Existing law grants state employees certain health, dental, and vision benefits, and authorizes other public agencies, including the Legislature, to elect to contract for these benefits. Existing law, which is applicable to certain state employees, requires the state employer, upon the death of an employee while in state service, to continue to pay employer contributions for health, dental, and vision benefits for a period not to exceed 120 days, as specified. Existing law also requires in this context that the state employer provide certain information and notifications to surviving spouses and other eligible family members. This bill would require the Legislature, upon the death of a legislative employee while in service, to continue to pay employer contributions for health benefits for a period not to exceed 120 days, as specified, to the extent the benefits have been elected. The bill would specify, for these purposes, that the employer is the Senate or the Assembly, as may be applicable, and would identify the entities responsible for providing certain advisements to surviving spouses and other eligible family members.
Sponsored bills
The State Civil Service Act regulates employment with the state and vests in the Department of Human Resources all powers, duties, and authority necessary to operate the state civil service system in accordance with Article VII of the California Constitution, the Government Code, the merit principle, and applicable rules duly adopted by the State Personnel Board. Existing law defines "appointment" for purposes of the act as the offer to and acceptance by a person of a position in the state civil service. This bill would define "appointment" to mean the date that a person officially reports to work to a position in the state civil service.
Existing law requires the Department of General Services, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the State Air Resources Board, to develop and adopt specification and standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks for the state vehicle fleet, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in conjunction with the commission and the state board, to amend the "Enhanced Efficiency Costing Methodology for Passenger Cars and Light-Duty Vehicles" to rank the environmental and energy benefits and costs of motor vehicles for potential procurement by state and local governments. This bill would repeal the requirement on the department to develop and adopt specifications and standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks for the state vehicle fleet. The bill would repeal the requirement for the department to amend the "Enhanced Efficiency Costing Methodology for Passenger Cars and Light-Duty Vehicles." The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2023, to maximize the purchase and availability of alternative fuel vehicles in the state vehicle fleet by adopting a procurement method to evaluate those vehicles, and would require the department, for the purchase of passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks powered solely by an internal combustion engine, to evaluate the cost and environmental and energy benefits of that purchase, as specified.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, working with specified state entities, to prepare a statewide assessment of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure needed to support the levels of electric vehicle adoption required to meet the goals of putting at least 5 million zero-emission vehicles in service by 2030 and of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Existing law requires that the assessment expand on the commission's electric vehicle infrastructure projections to consider all necessary charging infrastructure, all vehicle categories, road, highway, and off-road electrification, port and airport electrification, and other programs to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles to meet those goals, and examine existing and future infrastructure needs throughout California, including in low-income communities. This bill would require the assessment's examination of existing and future infrastructure needs throughout California to also include emerging electric vehicle use cases such as electric autonomous vehicle fleets.
Existing law generally provides for the establishment, review, and termination of conservatorships. Existing law specifies the persons who may be appointed as a conservator and requires the court to review a conservatorship 6 months after the initial appointment of the conservator, one year after the appointment of the conservator, and annually thereafter. Existing law sets forth the powers and duties of a conservator for the care, custody, and control of a conservatee. This bill, commencing January 1, 2024, would require a conservator, within 60 days of appointment and within 30 days before a hearing to determine the continuation or termination of an existing conservatorship, to file a care plan regarding the care, custody, and control of the conservatee. The bill would require the care plan to be delivered to specified persons, including the conservatee and their attorney, but would otherwise make the care plan confidential, except as specified, thereby limiting public access to the records. The bill would require the Judicial Council to develop a mandatory form for the care plan, which would be required to include specified information, including descriptions of the conservatee's living arrangement and level of care and any plans to modify those within the next 12 months. The bill would impose sanctions for a conservator's failure to timely file a care plan, including authorizing the court to impose a civil penalty in any amount up to $1,000, payable to the estate of the conservatee, and authorizing the court to remove a conservator for failure to file a care plan. The bill would require an investigator to review the most recent care plan as part of an investigation. 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.
Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections. Existing law charges the board with providing the statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California's adult and juvenile criminal justice system. This bill would create the Public Safety Collaborative Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would require the board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer public safety collaborative grants from the fund to regional public safety collaboratives established for violence prevention, intervention, and suppression activities. The bill would require a collaborative applying for a grant to establish a coordinating and advisory board with membership, including city officials, local law enforcement, and local stakeholders, to prioritize the use of the funds. The bill would authorize grant funds to be utilized for a range of programs, services, and activities designed to reduce violence, including programs to address youth violence prevention and intervention in K–12 schools and homeless outreach and intervention efforts. The bill would require a public safety collaborative to distribute at least 60% of the funds to one or more community-based organizations to assist with violence prevention, intervention, and suppression activities. The bill would require a public safety collaborative to report to the board annually by June 30 on the use of the funds and the effectiveness of the collaborative and the board to report annually to the Governor and Legislature by December 31.
(1) Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state. This system comprises local educational agencies throughout the state that provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, at schoolsites operated by these agencies. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district and the county superintendent of schools to make applications for free or reduced-price meals available to pupils at all times during each regular schoolday. Existing law authorizes the governing boards of school districts and county superintendents of schools to make applications for free or reduced-price meals electronically available online. Existing law specifies requirements to be met by the governing boards of school districts, county offices of education, and school food authorities that choose to provide access to an online application. This bill would require applications for free or reduced-price meals made electronically available online by school district governing boards or county offices of education to comply with specified requirements, including provisions prohibiting the misuse of information provided online by applicants. The bill would require applications for free and reduced-price meals, which are authorized to be submitted at any time during a schoolday, to be processed within 10 days of submission. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would make private third-party vendors who violate its provisions subject to specified civil penalties. The bill would specify that its provisions would not prevent the use of information provided by a school meal applicant from being used by a governmental entity to increase access to a government-administered anti-hunger program. The bill would authorize each school district and county superintendent of schools to establish a secured internet website providing access to an online data collection form as part of the annual enrollment process, and would require the department to host a sample application by July 1, 2024, unless the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that use of the form would negatively impact the local control funding formula. (2) Existing law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , administered in California as CalFresh, under which each county distributes nutrition assistance benefits provided by the federal government to eligible households. Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits. Existing federal law provides for the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, under which the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States is authorized to approve state plans to provide eligible children with temporary emergency nutrition assistance benefits during fiscal years 2020 and 2021 in any case in which a school is closed or has reduced the number of days or hours that students attend the school during a public health emergency designation during which the school would otherwise be in session. This bill would establish the Better Out of School Time (BOOST) Nutrition EBT Program, to be administered by the State Department of Social Services, to provide benefits to eligible pupils during regularly scheduled summer breaks. The bill would make eligible pupils who receive benefits under Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or CalWORKs, or are in foster care. The bill would make implementation of the BOOST Nutrition EBT Program contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for its purposes. The bill would require the department to seek all available funding for, and maximize participation in, the P-EBT program. The bill would also require the department to issue BOOST Nutrition EBT benefits to any pupil who was eligible to receive benefits under the P-EBT program, as of July 1, 2021, for the 5-month period following the end of the P-EBT program, and any child who was eligible to receive benefits under the P-EBT program, as of July 1, 2021, for the 5-month period following the end of the P-EBT program and who also receives benefits under Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or CalWORKs, or is in foster care. By imposing new duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law, the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support Program, authorizes the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to enter into agreements with up to 20 community college districts to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth. Existing law specifies that these services include, when appropriate, but are not necessarily limited to, outreach and recruitment, consultation and eligibility verification, consultation and referrals for students deemed ineligible, service coordination, counseling, book and supply grants, tutoring, independent living and financial literacy skills support, frequent in-person contact, career guidance, transfer counseling, childcare and transportation assistance, and referrals to health services, mental health services, housing assistance, other related services, and direct financial support, as specified. This bill would rename the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support Program as NextUp, and would expand authorization for the program by removing the 20 community college district limit. The bill would instead authorize the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to enter into agreements with community college districts to provide, and allocate to selected community colleges within a community college district, funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth, and would make conforming changes. The bill would require a community college district that wishes to participate in the program to submit a letter of interest to participate to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as specified. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt regulations authorizing the director of the Community College Extended Opportunity Programs and Services at each community college to accept students who are enrolled in at least 9 units into the program. This bill would authorize students enrolled in fewer than 9 units to be accepted into the program if enrollment is part of an education plan designed to move the students toward subsequent enrollment in at least 9 units. Under existing law, the board of governors may authorize the chancellor to designate up to 2% of funds allocated to the program for program administration, and up to 3% of funds allocated to the program for program development and program accountability. This bill would instead authorize the chancellor to designate up to 1% of funds allocated to the program for program administration, program development, and program accountability.
The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 establishes the Wildlife Conservation Board in the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law requires the board to investigate, study, and determine the areas in the state that are most suitable for certain wildlife-related purposes. Existing law establishes the California Farmland Conservancy Program Act, to be administered generally by the Department of Conservation, and provides that it is the intent of the act to, among other things, encourage voluntary, long-term private stewardship of agricultural lands by offering landowners financial incentives, encourage local land use planning for orderly and efficient urban growth and conservation of agricultural land, and encourage improvements to enhance long-term sustainable agricultural uses. This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, establish the California Conservation Ranching Incentive Program. The bill would require the board to administer the program to award grants to eligible entities, as defined, to administer, plan, and implement local programs to enhance or restore California's private rangelands, as specified. The bill would require the board to develop program grant guidelines and would require the board and any program grantee, in evaluating proposed projects, to consider specified selection criteria. The bill would permit the board to authorize a program grantee to use not more than 30% of the grant moneys for specified administrative and outreach purposes relating to the program. The bill would require each program grantee, on or before a date determined by the board in the grant agreement, to submit to the board an annual report describing and evaluating the implementation of the project and the use of the grant moneys for the project during the previous year, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the Natural Resources Agency to provide fire protection and prevention services, as specified. This bill would require the department to maintain a standard minimum level of staffing for each of its engines, as specified, without the regular practice of forcing overtime on its personnel. The bill would require the department to increase its existing firefighter fuel crews, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2024, to provide to the Legislature a long-term staffing plan to meet the new era of wildfire firefighting.