Sen. Scott Wiener

Existing law provides for the creation of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which operates Caltrain as the commuter rail service along the San Francisco Peninsula commute corridor. This bill would appropriate $260,000,000 from the General Fund to the Transportation Agency for allocation to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board for the purpose of completing the Caltrain Electrification Project.

Existing law prohibits the governing authority of a school or other institution from unconditionally admitting any person as a pupil of any public or private elementary or secondary school, childcare center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center, unless prior to their admission to that institution they have been fully immunized against various diseases, including measles, mumps, pertussis, hepatitis B, and any other disease deemed appropriate by the State Department of Public Health, as specified. Existing law authorizes an exemption from those provisions for medical reasons. Under existing law, notwithstanding the above-described prohibition, full immunization against hepatitis B is not a condition by which the governing authority admits or advances a pupil to the 7th grade level of a public or private elementary or secondary school. This bill would remove the above-described exception relating to hepatitis B. The bill would additionally prohibit the governing authority of a school or other institution from unconditionally admitting any person as a pupil of any public or private elementary or secondary school, childcare center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center, unless prior to their admission to that institution they have been fully immunized against COVID-19. To the extent that the bill would create new duties for school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. For purposes of the additional immunizations deemed appropriate by the department, and that would be mandated before a pupil's first admission to the institution, existing law requires that exemptions be allowed for both medical reasons and personal beliefs. This bill would repeal that provision, thereby removing the personal belief exemption from any additional immunization requirements deemed appropriate by the department. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, grants agricultural employees the right to form and join labor organizations and engage in collective bargaining with respect to wages, terms of employment, and other employment conditions, and authorizes employees to elect exclusive bargaining representatives for these purposes. Existing law requires the Agricultural Labor Relations Board to certify the results of an election conducted by secret ballot of employees in a collective bargaining unit to designate a collective bargaining representative, unless the board determines there are sufficient grounds to refuse to do so. Existing law further provides that if the board refuses to certify an election because of employer misconduct that would render slight the chances of a new election reflecting the free and fair choice of employees, the labor organization shall be certified as the bargaining representative for the bargaining unit. This bill would refer to the secret ballot election as a polling place election. This bill would also permit agricultural employees, as an alternative election procedure, to select their labor representatives through a representation ballot card election by submitting a petition to the board supported by representation ballot cards signed by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit. This bill would require the board to conduct an immediate investigation regarding the validity of the petition and the supporting representation ballot cards and, within 5 days after receiving a petition, to make an administrative decision as to whether the petition meets certain requirements and as to whether the labor organization submitted the requisite number of cards. The bill would require the board to certify the labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative if the board determines that the labor organization has submitted the required number of representation ballot cards and the cards meet specified criteria. Existing law authorizes a person aggrieved by the final order of the board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought for an unfair labor practice, to obtain a review of the order in a specified court of appeal by filing in the court a written petition requesting that the order of the board be modified or set aside. This bill would require an employer who appeals or petitions for a writ of review of any order of the board involving make-whole, backpay, or other monetary awards to employees, to post an appeal bond in the amount of the entire economic value of the order, as specified, and would provide for the bond to be forfeited under specified conditions. This bill would state that its provisions are severable.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law requires the department to provide presumptive Medi-Cal eligibility to pregnant women and children. Existing law authorizes a qualified hospital to make presumptive eligibility determinations if it complies with specified requirements. Existing law authorizes the department, on a regional pilot project basis, to issue an identification card to a person who is eligible for Medi-Cal program benefits, but does not possess a valid California driver's license or identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the board governing the California Health Benefit Exchange, to develop a single paper, electronic, and telephone application for insurance affordability programs, including Medi-Cal. This bill would require the department to implement a program of presumptive eligibility for persons experiencing homelessness, under which a person would receive full-scope Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost. The bill would require the department to authorize an enrolled Medi-Cal provider to issue a temporary Medi-Cal benefits identification card to a person experiencing homelessness, and would prohibit the department from requiring a person experiencing homelessness to present a valid California driver's license or identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to receive Medi-Cal services if the provider verifies the person's eligibility. This bill would authorize an enrolled Medi-Cal provider to make a presumptive eligibility determination for a person experiencing homelessness. The bill would require the department to reimburse an enrolled Medi-Cal provider who bills the Medi-Cal program for Medi-Cal services provided off the premises to a person experiencing homelessness, as specified. The bill would require a Medi-Cal managed care plan to allow a beneficiary to seek those services and to reimburse a provider for providing those services, but would authorize a Medi-Cal managed care plan to establish reasonable requirements governing network participation. The bill would require a Medi-Cal managed care plan to reimburse a participating Medi-Cal provider providing covered services, without requiring the provider to obtain prior approval, as specified. The bill would authorize an enrolled Medi-Cal provider to refer a Medi-Cal beneficiary who is experiencing homelessness for specialist care and diagnostics. The bill would require the department to seek any necessary federal approvals to implement the above provisions, and would condition their implementation on receipt of those federal approvals and the availability of federal financial participation. The bill would require the insurance affordability program's application to include information collection means for the applicant to indicate if they are experiencing homelessness at the time of application. If Medi-Cal covered health care services covered by a Medi-Cal managed care plan are not provided within the first 60 calendar days of enrollment to a Medi-Cal beneficiary who has indicated that they are a person experiencing homelessness at the time of application, the bill would require the department to deduct the capitation payments made by the department to the plan from subsequent payments due to the plan for the time period from when the person was initially enrolled into a plan until the first receipt of plan-covered services. If a person experiencing homelessness who is assigned a primary care provider (PCP) receives services by another provider off the premises of the assigned PCP, the bill would require the department or the Medi-Cal managed care plan to notify the assigned PCP that their patient was seen by another provider.

Existing law requires the driver of any vehicle, including a person riding a bicycle, when approaching a stop sign at the entrance of an intersection, to stop before entering the intersection. A violation of this requirement is an infraction. This bill would, until January 1, 2028, require a person riding a bicycle, when approaching a stop sign at the entrance of an intersection, to yield the right-of-way to any vehicles that have either stopped at or entered the intersection, or that are approaching on the intersecting highway close enough to constitute an immediate hazard, and to pedestrians, as specified, and continue to yield the right-of-way to those vehicles and pedestrians until reasonably safe to proceed. The bill would require other vehicles to yield the right-of-way to a bicycle that, having yielded as prescribed, has entered the intersection. The bill would state that these provisions do not affect the liability of a driver of a motor vehicle as a result of the driver's negligent or wrongful act or omission in the operation of a motor vehicle. The bill would also require the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to submit a report to the Legislature, as specified, regarding the effects of this bill. By changing the elements of an existing crime, this 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 prescribes certain rights and limitations for landlords and tenants subject to eviction and certain procedures for civil actions involving evictions. Existing law, the State Bar Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation, governed by a board of trustees. Existing law requires an attorney to maintain short-term deposits of client funds in an Interest on Lawyers' Trust Account (IOLTA) and requires the interest and dividends earned on the account to be paid to the State Bar for the funding of certain programs that provide civil legal services without charge to indigent persons. Existing law requires the board of trustees to adopt regulations and procedures necessary to implement provisions, referred to as the Legal Services Trust Fund Program, that govern the funding of those programs. Existing administrative law establishes a Legal Services Trust Fund Commission to administer revenue from IOLTA and other funds remitted to the trust fund program. This bill would establish the Homelessness Prevention Fund to be administered by the commission. The bill would require the commission, subject to appropriation to the State Bar by the Legislature, to distribute moneys in the fund in the form of grants, awarded on a competitive basis, to fund prescribed legal services, education, and outreach for tenants relating to eviction or displacement. The bill would require the commission to develop guidelines for the grant process in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would establish eligibility requirements for grant applicants, including that the applicant agrees to provide all of the services funded by the grant without charge to recipients. The bill would require a grantee to report semiannually to the commission on certain activities and services funded by the grant and would prohibit a grantee from using more than 15% of the allocation received from the fund for administrative costs in the first year it receives a grant and 10% in every year thereafter. The bill would limit the State Bar expenditure of funds for administration to the actual costs of administration of these provisions, up to 5% of the funds provided.

The Personal Income Tax Law, beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income tax credit against personal income tax, and a payment from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for an allowable credit in excess of tax liability, to an eligible individual that is equal to that portion of the earned income tax credit allowed by federal law as determined by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as specified. The law provides that the amount of the credit is calculated as a percentage of the eligible individual's earned income and is phased out above a specified amount as income increases. This bill, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2022, would authorize a taxpayer to elect to have the amount of the credit calculated based on the taxpayer's earned income for the taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2020, the taxpayer's earned income for the taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2021, or the taxpayer's earned income for the next taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2022. Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Tax Relief and Refund Account and provides that payments required to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account, including any amount to be paid as an earned income tax credit in excess of any tax liabilities. By increasing the amount of the California Earned Income Tax Credit to be paid with funds from the Tax Relief and Refund Account, and thus, authorizing new payments from that account for additional amounts in excess of personal income tax liabilities, this bill would make an appropriation.

Existing law, the Ralph C. Dills Act (Dills Act) , governs collective bargaining between the state and recognized state public employee organizations. Existing law excludes certain employees from coverage under the Dills Act, including, among others, managerial employees, supervisory employees, and confidential employees, as defined. Existing law creates the Public Employment Relations Board and authorizes it, among other things, to determine appropriate state employee bargaining units, as specified. This bill would enact the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act, to provide employees of the Legislature, including some supervisory and managerial employees, the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. The bill would prescribe rights, duties, and prohibitions in this context that parallel those in the Dills Act. The bill would prohibit the Public Employment Relations Board from including employees of the Legislature in a bargaining unit that includes employees other than those of the Legislature. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with any member of the board, or any of its agents, in the performance of duties pursuant to its provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the provisions of the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act are severable. 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 generally provides for the regulation of various financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, and finance lenders, by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to coordinate greenhouse gas emission reductions and climate-change activities in state government. Executive Order N-19-19 requires, among other things, the Department of Finance to create a Climate Investment Framework and to consult with the Office of Planning and Research on the framework. This bill would require a covered entity, as defined, to, on or before December 31, 2022, and annually thereafter, prepare a climate-related financial risk report, as defined, and to submit to the Secretary of State, and make available to the public on its own internet website, a copy of that report. The bill would also require a covered entity to submit to the Secretary of State a statement affirming, not under penalty of perjury, that the climate-related financial risk report discloses climate-related financial risk, as required by the bill. This bill would also require, on or before January 31, 2023, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State to deliver to the Climate-Related Risk Disclosure Advisory Group in the Office of Planning and Research copies of all climate-related financial risk reports received pursuant to these provisions in the prior calendar year and would require the office to make those reports available to the public on its internet website.

The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities, including retail commercial cannabis activity. MAUCRSA gives the Bureau of Cannabis Control in the Department of Consumer Affairs the power, duty, purpose, responsibility, and jurisdiction to regulate commercial cannabis activity in the state as provided by the act, and does not supersede or limit the authority of a local jurisdiction to adopt and enforce local ordinances to regulate commercial cannabis businesses within that local jurisdiction. MAUCRSA reserves to a local jurisdiction, defined as a city, city and county, or county, specified powers regarding commercial cannabis activity, including adopting and enforcing local ordinances regulating commercial cannabis activity or prohibiting that activity. This bill would authorize a local jurisdiction to enter into a cannabis licensing agreement with the bureau to require the bureau to administer local commercial cannabis licensing, permitting, or other regulatory activities on behalf of the local jurisdiction. The bill would require the agreement to meet specified conditions, including that the agreement expires no less than 5 years from its operative date, and would require the local jurisdiction designate applicable zoning areas for commercial cannabis activity. This bill would require the bureau to provide notice to local licensees or permitholders of the transition from local administration to state administration, as provided, and would require the bureau to begin accepting new applications for local cannabis licenses within 15 days of entering into a cannabis licensing agreement. The bill would additionally authorize the bureau to impose penalties, not to exceed unspecified amounts, on a local jurisdiction for violation of a cannabis licensing agreement, and would require the bureau to deposit any penalties collected into the Cannabis Fines and Penalties Account. This bill, prior to expiration of the agreement, would require the local jurisdiction to either establish its own licensing and regulatory framework for commercial cannabis activity, or upon consent of the bureau, renew the agreement by ordinance or resolution. The bill would impose unspecified monetary penalties if the local jurisdiction or the bureau terminate the agreement prior to expiration. By requiring the bureau to pay a penalty to a local jurisdiction from the Cannabis Fines and Penalties Account, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law places requirements on applicants for state cannabis licenses, including that an applicant with 20 or more employees provide a notarized statement that the applicant will enter into, or demonstrate that it has already entered into, and abide by the terms of a labor peace agreement. Existing law requires an applicant with less than 20 employees that has not yet entered into a labor peace agreement to provide a notarized statement as part of its application indicating that the applicant will enter into and abide by the terms of a labor peace agreement within 60 days of employing its 20th employee. Existing law requires an applicant to provide a statement, signed by the applicant under penalty of perjury, that the information is complete, true, and accurate. This bill, beginning January 1, 2022, instead would require that an applicant with 10 or more employees demonstrate that it has already entered into, and abides by the terms of, a labor peace agreement, and will maintain the labor peace agreement for the duration of the license. The bill, beginning January 1, 2022, would require an applicant with less than 10 employees that has not yet entered into a labor peace agreement to provide a notarized statement as part of its application indicating that the applicant will enter into, and abide by the terms of, a labor peace agreement within 60 days of employing its 10th employee and will maintain the labor peace agreement for the duration of the license. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the California Cannabis Equity Act of 2018, requires the Bureau of Cannabis Control in the Department of Consumer Affairs to administer a grant program to assist with the development of a local jurisdiction's local equity program or to assist applicants and licensees in a local jurisdiction's equity program, and authorizes the bureau to provide technical assistance to the local equity program. This bill would require the bureau to establish a stakeholder oversight committee to ensure fair and equitable distribution of grants authorized under the act and to develop model guidelines for local equity programs. Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative measure, enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, prohibits prosecution for the possession or cultivation of marijuana of a patient or a patient's primary caregiver who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician. Existing law, the Medical Marijuana Program Act, establishes a voluntary identification card program administered by the State Department of Public Health to exempt qualified patients who hold an identification card issued pursuant to the program, and the caregivers of those persons, from certain state criminal sanctions related to the possession, cultivation, transportation, processing, or use of limited amounts of marijuana, as specified. This bill would require the department to adopt regulations to ensure the affordable and timely access to identification cards issued under the act. 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. AUMA authorizes legislative amendment of its provisions with a 23 vote of both houses, without submission to the voters, to further its purposes and intent. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of AUMA.