(1) Existing unemployment compensation disability law requires workers to pay contribution rates based on wages received in employment, for payment into the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury. Under existing law, those funds are continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions. Existing law authorizes the Director of Employment Development to increase or decrease the rate of worker contributions, up to a certain amount, if the director determines the adjustment is necessary to reimburse the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund for disability benefits paid or estimated to be paid or to prevent the accumulation of funds in excess of those needed to maintain an adequate fund balance. Under existing law, the remuneration of a worker over a specified amount is not subject to the contribution levels described above. Under existing law, specifically, the worker contribution provision does not apply to that part of a worker's remuneration which is paid after remuneration with respect to employment equal to 4 times the maximum weekly benefit for each calendar year specified, multiplied by 13 and divided by 55%, has been paid to an individual by an employer. This bill would remove that limitation on January 1, 2024. (2) Existing unemployment compensation disability law provides a formula for determining benefits available to qualifying disabled individuals. Under existing law, for periods of disability commencing on and after January 1, 2018, but before January 1, 2023, (A) if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is less than $929, the weekly benefit amount is $50, (B) if the amount of wages paid to the individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is $929 or more, and is less than 13 of the amount of the state average quarterly wage, the weekly benefit amount is 70% of those wages divided by 13, and (C) if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is 13 of the amount of the state average quarterly wage or more, the weekly benefit amount is the greater of 23.3% of the state average weekly wage or 60% of those wages divided by 13. Under existing law, for periods of disability commencing on and after January 1, 2023, if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest exceeds $1,749.20, the weekly benefit amount is 55% of those wages divided by 13. Under existing law, a benefit that is not a multiple of $1 shall be computed to the next higher multiple of $1, and the amount of the benefit is prohibited from exceeding the maximum workers' compensation temporary disability indemnity weekly benefit amount. Under existing law, the maximum amount of benefits payable to an individual during any one disability benefit period is 52 times their weekly benefit amount, as specified. This bill would revise the formulas described above by extending the formula applicable for periods of disability commencing on and after January 1, 2018, but before January 1, 2023, through periods of disability commencing before January 1, 2025. The bill would revise the formula for periods of disability commencing after January 1, 2025, by redefining the weekly benefit amount to be equal to (A) $50 if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is less than $722.50, (B) the greater of 70% of wages divided by 13, but not exceeding the maximum workers' compensation temporary disability indemnity weekly benefit amount, or 63% of the state average weekly wage, if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is more than 70% of the state average quarterly wage, and (C) 90% of wages divided by 13, but not exceeding the maximum workers' compensation temporary disability indemnity weekly benefit amount, if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is $722.50 or more, but 70% or less than the state average quarterly wage. (3) Existing law establishes, within the above state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits for up to 8 weeks to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a minor child within one year of birth or placement, as specified. Existing law defines "weekly benefit amount" for purposes of both employee contributions and benefits under this program to mean the amount of weekly benefits available to qualifying disabled individuals pursuant to unemployment compensation disability law, calculated pursuant to specified formulas partly based on the applicable percentage of the wages paid to an individual for employment by employers during the quarter of the individual's disability base period in which these wages were highest, but not to exceed the maximum workers' compensation temporary disability indemnity weekly benefit amount established by the Department of Industrial Relations. This bill would revise the formula for the weekly benefit amount under the family temporary disability insurance program to conform to the changes for periods of disability commencing before January 1, 2025. The bill would also revise the formula for periods of disability commencing on or after January 1, 2025, by redefining the weekly benefit amount to be equal to (A) $50 if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is less than $722.50, (B) the greater of 70% of wages divided by 13, but not exceeding the maximum workers' compensation temporary disability indemnity weekly benefit amount, or 63% of the state average weekly wage, if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is more than 70% of the state average quarterly wage, and (C) 90% of wages divided by 13, but not exceeding the maximum workers' compensation temporary disability indemnity weekly benefit amount, if the amount of wages paid an individual during the quarter of their disability base period in which those wages were highest is $722.50 or more, but 70% or less than the state average quarterly wage. (4) By providing for the deposit of additional contributions in, and by authorizing an increase in disbursements from, the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in the state. This bill would enact the California Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act of 2021, which would prohibit each public and private institution of higher education in the state that receives, or benefits from, state-funded financial assistance, or that enrolls students who receive state-funded student financial assistance, from reducing certain students' institution-based gift aid offer below their financial need, except as specified. The bill would make its provisions severable.
(1) Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, delivered, or renewed on or after July 1, 2000, to provide coverage for all generally medically accepted cancer screening tests, and prohibits that contract or policy issued, amended, delivered, or renewed on or after July 1, 2022, from requiring prior authorization for biomarker testing for certain enrollees or insureds. Existing law applies the provisions relating to biomarker testing to Medi-Cal managed care plans, as prescribed. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2023, to provide coverage for biomarker testing, including whole genome sequencing, for the purposes of diagnosis, treatment, appropriate management, or ongoing monitoring of an enrollee's or insured's disease or condition if the test is supported by medical and scientific evidence, as prescribed. The bill would specify that it does not require a health care service plan or health insurer to cover biomarker testing for screening purposes unless otherwise required by law. The bill would subject restricted use of biomarker testing for the purpose of diagnosis, treatment, or ongoing monitoring of a medical condition to state and federal grievance and appeal processes. This bill would apply these provisions relating to biomarker testing to the Medi-Cal program, including Medi-Cal managed care plans, as specified. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services pursuant to a schedule of benefits. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law includes Rapid Whole Genome Sequencing as a covered benefit for any Medi-Cal beneficiary who is one year of age or younger and is receiving inpatient hospital services in an intensive care unit. Subject to the extent that federal financial participation is available and not otherwise jeopardized, and any necessary federal approvals have been obtained, this bill would expand the Medi-Cal schedule of benefits to include biomarker testing for the purposes of diagnosis, treatment, appropriate management, or ongoing monitoring of a Medi-Cal beneficiary's disease or condition if the test is supported by medical and scientific evidence, as prescribed. The bill would authorize the department to implement this provision by various means without taking regulatory action. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the Financial Institutions Law, requires the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation to cause every California state bank and every foreign bank to be examined to the extent and whenever and as often as the commissioner shall deem it advisable, but in no case less frequently than once every 12 months, except as prescribed. Existing law, the California Credit Union Law (CCUL) , authorizes the commissioner to, at any time, investigate into the affairs and examine the books, accounts, records, files, and any office within or outside of this state used in the business of every credit union, whether it acts or claims to act under, or without authority of, the CCUL. This bill would require a bank or credit union subject to the examination authority of the commissioner to report annually, on or before March 1, to the commissioner on the amount of revenue earned from overdraft fees and nonsufficient funds fees collected in the most recently completed calendar year and the percentage of that revenue as a proportion of the net income of the bank or credit union. The bill would require the commissioner to publish, as prescribed, in a report the data for each bank or credit union reported pursuant to the bill and make the report available on the department's internet website.
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, on or before January 31, 2025, and on or before every January 31 thereafter, to create and publish on its internet website a report containing aggregate demographic information, to the extent available, and as defined in the bill, of appointments by the office of the Governor from January 1 to December 31, inclusive, of the previous year. The bill would require, commencing December 1, 2024, the office of the Governor to maintain on its internet website a list of every state board and commission, their membership list, the stated purpose, duties, meeting frequency, and internet website of every state board and commission, and any vacancies in the membership of each state board and commission.
Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation, under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, to regulate the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil or gas wells in the state. Existing law establishes the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund in the State Treasury for expenditure by certain public entities in connection with various activities relating to oil and gas operations, as specified. Existing law authorizes the supervisor to order certain operations to be carried out on any property in the vicinity of which, or on which, is located any well or facility that the supervisor determines to be a hazardous well, an idle-deserted well, a hazardous facility, or a deserted facility, as specified. Existing law also establishes and requires the division to administer and manage the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account in the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund. Existing law requires moneys in the account to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to plug and abandon oil and gas wells, decommission attendant facilities, or otherwise remediate sites that the supervisor determines could pose a danger to life, health, water quality, wildlife, or natural resources, as specified. Existing law prohibits the division from expending more than $3,000,000 in any one fiscal year, for the 2018–19 fiscal year to the 2021–22 fiscal year, inclusive, and, commencing with the 2022–23 fiscal year, no more than $5,000,000 in any one fiscal year from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund for those purposes related to hazardous wells, idle-deserted wells, hazardous facilities, and deserted facilities. This bill would instead prohibit the division from expending, commencing with the 2022–23 fiscal year, more than $5,000,000, and, in addition, (1) the amount actually expended by the division in the preceding fiscal year, not to exceed $7,500,000, from the dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2022–23 fiscal year for the purposes of plugging and abandoning wells, decommissioning facilities, and site remediation, and (2) the amount actually expended by the division in the preceding fiscal year, not to exceed $7,500,000, from the dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2023–24 fiscal year, only if there is a dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2023–24 fiscal year for the purposes of plugging and abandoning wells, decommissioning facilities, and site remediation. The bill would also require the Controller, commencing with the 2023–24 fiscal year, in any fiscal year that the division makes expenditures that are less than the amount appropriated, to transfer from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund to the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account an amount equal to the difference between what was appropriated and what was expended by the division for that fiscal year, unless there is more than $200,000,000 in the account. The bill would also provide that the expenditure limits in these provisions do not apply to funds received by the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund pursuant to a federal grant authorized under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Existing law defines "public works," for purposes of regulating public works contracts, as, among other things, construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for, in whole or in part, out of public funds. Existing law further requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages be paid to workers employed on public works and imposes misdemeanor penalties for a willful violation of this requirement. This bill would deem all work to plug and abandon wells, decommission production facilities, or otherwise remediate well sites that is undertaken, funded, or financed by the division, as specified, and performed by outside contractors to be public work for which prevailing wages are required to be paid. The bill would require, not later than June 30, 2024, the California Workforce Development Board to consult with the division in developing and implementing the Oil and Gas Well Capping Pilot initiative established pursuant to the Budget Act of 2022 to assist state-registered apprenticeship programs in creating curriculum for training apprentices and to upskill journeypersons on well capping projects. The bill would require the division, when contracting on or after January 1, 2028, for the performance of construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, or work to ensure that all entities selected for these projects enter into a project labor agreement, as defined, that will bind all of the contractors performing work on the project. The bill would also require, for contracts that are awarded, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2028, and for specified work performed by contractors licensed by the Contractors State License Board, including the plugging and abandonment of wells, decommissioning of production facilities, or otherwise remediating well sites, that contractors and any subcontractors at every tier use a skilled and trained workforce, as defined, to perform all work within an apprenticeable occupation, as defined, in the building and construction trades, as defined. The bill would require the division to develop a procurement process to group multiple projects, as specified. The bill would also make other changes relating to workforce development. Because the willful violation of prevailing wage requirements when engaged in these public works projects would result in the imposition of misdemeanor penalties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the supervisor to make public, on or before the first day of October of each year, a report in writing showing, among other things, the total amounts of oil and gas produced in each county in the state during the previous calendar year and the total cost of the division for the previous fiscal year. This bill would also require the supervisor to include in the report on the total cost of the division for the previous fiscal year an accounting of any General Fund moneys appropriated and used for plugging and abandonment of wells, decommissioning of facilities, and site remediation, or appropriated and used to facilitate those activities. Existing law requires the supervisor, only until July 1, 2026, to prepare and transmit to the Legislature a comprehensive report on the status of idle and long-term idle wells for the preceding calendar year, as specified. This bill would instead make that requirement operative indefinitely. 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 designates specific days as holidays in this state. Existing law designates holidays on which community colleges and public schools are required to close, including days appointed by the President. Existing law entitles state employees, with specified exceptions, to be given time off with pay for specified holidays. This bill would add June 19, known as "Juneteenth," to the list of state holidays. The bill would specify that holidays created by federal legislation signed by the President are considered days appointed as holidays for the purposes of the above-described provisions requiring community colleges and public schools to close. The bill would authorize state employees to elect to take time off with pay in recognition of Juneteenth, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 45203, 79020, and 88203 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1801 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1801 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 6700, 19853, and 19853.1 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1801 and AB 2596 to be operative only if this bill and either or both AB 1801 and AB 2596 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law, the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, grants agricultural employees the right to form and join labor organizations and engage in collective bargaining with respect to wages, terms of employment, and other employment conditions, and authorizes employees to elect exclusive bargaining representatives for these purposes. Existing law creates the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and prescribes its composition, duties, and powers. Existing law authorizes the board to hold hearings and conduct investigations and requires that certain procedures be the exclusive method of redressing unfair labor practices. Under existing law, any person who willfully resists, prevents, or interferes with a member of the board or its agents or agencies in the performance of their duties is guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law requires the board to certify the results of an election conducted by secret ballot of employees in a collective bargaining unit to designate a collective bargaining representative, unless the board determines there are sufficient grounds to refuse to do so. Existing law further provides that if the board refuses to certify an election because of employer misconduct that would render slight the chances of a new election reflecting the free and fair choice of employees, the labor organization shall be certified as the bargaining representative for the bargaining unit. This bill would refer to the election by secret ballot process as a polling place election. The bill would establish alternative procedures to the polling place election and authorize a labor organization to be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit through either a labor peace election or a non-labor peace election, as prescribed, dependent on whether an employer enrolls and agrees to a labor peace election for labor organization representation campaigns. The bill would provide that a labor peace election or a non-labor peace election permits a bargaining unit to summarily select a labor organization as its representative for collective bargaining purposes without using the existing polling place process. Under the bill, a labor peace election would be a mail ballot election and a non-labor peace election would establish a process for the submission of a petition with proof of majority support, subject to certification by the board. Among other provisions, the bill would require for both alternative procedures that an employer respond to the board with regard to a petition, including providing a specified list of employees to the board. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would establish a schedule for agricultural employers to indicate to the board whether they agree to a labor peace compact, defined to mean an agreement by the employer to, among other things, make no statements for or against union representation to its employees or publicly, in any written or oral form, at any time during employee hire, rehire, or orientation, or after certain documents regarding organization are filed with the board. The bill would prohibit a labor peace compact from prohibiting an employer from communicating truthful statements to employees regarding workplace policies or benefits, as specified. The bill would require the board to develop an online web-based labor peace election process that will allow employers to indicate their labor peace choice online, and that will allow labor organizations to see whether a specific agricultural employer has agreed to a labor peace election campaign. This bill would repeal the above provisions on January 1, 2028. This bill would prescribe civil penalties to be imposed upon an agricultural employer who commits an unfair labor practice in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each violation, and would increase that sum to an amount not to exceed $25,000 for specified violations. The bill would require the board to consider specified factors in determining the amount of a civil penalty pursuant to these provisions. The bill would also authorize the board to impose personal liability for these penalties upon a director or officer of an employer in certain circumstances. Existing law authorizes a person aggrieved by the final order of the board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought for an unfair labor practice, to obtain a review of the order in a specified court of appeal by filing in the court a written petition requesting that the order of the board be modified or set aside. This bill would require an employer who appeals or petitions for a writ of review of any order of the board involving make-whole, backpay, or other monetary awards to employees, to post an appeal bond in the amount of the entire economic value of the order, as specified, and would provide for the bond to be forfeited under specified conditions. This bill would state that its provisions are severable. 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, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards Code. Existing law requires the commission to adopt, approve, codify, and publish mandatory building standards for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings and nonresidential development. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to propose mandatory building standards for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings and submit the proposed mandatory building standards to the commission for consideration. Existing law requires the department and the commission, in proposing and adopting these standards, to actively consult with specified parties. This bill, for purposes of the requirements described above, would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to research and develop, and would authorize the department to propose to the commission for adoption, mandatory building standards for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings that achieve specified objectives. In this regard, the bill would require those mandatory building standards to require that each multifamily dwelling unit with access to parking have at least one parking space served by a dedicated branch circuit terminating in a receptacle or an electric vehicle charging station and to include specified signage. The bill would additionally require the commission and the department to consult with interested parties, including multifamily dwelling residents and electric vehicle equity advocate groups, in researching and developing these standards.
Existing law establishes the Civil Rights Department within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to enforce civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment and to protect and safeguard the right of all persons to obtain and hold employment without discrimination based on specified characteristics or status. Existing law requires a private employer that has 100 or more employees and is required to file an annual Employer Information Report (EEO-1) pursuant to federal law to submit a pay data report to the department that contains specified employee information on or before March 31, 2021, and on or before March 31 each year thereafter. Existing law prescribes the information that must be included in the pay data report, including the number of employees by race, ethnicity, and sex in specified job categories. Existing law requires employers with multiple establishments to submit a report for each establishment and a consolidated report that includes all employees. Existing law permits the department to develop, publish on an annual basis, and publicize aggregate reports, provided that the aggregate reports are reasonably calculated to prevent the association of any data with any individual business or person. Existing law provides that an employer is in compliance with the requirement that it submit a pay data report if it submits an EEO-1 to the department containing the same or substantially similar pay data information. Existing law permits the department to seek an order requiring an employer to comply with these provisions and permits it to recover the costs associated with seeking the order for compliance. This bill would, instead, require a private employer that has 100 or more employees to submit a pay data report to the department. This bill would revise the timeframe in which a private employer is required to submit this information to require that it be provided on or before the second Wednesday of May 2023, and for each year thereafter on or before the second Wednesday of May. This bill would also require a private employer that has 100 or more employees hired through labor contractors, as defined, to also submit a separate pay data report to the department for those employees in accordance with the above timeframe, as specified. This bill would require the pay data reports to include the median and mean hourly rate for each combination of race, ethnicity, and sex within each job category. This bill would delete a provision requiring employers with multiple establishments to submit a consolidated report. This bill would delete the provision authorizing an employer to submit an EEO-1 in lieu of a pay data report. This bill would permit a court to impose a civil penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per employee upon any employer who fails to file the required report and not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) per employee upon any employer for a subsequent failure to file the required report. The bill would require those penalties to be deposited in the Civil Rights Enforcement and Litigation Fund. Existing law creates the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, under the direction of the Labor Commissioner, within the Department of Industrial Relations to enforce labor laws. Existing law requires an employer, upon reasonable request, to provide the pay scale for a position to an applicant applying for employment. Existing law defines pay scale for these purposes to mean salary or hourly wage range. This bill would also require an employer, upon request, to provide to an employee the pay scale for the position in which the employee is currently employed. The bill would require an employer with 15 or more employees to include the pay scale for a position in any job posting. The bill would require an employer to maintain records of a job title and wage rate history for each employee for a specified timeframe, to be open to inspection by the Labor Commissioner. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption in favor of an employee's claim if an employer fails to keep records in violation of these provisions. The bill would require an employer with 15 or more employees that engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known a job posting to provide the pay scale to the third party and would require the third party to include the pay scale in the job posting. The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to investigate complaints alleging violations of these requirements and would authorize the commissioner to order an employer to pay a civil penalty upon finding an employer has violated these provisions. The bill would also authorize a person aggrieved by a violation of these provisions to bring a civil action for injunctive and any other appropriate relief. This bill would require deposit of the civil penalties collected pursuant to these provisions into the Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund, and would authorize these funds to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for administration and enforcement of these provisions.