Existing law provides that individuals with disabilities or medical conditions have the same right as the general public to the full and free use of the streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, medical facilities, including hospitals, clinics, and physicians' offices, public facilities, and other public places. Existing law prescribes a process for prosecuting an action in this regard and provides that a person aggrieved or potentially aggrieved by a violation of these rights may bring an action for damages and that a prevailing party is entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees. This bill would except from the application of these provisions public buildings, public facilities, and other public places of a public entity that, on specified dates, met specified disability access design standards. The bill would provide that a public entity's possession of a close out letter from the State Architect certifying that the buildings, facilities, and other places to which the letter applies meet the applicable building and construction-related accessibility standards of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act serves as presumptive evidence that the public buildings, facilities, and places are in compliance with this part and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Existing law prescribes a process in certain construction-related accessibility claims against a place of public accommodation. This process permits statutory damages to be awarded against a place of public accommodation only if the violation denied the plaintiff full and equal access to the place of public accommodation on a particular occasion. This process also reduces a defendant's minimum statutory damage liability to $1,000 if the defendant demonstrates that it has corrected all construction-related violations that are the basis of a claim within 60 days of being served with the complaint, and other select conditions are met. This bill would apply the process described above to an action commenced on or after that January 1, 2016, or an action commenced prior to that date for which a final judgment has not been entered, to public buildings, public facilities, and other public places of an educational institution of a public entity by revising the definition of a place of public accommodation.
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Existing law establishes the general presumption that a contractual provision liquidating the damages for the breach of a contract is valid unless the party seeking to invalidate the provision establishes that the provision was unreasonable under the circumstances existing at the time the contract was made. Existing law excepts from the presumption certain contracts, including those for damages that are to be recovered from a party to a lease of a dwelling. This bill would require a court, in entering a judgment pursuant to a written settlement agreement between a creditor and a debtor, to consider the amounts sought in the litigation in determining the reasonableness of the amounts sought pursuant to the settlement agreement. The bill would also require a party seeking to enforce a settlement agreement to comply with specified evidentiary requirements.
The California Constitution provides that the Legislature may by statute prohibit retirement board investments if it is in the public interest to do so, and providing that the prohibition satisfies specified fiduciary standards. Existing law prohibits the Public Employees' Retirement System and the State Teachers' Retirement System from investing public employee retirement funds in a company with active business operations in Sudan and in Iran, as specified. This bill would additionally prohibit the Public Employees' Retirement System and the State Teachers' Retirement System from investing public employee retirement funds in a Turkish investment vehicle, as specified. The bill would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement Board of the State Teachers' Retirement System to sell or transfer any investments in a Turkish investment vehicle. This bill would require these boards, on or before January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, to report to the Legislature any investments in a Turkish investment vehicle and the sale or transfer of those investments, subject to the fiduciary duty of these boards. This bill would indemnify from the General Fund and hold harmless the present, former, and future board members, officers, and employees of and investment managers under contract with those retirement systems.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. Existing law also sets forth the liability of marital property that is held as community property, including providing that the community estate is liable for a debt incurred by either spouse before or during marriage, regardless of which spouse has the management and control of the property and regardless of whether one or both spouses are parties to the debt or to a judgment for the debt. This bill would, notwithstanding those laws governing the liability of marital property, relieve a spouse of an unpaid sales or use tax or deficiency of that tax, if the other spouse has the sole obligation arising from a judgment of dissolution of marriage to pay the unpaid tax or a deficiency, or any portion of either.
(1) Existing law requires a school district to notify the county superintendent of schools and the county auditor when the governing board of the school district approves proceeding with the issuance of certificates of participation or revenue bonds or entering into specified agreements for financing school construction pursuant to the California School Finance Authority Act. The superintendent of the school district is required to provide specified information to the county auditor, the county superintendent of schools, the governing board, and the public regarding that debt. Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools or superintendent of a school district for which the county board serves as governing board to notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction when the county board of education approves proceeding with the issuance of certificates of participation or revenue bonds or to entering into an agreement for financing pursuant to the California School Finance Authority Act. The county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of a school district for which the county board serves as the governing board is required to provide specified information to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the governing board, and the public. This bill would delete the language specifying that the scope of these provisions is limited to revenue bonds, and instead refer to bonds generally. The bill would also require that, no later than 30 days before the approval by the governing board of the school district to proceed with the issuance of bonds, the school district notify the county superintendent of schools and the county auditor. The bill would delete the language limiting the requirement of this notice to instruments that do not require approval of the voters of the school district or county. To the extent that this bill would expand the requirements for the provision of notices by specified county officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to adopt a local control and accountability plan and requires the governing board of a school district to update its local control and accountability plan before July 1 of each year. Existing law requires a local control and accountability plan to include, among other things, a description of the annual goals to be achieved for each state priority, as specified, for all pupils and certain subgroups of pupils. This bill would add to the enumerated state priorities the degree to which the certificated instructional personnel of the school district are offered opportunities for professional development and growth. By requiring the governing board of each school district to include additional information in the local control and accountability plan, 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 these statutory provisions.
In a fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made into the Public School System Stabilization Account, existing law prohibits a school district's adopted or revised budget from containing a combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance that is in excess of either 2 or 3 times the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the State Board of Education, depending on the school district's units of average daily attendance. Existing law authorizes the county superintendent of schools to waive the prohibition, pursuant to specified conditions, for up to 2 consecutive fiscal years within a 3-year period if the school district provides documentation indicating that extraordinary fiscal circumstances substantiate the need for the balance. This bill would repeal those provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Castaic Lake Water Agency Law, creates the Castaic Lake Water Agency and authorizes the agency to acquire water and water rights, including water from the State Water Project, and to provide, sell, and deliver water at wholesale for municipal, industrial, domestic, and other "?>purposes. Existing law authorizes the board of directors of the agency, by majority vote, to appoint from its members one vice president. This bill would authorize the board of directors to appoint from its members one or more vice presidents.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing state board regulations require specified entities to comply with a market-based compliance mechanism beginning January 1, 2013, and require additional specified entities to comply with that market-based compliance mechanism beginning January 1, 2015. This bill instead would exempt categories of persons or entities that did not have a compliance obligation, as defined, under a market-based compliance mechanism beginning January 1, 2013, from being subject to that market-based compliance mechanism through December 31, 2020. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law states that the theft of a firearm is grand theft, punishable as a felony by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted by Proposition 47, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, notwithstanding these provisions, instead requires the theft of property that does not exceed $950 to be considered petty theft, and makes the crime punishable as a misdemeanor, except in cases when the defendant has previously been convicted of one or more specified serious or violent felonies or an offense requiring registration as a sex offender. This bill would make the theft of a firearm grand theft in all cases, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. (2) Under existing law, every person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen, knowing the property to be stolen, is guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony, except that if the value of the property does not exceed $950, Proposition 47 makes the offense punishable as a misdemeanor if the defendant has not previously been convicted of one or more specified serious or violent felonies or an offense requiring registration as a sex offender. This bill would make buying or receiving a stolen firearm a misdemeanor or a felony. (3) The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to amend or repeal an initiative statute by another statute that becomes effective when approved by the electors. This bill would provide that it would become effective only upon approval of the voters, and would provide for the submission of this measure to the voters for approval at the next statewide general election.