Sen. Anthony Portantino

Existing law requires the Department of General Services to ensure that all claims that have been approved by the department, and for which there exists no legally available appropriation, are submitted for legislative approval at least once each calendar year. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would appropriate funds for the payment of claims against the state approved by the department. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires the Attorney General, when there is not a sufficient appropriation for the payment of certain claims, settlements, or judgments, to report the claims, settlements, and judgments to the chairperson of either the Senate Committee on Appropriations or the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, who is then required to cause introduction of legislation appropriating necessary funds for payment. This bill would appropriate an unspecified amount from the General Fund to the Attorney General to pay an undesignated judgment. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires the California Victim Compensation Board to ensure that all claims that have been approved by the board and for which there exists no legally available appropriation are submitted for legislative approval at least once each calendar year. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would appropriate funds for the payment of claims approved by the board. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would proclaim January 13, 2020, as Korean American Day.

Existing property tax law requires the county auditor, in each fiscal year, to allocate property tax revenue to local jurisdictions in accordance with specified formulas and procedures, and generally provides that each jurisdiction shall be allocated an amount equal to the total of the amount of revenue allocated to that jurisdiction in the prior fiscal year, subject to certain modifications, and that jurisdiction's portion of the annual tax increment, as defined. Existing property tax law also reduces the amount of ad valorem property tax revenue that would otherwise be annually allocated to the county, cities, and special districts pursuant to these general allocation requirements by requiring, for purposes of determining property tax revenue allocations in each county for the 1992–93 and 1993–94 fiscal years, that the amount of property tax revenue deemed allocated in the prior fiscal year to the county, cities, and special districts be reduced in accordance with certain formulas. Existing property tax law requires that the revenues not allocated to the county, cities, and special districts as a result of these reductions be transferred to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) in that county for allocation to school districts, community college districts, and the county office of education. This bill would establish the Local-State Sustainable Investment Program, which would be administered by the Department of Finance. The bill would authorize a city, a county, or a specified joint powers agency that meets specified eligibility criteria to apply to the Department of Finance for funding for projects that further certain purposes, including increasing the availability of affordable housing. The bill would require that funding under the program be provided by an allocation of ad valorem property tax revenues, as provided, and would limit the amount of funding approved under the program to $200,000,000 per fiscal year and $1,000,000,000 total. The bill, for each fiscal year in which funding for a project within a county is approved under the program, would require the county auditor to decrease the amount of ad valorem property tax revenue that is otherwise required to be allocated to the county ERAF by the countywide local-state sustainable investment amount and to allocate a commensurate amount to the county's Local-State Investment Fund, which is created by this bill in the treasury of each county. The bill would require the county treasurer to transfer from the county's Local-State Sustainable Investment Fund an amount approved by the Department of Finance under the program into a separate account for use by a city, a county, or a specified joint powers agency for an approved applicant, as provided. The bill would require, upon approval of funding for a project under the program, the Department of Finance to issue an order directing the county auditor of the county in which the project is approved to make the above-described reduction in property tax revenue allocations to the county's ERAF. By imposing new duties upon local 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.

Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. Existing law also requires the DMV to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to apply to the DMV to sponsor the "California Housing Crisis Awareness" specialized license plate program, and would authorize the DMV to establish the program under the existing provisions described above. The bill would establish the California Housing Crisis Awareness Specialized License Plate Account within the Specialized License Plate Fund. The bill would require specified fees be imposed on the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the specialized license plate, and would further require the DMV, after deducting ongoing administrative costs, to transfer any additional revenue from the California Housing Crisis Awareness Specialized License Plate Account to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for certain housing-related projects and programs.

Existing law prohibits a person from having in his or her possession or otherwise under his or her control more than one driver's license. Existing law prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from issuing a driver's license, or renewing a driver's license, of a person who holds a valid driver's license issued by a foreign jurisdiction unless the license has been surrendered to the department, or is lost or destroyed. Except as specified, existing law requires the department to require an applicant for an original driver's license to submit satisfactory proof of California residency and that the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law. Existing law requires the department, upon application for an original driver's license, except a student license, to require an examination of the applicant. Existing law requires the examination to test, among other things, the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the provisions of the Vehicle Code governing the operation of vehicles upon the highways, an actual demonstration of the applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in operating a motor vehicle by driving it under the supervision of an examining officer, and a test of the hearing and eyesight of the applicant, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to waive the driving test part of the examination for an applicant who submits a license issued by another state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico if the department verifies through any acknowledged national driver record data source that there are no stops, holds, or other impediments to its issuance. This bill would authorize the department, for purposes of the issuance of a noncommercial class C driver's license, to the extent not prohibited by federal law or treaty, to waive the driving test part of the examination for an applicant who submits a driver's license issued by a foreign nation, as defined, under specified conditions, including a requirement that the foreign nation, in a memorandum of understanding, extends the same reciprocal privilege relating to the issuance of a driver's license to a person who holds a valid California driver's license. The bill would require an applicant to be 18 years of age or older, to submit satisfactory proof of California residency and specified documents issued by the foreign nation, and to have no stops, holds, or other impediments to issuance in his or her driving record. The bill would specify that an applicant may submit a driver's license issued by a foreign nation that is equivalent to a noncommercial or a commercial class A, class B, or class C California driver's license, but would require the California driver's license issued by the department to the applicant to be a noncommercial class C driver's license only.

The Donahoe Higher Education Act provides for a public postsecondary education system in this state. This system consists of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges. The act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act by resolution to make it applicable. This bill would require the California State University and, as a condition of receipt of funds appropriated for purposes of the bill's provisions, the University of California to each select a campus of their respective system to establish, commencing with the 2021–22 academic year, a pilot program for participating students to enter into an income share agreement with the campus. These agreements would specify that moneys for the pilot program would be provided to students for costs of attendance, with students agreeing to pay a portion of their future incomes in exchange. The bill would provide that the period of repayment shall not exceed 10 years, unless extended by up to 60 months under specified circumstances, and shall commence 6 months after the student is no longer enrolled full-time in an accredited college program. The bill would require the income share agreement to be subject to specified requirements, including, among others, that the agreement provide for monthly payments to be based on a specified percentage of the student's annual income. The bill would require the pilot program to be open to students in their sophomore, junior, or senior year, and would authorize the campus to impose other eligibility requirements and cap the number of participants based on the amount of moneys appropriated for the pilot program. The bill would require that implementation of the pilot program be contingent upon the appropriation of funds for this purpose in the annual Budget Act or another statute. The bill would require each participating campus to submit a report no later than November 1, 2023, and a 2nd report no later than November 1, 2026, to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature containing specified information about the pilot program.

Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law requires a recipient of CalWORKs to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility. Existing law authorizes a student who, at the time they are required to participate in the program, is enrolled in any undergraduate degree or certificate program that leads to employment to continue in that program if they are making satisfactory progress in that program, the county determines that continuing in the program is likely to lead to self-supporting employment for that recipient, and the welfare-to-work plan reflects that determination. A person may meet their welfare-to-work requirements by taking part in a self-initiated education or training program; however, if a recipient does not complete a specified number of hours of classroom, laboratory, or internship activities, the county human services agency is required to have the recipient participate in concurrent work activities, as specified. Existing law limits the time period in which a participant may engage in certain educational activities, in satisfaction of welfare-to-work requirements, to 24 cumulative months during a participant's lifetime. Existing law provides for an extension of that 24-month period under certain circumstances. Existing law requires that necessary supportive services, including child care and transportation costs, be available to every welfare-to-work participant in order to participate in the program activity to which they are assigned. This bill would require that a CalWORKs eligible individual participating in an educational activity full time and making satisfactory progress, as specified, receive a standard allowance of $500, which may be provided, in whole or in part, in the form of a book voucher. The bill would authorize a participant to opt out of the standard allowance at any time, to make a reimbursement claim for the actual costs of books and supplies, and to submit this claim to the county. The bill would require that an applicant or recipient who is enrolled in a specified educational plan or program and making satisfactory progress be deemed to be meeting all welfare-to-work requirements, including the hourly participation requirements, and be entitled to the allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services. The bill would provide that a recipient who is enrolled in a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution and making satisfactory progress that would meaningfully increase the likelihood of their employment is entitled to an extension of the 24-month cumulative participation period, as specified. The bill would define "full time" and "making satisfactory progress" for purposes of these provisions and would require that these allowances be adjusted annually for inflation. By imposing a higher level of service of county employees, 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 the statutory provisions noted above. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the tax imposed by that law, including, in conformity with federal income tax law, a deduction for amounts paid, not to exceed $50 per month, by a taxpayer to maintain an individual, who is not a dependent or a relative, as a member of the taxpayer's household during the period that the individual is a full-time pupil or student in elementary or secondary grades at specified educational organizations. Existing law does not allow this deduction where the taxpayer receives compensation or reimbursement for maintaining the individual, as provided. This bill, for each taxable year beginning on and after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, would increase the authorized deduction, not to exceed $500 per month, for individuals described above whose permanent place of residence is not the United States and would allow the deduction to taxpayers who receive compensation or reimbursement for maintaining that individual. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.