This measure would designate the week of May 2 to May 8, 2010, as Public Service Recognition Week, and encourage all Californians to recognize the crucial role of public employees in this state.
This measure would designate that January 18, 2010, be observed as the official memorial of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth, commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States and the federal administration to work with the Governor and the Legislature of the State of California to, among other things, provide federal loan guarantees, flexibility with respect to certain programs, and certain funding levels for vital programs, as specified.
Existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, requires the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to states to enable them to establish, expand, or provide support for offices of health insurance consumer assistance or health insurance ombudsman programs and imposes specified eligibility requirements on states in order to receive those grants. This bill would establish the Office of the California Health Ombudsman in state government, to be governed by a chief executive officer known as the California Health Ombudsman who would be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The bill would require the ombudsman to, among other things, educate consumers on their rights and responsibilities with respect to health care coverage, assist consumers with enrollment in health care coverage, and resolve problems with obtaining specified premium tax credits. The bill would also require the ombudsman to operate a specified hotline and Internet Web site and would require that the telephone number and Web site be included on every membership card and evidence of coverage issued to Medi-Cal beneficiaries and to individuals with coverage under health care service plans or health insurers, as specified. The bill would require the ombudsman to apply to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services for a grant to implement these requirements and would create the California Health Ombudsman Trust Fund as a continuously appropriated fund in the State Treasury for purposes of the act. The bill would also impose an annual fee on health care service plans and health insurers for purposes of funding these provisions, as specified.
(1) The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act establishes the Santa Clara Valley Water District and specifies its powers and purposes relating to water supply and flood management. This bill would authorize the district to take actions relating to water management, water quality, and energy and environmental benefits in the district. The bill also would authorize the district to provide incentives or assistance to water retailers to implement specified water conservation measures. The bill would authorize the district to implement other measures if the implementation of those measures is a precondition for continued delivery of imported water to the district pursuant to state or federal law. (2) The act requires the district to annually prepare a written report on the district's activities in the protection and augmentation of the water supplies of the district, and requires the report to include information prescribed by the act and other information the board may order. The act requires the report to include a recommendation as to whether or not a groundwater charge should be levied in any zone or zones of the district during the ensuing water year and, if a groundwater charge is recommended, a proposal of the rate or rates per acre-foot of water, as specified. This bill would require the report to additionally include groundwater monitoring information collected by the district. The bill would revise the required groundwater charge recommendation to instead require the district to make a recommendation as to whether a groundwater charge should remain unchanged, be decreased or increased, or be newly imposed in any zone or zones of the district. (3) The act requires the board of directors of the district (board) to hold a public hearing on the annual report, and prescribes notice requirements for purposes of the public hearing. This bill would repeal that public hearing requirement and the related notice requirements. (4) The act requires the board to determine whether to levy a groundwater charge in any zone or zones prior to the end of the water year based upon findings and determinations from the public hearing on the annual report. The act sets forth various requirements relating to the calculation of groundwater charges, including a requirement that certain increases in rates be directly related to the reduction in the affected zone groundwater levels in a specified period. The act prescribes public hearing and notice requirements for the imposition of new and adjusted groundwater charges. Article XIIID of the California Constitution, which was added pursuant to the approval by the voters of Proposition 218 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, generally requires that assessments, fees, and charges be submitted to property owners for approval or rejection after the provision of a written notice and the holding of a public hearing. Existing provisions of the Government Code prescribe specific procedures and parameters for local jurisdictions in complying with Article XIIID of the California Constitution. This bill would repeal the public hearing and notice requirements related to groundwater charges, and would instead authorize the board to impose a groundwater charge in any zone in compliance with Article XIIID of the California Constitution and specified provisions of the Government Code. The bill would revise certain requirements relating to the calculation of groundwater charges, and would delete the requirement that certain increases in groundwater charge rates be directly related to the reduction in the affected zone groundwater levels. (5) By imposing new requirements on the district, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (6) 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 authorizes the Director of Pesticide Regulation to prescribe the time and conditions under which methyl bromide and chloropicrin may be used, as specified. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to those provisions.
Existing law requires that, upon a breach of the obligation of a mortgage or transfer of an interest in property, the trustee, mortgagee, or beneficiary record a notice of default in the office of the county recorder where the mortgaged or trust property is situated and mail the notice of default to the mortgagor or trustor, among other acts required prior to exercising a power of sale in a nonjudicial foreclosure proceeding. This bill would establish, contingent upon receipt of federal funding for all costs, and only until January 1, 2014, the Facilitated Mortgage Workout (FMW) Program. The program would be a process whereby borrowers and lenders would engage in conciliation sessions for purposes of developing a loan modification plan. These provisions would apply, except as specified, if the loan originated prior to January 1, 2009, the loan is the 1st mortgage or deed of trust secured by the property, the property is occupied by the borrower as the borrower's principal residence, and the unpaid principal balance is not more than $729,750. The program would require that specified information regarding the FMW Program be included with the notice of default sent to a borrower, as defined, on a loan secured by residential real property of one- to 4-family dwelling units that is the primary residence of the borrower, as specified. The bill would require that this additional notice be recorded in the office of the county recorder. By expanding the duties of county recorders, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide for an administrator of the program who would be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The program would require a borrower who elects to participate in the program to complete a specified form and return the form to the administrator of the program not later than 30 calendar days after receiving the notice of default. The program would require the borrower to submit other information to the administrator within 15 days of requesting to participate in the program, including tax returns, income verification, a specified deposit of funds, and a letter describing the borrower's financial hardship, as specified. The program would require a borrower who elects to participate in the program to deposit with the administrator 50% of the current mortgage payment each month during participation in the FMW Program. The bill would also prohibit a mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent from reporting negative credit information to a credit reporting agency about a borrower who has completed the FMW Program and accepted a mortgage loan modification. The bill would impose various administrative fees, and a specified minimum deposit, payable by the mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent, or by the borrower, as specified, who participates in the FMW Program. The bill would also provide that the timelines set forth in the provision governing the exercise of the power of sale, as specified, would be suspended until the completion of the program, as specified. The bill would require the administrator of the program, among other duties, to implement rules and standards for selecting qualified neutral conciliation officers and to develop standards for forms and reports required to implement the program. The bill would also require the administrator, upon receipt of a borrower's form whereby he or she elects to participate in the program, to nominate an individual to serve as a neutral conciliation officer from a list of qualified neutral conciliation officers in the county in which the property is located. The bill would establish the compensation for a neutral conciliation officer who provides his or her services to the program and require a neutral conciliation officer to use reasonable efforts to ensure that each FMW Program is completed within 60 calendar days of the neutral conciliation officer's nomination. The bill would require the neutral conciliation officer to prepare a final report, as specified. The bill would also require, only until January 1, 2015, the administrator to report quarterly to the Legislature regarding the FMW Program, as specified. The bill would also require each mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent participating in the program to post specified data about its loans on its Internet Web site. These provisions would become operative only upon the issuance of a notice from the administrator to the Governor and specified other legislative leaders, and the posting of the notice on an Internet Web site, declaring that the administrator has the capacity to make the program available to any borrower in every county who desires to participate. The bill would also make related and technical changes. 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.
This measure would recognize the 45th Anniversary of the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, otherwise known as the Williamson Act, and would recognize the value to the state of agricultural land conservation contracts.
This measure would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to uphold protections of women's equality and to encourage all Americans to participate in the celebration of Women's Equality Day on August 26, 2010, the 90th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.
This measure would declare April 2010 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the need for increased financial literacy.
