Sen. Mike Morrell

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law impose taxes upon taxable income, as specified, and allow various exclusions and deductions in conformity or modified conformity with federal income tax laws, in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature, if federal income tax laws provide for a tax holiday for corporate moneys repatriated into the United States, to enact legislation reducing the rates of tax imposed upon the income derived from the moneys repatriated into the state during the same period.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes any licensee or registrant whose license expired while he or she was on active duty as a member of the California National Guard or the United States Armed Forces to reinstate his or her license or registration without examination or penalty if certain requirements are met. Existing law also requires the boards to waive the renewal fees, continuing education requirements, and other renewal requirements, if applicable, of any licensee or registrant called to active duty as a member of the United States Armed Forces or the California National Guard, if certain requirements are met. Existing law requires each board to inquire in every application if the individual applying for licensure is serving in, or has previously served in, the military. Existing law requires a board within the Department of Consumer Affairs to expedite, and authorizes a board to assist with, the initial licensure process for an applicant who has served as an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces and was honorably discharged. This bill would require every board within the Department of Consumer Affairs to grant a fee waiver for the application for and the issuance of an initial license to an applicant who supplies satisfactory evidence, as defined, to the board that the applicant has served as an active duty member of the California National Guard or the United States Armed Forces and was honorably discharged. The bill would require that a veteran be granted only one fee waiver, except as specified.

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including certain credits that are allowed in modified conformity to credits allowed by federal income tax laws. Federal income tax laws allow a refundable earned income tax credit for certain low-income individuals who have earned income from wages, salaries, tips, and other employee compensation plus net earnings from self-employment and who meet certain other requirements. The Personal Income Tax Law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income credit against personal income tax, which is only for earned income from wages, salaries, tips, and other employee compensation, and a payment in excess of that credit amount, to an eligible individual that is equal to that portion of the earned income tax credit allowed by federal law as determined by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor as set forth in the annual Budget Act which, unless otherwise specified in that act, is 0%. This bill, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2017, would expand the earned income credit allowed by the Personal Income Tax Law by providing additional conformity with federal income tax law to include specified net earnings from self-employment in earned income, thus allowing an earned income credit for taxpayers for those earnings. This bill would additionally set the earned income tax credit adjustment factor as 85%. Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Tax Relief and Refund Account and provides that payments required to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account, including any amount allowable as an earned income credit in excess of any tax liabilities. By authorizing new payments from that account for additional amounts in excess of personal income tax liabilities, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing property tax law establishes a veterans' organization exemption under which property is exempt from taxation if, among other things, that property is used exclusively for charitable purposes and is owned by a veterans' organization. This bill would provide that the veterans' organization exemption shall not be denied to a property on the basis that the property is used for fraternal, lodge, or social club purposes, and would make specific findings and declarations in that regard. The bill would also provide that the exemption shall not apply to any portion of a property that consists of a bar where alcoholic beverages are served. 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.

The Milton Marks Postgovernment Employment Restrictions Act of 1990 prohibits a Member of the Legislature, for a period of one year after leaving office, from acting as a compensated agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing, any other person by making appearances before, or communications with, the Legislature or its committees, present Members, or officers or employees, if the appearance or communication is made for the purpose of influencing legislative action. The bill would extend the time period for these prohibitions for a Member of the Legislature who resigns from office by providing that the period commences with the effective date of the resignation and concludes one year after the adjournment sine die of the session in which the resignation occurred. Because a violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

Existing law requires the county recorder of each county to establish a social security number truncation program in order to create a public record version of each official record, in an electronic format, and requires the social security number contained in the record to be truncated, as specified. Existing law requires these provisions to apply to official records recorded on or after January 1, 1980, as specified. This bill, for each official record recorded before January 1, 1980, would authorize the county recorder to create a copy of that record in an electronic format and truncate any social security number contained in that record. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Existing law, the Private Investigator Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of private investigators by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. (1) Existing law, until January 1, 2018, authorizes the bureau to issue a private investigator license to a limited liability company. Existing law, the California Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, authorizes a limited liability company to have any lawful purpose, except as specified, and authorizes a domestic or foreign limited liability company to render services that may be lawfully rendered only pursuant to a license, certificate, or registration authorized by the Business and Professions Code if the provisions of that code authorize a limited liability company or foreign limited liability company to hold that license, certificate, or registration. As a condition for licensure, existing law requires a limited liability company to maintain a policy or policies of insurance against liability imposed on or against it by law for damages arising out of claims based upon acts, errors, or omissions arising out of the private investigator services it provides. Under existing law, if the applicant for a license is a limited liability company, the application is required to include specified information pertaining to each managing member and any other officer or member who will be active in the licensed business. This bill, until January 1, 2021, would extend the authority for the bureau to issue a private investigator license to a limited liability company and make related conforming changes. The bill also would define terms. The bill, on and after July 1, 2018, and until January 1, 2021, would require a licensee organized as a limited liability company to report a paid or pending claim against its liability insurance to the bureau and would require the bureau to post a notice of the claim on a specified license verification Internet Web page. The bill, beginning July 1, 2018, would require an applicant for an initial license or a licensee applying for reassignment of the license to notify the bureau on the application for licensure or reassignment if the applicant or licensee is a limited liability company and would require the bureau to include this information on a specified license verification Internet Web page. (2) Existing law requires an applicant, or his or her manager, for a license as a private investigator to have had at least 3 years' experience in investigation work. Under existing law, a year's experience is required to consist of not less than 2,000 hours of actual compensated work performed by each applicant preceding the filing of an application. Under existing law, an applicant who holds a law degree or who has completed a four-year course in police science, criminal justice, criminal law, or the equivalent is required to have had 2 years' experience in investigation work. This bill would revise and recast these provisions by requiring an applicant with a law degree or bachelor's degree in police science, criminal justice, criminal law, or the equivalent to be credited with 2,000 hours of experience in investigation work. The bill would require an applicant with an associate degree in police science, criminal justice, criminal law, or the equivalent to be credited with 1,000 hours of experience in investigation work. The bill would prohibit the total amount of time credited to an applicant for these degrees from exceeding 2,000 hours of experience in investigation work. (3) This bill would make various other conforming changes.

This measure would declare August 7, 2017, as Purple Heart Day in California.

This measure would designate the month of September 2017 as Opioid, Heroin, Fentanyl, and Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month, as specified.

This measure would honor the men and women who have served and are serving in our nation's military, and would recognize the month of May 2017 as National Military Appreciation Month.