(1) Existing law establishes the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, which, among other things, provides for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary schools in the state. Existing law establishes the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to regulate private postsecondary institutions through the powers granted, and the duties imposed, by the act. This bill would prohibit the bureau, for the period July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011, inclusive, from enforcing the act against institutions that offer flight instruction or institutions that offer Federal Aviation Administration certified educational programs in aircraft maintenance. The bill would also require those institutions to notify the bureau if they operate during that period. (2) The act prohibits institutions, as defined, from performing various actions. This bill would prohibit an institution from offering an unaccredited doctoral degree program without disclosing to prospective students that the degree program is unaccredited, and any known limitation of the unaccredited degree, including, but not limited to, whether the degree is recognized for licensure or certification in other states. (3) The act prohibits an ability-to-benefit student, defined as a student who does not have a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or a recognized equivalent of that certificate, from enrolling in an institution unless the student achieves a specified score on an independently administered examination from a specified list of examinations prescribed by the United States Department of Education that demonstrates that the student may benefit from the education and training being offered. This bill would authorize the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to publish its own list of acceptable examinations if the United States Department of Education does not have a list of relevant examinations that pertain to the intended occupational training. (4) The act requires specified private postsecondary institutions to refund 100% of the amount paid for institutional charges, less specified expenses, if notice of cancellation is made through attendance at the first class session, or the 7th class day after enrollment, whichever is later. This bill would change the 2nd deadline for notice of cancellation from the 7th class day after enrollment to the 7th day after enrollment. (5) Existing law defines "graduates employed in the field," for purposes of the act, as graduates who are gainfully employed within 6 months of graduation in a position for which the skills obtained through the education and training provided by the institution are required or provided a significant advantage to the graduate in obtaining the position. This bill would revise this definition to remove skills obtained that have provided a significant advantage to the graduate in obtaining the position, and include skills that are utilized to perform the purpose or objective of the position or the major responsibilities of the position. (6) Existing law appropriates $580,000 from the Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Administration Fund to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, for the purpose of funding 5 private postsecondary education specialist and senior specialist positions. This bill would require those positions to be permanent, full-time positions to perform work in conformity with the classification specifications as directed by the bureau chief. (7) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of registered nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing and makes a violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a licensee renewing his or her license to submit proof to the board that during a specified time the licensee has been informed of developments in the registered nursing field either by pursuing a continuing education course offered by a provider approved by the board or by other means deemed equivalent by the board. Existing law requires the board to establish, by regulation, standards for continuing education. Existing law requires these standards to make a variety of alternative forms of continuing education available to licensees. Existing law requires the content of all courses of continuing education to be relevant to the practice of nursing. This bill would provide that continuing education courses, as specified, that advance or promote labor organizing on behalf of a union, or that advance or promote statutory or regulatory changes, political candidates, political advocacy, or political strategy shall not be considered content relevant to the practice of nursing and shall not be acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure renewal. The bill would also prohibit an approved provider from representing that such a continuing education course is acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure renewal and would require the board, subject to specified procedural requirements, to withdraw its approval of a provider that violates that requirement for no less than 5 years, as specified. Because a violation of these requirements by a provider would constitute 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would call upon the State Air Resources Board, prior to any regulatory action being taken consistent with the scoping plan for the implementation of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, to perform an economic analysis that will give the State of California a more complete and accurate picture of the costs and benefits of the act's implementation. The measure would also call upon the Governor to use the authority granted by the act to adjust any applicable deadlines for regulations.
This measure would observe June 20, 2010, as Father's Day and recognize the contribution of fathers. This measure would also urge men to embrace the responsibilities of fathering a child and encourage parents to strengthen their relationship by attending and participating in marriage and relationship education classes. The measure would state the intent of the Legislature to explore ways to increase access to and participation in marriage and relationship education programs.
This bill would urge the President of the United States and the Congress to employ necessary measures to ensure that no terrorist or suspected terrorist detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is permitted to enter California in custody or otherwise.
The Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a tax on the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, or the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, tangible personal property. In order to facilitate the collection of the use tax, a qualified purchaser, as defined, is required to register with the State Board of Equalization and to report and pay by April 15 the use tax owed for the previous calendar year, as provided. This bill would instead require a purchaser that is subject to the tax imposed by the Personal Income Tax Law to file a return for use tax by April 15, following the close of the calendar year, and to file a return made on the basis of a fiscal year by the 15th day of the 4th month following the close of the fiscal year. The bill would require a purchaser that is subject to the tax imposed by the Corporation Tax Law to file a return for use tax by March 15, following the close of the calendar year, and to file a return filed on the basis of the fiscal year by the 15th day of the 3rd month following the close of the fiscal year. The bill would authorize the board to grant a reasonable extension of time for filing a return under those provisions, as specified, and would delay the imposition of any authorized penalties for taxpayers subject to those requirements until on or after March 16, 2011. The bill would declare that its provisions and retroactive application serve a public purpose, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, by reference to a specified federal statute, allow a credit against taxes imposed by those laws for increasing research expenses, as defined. In general, the amount of the credit under both laws is equal to 15% of the excess of the qualified research expenses, as defined, for the taxable year over the base amount, as defined, and, in addition, for purposes of the Corporation Tax Law, 24% of the basic research payments, as defined. The term "base amount" means the product of the average annual gross receipts of the taxpayer for each of the specified years preceding the taxable year and the fixed-base percentage, as defined, but in no event less than 50% of the qualified research expenses for the taxable year. A taxpayer may elect an alternative simplified credit for increasing research expenses under federal income tax laws. This bill would increase the credit for increasing research expenses to 20% of the excess of the qualified research expenses over the base amount. This bill would also provide complete conformity to the alternative simplified credit provided under those federal income tax laws. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law requires that a child be admitted to kindergarten at the beginning of a school year, or at any time later in the same year if the child will have his or her 5th birthday on or before December 2 of that school year. An elementary school is required to admit a child to the first grade during the first month of a school year if the child will have his or her 6th birthday on or before December 2 of that school year. This bill would change the required birthday for admission to kindergarten and first grade to November 1 for the 2012–13 school year, October 1 for the 2013–14 school year, and September 1 for the 2014–15 school year and each school year thereafter, and would require a child whose admission to a traditional kindergarten is delayed to be admitted to a transitional kindergarten program, as defined. The bill would require pupils who are participating in transitional kindergarten to be included in computing the average daily attendance of a school district in accordance with specified requirements. To the extent those changes establish new administrative duties on the governing boards of school districts in implementing the changes, they would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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 provides for the licensing and administration by the Department of Motor Vehicles of traffic violator schools, operators, and instructors in a classroom setting. Existing law also defines the term "traffic violator school" for purposes of the Vehicle Code to mean, among other things, a business that provides instruction in traffic safety, including, but not limited to, classroom traffic violator curricula. Existing law authorizes a court, in lieu of adjudicating a traffic offense committed by a person who holds a specified class of driver's license, to order or permit the person to attend a licensed traffic violator school, licensed driving school, or other court-approved program of driving instruction. Existing law also permits a court to order a continuance against a person who receives a notice to appear in court for a violation of a statute relating to the safe operation of a vehicle, in consideration for attendance at a licensed school for traffic violators, a licensed driving school, or any other court-approved program of driving instruction, and after that attendance, to dismiss the complaint, as specified. This bill would revise and recast these provisions and, instead, would authorize the court, after a deposit of bail and bail forfeiture, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, to order a continuance of the proceeding against a person who receives a notice to appear in court for a violation of a statute relating to safe operation of a vehicle, in consideration for completion of a program at a licensed school for traffic violators and order that the conviction be held confidential. The bill would prohibit the record of certain convictions from being confidential under these provisions. The bill, on April 1, 2012, would delete specified provisions governing existing court or county contracts to provide traffic safety instructional services to traffic violations. The bill would also require that no violation point count be assessed if the record of conviction is confidential, unless other specified conditions apply. The bill would require that these provisions become operative on July 1, 2011. (2) Existing law establishes traffic violator school licensing requirements and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to license traffic violator school operators. This bill would revise these requirements, including the licensing criteria applicable to a traffic violator school owner or operator and a person licensed as an owner/operator and who is so designated on the owner's license. The bill would revise the requirements applicable to a court-approved program and would require a court-approved program that was in operation prior to January 1, 2011, to file an application for licensure as a traffic violator school by January 1, 2012. The bill would prohibit a court from approving a traffic safety program after January 1, 2011. (3) Existing law authorizes a court, under contract, to use a court assistance program (CAP) to perform services related to the processing and monitoring of traffic violators and traffic violator schools and establishes requirements for the program. The bill would instead authorize a traffic assistance program (TAP) under contract with the Department of Motor Vehicles to assist in oversight activities. This bill would delete provisions relating to both a monitoring report prepared by a CAP and other provisions that preclude the department or the court from removing a traffic violator school from a referral list if certain conditions are met. The bill would also delete provisions relating to a requirement that the Judicial Council collect and compile data on CAPs and traffic safety instruction. The bill would authorize the court to charge a traffic violator fee to defray the costs incurred by a TAP for traffic administration services provided to the court and to delegate collection of the fee to the TAP. The bill would require that the fees be approved and regulated by the court and that the fee not exceed the actual costs incurred by the TAP. (4) Existing law requires a traffic violator school owner to file a bond of $2,000 with the department. The bill would increase the amount of the bond to $15,000 for home study schools and require a $2,000 bond for classroom-based schools. (5) Existing law establishes fees related to the department's licensing of traffic violator schools. This bill would discontinue the fee charged for the completion certificate and would, instead, require the department to charge fees for issuance of an original, renewal, or duplicate or corrected traffic violator school owner, operator, instructor, and branch or classroom location license. The bill would require the court to collect a single administrative fee to be collected from the person attending the traffic violator school, which would include an amount sufficient to defray the cost of monitoring traffic violator school instruction. (6) Existing law requires the court to make available to persons who choose the traffic violator school, the current list of traffic violator schools, published by the department. This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide a list of licensed traffic violator schools on its Internet Web site, as specified, and to develop a Web-based database accessible by the courts and traffic violator schools to allow oversight of traffic violator school student enrollments and course completions. The bill would also require, if a court or a TAP provides a hard copy list of licensed traffic violator schools to a traffic violator, to provide only a current date-stamped list downloaded from the department's Internet Web site. (7) Under existing law, with certain exceptions, a violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. Because this bill would change the definition of an existing crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. (8) The bill would make conforming changes. (9) 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 Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to adopt those regulations that are necessary to carry out the act. The act also requires the commission, after one or more public hearings, to prescribe, by regulation, standards for minimum levels of operating efficiency and prescribe other measures, such as energy and water consumption labeling not preempted by federal labeling law, to promote the use of energy and water efficient appliances that do not result in any added total costs for consumers over the designed life of the appliances concerned. This bill would provide that the television product labeling regulations adopted by the commission would not be effective until July 1, 2011, and would be effective on that date only if a United States Federal Trade Commission labeling rule for those products is not effective on or before July 1, 2011. The bill also would provide that those regulations would remain in effect only until a Federal Trade Commission labeling rule for television products becomes effective.