Under existing law, certain specified felonies shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years, or where the term is specified, for the term described in the underlying offense. Notwithstanding these provisions, existing law requires that a sentence be served in state prison where the defendant has a prior or current conviction for a serious or violent felony, has a prior felony conviction in another jurisdiction that has all of the elements of a serious or violent felony, is required to register as a sex offender, or has an aggravated white collar crime enhancement imposed as part of the sentence. This bill would additionally require a sentence to be served in state prison when the defendant is convicted of a felony otherwise punishable in a county jail and is sentenced to more than 3 years.
Sponsored bills
This measure would urge the State Air Resources Board to exempt school buses from a specified regulation until there is full funding available through the Lower-Emission School Bus Program. The measure also would urge the State Air Resources Board to focus all its efforts on using funds from the Lower-Emission School Bus Program in addition to obtaining new funding to replace the oldest school buses that do not have seat belts and do not have any emissions controls to limit the dangerous diesel particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, participating counties, and the State Public Works Board (SPWB) to acquire, design, and construct local jail facilities approved by the Corrections Standards Authority. Existing law authorizes the SPWB to issue revenue bonds, notes, or bond anticipation notes in specified amounts to finance the acquisition, design, or construction, and a reasonable construction reserve, of approved local jail facilities, as specified. Existing law authorizes a participating county that has received a conditional award under one specified jail facilities financing program to relinquish its conditional award, provided that no state moneys have been encumbered in contracts let by the county, and reapply for a conditional award under a separate financing program that requires the county to contribute 10% of the total project costs. Moneys derived under the separate financing program are continuously appropriated for the acquisition, design, or construction of approved jail facilities. This bill would require that, notwithstanding the provisions above, any qualified county, as defined, that has received a conditional award under one specified jail facilities financing program whereby state moneys have been encumbered in contracts let by the county, to be awarded $16,000,000 by December 31, 2012, from the separate financing program. By expanding the purposes of a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
(1) The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 authorizes a city or district to provide new or extended services by contract or agreement outside its jurisdictional boundaries if the city or district requests and receives permission to do so from the local agency formation commission in the affected county. Existing law authorizes the commission to authorize a city or district to provide new or extended services outside its jurisdictional boundaries but within its sphere of influence in anticipation of a later change of organization, or outside its sphere of influence to respond to an existing or impending threat to the public health or safety of the residents of the affected territory, under specified circumstances. This bill would additionally authorize the commission to authorize a city or district to provide new or existing services outside its jurisdictional boundaries and outside its sphere of influence to support existing or planned uses involving public or private properties, subject to approval at a noticed public hearing, in which certain determinations are made. The bill would also authorize the commission to delegate to its executive officer the approval of certain requests to authorize a city or district to provide new or extended services outside its jurisdictional boundaries or outside its sphere of influence, as described above, under specified circumstances. The bill would also make certain technical, nonsubstantive, and conforming changes. (2) The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 prohibits a local agency formation commission from approving an annexation to a city of any territory greater than 10 acres, or as determined, that includes a disadvantaged unincorporated community that is contiguous to the area of proposed annexation, subject to specified exceptions. This bill would repeal this provision.
(1) Existing law authorizes an attorney or his or her representative to review and obtain certain patient records prior to filing any legal action if written authorization is given by the patient. Further, existing law prohibits the medical provider from copying the records if the attorney has employed a private photocopying service, as specified. This bill would prescribe the fees for a health care provider or medical records management company to charge when providing copies of medical records to an attorney. This bill would also provide that an electronic copy of a medical record is required only if the entire request can be reproduced from an electronic health record system and can be delivered electronically. Further, the bill would require the Secretary of California Health and Human Services to make annual determinations concerning any increase or decrease in the fees in accordance with the Consumer Price Index prepared by the United States Department of Labor. (2) Existing law authorizes issuance of a subpoena for the personal records of any consumer, as defined, including medical and employment records. The party requesting the records is only required to pay one witness fee and one mileage fee to a witness or witness' business when requesting business records. This bill would require a requesting party to pay a witness fee and mileage fee whenever a subpoena requires a witness, and would require the requesting party to pay for records produced in response to a subpoena duces tecum, including when those records are allowed in lieu of a witness appearance. This bill would also prescribe the costs to be paid in advance by the requesting party. Further, this bill would authorize the Secretary of California Health and Human Services to make annual determinations concerning any increase or decrease in those fees in accordance with the Consumer Price Index prepared by the United States Department of Labor. (3) Existing law requires that, following a written request to his or her health care provider, a patient or his or her representative may inspect and obtain copies of patient records after paying a specified fee. If the patient or patient's representative presents proof to the provider that the records are needed to support an appeal regarding eligibility for a public benefit program, the health care provider must provide one copy of the relevant portion of the patient's record at no charge under specified circumstances. A willful violation of this requirement by certain health care providers is an infraction. This bill would prescribe an hourly charge for a health care provider when the provider locates a patient's medical records, makes those records available, and supervises any inspection of the records by the patient or patient's representative, as defined. Further, this bill would prescribe the reproduction costs for the copies of the records, and would provide that an electronic copy of a medical record is only required if the entire request can be reproduced from an electronic health record system and the record can be delivered electronically. This bill would also permit a patient or patient's representative to obtain multiple copies of the relevant portion of the patient's medical record at no charge in public benefit eligibility appeals. Additionally, this bill would require the Secretary of California Health and Human Services to make annual determinations concerning any increase or decrease in the fees in accordance with the Consumer Price Index prepared by the United States Department of Labor.
(1) Existing law prohibits a permanent school employee from being dismissed except for one or more specified offenses. This bill would prohibit a collective bargaining agreement entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2013, from requiring the removal, after a specified time period, from an employee's record of records pertaining to discipline, complaints, reprimands, or investigations relating to the employee's commission, or potential commission, of one of those specified offenses. (2) Existing law authorizes a governing board of a school district to give notice to a permanent employee of its intention to dismiss or suspend him or her for specified causes at the expiration of 30 days from the date of service of the notice, unless the employee demands a hearing. Existing law prohibits that notice from being given between May 15th and September 15th in any year. This bill would remove that prohibition. (3) Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from acting upon any charges of unprofessional conduct, or unsatisfactory performance, unless at least 45, or 90, calendar days, respectively, prior to the date of the filing of the charges the governing board, or its authorized representative, has given the employee written notice, as specified. This bill would remove those 45-day and 90-day requirements. (4) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to immediately place an employee on compulsory leave of absence if the employee is charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense, as defined. This bill would require the governing board to transfer a certificated employee to nonclassroom duties that do not involve contact with pupils if the governing board has reasonable cause to believe that the employee is under investigation by a law enforcement agency for commission of a mandatory leave of absence offense. The bill would require an employee transferred under these provisions to continue to receive his or her regular salary during the period of the transfer. If the governing board returns the employee to classroom duties, the bill would require the governing board to record the reason or reasons for the return in a resolution adopted by the governing board. By placing additional duties on school district governing boards regarding the transfer of employee duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law establishes a Commission on Professional Competence for each dismissal or suspension hearing requested by an employee, consisting of specified members. Existing law deems the decision of the Commission on Professional Competence to be the final decision of the governing board of the school district. This bill would make various changes to the provisions relating to the hearing, including requiring the Commission on Professional Competence to consist solely of an administrative law judge, as well as providing that the decision of the commission would be advisory, and the final decision regarding the discipline of the employee would be determined by action of the governing board of the school district. The bill would provide that an employee requesting a hearing may be placed on administrative leave without pay, and that an employee who is placed on administrative leave would be required to be paid his or her regular salary if he or she furnishes to the school district acceptable security, as specified. (6) Existing law prohibits testimony from being given or evidence being introduced at the hearing relating to matters that occurred more than 4 years prior to the date of the filing of the notice of dismissal or suspension. This bill would remove that 4-year limitation. (7) This bill would make nonsubstantive and conforming changes. (8) 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.
Article XVI of the California Constitution requires a general obligation bond act to specify the single object or work to be funded by the bonds, and further requires a bond act to be approved by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and by a majority of the voters. Article XVI authorizes the Legislature, at any time after the approval of a general obligation bond act by the voters, to reduce the amount of the indebtedness authorized by the act to an amount not less than the amount contracted at the time of the reduction or to repeal the act if no debt has been contracted. Existing law, pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related rail purposes. Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail Authority with specified powers and duties related to the development and implementation of a high-speed train system. This bill would provide that no further bonds shall be sold for high-speed rail and related rail purposes pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century. The bill would amend the bond act to authorize redirection of the net proceeds received from outstanding bonds issued and sold prior to the effective date of this act, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from those high-speed rail purposes to retiring the debt incurred from the issuance and sale of those outstanding bonds. This bill would provide that, pursuant to Article XVI of the California Constitution, these provisions shall become effective only upon approval by the voters at the next statewide general election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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 (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes judicial review procedures for challenging a lead agency action on the ground of noncompliance with CEQA. This bill would require a judicial proceeding challenging a project, except for a high-speed rail project, located in a distressed county, as defined, to be filed with the Court of Appeal with geographic jurisdiction over the project.
Under existing law, a felony where the term is not specified in the underlying offense shall be punishable by a term of imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months or 2 or 3 years. Existing law requires, except for persons serving a prison term for serious or violent crimes, among other offenses, all persons released from prison on and after October 1, 2011, or whose sentence has been deemed served after serving a prison term for a felony, to, upon release from prison and for a period not exceeding 3 years immediately following release, be subject to community supervision provided by a county agency designated by each county's board of supervisors. This bill would require a county agency implementing postrelease supervision to notify all relevant local law enforcement agencies of the person's residence in the area and to ensure that local summary criminal history information is available to all local law enforcement officers. By establishing additional requirements applicable to county agencies, this 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.
Existing law provides that any elected public officer who takes public office, or is reelected to public office, on or after January 1, 2006, who is convicted of any specified felony arising directly out of his or her official duties, forfeits all rights and benefits under, and membership in, any public retirement system in which he or she is a member, effective on the date of final conviction, as specified. This bill would require that an employee of a school district, county office of education, or charter school, who is convicted of any state or federal felony for conduct arising out of, or in the performance of, his or her official duties in pursuit of the office or appointment, or in connection with obtaining salary, disability retirement, or service retirement, or other benefits, forfeit retirement benefits earned or accrued from the earliest date of the commission of the felony to the forfeiture date, as specified. The bill would also require any contributions to the public retirement system made by the employee on or after the earliest date of commission of the felony to be returned, without interest, to the employee upon the occurrence of a distribution event, as defined, unless otherwise ordered by a court or determined by the pension administrator.