Existing law regulates adoption services by the State Department of Social Services, county adoption agencies, licensed adoption agencies, and other adoption service providers and requires the department to adopt regulations pertaining to those services. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a parent of a minor to willfully omit, without lawful excuse, to furnish necessary clothing, food, shelter, or medical attendance, or other remedial care for his or her child. Existing law makes it a crime for a parent of a child under 14 years of age, and a person to whom the child has been confided for nurture or education, to desert the child in any place with intent to abandon the child, as specified. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a parent or organization, without holding a valid and unrevoked license to place children for adoption, to advertise in a public medium, as specified, that he, she, or it will place children for adoption, or accept, supply, provide, or obtain children for adoption, or to cause an advertisement to be published in or by a public medium soliciting, requesting, or asking for a child or children for adoption. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with specified individuals and entities, to establish a working group to review the challenges facing families with adopted children, to identify resources within the community that will assist families with these challenges, and to make recommendations to the Legislature as to the services that may be helpful to these families. The bill would require the working group to meet no later than April 1, 2017, and would require the working group's recommendations to be submitted in a report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature on or before April 1, 2018.
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Existing law requires the Department of the California Highway Patrol to regulate the safe operation of tour buses, as defined, and requires the department to adopt rules and regulations relating to the equipment and maintenance of tour buses. At least once every 13 months, existing law requires the department to inspect every maintenance facility or terminal of any person who at any time operates any bus, including a tour bus, and makes it unlawful for any person to operate a bus without this inspection having been conducted. In addition to the systematic inspection required of all motor carriers, existing law requires tour bus operators to require each tour bus to be inspected at least every 45 days, or more often if necessary to ensure safe operation. This bill would require the department to, upon the request of, and in consultation with, representatives of a local government in a jurisdiction where tour buses operate, develop protocols for entering into memoranda of understanding with local governments to allow the department to increase the number of the locally operating tour buses that are being inspected by the department. The bill would require a memorandum of understanding entered into with a local government pursuant to these provisions to include a provision that the local government will reimburse the department for all actual costs associated with conducting additional inspections. The bill would prohibit any inspection conducted pursuant to these provisions from being duplicative of any inspection conducted by the department to meet those specified existing inspection requirements.
Existing law establishes various crimes relating to computer services and systems, including, but not limited to, knowingly introducing a computer contaminant, as defined. Existing law makes a violation of those crimes punishable by specified fines or terms of imprisonment, or by both those fines and imprisonment. Existing law defines extortion as obtaining the property of another, with his or her consent, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear. Existing law makes extortion a crime, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years. This bill would define ransomware as a computer contaminant or lock placed or introduced without authorization into a computer, computer system, or computer network that restricts access by an authorized person to the computer, computer system, computer network, or any data therein under circumstances in which the person responsible for the placement or introduction of the ransomware demands payment of money or other consideration to remove the computer contaminant, restore access to the computer, computer system, computer network, or data, or otherwise remediate the impact of the computer contaminant or lock. The bill would provide that a person is responsible for placing or introducing ransomware into a computer, computer system, or computer network if the person directly places or introduces the ransomware or directs or induces another person do so, with the intent of demanding payment or other consideration to remove the ransomware, restore access, or otherwise remediate the impact of the ransomware. The bill would provide that a person who, with intent to extort money or other consideration from another, introduces ransomware into any computer, computer system, or computer network is punishable as if that money or other consideration were actually obtained by means of the ransomware. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would create 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, the Acupuncture Licensure Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of acupuncture by the Acupuncture Board, within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes the board, with the approval of the Director of Consumer Affairs, to appoint an executive officer who is exempt from civil service. Existing law repeals the provisions establishing the board and authority for it to appoint an executive officer on January 1, 2017. The bill would extend the operation of the board and the board's authority to appoint an executive officer until January 1, 2019. Existing law requires, among other things, the completion of an approved educational and training program in order to be issued a license to practice acupuncture. For purposes of the act, beginning January 1, 2017, existing law defines "approved educational and training program" as a school or college offering education and training in the practice of an acupuncturist who meets various requirements, including offering curriculum that includes specified hours of didactic and laboratory training and supervised clinical instruction. Existing law requires these programs to submit that curriculum to the board and to receive board approval of the curriculum. This bill would provide that any school or college offering education and training in the practice of acupuncture that was approved by the board prior to January 1, 2017, is deemed to have had its curriculum approved by the board if its approval has not been revoked and it has not changed its curriculum since receiving board approval. Beginning January 1, 2017, existing law requires the board to establish standards for the approval of educational training and clinical experience received outside the United States. This bill would repeal that board requirement. The bill would instead require an applicant completing education outside of the United States to submit documentation of his or her education to a board approved credential evaluation service for evaluation and to have the results of the evaluation sent directly from the credential evaluation service to the board. The bill would require the board to examine the received results to determine if an applicant meets requirements for licensure and, if the evaluated education is not sufficient, would authorize the board to offer the applicant additional education, training, or testing, as specified. The bill would require the board to establish, by regulation, an application process, criteria, and procedures for approval of a credential evaluation service. The bill would require the regulations to, at a minimum, require the credential evaluation service to meet specified requirements. The bill would define, for these purposes, an "approved credential evaluation service" as an agency or organization that is approved by the board to evaluate education completed outside the United States and identify the equivalency of that education to education completed within the United States. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes.
Existing law prohibits a person who is 18 years of age or older, and who is the owner, lessee, renter, or other legal occupant of a residence, who owns a firearm and who knows or has reason to know that another person also residing there is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm from keeping a firearm in that residence, unless the firearm is secured, as specified. A violation of this prohibition is a misdemeanor. This bill would require a person, when leaving a handgun in an unattended vehicle, to secure the handgun by locking it in the trunk of the vehicle, locking it in a locked container and placing the container out of plain view, or locking the handgun in a locked container that is permanently affixed to the vehicle's interior and not in plain view. The bill would make a violation of these requirements an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000. The bill would expressly make those requirements inapplicable to the transportation of unloaded firearms by a licensed common carrier in conformance with applicable federal law. The bill would also provide that these provisions do not supersede any local ordinance that regulates the storage of handguns in unattended vehicles if the ordinance was in effect before the date of enactment of this bill. By creating a new 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.
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature, and authorizes the Legislature, unlimited by the other provisions of the California Constitution, to confer additional authority and jurisdiction upon the commission that is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities. The Public Utilities Act provides the commission with broad authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law establishes standards that are applicable to any person, as defined, to run, place, erect, or maintain wires or cables used to conduct electricity and requires the commission to enforce these standards. Pursuant to its existing authority, the commission has adopted rules for the construction of electrical lines and the trimming of trees near electrical lines. Except as specified, existing law requires any person that owns, controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or distribution line upon any mountainous, forest-covered, brush-covered, or grass-covered land to maintain a clearance in all directions between all vegetation and all conductors that are carrying electric current, as prescribed. This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to prioritize areas in which communities are subject to conditions that increase fire hazards associated with overhead utility facilities when determining areas in which it will require enhanced mitigation measures for wildfire hazards posed by overhead electrical lines and equipment. The bill would require the commission to develop a definition of "enhanced mitigation measures" for these purposes. The bill, as part of any findings supporting a decision to approve the boundaries for those areas, would require the commission to describe how the commission incorporated the concerns of local governments, fire departments, or both in determining those boundaries.
(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of shorthand reporters by the Court Reporters Board of California, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs, and authorizes the board to appoint an executive officer and committees and to employ other employees, as specified. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2017. This bill would extend the operation of the board and the authorization of the board to appoint specified personnel and committees until January 1, 2020. (2) Existing law authorizes the board, by resolution, to establish a fee for the renewal of a certificate issued by the board, and prohibits the fee from exceeding $125, as specified. Under existing law, all fees and revenues received by the board are deposited into the Court Reporters' Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund as it pertains to fees collected by the board. This bill would raise that fee limit to $250. By authorizing an increase in a fee deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (3) Existing law requires, until January 1, 2017, certain fees and revenues collected by the board from licensees to be deposited into the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, which is established as a continuously appropriated fund, to be available to provide reimbursement for the cost of providing shorthand reporting services to low-income litigants in civil cases. Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2017, low-income persons appearing pro se to apply for funds from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, subject to specified requirements and limitations, including that total disbursements are prohibited from exceeding $30,000 annually and $1,500 per case. Existing law requires the board, until January 1, 2017, to publicize the availability of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund to prospective applicants. Existing law requires the unencumbered funds remaining in the Transcript Reimbursement Fund as of January 1, 2017, to be transferred to the Court Reporters' Fund. The bill would provide that the Transcript Reimbursement Fund is to be funded by a transfer of funds from the Court Reporters' Fund in the amount of $300,000 annually and authorizes the board to transfer funds in increments of $100,000. The bill would provide that the board may use existing resources to publicize the availability of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund to prospective applicants, as specified. The bill would instead prohibit disbursements from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund to pro se litigants from exceeding $75,000 annually. The bill would prohibit a vexatious litigant, as defined, from receiving funds from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, except as specified. The bill would require the board to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on or before November 1, 2018, regarding the condition of the Court Reporters' Fund, the condition of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, and alternative funding sources to cover the costs associated with transcripts provided to indigent litigants, as specified. This bill would extend the operation of the provisions regarding the Transcript Reimbursement Fund until January 1, 2020, and recast and revise certain provisions regarding that fund. By extending the operation of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. (4) 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.
Existing law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, provides, among other things, for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary institutions in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act exempts an institution from its provisions if any of a list of specific criteria are met. This bill would recast and revise various provisions of the act. The bill would increase the amount of a fine that may be issued to a person for operating an institution without proper approval to operate from $50,000 to $100,000. The bill would require an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution, as defined, to comply with specified requirements, including providing the bureau evidence of the institution's accreditation. The bill would authorize the bureau to adopt, by regulation, a process that allows an institution with approval to operate to request and receive inactive status. The bill would require an institution with approval to operate that knows that it is being investigated, is the subject of a judgment, a regulatory action, or increased oversight or monitoring by, or is the subject of a settlement with, an oversight entity other than the bureau to report it to the bureau, as specified. The bill would adjust annual fees charged to an institution with approval to operate, as specified. This bill would establish an Office of Student Assistance and Relief to advance and promote the rights of private postsecondary educational institution students, as specified. The bill would require the office to report quarterly by posting on the bureau's Internet Web site, through September 1, 2018, specified information related to assistance it provides to these students. The bill would require the office to submit a report to the Legislature, the department, and the bureau summarizing that information by January 1, 2019. The act establishes the Student Tuition Recovery Fund and requires the bureau to adopt regulations governing the administration and maintenance of the fund, including requirements relating to assessments on students and student claims against the fund, and establishes that the moneys in this fund are continuously appropriated to the bureau for specified purposes. This bill would make a California student of a Corinthian Colleges, Inc., institution, who meets all of the other eligibility requirements, eligible for recovery from the fund. To the extent that the bill expands the purposes of the fund, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law repeals the act on January 1, 2017. This bill would instead repeal the act on January 1, 2021, thus extending the operation of the act by 4 years. By extending operation of the Student Tuition Recovery Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. Under existing law, the act specifies conduct by regulated institutions that, if undertaken, is a crime. Because this bill would extend the application of those criminal provisions, it 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.
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature, and authorizes the Legislature, unlimited by the other provisions of the California Constitution, to confer additional authority and jurisdiction upon the commission that is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities. The Public Utilities Act provides the commission with broad authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities and electrical cooperatives are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law establishes requirements for equipment, practices, and facilities for public utilities, including standards, enforceable by the commission, for installation and maintenance of wires or cables used to conduct electricity. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. This bill would require each electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, and electrical cooperative to construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment. The bill would require each electrical corporation to annually prepare a wildfire mitigation plan. The bill would require each electrical corporation to submit its plan to the commission for review, as specified. The bill would require the commission to review and comment on the submitted plan, as specified. The bill would require the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative to determine whether any portion of the geographical area where the utility's overhead electrical lines and equipment are located has a significant risk of catastrophic wildfire resulting from those electrical lines and equipment and, if so, would require the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative, at an interval determined by the board, to present to the board for its approval those wildfire mitigation measures the utility intends to undertake to minimize the risk of its overhead electrical lines and equipment causing a catastrophic wildfire. By placing additional duties upon local publicly owned electric utilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Because a violation of these provisions by an electrical corporation would be a crime, the 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 specified reasons.
The Child Care and Development Services Act has a purpose of providing a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of child care and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents, including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop standards for the implementation of quality child care programs. Existing law authorizes the County of Alameda, as a pilot project, to develop an individualized county child care subsidy plan, as provided. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2022, the County of Santa Clara to develop and implement an individualized county child care subsidy plan, as specified. The bill would require the plan to be submitted to the local planning council and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for approval, as specified. The bill would require the Early Education and Support Division of the State Department of Education to review and approve or disapprove the plan and any subsequent modifications to the plan. The bill would require the County of Santa Clara to annually prepare and submit to the Legislature, the State Department of Social Services, and the State Department of Education a report that contains specified information relating to the success of the county's plan. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Santa Clara.