Sen. Scott Wilk

Existing law prohibits a person who is under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or the combined influence of alcohol or drugs from driving a vehicle. A violation of this prohibition is a crime. This bill would exempt from that prohibition a person who is under the influence of a drug or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and a drug for purposes of conducting research on impaired driving while driving a vehicle under the supervision of, and on the property of, the Department of the California Highway Patrol. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would designate the week of May 5, 2019, through May 11, 2019, as Compost Awareness Week.

Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to, as specified, immediately suspend a person's driver's license if the person is administratively found to have been operating a motor vehicle with a specified quantity of alcohol in their blood. Existing law authorizes a person who has had their driver's license suspended by the department to be issued a restricted driver's license if they meet specified criteria, including the installation and maintenance of an ignition interlock device (IID) . Existing law, until January 1, 2026, requires a person, upon a criminal conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol with a prior conviction for driving under the influence or for driving under the influence and causing injury, to install and maintain an IID for a specified period of time. Existing law also authorizes a court, upon the first criminal conviction of a person for driving under the influence, to order the person to install and maintain an IID for a specified period of time, or, if the court does not order the installation of such a device, authorizes the person to apply for a restricted license. Existing law requires the department to credit any time that a person maintained a functioning IID during the period of that person's restricted licensure, but prior to the criminal conviction, toward any mandatory term of maintaining such a device, required upon conviction. This bill would require a person, upon the person's first criminal conviction for driving under the influence, to install and maintain an IID for a specified period of time. The bill would delete those provisions authorizing a restricted license in lieu of an IID for first offenders. The bill would require the department to credit any time that a person maintained a functioning IID during the period of that person's restricted licensure, but prior to the criminal conviction, toward any term of maintaining such a device, required by law upon conviction pursuant to the above-described statute. The bill would place certain recordkeeping requirements upon manufacturers of ignition interlock devices. The bill would also extend the operation of the law requiring IIDs until January 1, 2027, and make conforming changes to related reporting requirements.

(1) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to give diligent care to the health and physical development of pupils and authorizes the governing board of a school district to employ properly certified persons for the work. Existing law requires a school of a school district or county office of education and a charter school to notify pupils and parents or guardians of pupils no less than twice during the school year on how to initiate access to available pupil mental health services on campus or in the community, or both, as provided. Existing law requires, subject to sufficient funds being provided, the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Health Care Services and appropriate stakeholders, to, on or before July 1, 2020, develop guidelines for the use of telehealth technology in public schools, including charter schools, to provide mental health and behavioral health services to pupils on school campuses. This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2024, a school of a school district or county office of education and a charter school to have at least one mental health professional, as defined, for every 600 pupils generally accessible to pupils on campus during school hours. The bill would require, on or before December 31, 2024, a school of a school district or county office of education and a charter school with fewer than 600 pupils to have at least one mental health professional generally accessible to pupils on campus during school hours, to employ at least one mental health professional to serve multiple schools, or to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a county agency or community-based organization for at least one mental health professional employed by the agency or organization to provide services to pupils. The bill would encourage a school subject to the bill's provisions with pupils who are eligible to receive Medi-Cal benefits to seek reimbursement for costs of implementing the bill's provisions, as specified. By imposing additional requirements on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) , an initiative statute enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the continuously appropriated Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs, such as prevention and early intervention programs. Existing law authorizes the act to be amended by a 23 vote of the Legislature if the amendments are consistent with, and further the intent of, the act. This bill would amend the act to require a county to provide ongoing prevention and early intervention funds under MHSA to a school district, county office of education, or charter school, within the county, for purposes of funding positions and services to fulfill the bill's requirements. The bill would declare that this amendment is consistent with, and furthers the purposes of, the act. (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 requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and, commencing with the 2019–20 school year, each charter school, to provide for each needy pupil one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday. Existing law sets the reimbursement rates for free or reduced-price meals served to needy pupils at specified amounts. This bill would establish within the State Department of Education the California School Plant-Based Food and Beverage Program. The bill would authorize a local educational agency, as defined, to apply for funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for reimbursement of up to $0.20 per meal for meals that include a plant-based food option, as defined, or up to $0.10 per meal for meals that include a plant-based milk option, as defined, or both. The bill would require the department to make additional one-time payments of up to $1,000, as specified, on a first-come-first-served basis to local educational agencies that receive meal reimbursement pursuant to the bill's provisions. The bill would also require the department, upon a one-time appropriation by the Legislature, to provide grants of up to $100,000 to local educational agencies for additional purposes relating to the program. The bill would authorize the department to accept funding from private sources for the purpose of providing reimbursements or grants pursuant to these provisions. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to implement the program, establish guidelines for the evaluation of the program, report evaluation results to the Legislature, and conduct outreach.

This measure would urge the United States Congress to act favorably in regard to legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Merrill's Marauders.

This measure would recognize June 6, 2019, as the 75th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, also known as D-Day. This measure would express the gratitude and appreciation of the Legislature to the members of the United States Armed Forces who participated in D-Day, and would call upon the people of California to observe the anniversary with appropriate reflections and recognition.

Existing federal law establishes the federal Pell Grant Program under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide need-based grant awards to low-income students in order to promote access to postsecondary education. This measure would respectfully request the Congress and the President of the United States to immediately take action to increase the maximum annual amount of the federal Pell Grant Program award from $6,195 to at least $7,500 to further help low-income college students alleviate the burden of postsecondary education debt.

Existing property tax law, pursuant to the authorization of the California Constitution, provides a disabled veteran's property tax exemption for the principal place of residence of a veteran, the veteran's spouse, or the veteran and veteran's spouse jointly, and the unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran, as provided, if the veteran is blind in both eyes, has lost the use of 2 or more limbs, or is totally disabled as a result of injury or disease incurred in military service, or if the veteran has, as a result of a service-connected injury or disease, died while on active duty in military service. Existing law exempts that part of the full value of the residence that does not exceed $100,000, or $150,000 if the household income of the claimant does not exceed $40,000, as adjusted for inflation, as specified. This bill, for the 2020–21 fiscal year to the 2029–30 fiscal year, inclusive, would increase these exemption amounts to $200,000, or $250,000 if the household income of the claimant does not exceed $65,000, as adjusted for inflation. The bill would require county assessors to report to the State Board of Equalization on the use of the increased property tax exemption and for the board to consolidate this information in a report to the Legislature. By adding to the duties of county assessors in this regard, 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. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.