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, provides that a defendant shall be punished 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, if the defendant has been previously convicted of a specified 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. This bill would specify that the prison term of 25 years to life applies if the defendant has been convicted of more than one specified offense on charges brought and tried separately, irrespective of the order in which the offenses were committed or the convictions obtained.
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Existing law, enacted by Proposition 47, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, requires misdemeanors instead of felony sentences for certain nonserious, nonviolent crimes, like petty theft and drug possession. Proposition 47 also creates the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, that is funded by savings that accrue to the state from the implementation of the proposition. Existing law requires, in part, 65% of the moneys deposited in the fund to be disbursed to the Board of State and Community Corrections to administer a grant program to fund public agencies that support mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, and diversion programs for people in the criminal justice system and 25% of the moneys deposited in the fund be disbursed to the State Department of Education to administer a grant program to public agencies aimed at improving outcomes for public school pupils, as specified. Proposition 47 provides that its provisions may be amended by a statute that is consistent with and furthers its intent and that is passed by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and is signed by the Governor. Proposition 47 also provides that the Legislature may, by majority vote, amend, add, or repeal provisions to further reduce the penalties for offenses it addresses. This bill would require the Department of Finance to select a public or private university through a competitive process to conduct a 4 year evaluation assessing the process, outcomes, and costs of Proposition 47, including the number and characteristics of participants served by programs funded with grant moneys from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund. The bill would require the selected university to report to the Legislature, no later than January 1, 2017, and annually by that date for the following 3 years. The bill would require that all data collected for the report be made publically available. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2021. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to compile state summary criminal history information and to provide that information to specified agencies and persons, as specified. This bill would require the department to gather and compile information regarding the number of people released from state prisons and county jails pursuant to the provisions of Proposition 47 and the number of people released who are rearrested or reincarcerated within 3 years as compared to similar populations in the criminal justice system.
(1) The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to provide that a person who is either severely disabled or over 55 years of age may transfer the base year value, as defined, of property that is eligible for the homeowners' property tax exemption to a replacement dwelling that is of equal or lesser value located within the same county as the property from which the base year value is transferred, provided the replacement dwelling is purchased or newly constructed within 2 years of the sale of the original property, subject to certain conditions. This bill would provide, commencing with the 2016–17 fiscal year, that the base year value of an original property may be transferred to a replacement dwelling that is of greater value, and would require the base year value of the replacement dwelling to be calculated by adding the difference between the full cash value of the original property and the full cash value of the replacement property to the base year value of the original property. (2) Existing law defines "full cash value of the replacement dwelling" for purposes of this transfer of property tax base year value to mean the replacement dwelling's full cash value, determined in accordance with a specified provision, as of the date on which the replacement dwelling was purchased or new construction was completed. This bill would provide that full cash value of the replacement dwelling may also mean, in specified circumstances, the replacement dwelling's full case value, determined in accordance with a specified provision, as of the date on which the original property is sold. (3) By changing the manner in which local assessors assess property for property taxation purposes, 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, 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 these statutory provisions. (4) Section 2229 of the Revenue and Taxation Code requires the Legislature to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2229 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. (5) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy, but would become operative only if Senate Constitutional Amendment ___ of the 2015-16 Regular Session is approved by the voters.
(1) Existing law provides various sources of funding for transportation purposes, including funding for the state highway system and the local street and road system. These funding sources include, among others, fuel excise taxes, commercial vehicle weight fees, local transactions and use taxes, and federal funds. Existing law imposes certain registration fees on vehicles, with revenues from these fees deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account and used to fund the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol. Existing law provides for the monthly transfer of excess balances in the Motor Vehicle Account to the State Highway Account. This bill would create the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and the local street and road system. The bill would provide for the program to be authorized every 5 years by the Legislature, and would provide that authorization for the 2015–16 through 2019–20 fiscal years. The bill would require the California Transportation Commission to identify the estimated funds to be available for the program and adopt performance criteria to ensure efficient use of the funds. The bill would provide for the deposit of various funds for the program in the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account, which the bill would create in the State Transportation Fund, including revenues attribute to a $0.10 per gallon increase in the motor vehicle fuel (gasoline) tax imposed by the bill and $0.10 of the $0.12 per gallon increase in the diesel fuel excise tax imposed by the bill, a $0.10 per gallon storage tax on motor vehicle fuel and $0.10 of the $0.12 per gallon storage tax on diesel fuel imposed by the bill, an increase of $35 in the annual vehicle registration fee, a new $100 annual vehicle registration fee applicable to zero-emission motor vehicles, as defined, commercial vehicle weight fees redirected over a 5-year period from debt service on general obligation transportation bonds, and repayment, over a 3-year period, of outstanding loans made in previous years from certain transportation funds to the General Fund. The bill would continuously appropriate the funds in the account for road maintenance and rehabilitation purposes for each 5-year period in which the Legislature has authorized the program, and would, for those fiscal years, allocate 5% of available funds to counties that approve a transactions and use tax on or after July 1, 2015, with the remaining funds to be allocated 50% for maintenance of the state highway system or to the state highway operation and protection program, and 50% to cities and counties pursuant to a specified formula. The bill would impose various requirements on agencies receiving these funds. This bill, in fiscal years in which the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program is not reauthorized by the Legislature, would make inoperative the increases in the gasoline and diesel excise tax rates and the $35 increase in the vehicle registration fee imposed by the bill. The bill, in those fiscal years, would also provide for the deposit of revenues from the $100 vehicle registration fee applicable to zero-emission vehicles, and weight fee revenues, in the State Highway Account, to be used for purposes of maintaining the state highway system or the state highway operation and protection program. (2) The Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1B) created the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund and provided for allocation by the California Transportation Commission of $2 billion in bond funds for infrastructure improvements on highway and rail corridors that have a high volume of freight movement, and specified categories of projects eligible to receive these funds. Existing law continues the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund in existence in order to receive revenues from sources other than the bond act for these purposes. The bill would transfer revenues attribute $0.02 of the $0.12 increase in the diesel fuel excise tax and revenues attributable to $0.02 of the $0.12 per gallon storage tax on diesel fuel to the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund for expenditure on eligible projects. As with the remainder of the gasoline and diesel fuel tax increases imposed by this bill, the $0.02 per gallon portion of the diesel fuel excise tax increase would be inoperative in fiscal years in which the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program in (1) is not reauthorized. (3) Existing law imposes a vehicle license fee, in lieu of property tax, on motor vehicles based on market value, at a rate of 0.65%. Pursuant to Article XI of the California Constitution, vehicle license fee revenues at the 0.65% rate are required to be allocated to cities and counties. This bill would incrementally increase the vehicle license fee to a rate of 1%, over a 5-year period beginning July 1, 2015, with the revenues above the 0.65% rate to be deposited in the General Fund and used for transportation general obligation bond debt service. (4) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to prepare a state highway operation and protection program every other year for the expenditure of transportation capital improvement funds for projects that are necessary to preserve and protect the state highway system, excluding projects that add new traffic lanes. The program is required to be based on an asset management plan, as specified. Existing law requires the department to specify, for each project in the program, the capital and support budget and projected delivery date for various components of the project. Existing law provides for the California Transportation Commission to review and adopt the program, and authorizes the commission to decline and adopt the program if it determines that the program is not sufficiently consistent with the asset management plan. This bill, on and after February 1, 2017, would require the commission to make an allocation of all capital and support costs for each project in the program, and would require the department to submit a supplemental project allocation request to the commission for each project that experiences cost increases above the amounts in its allocation. The bill would require the commission to establish guidelines to provide exceptions to the requirement for a supplemental project allocation requirement that the commission determines are necessary to ensure that projects are not unnecessarily delayed. (5) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to prepare and submit to the Governor a proposed budget and to develop budgeting, accounting, fiscal control, and management information systems to provide budget oversight. This bill, by April 1, 2016, would require the department to present to the California Transportation Commission a plan to increase department efficiency by up to 30% over the subsequent 3 years, with the ongoing savings to result in increased capital expenditures in the state highway operation and protection program or an increase in the state highway maintenance program. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the licensing and regulation of health facilities, including, but not limited to, general acute care hospitals. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a special permit authorizing a health facility to offer one or more special services when specified requirements are met. Existing law requires general acute care hospitals to apply for supplemental services approval and requires the department to, upon issuance and renewal of a license for certain health facilities, separately identify on the license each supplemental service. Existing law requires a hospital to report specified summary financial and utilization data to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) within 45 days of the end of every calendar quarter. This bill would require a general acute care hospital that provides observation services, as defined, to apply for approval from the department to provide these services as supplemental services. The bill would require the department to adopt standards and regulations for a hospital providing observation services as an approved supplemental service under the general acute care hospital's license. The bill would require hospitals to include certain data relating to observation service visits and total observation service gross revenues in the reports filed with OSHPD. (2) Because a violation of these provisions by a health facility 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 a specified reason.
Existing law, as added by the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, a measure approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, creates the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, which is funded by savings that accrue to the state from the implementation of the act. Existing law provides that 65% of the moneys deposited in the fund shall be disbursed to the Board of State and Community Corrections to administer a grant program to fund public agencies that support mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, and diversion programs for people in the criminal justice system. Proposition 47 provides that its provisions may be amended by a statute that is consistent with and furthers its intent and that is passed by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and is signed by the Governor. Proposition 47 also provides that the Legislature may, by majority vote, amend, add, or repeal provisions to further reduce the penalties for offenses it addresses. This bill would require the board, in awarding those grants, to allocate at least 23 of the grant funding to public behavioral health agencies, or other public agencies that provide behavioral health services, that will use the grant funds to provide evidence-based mental health services and substance use disorder treatment services that are provided by licensed or certified behavioral health professionals and counselors.
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 and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies to provide coverage for specified benefits. This bill would require health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2016, to include coverage for post-acute residential transitional rehabilitation services made necessary as a result of and related to an acquired brain injury. The bill would prohibit the plan contract or policy from including any acquired brain injury post-acute care treatment covered under the plan contract or policy in any lifetime limitation on the number of days of covered acute care treatment, and would require the plan contract or policy to provide the post-acute residential transitional rehabilitation services under the same terms and conditions, including, but not limited to, deductibles and copayments, as are applicable to similar coverage provided under the plan contract or policy. The bill would also prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer that contracts with or approves admission to a service provider pursuant to these requirements from refusing to contract with or approve admission to that facility to provide services that meet specified criteria solely because a facility is licensed by this state as an adult residential facility. Because a willful violation of the bill's provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, 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 generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, "full cash value" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under "full cash value" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to provide that a severely disabled person and a person over 55 years of age may transfer the base year value, as defined, of property that is eligible for the homeowners' property tax exemption to a replacement dwelling that is of equal or lesser value located within the same county as the property from which the base year value is transferred and the replacement dwelling is purchased or newly constructed within 2 years of the sale of the original property, subject to certain conditions. This measure would additionally authorize the Legislature to provide, commencing with the 2016–17 fiscal year, for the transfer of base year value to a replacement dwelling that is of greater value, and would require the base year value of the replacement dwelling to be calculated by adding the difference between the full cash value of the original property and the full cash value of the replacement dwelling to the base year value of the original property.
Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate various out-of-home facilities and entities responsible for children and nonminor dependents in foster care, including foster family homes, group homes, and out-of-state group homes, and imposes training requirements on foster parents. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor. Existing law provides for the placement of certain children in foster care under the supervision of the department and county welfare departments. Existing law also establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. Existing law requires the department to establish procedures to recover overpayments made to providers. This bill would provide for the reclassification of treatment facilities and the transition from the use of group homes for children in foster care to the use of short-term residential treatment centers, as defined. The bill would impose licensing requirements on those facilities, the violation of which would be a crime pursuant to the act, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would revise the foster parent training requirements imposed by the act. The bill would also provide for the development of child and family teams, as defined, to inform the process of placement and services to foster children and to children at risk of foster care placement. The bill would make conforming and related changes, including requiring the department to develop a new payment structure for funding placement options for children in foster care. The bill would also revise the procedures for recovering overpayments, and would make the failure to repay an overpayment grounds for termination of the provider's rate and cause the referral of the provider for license revocation. The bill would require, on and after January 1, 2017, all licensed foster family agencies to approve resource families, in lieu of certifying foster homes, in accordance with specified standards and requirements set forth in the bill. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to provide periodic progress updates to the Legislature on the implementation of the provisions of the bill. The bill would also include a statement of legislative intent. This bill would incorporate additional changes made by AB 1387, SB 238, SB 484, SB 524, and SB 794, that would become operative only if this bill is chaptered last. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Under existing law, the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act, a penalty of $4 is imposed upon every conviction for a violation of the Vehicle Code, or a local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code, other than a parking offense. Existing law requires the county or the court that imposed the fine to transfer the moneys collected pursuant to this act to the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund. Under existing law, the assessment of these penalties will terminate on January 1, 2016, and any moneys unexpended and unencumbered in the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund on June 30, 2017, will transfer to the General Fund. Existing law repeals the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act on January 1, 2018. This bill would extend the dates of the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act, so that the assessment of the penalties will terminate commencing January 1, 2018, and any moneys unexpended and unencumbered in the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund on June 30, 2019, will transfer to the General Fund. The bill would extend the operation of the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act until January 1, 2020. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations as to the harmful effects of relying on penalty assessments to fund core state programs and the necessity to identify alternative funding sources for emergency medical air transportation services. The bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services and the Department of Finance to develop, by March 1, 2017, a funding plan that ensures adequate reimbursement to emergency medical air transportation providers following the expiration of the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act on January 1, 2020.