The California Financing Law (CFL) provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders and brokers by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, including by regulating the provision of commercial loans, as defined. A willful violation of the CFL is a crime, except as specified. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2026, generally provide for the regulation under the CFL of commercial financing, which the bill would define to mean an accounts receivable purchase transaction, including factoring, asset-based lending transaction, commercial loan, or lease financing, intended by the recipient for use primarily for a purpose other than a personal, family, or household purpose. The bill would prohibit a person from engaging in the business of a commercial financing provider, as defined, or commercial financing broker, as defined, without obtaining a license from the commissioner. The bill would prohibit a commercial financing provider or a commercial financing broker from, among other things, taking an instrument in which blanks are left to be filled in after execution. The bill would require a licensed commercial financing provider to do certain things, including permitting payment to be made in advance in any amount on any commercial financing transaction at any time. The bill would require a licensed commercial financing broker to do certain things, including delivering to the recipient at the time the final negotiation or arrangement is made a statement showing in clear and distinct terms the name, address, and license number of the commercial financing broker and the commercial financing provider, as prescribed. By expanding the scope of the crime of willfully violating the CFL, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make various conforming changes to the CFL. 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.
Sponsored bills
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including, in modified conformity with federal income tax law, authorizes a credit for household and dependent care expenses necessary for gainful employment, as provided. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2029, would allow a credit in the amount of 30% of the costs of startup expenses for childcare programs or constructing a childcare facility, to be used primarily by the children of the taxpayer's employees or by the children of employees of tenants leasing commercial or office space in a building owned by the taxpayer, or of the costs of providing childcare information and referral services to the taxpayer's employees, as provided, not to exceed $30,000 for the taxable year. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2029, would also allow a credit in the amount of 30% of the cost paid or incurred by the taxpayer for contributions to a qualified care plan made on behalf of any qualified dependent of the taxpayer's qualified employees, not to exceed $360 for each qualified dependent. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax credit to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. The bill would make specified findings detailing the goals, purposes, and objectives of the above-described tax credits, performance indicators for determining whether the credits meets those goals, purposes, and objectives, and data collection requirements. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations and defines its functions to include fostering, promoting, and developing the welfare of the wage earners of California. Existing law, the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act, requires any materials explaining services available to the public to be translated into any non-English language spoken by a substantial number of the public served by the agency. This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations to develop and prepare a poster regarding domestic violence prevention that employers may display in their workplace and to make the poster available to employers for download through the department's internet website. The bill would authorize the department to consult with the Department of Justice as to the content and design of the poster. The bill would require that the poster be made available in English, Spanish, and any non-English language required under the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act.
The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax law, generally defines "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, including an exclusion for the amount of student loan indebtedness repaid or canceled pursuant to a specified federal law. This bill would exclude from an individual's gross income, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2026, the amount of certain student loans discharged, in whole or in part, after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 2026, in conformity with federal law. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would make findings and declarations related to a gift of public funds.
Existing law requires, in conformance with federal law, that the Secretary of State and the Department of Motor Vehicles establish and implement the California New Motor Voter Program for the purpose of increasing opportunities for voter registration for qualified voters. Existing law requires the department to transmit to the Secretary of State specified information related to a person's eligibility to vote, which the person provides when applying for a driver's license or identification card or when the person notifies the department of an address change. Existing law requires that if this information transmitted to the Secretary of State constitutes a completed affidavit of registration, the Secretary of State must register or preregister the person to vote, as applicable, unless the person affirmatively declines to register or is ineligible to vote, as specified. This bill would additionally require the Department of Motor Vehicles to transmit specified information to the Secretary of State for a person submitting a driver's license application who provides documentation demonstrating United States citizenship and that the person is of an eligible age to register or preregister to vote. The bill would deem this information to constitute a completed affidavit of registration for such persons, and require the Secretary of State to register or preregister the person to vote, unless the Secretary of State determines they are ineligible. The bill would require, if a person is registered or preregistered to vote in this manner, that the county elections official send a notice to the person advising that they may decline to register or preregister to vote, designate a party preference, or select a language preference. The bill would also require the county elections official to send a notice to a person who is already registered to vote, but for whom the Secretary of State changes their registration information after receiving updated name or address information from the department. This bill would prohibit the department from providing a person the opportunity to attest to meeting voter eligibility requirements when they submit a driver's license application, if the person provides a document to the department during the transaction demonstrating that the person is not a United States Citizen. This bill would expand the definition of "voter registration agency" to include entities designated by the Secretary of State. The bill would require the Secretary of State to establish a schedule whereby specified voter registration agencies must provide the Secretary of State electronic information regarding individuals who are eligible to vote or who provide updated registration information. This bill would make these provisions operative on the earlier of January 1, 2026, or 5 days after the Secretary of State certifies that the information technology infrastructure to substantially implement the bill is functional. The bill would allow the Secretary of State, commencing January 1, 2024, to perform administrative actions necessary to implement these provisions. By imposing new duties on county elections officials with respect to voter registration, 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, 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.
Under the California Prompt Payment Act, a state agency that awards a grant or that acquires property or services pursuant to a contract is required to make timely payments pursuant to the grant or contract. If a state agency or the Controller fails to take certain timely actions, and payment is not issued within 45 calendar days from the state agency receipt of an undisputed invoice, the act requires the state agency or the Controller, as applicable, to pay certain penalties. The act provides an exception from those penalty provisions if the grant or contract was awarded to a nonprofit organization in an amount less than $500,000. The act defines the term "grant" to mean a signed final agreement between any state agency and a local government agency or organization authorized to accept grant funding for victim services or prevention programs administered by any state agency or restoration activities performed by a resource conservation district. This bill would define the term "grant" to additionally mean a signed final agreement between any state agency and a nonprofit organization and would delete the $500,000 exception described above. The act authorizes a state agency to dispute for reasonable cause an invoice, refund request, or claim for Medi-Cal reimbursement, as specified. The act defines "reasonable cause" to mean a determination by a state agency that any of certain conditions exist, including that there is a discrepancy between the invoice or claimed amount and either the claimant's actual delivery of property or services to the state or the state's acceptance of those deliveries. This bill would revise the condition described above to apply if there is a discrepancy of an amount greater than $250 or 5% of the invoiced amount, whichever is lesser, between the invoice or claimed amount and either the claimant's actual delivery of property or services to the state or the state's acceptance of those deliveries.
Existing law requires the Governor to appoint every office whose mode of appointment is not prescribed by law. Existing law also prescribes the manner of the Governor's appointment of those officers. This bill would require the office of the Governor, commencing January 1, 2025, to maintain on its internet website a list of every state board and commission that includes, for each state board or commission, the membership list, stated purpose, duties, meeting frequency, internet website, and vacancies in the membership. The bill would require the office of the Governor, on or before January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, to create and publish on its internet website a report containing aggregate demographic information of appointments made by the office during the prior calendar year, as specified.
Existing law regulates the manufacture, sale, and disposal of various plastic products, including, but not limited to, single-use foodware accessories, single-use carryout bags, trash bags, packaging containers, and microbeads. This bill would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2027, a retailer from selling, offering for sale, or distributing plastic gift cards, except those that are both usable with multiple unaffiliated sellers of goods and that have the expiration date, if any, printed on the card. The bill would authorize a retailer to continue to sell, offer for sale, or distribute an existing stock of plastic gift cards until January 1, 2028, as specified. The bill would authorize various entities to enforce these provisions, and would impose specified civil penalties for violations of these provisions. The bill would specify that its provisions do not apply to a plastic card used to pay public transit fares.
Under existing law, it is unlawful for a person to make an untruthful, deceptive, or misleading environmental marketing claim, whether explicit or implied. This bill would make it unlawful for a person to certify or issue a voluntary carbon offset, to maintain on a registry a voluntary carbon offset, or to market, make available or offer for sale, or sell a voluntary carbon offset if the person knows or should know that the greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removal enhancements of the offset project related to the voluntary carbon offset are unlikely to be quantifiable, real, and additional. The bill would also make it unlawful for a person to verify an offset project for the purposes of issuing a voluntary carbon offset if the person knows or should know that the greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removal enhancements of the offset project are unlikely to be quantifiable, real, and additional. The bill would make it unlawful for a person to market, make available or offer for sale, or sell a voluntary carbon offset if the person knows or should know that the durability of the voluntary carbon offset's greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removal enhancements is less than the atmospheric lifetime of carbon dioxide emissions, except as provided. The bill would make it unlawful for a person to market, make available or offer for sale, or sell a voluntary carbon offset if the person knows or should know that the atmospheric lifetime of the greenhouse gases associated with the voluntary carbon offset's greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removal enhancements is less than the atmospheric lifetime of carbon dioxide emissions, except as provided. A violation of the bill's provisions would not be a crime, but would be subject to enforcement by any available civil remedies.