, 2016, as Korean American Day.

The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities. Under existing law, regional centers purchase needed services for individuals with developmental disabilities through approved service providers or arrange for those services through other publicly funded agencies. Existing law establishes specified rates and wages to be paid to certain service providers and the rates to be paid for certain developmental services. Existing law requires that rates to be paid to other developmental service providers either be set by the department or negotiated between the regional center and the service provider. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which basic health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced, as specified. This bill would appropriate a specified sum to the State Department of Developmental Services to, commencing July 1, 2016, among other things, increase rates and wages for certain developmental services providers and fund incentive payments for competitive integrated employment opportunities and internships for individuals with developmental disabilities. The bill would require the department to submit a rate study to specified committees of the Legislature on or before March 1, 2019, regarding community-based services for individuals with developmental disabilities. The bill would require each regional center to report specified information to the department regarding increased funding for regional center operations. The bill would, for dates of service on or after August 1, 2016, increase the payment rates for intermediate care facilities and skilled nursing facilities that provide services to developmentally disabled individuals under the Medi-Cal program, as specified. The bill would also prohibit the State Department of Health Care Services from seeking to retroactively implement certain Medi-Cal provider payment reductions and limitations with regards to reimbursements for services provided by skilled nursing facilities that are distinct parts of general acute care hospitals for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011, and on or before September 30, 2013, and from seeking to recoup overpayments, as specified. Existing law requires the department and regional centers to annually collaborate to compile specified data relating to purchase of service authorization, utilization, and expenditure by each regional center. Existing law requires each regional center to annually report to the department regarding the regional center's implementation of these requirements, including whether the data indicates a need to reduce disparities in the purchase of services among consumers in the regional center's catchment area and the regional center's recommendations and plan to promote equity, and reduce disparities, in the purchase of services. Existing law requires the department to consult with specified stakeholders to review the data, develop recommendations to help reduce disparities in purchase of service expenditures, and encourage development and expansion of culturally appropriate services, among other things, and to report the status of its efforts during the 2016–17 legislative budget subcommittee hearing process. The bill would also require the department, subject to available funding, to allocate funding to regional centers to assist in implementing specified recommendations and plans, including the recommendations and plans of the regional centers to promote equity, and reduce disparities, in the purchase of services. Existing law requires an entity that receives payments between $250,000 and $500,000 per year from one or more regional centers to obtain either an independent audit or an independent review report of its financial statements, and requires an entity that receives payments that are equal to or more than $500,000 per year to obtain an independent audit. This bill would instead require an entity that receives payments between $500,000 and $2,000,000 from one or more regional centers to obtain an independent review report of its financial statements, and would authorize these entities to apply for, and require the regional center to grant, a 2-year exemption from this requirement if the regional center does not find issues in the independent review report that have an impact on regional center services. The bill would require an entity that receives payments from one or more regional centers that are equal to or more than $2,000,000 to obtain an independent audit and would authorize these entities to apply for, and require the regional center to grant, a 2-year exemption from the audit requirement if the audit resulted in an unmodified opinion, an unmodified opinion with additional communication, or a qualified opinion with issues that are not material. The bill would require a regional center to annually report to the State Department of Developmental Services any exemptions granted pursuant to these provisions.

This measure would declare the month of January 2016 as Pet Care Education Month and would request Californians to observe the month by ensuring that their companion animals receive the proper preventative care by establishing a financial plan for pet health emergencies and by contributing to charitable organizations that provide low-cost spay and neuter services and vaccinations or funds to help low-income individuals pay for veterinary care.

Existing law, commonly known as the Ellis Act, generally prohibits public entities from adopting any statute, ordinance, or regulation, or taking any administrative action, to compel the owner of residential real property to offer or to continue to offer accommodations, as defined, in the property for rent or lease. This bill would authorize the City and County of San Francisco to prohibit an owner of accommodations from filing a notice of an intent to withdraw accommodations or prosecuting an action to recover possession of accommodations, or threatening these actions, unless all the owners of the accommodations have been owners of record for 5 continuous years or more, except as specified, or from doing so with respect to property that the owner acquired within 10 years after providing notice of an intent to withdraw accommodations at a different property. The bill would also permit the city and county to require an owner of accommodations notifying the city and county of an intention to withdraw accommodations from rent or lease to identify each person or entity with an ownership interest in the accommodations, and to identify all persons or entities with an ownership interest in an entity. This information would be available for public inspection. The bill would provide specified, nonexclusive remedies that the city and county would be authorized to impose for a violation of these provisions. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City and County of San Francisco.

Existing law requires an operator of a commercial Web site or online service that collects personally identifiable information through the Internet, about individual consumers residing in California who use or visit its commercial Internet Web site or online service, to make a privacy policy available to consumers and to include specified information relating to the collection of personally identifiable information within that privacy policy. This bill would require the operator of a mobile application to provide clear and conspicuous notice that fully informs consumers when, how, and why their geolocation information, as defined, will be collected, used, and shared upon installation of the application. The bill would require the operator of a mobile application to obtain consent before collecting or using geolocation information and to obtain separate consent before disclosing that information.

The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 provides, among other things, that an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment is entitled to paid sick days for prescribed purposes, to be accrued at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. Existing law provides that an employee under the act does not include a provider of in-home support services, as described. This bill would revise the definition of an employee under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 to, as of July 1, 2016, include providers of in-home support services, as described.

The Corporation Tax Law imposes taxes according to or measured by net income at a rate of 8.84%, or for financial institutions, at a rate of 10.84%, as specified. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2015, revise that rate for taxpayers that are publicly held corporations, as defined, and instead impose an applicable tax rate from 7% to 13%, or for financial institutions, from 9% to 15%, based on the compensation ratio, as defined, of the corporation. This bill would increase the applicable tax rate by 50% for those taxpayers that have a specified decrease in full-time employees employed in the United States as compared to an increase in contracted and foreign full-time employees, as described. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.