Sen. Monique Limón

This resolution would designate the week beginning on February 21, 2022, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

This measure would proclaim January 27, 2022, as Rose Ann Vuich Recognition Day, in recognition of Senator Rose Ann Vuich as the first woman elected to the California State Senate, to honor Senator Vuich's service to the Senate, and to appropriately reflect the Senator's stature and legacy.

(1) The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. Existing law requires the department to contract with local contracting agencies for alternative payment programs for childcare services to be provided throughout the state. Existing law requires the alternative payment program to reimburse childcare providers based upon specified criteria, including the actual days and hours of attendance for those families with variable schedules. This bill would instead require the alternative payment program to reimburse childcare providers based upon the maximum certified hours of need, as documented. (2) The act requires an alternative payment program to verify childcare provider rates no less frequently than once a year. The act requires the department to develop regulations for addressing discrepancies in the childcare provider rate levels identified through the rate verification process described above. This bill would delete these provisions. (3) The act authorizes a contractor to retain a reserve fund balance for alternative payment model and certificate childcare contracts, as provided. The act prohibits these funds from exceeding either 2% of the sum of the parts of each contract, as provided, or $1,000, whichever is greater. This bill would instead prohibit the funds from exceeding either 15% of the sum of the parts of each contract, as provided, or $1,000, whichever is greater. (4) Existing law, the Early Education Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to, among other things, provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program. The Early Education Act and the Child Care and Development Services Act authorize alternative payment programs and providers operating or providing services under the acts to use digital signatures that comply with state and federal standards and authorize the use of digital forms to allow families to apply for services. This bill would instead authorize the use of electronic signatures and forms.

(1) Existing law establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards, the Cal Grant C awards, and the Cal Grant T awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for these awards for participating students attending qualifying institutions. This bill would enact the Cal Grant Reform Act, which would revise and recast the provisions establishing and governing the existing Cal Grant Program into a new Cal Grant Program. The bill would specify that the Cal Grant Reform Act would only become operative upon the appropriation by the Legislature, in the annual Budget Act or another statute, of sufficient funds to fully implement its provisions. The bill would authorize the commission to adopt emergency regulations to implement the Cal Grant Reform Act. The new Cal Grant Program would also include a Cal Grant 2 Program and a Cal Grant 4 Program, with eligibility requirements as specified. The provisions rendering several existing provisions of the Cal Grant Program inoperative would take effect on July 1, 2024, or on a date determined in the annual Budget Act, whichever date is later. The Cal Grant Reform Act would become operative for students to apply for aid beginning October 1, 2023, and to receive aid for the 2024–25 academic year. The bill would require the Trustees of the California State University, and request the Regents of the University of California, to adopt a statement of policy on or before June 30, 2023, on how their institutional aid programs address student basic needs and how these institutional funds are prioritized for disbursement. The bill would require the University of California, the California State University, private nonprofit and for-profit institutions of higher education, and community college districts whose students receive Cal Grant aid to report specified data to the Department of Finance, the Legislative Analyst's Office, and the higher education policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature for each academic year, starting with the 2021–22 academic year, by March 31 of the subsequent academic year. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 66025.9 of the Education Code proposed by SB 512 to be operative only if this bill and SB 512 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 76300 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1113 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1113 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (4) 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 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 requires the Agricultural Labor Relations 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 secret ballot election as a polling place election. This bill would also permit agricultural employees, as an alternative election procedure, to select their labor representatives through a representation ballot card election by submitting a petition to the board supported by representation ballot cards signed by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit. This bill would require the board to conduct an immediate investigation regarding the validity of the petition and the supporting representation ballot cards and, within 5 days after receiving a petition, to make an administrative decision as to whether the petition meets certain requirements and as to whether the labor organization submitted the requisite number of cards. The bill would require the board to certify the labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative if the board determines that the labor organization has submitted the required number of representation ballot cards and the cards meet specified criteria. 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.

Existing law prohibits a person or entity from initiating or advertising in unsolicited commercial email advertisements and imposes specified other restrictions relating to the collection and use of email addresses for unsolicited commercial email advertisements. This bill would require a company that sends one or more unsolicited commercial mail advertisements to the same address in a year to include specified information on those advertisements, including a toll-free number that can be used to opt out from or cease receiving commercial mail advertisements from the company. The bill would require a company, upon receiving a request from a recipient to opt out from or cease receiving advertising, to remove the recipient's mailing address from the company's internal mailing lists and to contact any mail delivery service or third party to ensure that the recipient no longer receives the company's commercial mail advertisements. This bill would subject a company that knowingly violates those provisions to a civil fine of at least $1,000 and up to $1,000,000 for each violation, and would specify factors to be used to determine the amount of the fine. The bill would authorize a city attorney, district attorney, or the Attorney General to bring an action to enforce these provisions.