Sen. Shannon Grove

Existing law establishes The Burton-Moscone-Bagley Citizens' Income Security Act for Aged, Blind and Disabled Californians, which requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to supplement Supplemental Security Income payments made available pursuant to the federal Social Security Act. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

Existing law requires the State Department of State Hospitals and the State Department of Health Care Services to contract with a single nonprofit entity to provide for the protection and advocacy services to persons with mental disabilities, as specified. Existing law requires each local mental health director to appoint, or contract for the services of, one or more county patients' rights advocates. Existing law requires these advocates to, among other things, monitor mental health facilities, services, and programs, as defined, for compliance with statutory and regulatory patients' rights provisions, and receive and investigate certain complaints from or concerning recipients of mental health services residing in licensed health or community care facilities. Existing law authorizes a mental health client, as defined, to enter into an agreement with a county patients' rights advocate for the provision of advocacy services. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these provisions.

Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, defines "sexual abuse" as sexual assault or sexual exploitation for purposes of mandating certain persons to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. The failure to report known or suspected instances of child abuse, including sexual abuse, under the act is a misdemeanor. Existing law provides that the intent and purpose of this act is to protect children from abuse and neglect, and requires all persons participating in the investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect to consider the needs of the child victim. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this statement of intent.

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to commit certain acts of disorderly conduct, relating to, among other things, prostitution, loitering, obstruction of the free use of a public way as a result of being under the influence of certain substances, and invasion of privacy by means of an instrumentality, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to some of those 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.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, for taxable years beginning January 1, 2016, would allow a credit under those laws to an employer who employs in this state, an individual with a disability who may be paid a special minimum wage, and pays the qualified employee a wage equal to or exceeding the minimum wage during the taxable year. The credit would be allowed in an amount equal to the difference between the special minimum wage and the minimum wage. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This measure would constitute an application to the United States Congress to call a constitutional convention pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution limited to proposing amendments to the United States Constitution that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government and limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government. This measure would constitute a continuing application for such convention until the legislatures of 2/3 of the states have made applications on the same subject and the convention has been called by the Congress of the United States.

(1) Existing law, as amended by Proposition 83, the Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act (Jessica's Law) , approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, makes a defendant punisable by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life if convicted of certain crimes, including rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse of a child, or rape, spousal rape, or sexual penetration in concert, if certain circumstances were present, including, among other things, in the commission of that offense, any person kidnapped the victim, tortured the victim, or committed the offense during the commission of a burglary, as specified. Existing law also makes a defendant punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 15 years to life if convicted of certain crimes, including rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse of a child, or rape, spousal rape, or sexual penetration in concert, if certain circumstances were present, including, among other things, in the commission of that offense any person, except as specified in the provisions above, kidnapped the victim, committed the offense during the commission of a burglary, or used a dangerous or deadly weapon in the commission of the offense. Proposition 83 provides that the Legislature may amend the provisions of the act to expand the scope of their application or increase the punishment or penalties by a statute passed by a majority vote of each house of the Legislature. This bill would add the crimes of rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, and oral copulation, perpetrated against a person who is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, to the above provisions, if the victim is developmentally disabled, as defined. By applying the above enhancements to these crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law makes a defendant punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life if convicted of certain crimes, including rape, spousal rape or sexual penetration in concert, sexual penetration, sodomy, or oral copulation if certain circumstances were present, including, among other things, in the commission of that offense any person kidnapped the victim, committed the offense during the commission of a burglary, or used a dangerous or deadly weapon in the commission of the offense, or under other specified circumstances, and the crime was committed against a minor 14 years of age or older. This bill would add the crimes of rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, and oral copulation, perpetrated against a person who is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, to the above provisions, if the victim is developmentally disabled, as defined. By applying the above enhancements to these crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires that a person who commits certain enumerated crimes, including rape, sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration, against a person who is 65 years of age or older, or against a person who is blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, a paraplegic, or a quadriplegic, or against a person who is under 14 years of age, receive a one-year sentence enhancement and requires that any person having a prior conviction for any of the enumerated offenses receive a 2-year sentence enhancement. This bill would add to the enumerated list of crimes rape, sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration, perpetrated against a person who is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent. By applying the above enhancements to these crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) 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, inoperative due to a pending referendum election, would, as of July 1, 2015, prohibit stores that have a specified amount of sales in dollars or retail floor space from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer and prohibit those stores from selling or distributing a recycled paper bag at the point of sale unless the store makes that bag available for purchase for not less than $0.10. This same law would, on and after July 1, 2016, impose these prohibitions and requirements on convenience food stores, foodmarts, and other specified entities. This bill would repeal the requirement that a store that distributes recycled paper bags make those bags available for purchase for not less than $0.10. This bill would become operative only if the referendum on single-use plastic bags is approved by the voters.

The Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 authorizes an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action to recover specified civil penalties, that would otherwise be assessed and collected by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, on behalf of the employee and other current or former employees for the violation of certain provisions affecting employees. The act provides the employer with the right to cure certain violations before the employee may bring a civil action, as specified. For other violations, the act requires the employee to follow specified procedures before bringing an action. Existing law requires an employer to provide its employees with specified information regarding their wages either semimonthly or at the time of each wage payment and provides that the employer does not have the right to cure a violation of that requirement before an employee may bring a civil action under the act. This bill would provide an employer with the right to cure a violation of that wage statement law requirement before an employee may bring a civil action under the act. The bill would also delete obsolete provisions of law.