Sen. Jim Beall

This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration.

This measure would designate May 2012 as Lupus Awareness Month.

This measure would recognize May 2012 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.

This measure would declare the Legislature's recognition of the importance of access to local parks, trails, open space, and facilities for the health and development of all Californians. This measure would also declare July 2012 as "Parks Make Life Better!®" Month.

This measure would designate the month of April 2012 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, would recognize April 25, 2012, as Denim Day California, and would encourage everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the message that there is no excuse for, and never an invitation to commit, rape.

This measure would declare May 23, 2012, as the 24th Annual State Scientist Day, as a tribute to the dedication and professionalism of the state scientists who work on behalf of all the residents of California.

Existing property tax law requires the county auditor, in each fiscal year, to allocate property tax revenue to local jurisdictions in accordance with specified formulas and procedures, and generally requires that each jurisdiction be allocated an amount equal to the total of the amount of revenue allocated to that jurisdiction in the prior fiscal year, subject to certain modifications, and that jurisdiction's portion of the annual tax increment, as defined. Existing property tax law also reduces the amounts of ad valorem property tax revenue that would otherwise be annually allocated to the county, cities, and special districts pursuant to these general allocation requirements by requiring, for purposes of determining property tax revenue allocations in each county for the 1992–93 and 1993–94 fiscal years, that the amounts of property tax revenue deemed allocated in the prior fiscal year to the county, cities, and special districts be reduced in accordance with certain formulas. It requires that the revenues not allocated to the county, cities, and special districts as a result of these reductions be transferred to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) in that county for allocation to school districts, community college districts, and the county office of education. Existing property tax law requires the auditor of each county with qualifying cities, as defined, to make certain property tax revenue allocations to those cities in accordance with a specified Tax Equity Allocation (TEA) formula established in a specified statute and to make corresponding reductions in the amount of property tax revenue that is allocated to the county. Existing law requires the auditor of Santa Clara County, for the 2006–07 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, to reduce the amount of property tax revenue allocated to qualified cities in that county by the ERAF reimbursement amount, as defined, and to commensurately increase the amount of property tax revenue allocated to the county ERAF, as specified. This bill would, instead, for the 2013–14 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, require the auditor of Santa Clara County to reduce the amount of property tax revenues that are required to be allocated from the qualified cities in that county to the county ERAF by a specified percentage of the ERAF reimbursement amount. This bill would prohibit the auditor of Santa Clara County from reducing the amounts allocated to the county ERAF in any fiscal year in which the amount of moneys required to be applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts is determined pursuant to Test 1 of Proposition 98. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute. By imposing new duties in the allocation of ad valorem property tax revenues in the County of Santa Clara, 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.

Under existing law, the state, through the State Department of Social Services and county welfare departments, is required to establish and support a public system of statewide child welfare services for the protection of children. Existing law requires the department to establish the California Child and Family Service Review System to review all county child welfare systems. Existing law requires the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a workgroup, as specified, to establish a workplan by which child and family service reviews shall be conducted. Existing law requires the workgroup to consider, among other things, measurable outcome indicators. Existing law requires the department to identify and promote the replication of best practices in child welfare service delivery to achieve these outcomes. Existing law requires the department to provide prescribed information to legislative committees relating to child welfare system improvements, as specified. This bill would require the workgroup described above to examine outcome indicators for each racial and ethnic population served within a county. This bill would require a county to address in its self-assessment and system improvement plan, among other things, its efforts to eliminate disparities in services and outcomes for children of color in, and to provide adequate and culturally appropriate services within, its child welfare system. This bill would require the department to identify and promote best practices for increasing cultural competency in the provision of services and eliminating inequities in service delivery to racial and ethnic communities. This bill would authorize the director of the department to take various actions if he or she determines a county substantially failed to comply with the requirements of its system improvement plan, as specified. This bill would require the department to report prescribed information to the Legislature by January 1, 2015. By requiring counties to address additional matters in its self-assessment and system improvement plan, 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.

(1) Existing law generally requires an action for recovery of damages against a person suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse to be commenced within 8 years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 3 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual abuse, whichever occurs later. Under existing law, certain actions may not be brought against a person or entity on or after the plaintiff's 26th birthday. This bill would instead provide that any of those actions may be commenced until the plaintiff attains the age of 35 or within 3 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered the psychological injury or illness after the age of majority was caused by the sexual abuse, whichever occurs later, and would delete the provisions prohibiting certain actions from being brought on or after the plaintiff's 26th birthday. (2) Existing law prohibits a confidential settlement agreement in a civil action the factual foundation for which establishes a cause of action for an act that may be prosecuted as a felony sex offense, and further makes those provisions inapplicable to a settlement agreement or stipulated agreement that requires the nondisclosure of the amount of any money paid in a settlement of a claim. This bill would delete those provisions and instead would prohibit any confidential settlement in a civil action seeking damages that is based in whole or in part on an act of childhood sexual abuse. The bill would make an agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2013, containing a confidential settlement provision void as a matter of law and against public policy. The bill would also specify that an attorney who demands a confidential settlement agreement as set forth above shall be subject to disciplinary action by the State Bar. (3) Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, requires a mandated reporter, as defined, to report whenever he or she, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observed a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. Failure to report an incident is a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of 6 months, a fine of up to $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. Existing law prohibits a supervisor or administrator from inhibiting a mandated reporter from making a report, authorizes supervisors and administrators of mandated reporters to implement procedures to facilitate the reporting of child abuse and neglect, and prohibits a person from being sanctioned for making the report. This bill would require any private entity conducting business in the state that has employees, members, agents, licensees, or representatives who are either mandated reporters or who work directly in an unaccompanied setting with minor children on more than an incidental and occasional basis or have supervisory or disciplinary power over minor children to designate an employee to receive complaints of suspected child abuse, and to implement an internal procedure for employees, members, agencies, licensees, or representatives of the private entity to report any incident of suspected child abuse to the designated employee. The bill would specify that the private entity is prohibited from sanctioning a person for making a report, and would also require the private entity to perform enhanced background checks, as specified, on the employees, members, agents, licensees, or representatives described above. The bill would make a violation of those provisions a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months confinement in a county jail or by a fine of $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. Because the bill would create a new crime, the 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.

This measure would designate May 2012 as Foster Care Month in California.