Existing law authorizes governing boards of school districts to grant leaves of absence to persons employed in positions requiring certification qualifications and to persons employed in the classified service of the school district. For purposes of state apportionments, if the average daily attendance of a school district, county office of education, or charter school during a fiscal year has been materially decreased during a fiscal year because of an emergency, existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to estimate the average daily attendance in a manner that credits to the school district, county office of education, or charter school the total average daily attendance that would have been credited had the emergency not occurred. This bill would prohibit the governing board of a school district from requiring an employee of the school district who is employed in a position requiring certification qualifications or a classified employee to use sick, vacation, or other paid leave if the school is forced to close because of a mandatory evacuation order or certain emergencies, or if the employee is unable to report to work because they reside in an area that is subject to an evacuation order or affected by certain emergencies, and would require the governing board of the school district to ensure the employee is provided their regular pay for any days missed. The bill would require the governing board of a school district to adopt rules and regulations requiring and prescribing the manner by which employees shall prove their inability to report to work because they reside in an area that is subject to a mandatory evacuation order or affected by certain emergencies. By imposing new duties on school districts to create new rules and regulations, the bill would create 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.
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Under existing law, a registered voter may vote by mail by requesting a vote by mail ballot for a specific election or by becoming a permanent vote by mail voter. County elections officials must begin mailing ballots and other required materials to these voters no later than 29 days before the day of the election. Existing law, the California Voter's Choice Act, authorizes any county to conduct any election occurring on or after January 1, 2020, as an all-mailed ballot election if specified conditions are met. In an all-mailed ballot election held under the act, the county elections official must mail a ballot to every registered voter, regardless of whether the voter requested a vote by mail ballot or is a permanent vote by mail voter. This bill would require county elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. Existing law requires county elections officials to permit voters with a disability, and military or overseas voters, to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system. This bill would require county elections officials to permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to establish, by January 1, 2020, a system that a county elections official may use to allow a voter to track the voter's vote by mail ballot through the mail system and processing by the county elections official. County elections officials are not required to use the system, however. This bill would require county elections officials to use the Secretary of State's system, or a system that meets the same specifications, for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. Under existing law, a vote by mail ballot is timely cast if it is voted on or before election day and, if returned by mail, received by the voter's elections official via the United States Postal Service, or a bona fide private mail delivery company, no later than 3 days after election day. This bill would, for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, extend the deadline by which vote by mail ballots must be received by the county elections official to the 17th day after election day. Under existing law, any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. This processing includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, including processing write-in votes so that they can be tallied by the machine, but under no circumstances may a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election. This bill would authorize these jurisdictions, for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, to begin processing vote by mail ballots on the 29th day before the election. By requiring county elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter, and to take other actions expanding vote by mail voting, including making remote accessible voting available to all voters, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes various environmental and economic policies and programs. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the Nature and Parks Career Pathway and Community Resiliency Act of 2020, which would require state conservancies and the Wildlife Conservation Board to establish independent grant programs to fund climate mitigation, adaptation, or resilience, natural disaster, and other climate emergency projects, as specified.
Existing law, the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act, authorizes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, governed by a board of directors, to make loans, issue bonds, and provide other assistance for various types of economic development projects, among other things. The activities of the bank under these provisions are funded from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund, which is continuously appropriated for these purposes. This bill would enact the California Climate Technology and Infrastructure Financing Act to require the bank, in consultation with specified agencies to administer the Climate Catalyst Revolving Fund, which the bill would establish to provide financial assistance to eligible climate catalyst projects, as defined. The bill would require the bank to administer the climate catalyst loan program, would establish the Climate Catalyst Revolving Fund for these purposes, and would continuously appropriate the fund for these purposes, with specified restriction.
Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to develop and implement a course of instruction and training for specified peace officers on the topic of hate crimes. Existing law requires that training to be implemented into the basic course and requires, as specified, all state and local law enforcement agencies to provide the training to all peace officers they employ. This bill would require POST to develop and periodically update an interactive refresher course on hate crimes for in-service peace officers, and require specified peace officers to take the course every 5 years.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to approve and begin implementing a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants to achieve a reduction in methane by 40%, hydrofluorocarbon gases by 40%, and anthropogenic black carbon by 50% below 2013 levels by 2030, as specified. This bill would require the state board, no later than July 1, 2021, to adopt a comprehensive strategy to achieve carbon neutrality in the state by no later than December 31, 2045, as specified. The bill would require the state board, before adopting the comprehensive strategy, to conduct at least 3 public workshops in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency and incorporate peer-reviewed data and models, as specified. The bill would require the state board to update the comprehensive strategy at least once every 5 years. The bill would require the state board to deliver a copy of the comprehensive strategy and any update to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature and to make recommendations for additional statutory authority to effectuate the goals of the comprehensive strategy.
(1) Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, contingent upon funding being provided by the Wildlife Conservation Board or from other appropriate bond funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to investigate, study, and identify those areas in the state that are most essential as wildlife corridors and habitat linkages, as well as the impacts to those wildlife corridors from climate change, and requires the department to prioritize vegetative data development in these areas. This bill would additionally require the department to investigate, study, and identify impacts to those wildlife corridors from state infrastructure projects, including transportation and water projects, large-scale development projects not covered by an existing natural community conservation plan or habitat conservation plan, and planned or potential land conversions. The bill would also require the department to prioritize wildlife movement and habitat data development in those areas of the state that are most essential as wildlife corridors and habitat linkages. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to administer the Significant Natural Areas Program and requires the department, among other things, to develop and maintain a spatial data system that identifies those areas in the state that are most essential for maintaining habitat connectivity, including wildlife corridors and habitat linkages. Existing law requires the department to seek input from representatives of other state agencies, local government, federal agencies, nongovernmental conservation organizations, landowners, agriculture, recreation, scientific entities, and industry in determining essential wildlife corridors and habitat linkages. Existing law also declares that it is the policy of the state to encourage, wherever feasible and practicable, voluntary steps to protect the functioning of wildlife corridors through various means. This bill would enact the Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection and Movement Act of 2020 and would require the state to build off of existing programs and plans, including the State Wildlife Action Plan, to proactively protect and enhance wildlife corridors and design infrastructure to maximize wildlife connectivity. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and the Secretary of Transportation to coordinate with the Habitat Conservation Planning Branch of the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Division of Environmental Analysis of the Department of Transportation to ensure that the Significant Natural Areas Program and the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project are updated, as specified, and incorporated into future transportation and water infrastructure planning and design to allow for maximum wildlife passage features. The bill would require the secretaries, in implementing these provisions, to identify and incorporate, as appropriate, specified information as an addendum in both the Significant Natural Areas Program and the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, to establish the Ira Ruskin Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Advance Mitigation Pilot Program to create compensatory mitigation credits that can be used to address existing barriers identified in the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project and offset significant California Environmental Quality Act impacts of future transportation and water projects that impact wildlife connectivity. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to identify a corridor coordinator in each Department of Transportation (Caltrans) district to, among other things, lead the wildlife habitat connectivity program for that region and to coordinate with regional staff of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The bill would require the Strategic Growth Council to hold one public hearing each year focused on infrastructure design and wildlife corridors. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in developing guidelines to implement these provisions, to consider specified project impacts for a Caltrans district to be eligible for an application of mitigation credits. (3) Existing law creates the Advance Mitigation Program in the Department of Transportation to enhance communications between the department and stakeholders to, among other things, protect natural resources and accelerate project delivery. Existing law authorizes the department, for the purpose of implementing the program, to develop a programmatic mitigation plan to address the potential environmental impacts of future transportation projects for the purpose of required mitigation approved by federal, state, and local agencies. Existing law requires the department to set aside not less than $30,000,000 annually for 4 years, commencing with the 2017–18 fiscal year, for the program from specified state transportation programs for purposes of the Advance Mitigation Program. Existing law creates the Advance Mitigation Account and continuously appropriates moneys in the account for purposes of the program, and specifies what those funds can be used for. This bill would additionally require those funds to be used to modify or remove wildlife connectivity barriers not covered by existing regulatory programs. The bill would require that a programmatic mitigation plan also include wildlife corridor connectivity enhancement or protection. By expanding the purposes for which a continuously appropriated account may be used, the bill would make an appropriation.
(1) Existing law 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. Existing law authorizes these institutions to require that mandatory systemwide fees and tuition, among other fees, be paid by their students. Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending these institutions. This bill would establish the CalServe Higher Education Grant Program, under the administration of the commission, which would award annual grants to eligible students to finance mandatory systemwide tuition and fees not covered by federal, state, or institutionally administered grants or fee waivers commencing with the 2023–24 academic year. The bill would establish the CalServe Higher Education Grant Program Fund in the State Treasury and require that all moneys appropriated for the program be deposited into the fund and appropriated by the Legislature to the commission for the program. (2) Under existing law, by executive order, CaliforniaVolunteers is established in the office of the Governor and is charged with overseeing programs and initiatives for service and volunteerism. Existing law authorizes CaliforniaVolunteers to form a nonprofit public benefit corporation or other entity exempt from income taxation, as provided, to raise revenues and receive grants or other financial support from private or public sources, for purposes of undertaking or funding any lawful activity authorized to be undertaken by CaliforniaVolunteers. Existing federal law, the National Community Service Trust Act, also requires the state to create a commission to carry out specified duties relating to national service programs to be eligible for grants or allotments under certain programs, or to receive distributions of approved national service positions. This bill would reestablish CaliforniaVolunteers, renamed CalServe, as a state agency that is not established in the office of the Governor and would set forth its mission, duties, and responsibilities. The bill would require the director, deputy director, and staff of CalServe to serve at the pleasure of, and be appointed by, the Governor. The bill would continue in existence a Board of Commissioners under CaliforniaVolunteers, to be named the CalServe Commission, for purposes of meeting the requirements of the federal act and the act's implementing rules and regulations, as provided. The bill also would make conforming changes.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Existing law provides, only until January 1, 2025, that, for certain state and local firefighting personnel and peace officers, the term "injury" includes post-traumatic stress that develops or manifests during a period in which the injured person is in the service of the department or unit, but applies only to injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2020. Existing law requires the compensation awarded pursuant to this provision to include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and death benefits. This bill would make that provision applicable to active firefighting members of the State Department of State Hospitals, the State Department of Developmental Services, and the Military Department, and to additional peace officers, including security officers of the Department of Justice when performing assigned duties as security officers and the officers of a state hospital under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals or the State Department of Developmental Services, among other officers. The bill would also make that provision applicable to public safety dispatchers, public safety telecommunicators, and emergency response communication employees, as defined.
The California Emergency Services Act, among other things, establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the office of the Governor, under the charge of a Director of Emergency Services appointed by the Governor. The act and other existing laws set forth the duties and authority of the office and the director, with respect to specified emergency preparedness, mitigation, and response activities within the state. This bill would require the office to prepare for the planning, resourcing, management, and delivery of safety and security at the potential 2026 FIFA World Cup hosting sites in the City of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. The bill would require the office, no later than one year from the date the final selection of host cities is made, to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the cities hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup games, the chosen host committees, and with other necessary parties to implement those safety and security activities. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2027. 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.