(1) Existing law, the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020, establishes certain procedural requirements and limitations on evictions for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 rental debt, as defined. The act, among other things, prohibits a tenant that delivers a declaration, under penalty of perjury, of COVID-19-related financial distress from being deemed in default with regard to the COVID-19 rental debt, as specified. Existing law defines COVID-19 rental debt as unpaid rent or any other unpaid financial obligation of a tenant that came due between March 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021. Existing law repeals the act on February 1, 2025. This bill would extend the definition of "COVID-19 rental debt" as unpaid rent or any other unpaid financial obligation of a tenant that came due between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021. The bill would also extend the repeal date of the act to January 1, 2026. The bill would make other conforming changes to align with these extended dates. By extending the repeal date of the act, the bill would expand the crime of perjury and create a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes a landlord to require a high-income tenant, as defined, to submit additional documentation supporting the claim that the tenant has suffered COVID-19-related financial distress if the landlord provides the tenant with a specified notice. This bill would provide that a tenant is not required to submit that additional supporting documentation unless the landlord provides the tenant with a copy of the proof of income that demonstrates that the tenant qualifies as a high-income tenant. Existing law prohibits a landlord from interrupting or terminating utility service furnished to a tenant with the intent to terminate the occupancy of the tenant, and imposes specified penalties on a landlord who violates that prohibition. Existing law, until February 1, 2021, imposes additional damages in an amount of at least $1,000, but not more than $2,500, on a landlord that violates that prohibition, if the tenant has provided a declaration of COVID-19 financial distress, as specified. This bill would extend the imposition of those additional damages to January 1, 2022, and would remove the condition that the tenant provide a declaration of COVID-19 financial distress. This bill would additionally prohibit a landlord from taking certain actions with respect to a tenant's COVID-19 rental debt, including, among others, charging or attempting to collect late fees, providing different terms or conditions of tenancy, or withholding a service or amenity. Existing law, until February 1, 2021, prohibits a landlord from bringing an action for unlawful detainer based on a cause of action other than nonpayment of COVID-19 rental debt for the purpose of retaliating against the lessee because the lessee has COVID-19 rental debt. This bill would extend that prohibition to January 1, 2022. Existing law, until February 1, 2025, provides that a small claims court has jurisdiction in any action for recovery of COVID-19 rental debt, as defined, regardless of the amount demanded. This bill would extend that provision to January 1, 2026. Existing law prohibits action to recover COVID-19 rental debt from commencing before March 1, 2021. This bill would extend that prohibition to January 1, 2022, or the end of a local jurisdiction's repayment period, whichever is later. (2) Existing law, the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act, provides for the regulation of consumer credit reporting agencies that collect credit-related information on consumers and report this information to subscribers and of persons who furnish that information to consumer credit reporting agencies, as provided. This bill would prohibit a housing provider, credit reporting agency, tenant screening company, or other entity that evaluates tenants on behalf of a housing provider from using an alleged COVID-19 rental debt, as defined, as a negative factor for the purpose of evaluating creditworthiness or as the basis for a negative reference to a prospective housing provider. (3) Existing law, the Mobilehome Residency Law, requires the management of a mobilehome park to comply with notice and specified other requirements in order to terminate a tenancy in a mobilehome park due to a change of use of the mobilehome park, including giving homeowners at least 15 days' written notice that the management will be appearing before a local governmental board, commission, or body to request permits for the change of use. This bill would instead require the management to give homeowners at least 60 days' written notice that the management will be appearing before a local governmental board, commission, or body to obtain local approval for the intended change of use of the mobilehome park. (4) Existing law prescribes various requirements to be satisfied before the exercise of a power of sale under a mortgage or deed of trust. In this regard, existing law requires that a notice of default and a notice of sale be recorded and that specified periods of time elapse between the recording and the sale. Existing law establishes certain requirements in connection with foreclosures on mortgages and deeds of trust, including restrictions on the actions mortgage servicers may take while a borrower is attempting to secure a loan modification or has submitted a loan modification application. Existing law, until January 1, 2023, applies those protections to a first lien mortgage or deed of trust that is secured by residential real property that is occupied by a tenant, contains no more than four dwelling units, and meets certain criteria, including that a tenant occupying the property is unable to pay rent due to a reduction in income resulting from the novel coronavirus. The bill, commencing January 1, 2023, would limit the extension of those protections to the above-described first lien mortgages and deeds of trust to instances in which the borrower has been approved for foreclosure prevention, as specified, or the borrower submitted a completed application for a first lien loan modification before January 1, 2023, and, as of January 1, 2023, either the mortgage servicer has not yet determined whether the applicant is eligible, or the appeal period for the mortgage servicer's denial of the application has not yet expired. (5) 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. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
The Political Reform Act of 1974 imposes various limitations on contributions that may be made to, or accepted by, candidates for elective office. A violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor and subject to specified penalties. This bill, the Corporate-Free Elections Act, would prohibit a candidate for elective office from receiving a contribution from a business entity, and a business entity from making a contribution to a candidate for elective office, and would make related findings and declarations. By expanding the scope of existing crimes with regard to contribution limitations, 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, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires individual and group health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies to provide coverage for the screening and diagnosis of prostate cancer, when medically necessary and consistent with good professional practice. Existing law specifies that it does not prevent the application of deductible or copayment provisions for those services. Existing law requires an individual or small group health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to, at a minimum, include coverage for essential health benefits, which include preventive services, pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This bill would prohibit a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2022, from applying a deductible, copayment, or coinsurance to coverage for specified screening services for prostate cancer for an enrollee or insured who is 55 years of age or older or is 40 years of age or older and is high risk, as determined by their health care provider. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements relative to health care service plans would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, commonly known as the Ellis Act, generally prohibits public entities from adopting any statute, ordinance, or regulation, or taking any administrative action, to compel the owner of residential real property to offer or to continue to offer accommodations, as defined, in the property for rent or lease. Existing law authorizes any public entity that has in effect any control or system of control on the price at which accommodations are offered for rent or lease to require by statute or ordinance, or by regulation, that the owner notify the entity of an intention to withdraw those accommodations from rent or lease, and to require that the notice contain specified statements. This bill would, when a public entity has a price control system in effect, prohibit an owner of accommodations from filing a notice with a public entity of an intent to withdraw accommodations or prosecuting an action to recover possession of accommodations, or threatening to do so, if not all the owners of the accommodations have been owners of record for at least 5 continuous years, with specified exceptions, or with respect to property that the owner acquired within 10 years after providing notice of an intent to withdraw accommodations at a different property. This bill would require an owner of accommodations notifying the public entity of an intention to withdraw accommodations from rent or lease, as provided, to identify each person or entity with an ownership interest in the accommodations, as provided. That information would be available for public inspection. The bill would prohibit an owner or any person or entity with an ownership interest from acting in concert with a coowner, successor owner, prospective owner, agent, employee, or assignee to circumvent these provisions. The bill would provide specified, nonexclusive remedies for a violation. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development for the purpose of advocating for the causes of small business and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. This bill, the Keep California Working Act, would establish the Keep California Working Grant Program. The act would require the Small Business Advocate to administer the program and award grants, as specified, to small businesses and nonprofit entities that meet specified criteria, including that the entity has experienced economic hardship resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The act would specify that grant money awarded pursuant to the program may be used only for specified purposes, including payroll costs, health care benefits, paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums. The act would appropriate $2.6 billion dollars to the Office of Small Business Advocate for those purposes. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in conformity with federal income tax law, generally define "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provide various exclusions from gross income. This bill would exclude from gross income, for state income tax purposes, the amount of a grant awarded pursuant to the Keep California Working Grant Program. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. The bill also would include additional information required for a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes in state government the Ocean Protection Council. Existing law requires the council to, among other things, establish policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies. Existing law establishes the State Coastal Conservancy with prescribed powers and responsibilities for implementing and administering various programs intended to preserve, protect, and restore the state's coastal areas. This bill would require the council, in consultation with the conservancy, to develop the Sea Level Rise Revolving Loan Program for purposes of providing low-interest loans to local jurisdictions for the purchase of coastal properties in their jurisdictions identified as vulnerable coastal property, as provided. The bill would require the council, before January 1, 2023, in consultation with other state planning and coastal management agencies, as provided, to adopt criteria and guidelines for the program. The bill would authorize specified local jurisdictions to apply for, and be awarded, a low-interest loan under the program from the conservancy if the local jurisdiction develops and submits to the conservancy a vulnerable coastal property plan and completes all other requirements imposed by the conservancy. The bill would require the conservancy to review the plans to determine whether they meet the required criteria and guidelines for vulnerable coastal properties to be eligible for participation in the program. The bill would establish the Sea Level Rise Revolving Loan Fund, to be administered by the conservancy, for purposes of providing, upon appropriation, the low-interest loans to eligible local jurisdictions, as provided. The bill would also require that loan repayments, fees, interest, and penalties be deposited in the fund for specified uses, upon appropriation by the Legislature, including for additional loans authorized under the program. The bill would make the bill's provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature for its purposes.
Existing law, the Dixon-Zenovich-Maddy California Arts Act of 1975, establishes the Arts Council, consisting of 11 appointed members. Existing law specifies the duties of the council, including, among others, encouraging artistic awareness, participation, and expression, helping independent local groups develop their own art programs, promoting the employment of artists and those skilled in crafts in both the public and private sector, awarding prizes or directing grants to individuals or organizations, as specified, and establishing grant application criteria and procedure. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the council to establish and administer the California Nonprofit Performing Arts Paymaster program. The bill would require the council to issue a request for proposals and award contracts to be a California nonprofit performing arts paymaster on a competitive basis to 2 or more nonprofit contractors to provide payroll and paymaster services to small nonprofit performing arts organizations, as defined. The bill would require the council to establish a criteria to rate and rank applicants and establish necessary contract terms. The bill would, upon appropriation, require the council to provide a nonprofit contractor selected to provide payroll services with a grant award in an amount necessary to fund the initial startup costs. This bill would authorize a nonprofit contractor providing services to charge a fee to a nonprofit performing arts organization that receives payroll or paymaster services, provided that the fee does not exceed the cost of providing the services. The bill would require a nonprofit contractor that provides services under these provisions to submit an annual report to the council by July 31 of each year that provides specified information from the prior fiscal year, including, among other things, a detailed accounting of all fees charged and collected.
Existing law designates all parks, public campgrounds, monument sites, landmark sites, and sites of historical interest established or acquired by the state, or that are under its control, as the state park system, except as specified. Under existing law, the Department of Parks and Recreation controls the state park system, which is made up of units, one of which is the Chino Hills State Park. This bill would require the department to provide assistance acquiring and accepting land immediately adjacent to, and that expands, Chino Hills State Park, by transferring 3 specified properties into the state park system. The bill would require the department to manage the acquired properties and parcels with specified funds as part of the Chino Hills State Park, as provided.
Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board, which assists the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system. The board reports to the Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Existing law creates various workforce development programs, including the Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative and the Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development Initiative. Existing law establishes an Arts Council in state government to, among other things, promote the employment of artists and those skilled in crafts in both the public and private sector. This bill would enact the California Creative Workforce Act of 2021, to be operative upon appropriation by the Legislature of sufficient funding for its purposes. The purpose of the act would be to establish creative arts workforce development as a state priority and to promote employment and "earn and learn," as defined, job training opportunities for creative workers, among other things. The bill would require the Arts Council, in collaboration with the California Workforce Development Board, to design the program pursuant to specified objectives. The bill would require the council to consult with local government, community nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions, among others, in this effort. The bill would require the council to adopt criteria, guidelines, and policies for the program, which would be exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act, and would make this information available to the public. The bill would require the Arts Council, in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board, to oversee and administer the grant program, to be operated and implemented locally or regionally by program grantees. The bill would require the council to specify and set aside funds to be awarded to grantees for earn and learn job training employment opportunities for students who have enrolled or completed a program in the arts, low-income or unemployed creative workers, and others with demonstrated interest in creative work in their communities. Among other things, the bill would require job training employment opportunities for a creative worker to be for no less than 12 months and no more than 24 months and to pay a living wage. The bill would also require the council to specify and set aside funds to be awarded to grantees to create equitable opportunities for career exploration and participation in creative work for individuals and communities who have faced barriers to participation and employment in creative work for specified reasons. The bill would require the council, in consultation with the board, to develop and implement a plan for grant program evaluation and to specify the data to be collected to evaluate program efficacy. The bill would make conforming changes in provisions relating to the council.
Prior law, in effect until January 1, 2020, required a sentencing court to impose an additional one-year term for each prior separate prison term or county jail felony term served by the defendant for a nonviolent felony, as specified. Prior law, in effect until January 1, 2018, required a sentencing court to impose on a defendant convicted of specified crimes relating to controlled substances, an additional 3-year term for each prior conviction of specified controlled substances crimes, including possession for sale of opiates, opium derivatives, and hallucinogenic substances, as specified. Existing law limits the imposition of these sentencing enhancements to certain specified circumstances. This bill would declare an enhancement imposed pursuant to one of these prior provisions to be legally invalid. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to prohibit a prosecutor or court from rescinding a plea agreement based on a change in sentence as a result of this measure. The bill would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the county correctional administrator of each county to identify those persons in their custody who are serving a sentence that includes one of these enhancements and provide this information to the sentencing court, as specified. The bill would require this information to be provided by March 1, 2022, for those individuals who are currently serving time for the enhancement and by July 1, 2022, for all others. The bill would require the court, after verifying specified information, to recall the sentence and resentence the individual to remove any invalid sentence enhancements. The bill would require the court to grant this relief to those individuals who have served their base term and any other enhancements and are currently serving the enhancement described above by October 1, 2022, and all other individuals by December 31, 2023. The bill would prescribe specific considerations for the court in resentencing, such as requiring that the resentencing result in a lesser sentence, unless the court finds that a lesser sentence would endanger public safety. The bill would require the court to appoint counsel for an individual subject to resentencing. By requiring additional duties of county officials, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.