Sen. Dave Cortese

This measure would proclaim the month of April 2023 as Black April Memorial Month.

Existing law requires an employer to provide an employee with a meal period during a work period of more than 5 hours per day, except as prescribed. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 9 regulates employment in the transportation industry and requires an employer to provide an employee with a rest period, as specified. Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to work during a meal or rest or recovery period mandated pursuant to an applicable statute, or applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Existing law requires an employer who fails to provide an employee a mandated meal or rest or recovery period to pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal or rest or recovery period was not provided. Existing law provides certain exemptions from these requirements. Existing federal law, the Railway Labor Act, regulates labor relations for rail and air carriers and entitles employees to organize and bargain collectively. This bill would provide that the above-described meal and rest period requirements do not apply to an airline cabin crew employee if the employee is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement under the Railway Labor Act and that agreement includes a provision addressing meal and rest breaks for airline cabin crew employees, as specified, or, if the employee is represented by a labor organization pursuant to the Railway Labor Act but is not yet covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that includes a provision addressing meal and rest breaks, those requirements do not apply for the first 12 months of organization, or longer, if agreed upon in writing, as specified. The bill would prohibit a person, commencing December 5, 2022, from filing a new legal action brought by or on behalf of an employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement, as specified, asserting claims of alleged meal or rest break violations. The bill would state that it does not affect a settlement agreement or final judgment of a civil action brought by an airline cabin crew employee based on a claim of a meal or rest break violation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries arising out of and in the course of their employment. Existing law prohibits a claim for workers' compensation from being maintained unless within 30 days after the occurrence of the injury, the injured person, or in case of the death, a dependent, or someone on the injured person's or dependent's behalf, serves notice of the injury upon the employer. Existing law also requires an injured employee, or in the case of death, a dependent, or an agent of the employee or dependent, to file a claim form with the employer. Under existing law, except for specified injuries, if liability is not rejected within 90 days after the date the claim form is filed with the employer, the injury is presumed compensable and the presumption is rebuttable only by evidence discovered subsequent to the 90-day period. This bill would reduce those 90-day time periods to 45 days and, for certain injuries or illnesses, including hernia, heart trouble, pneumonia, or tuberculosis, among others, sustained in the course of employment of a specified member of law enforcement or a specified first responder, would reduce those time periods to 30 days. Existing law requires an employer, one working day after an employee files a claim form, to authorize the provision of all treatment, as specified, for the alleged injury and to continue to provide the treatment until the date that liability for the claim is accepted or rejected. Existing law limits liability for medical treatment to $10,000 until the date the claim is accepted or rejected. This bill would increase that amount from $10,000 to $17,000. Existing law requires that certain proceedings, including proceedings for the enforcement against the employer or an insurer of any liability for compensation, be instituted before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Existing law authorizes the appeals board to fix and determine, in its award, the total amount of compensation to be paid and specify the manner of payment, or may fix and determine the weekly disability payment to be made and order payment during the continuance of disability. Existing law requires that when payment of compensation has been unreasonably delayed or refused, either prior to or subsequent to the issuance of an award, the amount of the unreasonably delayed or refused payment be increased up to 25% or up to $10,000, whichever is less. Existing law requires the appeals board to use its discretion to accomplish a fair balance and substantial justice between the parties. This bill would require, if payment of compensation has been unreasonably delayed or refused, either prior to or subsequent to the issuance of an award, for specified claims of injury or illness, including hernia, heart trouble, pneumonia, or tuberculosis, among others, sustained in the course of employment of a specified member of law enforcement or a specified first responder, the full amount of the order, decision, or award to be increased by 10%. The bill would prohibit multiple increases from being awarded for repeated delays in making a series of payments due for the same type or specie of benefit unless there has been a legally significant event between the delay and the subsequent delay in payments of the same type or specie of benefit that establishes the employer's or insurance carrier's liability. The bill would apply to all injuries, without regard to whether the injury occurs before, on, or after the operative date of the bill. The bill would make other conforming changes.

(1) Existing law establishes various programs to provide assistance to homeless youth, including, among others, homeless youth emergency service pilot projects and the Runaway Youth and Families in Crisis Projects. Under other existing law, pupils who seek to continue their education in postsecondary educational institutions, and who wish to apply for financial aid, are generally required to apply for this aid through certain standardized forms, which, for most pupils, include the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and, for certain pupils, include the California Dream Act application. This bill, until August 1, 2024, and subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, would require the State Department of Social Services to establish the California Success, Opportunity, and Academic Resilience (SOAR) Guaranteed Income Program. The program would award public school pupils who are in grade 12, have completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or California Dream Act application, and are homeless children or youths a guaranteed income of $1,000 each month for 5 months from April 1, 2023, to August 1, 2023, inclusive, as provided. The bill would establish the California SOAR Guaranteed Income Fund as the initial depository of all moneys appropriated, donated, or otherwise received for the program, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, would provide moneys in the fund to eligible participants. Under the bill, the award would not be considered financial aid or income for financial aid or other purposes and would not negatively impact the award recipient's eligibility for future financial aid. (2) Existing law, beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax law, allows an earned income tax credit, the California Earned Income Tax Credit, against personal income tax. The Personal Income Tax Law also allows, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2019, a young child tax credit against the taxes imposed under that law. This bill, for the taxable year beginning on January 1, 2023, would exclude from gross income, for purposes of the personal income tax, any amount received as an award pursuant to the California SOAR Guaranteed Income Program. The bill, for the taxable year beginning on January 1, 2023, would additionally provide that the amount awarded is not earned income for purposes of eligibility for the California Earned Income Tax Credit or the young child tax credit. (3) Existing law establishes various public social services programs to provide eligible recipients with certain benefits, including, but not limited to, cash assistance under the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, nutrition assistance under the CalFresh program, and health care services under the Medi-Cal program. Under existing law, those programs, among others, are in part federally funded and governed by federal eligibility criteria, including specified income or resource limits. This bill would prohibit any award received by a student through the California SOAR Guaranteed Income Program from being considered income or resources for purposes of determining the student's, or any member of their household's, eligibility for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance, under any state or local means-tested program, including certain public social services programs. The bill would condition implementation of this provision on not conflicting with federal law, or receipt of any necessary federal waivers or exemptions and the availability of any applicable federal financial participation, as specified. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with stakeholders and the Legislature, to identify the CalWORKs, CalFresh, and Medi-Cal programs and any other state program that implements a federal means-tested program and that would require an exemption or waiver. The bill would require a state department or agency that administers a program identified by the State Department of Social Services or by the department or agency itself, to approve an exemption or waiver or to seek one from the federal government. If the state fails to receive the necessary federal exemption or waiver, the bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to consider alternatives to prevent adverse consequences for California SOAR Guaranteed Income Program participants.

Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state. Existing law requires suspension to be imposed on a pupil only when other means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct, and specifies that other means of correction may include, among other things, participation in a restorative justice program. This bill would require the State Department of Education to develop evidence-based best practices for restorative justice practice implementation on a school campus and to make these best practices available on the department's internet website on or before June 1, 2024, as specified. The bill would require the department to take specified actions in developing best practices and would encourage the department to, to the extent feasible, take into account resources and best practices that have been identified or developed as part of aligned efforts, as specified.

Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, regulates the activities of lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers in connection with attempts to influence legislative and administrative action by legislative and other state officials, including by requiring that lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers register and file periodic reports with the Secretary of State. This bill, beginning one year after the Secretary of State certifies for public use an online filing and disclosure system for lobbying information, or beginning January 1, 2023, whichever is later, would require lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers to include information in the periodic reports that identifies each bill or administrative action subject to lobbying activity during that period. For certain activities involving issue lobbying advertisements, the bill would require disclosure of the position on the bill or administrative action advocated by the advertisement. This bill would require additional specified disclosures for lobbying activity during the 60-day period before the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn for interim recess or final recess. The bill would require certain persons to file specified reports following a calendar quarter in which that person incurs cumulative costs equal to or exceeding $5,000 for issue lobbying advertisements, as defined. The bill would authorize entities filing related reports in paper with the Secretary of State to verify those filings by electronic signature. A violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, and reports and statements filed under the act are required to be signed under the penalty of perjury. By expanding the scope of existing crimes, 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 Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

Existing law authorizes a county to establish a repository and distribution program for the donation of surplus medication and redistribution to persons in need of financial assistance to ensure access to necessary pharmaceutical therapies. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, authorize a regional pilot program in the Counties of Santa Clara and San Mateo and the City and County of San Francisco for the purpose of implementing and maintaining a repository and distribution program, as specified. The bill would require participating pharmacies in the regional pilot program to be owned or operated by one of the 3 counties and not on probation with the California State Board of Pharmacy. The bill would exempt the regional pilot program from a specified provision that generally applies to donation of surplus medication redistribution programs. Specifically for the regional pilot program, this bill would authorize donated medication to be transferred more than once, but only within a county, and would allow donated medication from multiple facilities to be commingled by the participating entity. The bill would require participants to maintain a system of recording and logging donated medication to allow the tracking, as specified, and to disclose to the Board of Pharmacy any medication errors, as defined, within 30 days of discovery of the error by the participating entity. This bill would, on January 1, 2028, require the Board of Pharmacy to submit to the Legislature an evaluation of the regional pilot program and the pilot program participants' compliance to program requirements. Existing law defines a donor organization to refer to specified health and care facilities that may donate centrally stored, unused medications. This bill would expand the list of entities that may act as a donor organization to include a facility licensed by the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Health Care Services, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice, and other specified licensed facilities. Existing law authorizes a pharmacy, licensed in California and not on probation with the California State Board of Pharmacy, whose primary or sole type of pharmacy practice type is limited to a skilled nursing facility, home health care, board and care, or mail order, to donate unused, unexpired medication, as specified. This bill would authorize any pharmacy, licensed in California and not on probation with the California State Board of Pharmacy, to donate unused, unexpired medication, as specified. This bill would exempt specified persons and entities, including a prescription drug manufacturer, a participating entity, and a pharmacist or physician, from criminal or civil liability for an injury caused when any entity or person donates, accepts, or dispenses prescription drugs in compliance with specified provisions. The bill would also include a surplus medication collection and distribution intermediary in this exemption, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for these 3 counties.

Existing law requires local educational agencies to identify, locate, and assess individuals with exceptional needs and to provide those individuals with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, with special education and related services, as reflected in an individualized education program. This bill would require the State Department of Education to, on or before November 30, 2023, publish data related to federal measures of least restrictive environment for pupils with disabilities, as provided. The bill would make findings and declarations relating to pupils with disabilities.