Existing law authorizes a person who is unlawfully imprisoned under specified circumstances, including, without limitation, conviction on the basis of false evidence or the existence of new exculpatory evidence, to prosecute a writ of habeas corpus ordering their release. Existing law also authorizes such a person who is no longer in custody to prosecute a motion to vacate a judgment. Under existing law, if the district attorney stipulates to or does not contest the factual allegations underlying the application for the writ or motion, the district attorney is required to provide notice to the Attorney General. This bill would require that notice to be given no less than 7 days before entering a stipulation. Under existing law, if a writ of habeas corpus or motion to vacate a judgment is granted for specified reasons, the petitioner may move for a finding of factual innocence by a preponderance of the evidence for the purpose of obtaining compensation for the pecuniary injury sustained through the erroneous conviction and incarceration. This bill would authorize a person, if the court has granted specified writs of habeas corpus and the charges were subsequently dismissed, or the person was acquitted of the charges on a retrial, to move the court for a finding that they are entitled to compensation. The bill would require the court to grant that motion unless the district attorney can establish by clear and convincing evidence that the person committed the acts constituting the offense and is therefore not entitled to compensation, as specified. Existing law requires the California Victim Compensation Board to recommend to the Legislature that an appropriation be made and a claim paid, as specified, to a person who has secured a declaration of factual innocence from the court and has applied to the board for compensation, as specified. This bill would instead require the board to approve payment to the person if sufficient funds are available and funds are appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose. Existing law requires the board to calculate the compensation for injury sustained because of erroneous conviction and imprisonment based on factual innocence and approve payment to a claimant, as specified, within 30 days of the presentation of the claim to the board, if sufficient funds are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would instead require the calculation within 90 days of the filing of the claim. The bill would authorize the board, prior to approving payment, to request from both parties additional documents or arguments as needed to calculate compensation. The bill would make other conforming changes.
Sponsored bills
Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies on February 1, 2012, and provides for the designation of successor agencies to, among other things, wind down the affairs of the dissolved redevelopment agencies and make payments due for enforceable obligations. Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city or county to establish an enhanced infrastructure financing district to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide significance that provide significant benefits to the district or the surrounding community. Existing law prohibits a city or county that created a redevelopment agency from initiating the creation of an enhanced infrastructure financing district or participating in the governance or financing of an enhanced infrastructure financing district until certain specified events occur, including that the successor agency for the former redevelopment agency created by the city or county has received a finding of completion, as specified. This bill would, notwithstanding those provisions, authorize the City of Merced to initiate, participate in, finance, or govern an enhanced infrastructure financing district if those specified events have occurred, except the requirement to have received a finding of completion, and if the City of Merced, and the Merced Designated Local Authority acting as the successor agency to the former Redevelopment Agency of the City of Merced, have paid in full the amounts outstanding demanded by the county auditor-controller from the funds of the successor agency for subsequent distribution to taxing entities, as specified, including amounts remaining due under any applicable installment payment plan entered into with the Department of Finance. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Merced.
The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) grants to a consumer various rights with respect to personal information, as defined, that is collected by a business, as defined, including the right to direct a business that collects sensitive personal information about the consumer to limit its use of the consumer's sensitive personal information to that use which is necessary to perform the services or provide the goods reasonably expected by an average consumer who requests those goods or services, to perform certain other services, and as authorized by certain regulations. The CCPA defines "sensitive personal information to mean personal information that reveals, among other things, a consumer's racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership. The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, approved by the voters as Proposition 24 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, amended, added to, and reenacted the CCPA. This bill would define "sensitive personal information" for purposes of the CCPA to additionally include personal information that reveals a consumer's citizenship or immigration status. The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act by a majority vote of both houses of the Legislature, as specified. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law authorizes a health care service plan or health insurer that provides coverage for prescription drugs to require step therapy if there is more than one drug that is clinically appropriate for the treatment of a medical condition, but requires a plan or insurer to expeditiously grant a step therapy exception request if specified criteria are met. Existing law does not prohibit a plan, insurer, or utilization review organization from requiring an enrollee or insured to try an AB-rated generic equivalent or interchangeable biological product before providing coverage for the equivalent branded prescription drug. This bill would specify that a plan, insurer, or utilization review organization is also not prohibited from requiring an enrollee or insured to try a biosimilar before providing coverage for the equivalent branded prescription drug, but that the requirement to try biosimilar, generic, and interchangeable drugs does not prohibit or supersede a step therapy exception request.
Existing law requires the governing boards of school districts and county boards of education to adopt local control and accountability plans using a state template adopted by the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the local control and accountability plan to include, among other things, a description of annual goals for all pupils and specified subgroups of pupils to be achieved for each state priority, as specified, including, among other state priorities, school climate, as measured by, among other things, suspension and expulsion rates. Existing law requires a superintendent of a school district, a county superintendent of schools, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post local control and accountability plans, as specified, to various internet websites, as provided. Existing law requires the State Department of Education, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board, to develop and maintain the California School Dashboard, a web-based system for publicly reporting performance data on the state and local indicators included in the evaluation rubrics. This bill would eliminate the provision that requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post local control and accountability plans. The bill would require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post the current school year's local control and accountability plans, as provided, on the California School Dashboard, as described, and would require the department to notify those local educational agencies of, and to ensure that those local educational agencies meet, that requirement. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, 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, 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 provisions of the California Constitution provide that the University of California constitutes a public trust and require the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California (regents) , a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes, including any competitive bidding procedures as may be applicable to the university by statute for specified purposes, including the purchasing of materials, goods, and services. Existing law requires the regents, except as provided, to let all contracts involving an expenditure of $100,000 or more annually for goods and materials or services, excepting personal or professional services, to the lowest responsible bidder meeting certain specifications, or to reject all bids. Existing policy of the regents establishes a general prohibition on contracting out for services and functions that can be performed by university staff, with certain exceptions, establishes employment standards for contract employees, and provides for the conversion of contract employees to university employment under prescribed circumstances. This bill would make it unlawful for any vendor, as defined, to accept payment from the university pursuant to a contract for prescribed services if the vendor is performing services or supplying the university with employees to perform services who are paid less than the higher of the total compensation rate specified in the vendor's contract with the university or as required by university policy. The bill would require a vendor to provide those employees with prescribed written notice relating to compensation. The bill would require a vendor, twice yearly, to provide basic payroll information, as defined, to the university and members of any joint labor-management committee, as defined. The bill would also require a vendor to provide specified additional written notice, including specific text, relating to the release of basic payroll information, to all employees who agree to perform services for the university or continue doing so. The bill would also require basic payroll information for an individual employee who performs services for the university, on request, to be made available for inspection by that individual employee or that individual employee's authorized representative or to be furnished to that individual employee or that individual employee's authorized representative. The bill would require an auditor, vendor, the university, or any other person who conducts or receives an audit or other finding with regard to whether a vendor has compensated employees at the total compensation rate required by the vendor's contract with the university or university policy to provide that audit or other finding to the university and members of any joint labor-management committee. This bill would authorize an aggrieved employee, as defined, to bring a civil action against a vendor if an aggrieved employee first provides a vendor with written notice of an alleged violation of these provisions, as specified, and provides the vendor the opportunity to correct and cure the violation and the vendor fails to provide prescribed documentation. The bill would require a vendor who receives written notice from an aggrieved employee to provide a copy of that notice to the president of the university within 5 business days. The bill would establish remedies, including penalties and restitution, for prevailing claimants. The bill would require a prevailing claimant to notify the president of the university of the decision. The bill would make its provisions severable.
Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , approved by the voters as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, regulates the cultivation, distribution, transport, storage, manufacturing, testing, processing, sale, and use of marijuana for nonmedical purposes by people 21 years of age and older. Under AUMA, a person 18 years of age or older who plants, cultivates, harvests, dries, or processes more than 6 living cannabis plants, or any part thereof, may be charged with a felony if specified conditions exist, including when the offense causes substantial environmental harm to public lands or other public resources. AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions by a 23 vote of each house if the amendment furthers its purposes and intent. This bill would amend AUMA by adding to the above-described conditions planting, cultivating, harvesting, drying, or processing marijuana that results in substantial environmental harm to surface or groundwater. By expanding the scope of a 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 Emergency Services Act, among other things, establishes the Office of Emergency Services for the purpose of mitigating the effects of natural, man-made, or war-caused emergencies and makes findings and declarations relating to ensuring that preparation within the state will be adequate to deal with those emergencies. Existing law authorizes a law enforcement agency to request the Department of California Highway Patrol to activate the Emergency Alert System within the appropriate area if that agency determines that a child 17 years of age or younger, or an individual with a proven mental or physical disability, has been abducted and is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, and there is information available that, if disseminated to the general public, could assist in the safe recovery of that person. Existing law also authorizes the issuance and coordination of a "Silver Alert" relating to a person who is 65 years of age or older, developmentally disabled, or cognitively impaired who is reported missing, and a "Feather Alert" relating to an endangered indigenous person who has been reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances. This bill would authorize a law enforcement agency to request the Department of the California Highway Patrol to activate an "Ebony Alert," with respect to Black youth, including young women and girls, who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, at risk, developmentally disabled, or cognitively impaired, or who have been abducted. The bill would authorize the department to activate an Ebony Alert within the appropriate geographical area requested by the investigating law enforcement agency and to assist the agency by disseminating specified alert messages and signs, if the department concurs with the agency that an Ebony Alert would be an effective tool in the investigation of a missing person according to specified factors. The bill would also make related legislative findings and declarations.
Existing federal law, the Immigration and Nationality Act, makes certain aliens ineligible to receive visas and ineligible to be admitted into the United States, except as specified. The act authorizes the United States Attorney General to parole into the United States, on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, any alien applying for admission to the United States, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Governor to enter into specified agreements with the federal government on behalf of the state. Under existing law, these agreements concern various subject matters, including, but not limited to, health, such as the state Medicaid plan relating to the Medi-Cal program, and transportation matters. This bill would authorize the Governor to enter into an agreement with the United States Attorney General to establish a program for the United States Attorney General to grant an agricultural employee, as defined, parole pursuant to the above-described authorization under the act, as specified. Subject to implementation of that program, the bill would require the Governor to prepare a report on the impact of the program on the 3rd year of the renewal of the program, as provided.
Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services to use the progressive design-build procurement process for the construction of up to 3 capital outlay projects, as jointly determined by the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance, and prescribes that process. Existing law defines "progressive design-build" as a project delivery process in which both the design and construction of a project are procured from a single entity that is selected through a qualifications-based selection at the earliest feasible stage of the project. Existing law, until January 1, 2029, authorizes local agencies, defined as any city, county, city and county, or special district authorized by law to provide for the production, storage, supply, treatment, or distribution of any water from any source, to use the progressive design-build process for up to 15 public works projects in excess of $5,000,000 for each project, similar to the progressive design-build process authorized for use by the Director of General Services. Existing law requires a local agency that uses the progressive design-build process to submit, no later than January 1, 2028, to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a report on the use of the progressive design-build process containing specified information, including a description of the projects awarded using the progressive design-build process. Existing law requires the design-build entity and its general partners or joint venture members to verify specified information under penalty of perjury. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, provide additional authority for cities, counties, cities and counties, or special districts to use the progressive design-build process for up to 10 public works in excess of $5,000,000, not limited to water-related projects, excluding projects on state-owned or state-operated facilities. The bill would require information to be provided under penalty of perjury and would require similar reports due no later than December 31, 2028. By expanding the crime of perjury, 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 a specified reason.