The California Constitution requires the Legislature to pass a budget bill by June 15 of each year for the fiscal year commencing on July 1. Existing law provides that no state officer or employee shall be deemed to have a break in service or to have terminated his or her employment, for any purpose, nor to have incurred any change in his or her authority, status, or jurisdiction or in his or her salary or other conditions of employment, solely because of the failure to enact a Budget Act for a fiscal year prior to the beginning of that fiscal year. Under the California Constitution, money may be drawn from the Treasury only through an appropriation made by law and upon a Controller's duly drawn warrant. This bill would continuously appropriate from the General Fund and other specified funds to the Controller an amount necessary for the payment of compensation and employee benefits to state employees, as defined, for work performed on or after July 1 of a fiscal year for which no budget has been enacted. This bill would specify, if a memorandum of understanding is in effect that has been approved by the Legislature, that the compensation and contribution for employee benefits for represented state employees be at a rate consistent with the memorandum of understanding and, for state employees excluded from collective bargaining, at the rate approved by the Department of Personnel Administration prior to the commencement of the fiscal year for which a Budget Act has not been enacted. The bill would require, if a memorandum of understanding is not in effect for represented state employees and the department has not approved a compensation package for state employees excluded from collective bargaining, that the compensation and contribution for employee benefits for represented state employees and state employees excluded from collective bargaining be at the rate in effect at the expiration of the last fiscal year for which a budget was enacted. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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The Public Employees' Health Care Act (PEMHCA) allows an employee or annuitant to enroll in an approved health benefit plan, as specified. PEMHCA also authorizes the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to enter into contracts with carriers offering health benefit plans or with entities offering services relating to the administration of health benefit plans, as specified. The Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 requires billing disputes over emergency medical care to be resolved solely between the emergency room health care providers, who are entitled to a reasonable payment for their services, and the HMO, which is obligated to make that payment. The emergency room health care providers are prohibited from billing the patient for the disputed amount. Existing regulations define balance billing as an unfair billing pattern. This bill would prohibit a health care provider giving emergency services and care, as defined, from seeking reimbursement or attempting to obtain payment for any covered services provided to an employee or annuitant other than from the participating health benefit plan covering that employee or annuitant. The bill would specify that that provision would not apply to any copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles required for the covered services provided to that employee or annuitant other than from the participating health plan covering that employee or annuitant.
(1) Existing law contains legislative findings and declarations regarding advanced placement courses. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that certain state funding that is currently provided to school districts be made available to provide financial assistance to economically disadvantaged pupils in the payment of advanced placement examination fees. Existing law further states the intent of the Legislature that a competitive grant program also be established for the purpose of awarding grants to economically disadvantaged pupils to cover the costs of advanced placement examination fees, thereby creating a second source of financial assistance for economically disadvantaged pupils taking advanced placement examinations. This bill would require school districts maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to offer at each of these schools advanced placement courses in certain areas of study, including English, history, foreign language, mathematics, and science. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that school districts consider alternative means of providing advanced placement courses if an advanced placement certified teacher is not available or if fewer than 10 pupils are enrolled in any given course. The bill would authorize these alternative means to include high-quality online courses, and would require that these high-quality online courses meet certain requirements and specifications. (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 imposes various requirements with respect to contracting by public entities. This bill would require a state agency awarding a public works contract to provide a 2% bid preference to a bidder whose employee health care expenditures, and those of its subcontractors, are at least 6.5% of the aggregate Social Security wages paid to its employees in California. This bill would require a bidder and its subcontractors to submit statements certifying that they qualify for the bid preference, would require the bidder and contractors to continue to make employee health care expenditures, as specified, and would impose civil penalties in connection therewith, as provided. This bill would become operative on January 1, 2011.
Existing law, known as the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, establishes, among other programs, the Cal Grant A Entitlement Program, the Cal Grant B Entitlement Program, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Program and the Competitive Cal Grant A and B award program, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs. This bill would, commencing with the 2010–11 academic year, entitle an otherwise eligible student who is a member or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States, as defined, who meets prescribed requirements, including enrollment in a qualifying undergraduate certificate or degree program, to a Cal Grant A Entitlement Award or a Cal Grant B Entitlement Award. The bill also would require the Student Aid Commission to make preliminary awards to all applicants currently eligible for an award under the program, and would require each person who receives a preliminary award to affirm, in writing, that he or she meets specified requirements for eligibility in the program. The bill would require the commission to randomly select at least 10% of the new and renewal awards made under the program and verify that the student meets specified requirements for eligibility. The bill would require the commission to seek repayment of any funds found to be improperly disbursed under the program, and would require the commission to submit an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding, among other things, the number of awards made under this program.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish programs for gifted and talented pupils and requires an applicant school district to submit an application for approval for a proposed program to the State Board of Education. The state board is required to review the criteria for program approval at least once every 4 years. The review is required to address, among other program elements, the identification of gifted and talented pupils. This bill would require the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to review its criteria for the approval of teacher and administrator preparation programs to include training on the identification and appropriate instruction of gifted and talented pupils. The bill would require the State Department of Education to ensure that each staff person providing or receiving services through the pupil retention block grant program, the professional development block grant, the beginning teacher support and assessment system, the administrator training program, the high priority schools grant program, and the mathematics and reading professional development program be provided training to allow and encourage the identification of gifted and talented pupils from traditionally underrepresented populations.
Existing law requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to take various actions related to statewide health planning and the development of policies to address health care issues in California. This bill would require the office, in collaboration with the California Workforce Investment Board, to establish the Health Professions Workforce Task Force composed of specified members, to assist in the development of a health professions workforce master plan for the state, and would prescribe the functions and duties of the task force in that regard. The bill would require the task force to submit a complete statewide health professions workforce master plan to the office and the Legislature. This bill would also require the task force to seek, and the office to accept, funds from the federal government and private entities for purposes of implementing the bill. The bill would prohibit state funds from being used to implement the bill.
Existing law governing contracting between state agencies and private contractors sets forth requirements for the procurement of supplies, materials, equipment, and services by state agencies and sets forth the various responsibilities of the Department of General Services and other state agencies in overseeing and implementing state contracting procedures and policies. This bill would require a state agency, except as specified, to provide a link to a centrally located and accessible state-run Internet Web site that includes a list of the personal services and consulting services contracts, as defined, entered into by the agency. This bill would require the listings on the state's Internet Web site to include specified information, and would require, on and after January 1, 2012, a summary of a contract to be initially posted within 15 working days of being signed by all parties. This bill would require the Director of the Department of General Services to maintain the Internet Web site and to establish the publishing of the contract listing information. This bill would also authorize the department to use the services of any state agency. This bill would require contractors to electronically provide specified information to assist state agencies in the reporting of information for the listings of personal services and consulting services contracts.
Existing law recognizes that all pupils enrolled in the state public schools have the inalienable right to attend classes on school campuses that are safe, secure, and peaceful. Existing law establishes various safety programs and procedures to address issues relating to school safety. This bill would provide that it is the policy of the state that immigration agents should not interfere with the education of pupils in school. The bill would specify, however, that this policy not impede or restrict any lawful authority of immigration agents. The bill would, except as required by federal or state law, prohibit school officials and employees from collecting information or documents and from inquiring about the immigration status of pupils or their family members. The bill would, if an employee of a school is aware that a pupil's parent or guardian is not available to care for the pupil, encourage the school to comply with certain procedures relating to procuring child care for the pupil. The bill also would encourage schools to provide counseling services for pupils affected by enforcement activities of immigration agents, as specified.
(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect, unless the project is exempt from the act. CEQA provides for various exemptions from its requirements. Existing law requires cities and counties to prepare, adopt, and amend general plans containing specified elements. This bill would exempt from CEQA any activity or approval, necessary or incidental to, the development, planning, design, site acquisition, subdivision, financing, leasing, construction, operation, or maintenance of a stadium complex and associated development included in the same project or approval together with any accessory roadway, utility, or other infrastructure improvement to that stadium complex and associated development, for which an application for the project or approval was submitted on or before January 31, 2009, to the City of Industry, if specified requirements are met. The bill would require the city to require the stadium complex and associated development to comply with those mitigation measures that are contained in a mitigation monitoring and reporting program that is adopted by the City of Industry in connection with the stadium complex and associated development. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of the exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill also would exempt from any legal requirement concerning the content of a general plan or consistency with a general plan, and prohibit those requirements from resulting in the invalidation of, the city's approval of, and decisions regarding, specified actions taken with respect to the stadium complex and associated development included in the same project or approval and any accessory improvements to that stadium complex and associated development. The bill additionally would provide that a consistency determination is not required by the city for any decision with respect to those actions. (2) The bill would have retroactive application. (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. (4) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution.