Existing law makes an affidavit of voter registration confidential, and prohibits the use of an affidavit for a personal, private, or commercial purpose, except as specified. Existing law requires that an affidavit of voter registration with respect to a voter be provided to a candidate for federal, state, or local office, to a committee for or against an initiative or referendum measure for which publication is made, and to a person for election, scholarly, journalistic, or political purposes, or for governmental purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State. Existing law requires the release of the home address or signature of a voter whenever the person's vote is challenged, as specified. This bill would require the Secretary of State to adopt regulations describing best practices for storage and security of voter registration information received by an applicant. The bill would require a person or entity who has received voter registration information pursuant to an application to disclose a breach in the security of the storage of the information to the Secretary of State, as specified. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly cause to be mailed or distributed, or knowingly mail or distribute, literature to a voter that includes a designation of the voter's precinct polling place other than the precinct polling place listed for that voter in an official precinct polling list. This bill would make it a misdemeanor for a person, with actual knowledge and intent to deceive, to cause to be distributed or to distribute literature or any other form of communication to a voter that the person knows to include voting information that is incorrect, false, or misleading, as specified. This bill would specify that distribution for this purposes includes distribution by mail, radio or television broadcast, telephone call, text message, email, or any other electronic means, including over the Internet. By creating a new crime, this 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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Existing law requires various entities, including the State Fire Marshal, to seize certain prohibited fireworks. Existing law requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to consult with public safety agencies and other stakeholders and develop a model ordinance that permits local jurisdictions to adopt streamlined enforcement and administrative fine procedures related to possession of 25 pounds or less of dangerous fireworks. This bill would repeal the provisions relating to a model ordinance governing enforcement and administrative fine procedures. The bill would authorize and encourage local jurisdictions to adopt by ordinance a streamlined enforcement and administrative fine procedure related to the possession of 25 pounds or less of dangerous fireworks, as provided. Existing law authorizes the State Fire Marshal to issue licenses related to fireworks and pyrotechnic devices, including a wholesaler's license. Existing law provides that a wholesaler's license allows the sale and transportation of all types of fireworks, as provided. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2019, prohibit the State Fire Marshal from issuing or renewing wholesaler's licenses for the sale of safe and sane fireworks unless the applicant is a member of the fireworks stewardship organization, as defined. The bill would, until January 1, 2024, establish the Fireworks Stewardship Program, which would, among other things, prescribe procedures for entities that are authorized to seize fireworks to provide for the transfer, storage, transportation, and repurposing of seized fireworks, in accordance with specified requirements, including that the fireworks are managed and transported in accordance with all applicable state and federal hazardous waste laws and regulations. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to transfer any commercially viable fireworks to the fireworks stewardship organization after the fireworks stewardship organization submits a fireworks stewardship plan to the State Fire Marshal, as provided. The bill would require a charge to be collected at the point of retail sale of safe and sane fireworks, to be remitted to the fireworks stewardship organization. The bill would require the fireworks stewardship organization to determine the rules and procedures that would be necessary and proper to implement the collection of the charge in a fair, efficient, and lawful manner. The bill would require, on or before November 1, 2019, and on or before November 1 annually thereafter, the fireworks stewardship organization to reimburse the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for the costs necessary to implement this program and would require the charge described above to be sufficient to fund this reimbursement. The bill would prescribe procedures for the conduct of audits and would impose recordkeeping and reporting requirements on the fireworks stewardship organization. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to impose administrative civil penalties on the fireworks stewardship organization for violations of program requirements, and would require that all revenues collected from those administrative civil penalties be deposited in the State Fire Marshal Fireworks Enforcement and Disposal Fund, as provided. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to convene a task force to investigate the issue of illegal fireworks sales in the state and would require, on or before January 1, 2021, the task force to present a report with recommendations to specified committees of the Legislature on reducing the volume of illegal fireworks being sold in the state. The bill would require the department to establish a local grant program for illegal fireworks enforcement and interdiction operations, as provided. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to examine and classify all fireworks or pyrotechnic devices intended for sale in the state that are products of nonlicensed manufacturers, upon application and a fee. Existing law provides that the fee shall be $10 for each label of an item of identical size and design of a given lot or batch, as provided. This bill would delete the $10 fee provision and instead authorize the State Fire Marshal to determine the fee amount. The bill would require each lot or batch to include, among other things, 10 samples of the fireworks or pyrotechnic device. Existing law provides that if dangerous fireworks are seized pursuant to a local ordinance that provides for administrative fines or penalties and these fines or penalties are collected, the local governmental entity collecting the fines or penalties shall forward 65% of that money to the Controller for deposit in the State Fire Marshal Fireworks Enforcement and Disposal Fund. This bill would instead require the local government entity to forward 25% of that money, among other changes. This bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 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. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to administer various programs to coordinate data relating to crime prevention and criminal investigation and prosecution, including, among other data, firearm ownership, criminal records, and missing persons. This bill would require the Attorney General to create Terrorist and Criminal Organization Investigation Teams, to be located throughout the state, to proactively coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism activity and criminal opportunities before they occur by specializing in social media forums. The bill would also require Department of Justice personnel to be trained on state and federal guidelines, as specified.
This measure would urge lawmakers in Poland to reverse or revise a recent Polish law on speech related to the Holocaust, would call on Congress to join that effort, and would call for a renewed commitment to Holocaust education in California.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including motion picture credits for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2020, subject to a computation and ranking of applicants based on a jobs ratio. Existing law allows the credit for the taxable year in which the commission issues a credit certificate for the qualified motion picture for the applicable percentage of all qualified expenditures, as defined, paid or incurred by the qualified taxpayer in all taxable years for that qualified motion picture. Existing law limits the aggregate amount of these credits allocated in each fiscal year to $330,000,000, through and including the 2019–20 fiscal year. This bill would establish similar credits under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2020, and before July 1, 2025, except as provided. The bill would allow a credit in an amount equal to 20% or 25% of qualified expenditures up to $100,000,000, for the production of a qualified motion picture in this state, with additional credit amounts allowed, including for amounts equal to specified qualified expenditures and qualified wages relating to original photography outside the Los Angeles zone, as specified. This bill would limit the aggregate amount of these new credits to be allocated in each fiscal year to $330,000,000 plus the amount of any unused credit amounts for preceding fiscal years and attributable to existing motion picture credits, as specified. The bill, subject to a computation and ranking of applicants based on the jobs ratio, as defined, would require the California Film Commission to allocate credit amounts subject to specified categories of qualified motion pictures in 2 or more allocation periods per fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2020, and issue credit certificates. Existing law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, also allows application of the credit amount against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, would allow application of the credit amount against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law authorizes certain persons, including, among others, any person 16 years of age or older, to have his or her proficiency in basic skills taught in public high schools verified according to criteria established by the State Department of Education. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to award a certificate of proficiency to persons who demonstrate that proficiency. Existing law requires the department to develop standards of competency in basic skills taught in public high schools and to provide for the administration of examinations prepared by, or with the approval of, the department to verify competency. Existing law authorizes the department to conduct additional examinations to accommodate eligible persons whose religious convictions or physical handicaps prevent them from attending one of the regular examinations. This bill instead would require the state board to award a certificate of proficiency in the 4 content areas of English language arts, history-social science, mathematics, and science. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to review existing tests that assess the 4 content areas to determine if any meet the criteria established by the department. The bill would authorize the department to conduct examinations at any other time the Superintendent deems necessary and not only to accommodate eligible persons whose religious convictions or physical handicaps prevent them from attending one of the regular examinations. (2) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue a high school equivalency certificate and an official score report, or an official score report only, to a person who has not completed high school and who meets specified requirements, including, among others, having taken all or a portion of a high school equivalency test that has been approved by the state board and administered by a testing center approved by the department, with a score determined by the state board to be equal to the standard of performance expected from high school graduates. Existing law authorizes the Superintendent to charge an examinee a one-time only fee to pay costs related to administering these provisions and issuing a certificate, as specified. Existing law limits the amount of the fee to $20 per person. This bill would delete the provision requiring that fee to be charged one-time only, and would limit the amount of the fee to $40 per person.
Existing law authorizes a person who is at least 16 years of age and otherwise meets all voter eligibility requirements to preregister to vote by submitting his or her affidavit of registration. The affidavit of registration is deemed effective as of the date the affiant will be 18 years of age. This bill would lower the minimum age for voter preregistration to 15 years of age. The bill also would make conforming changes to existing law. By increasing the duties of local elections officials in processing voter registrations and related duties, 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.
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 all segments of postsecondary education. Under existing law, the commission, among other things, administers the Cal Grant Program, the Student Opportunity and Access Program, the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, the Graduate Assumption Program of Loans for Education, the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program, and the California State Work-Study Program. This bill would enact the Plan Against College Hunger Act of 2018. The act would establish the Plan Against College Hunger Program under the administration of the commission for the purpose of preventing hunger among students at public postsecondary educational institutions, as defined. The bill would require the commission to provide awards to eligible students equal to the amount of the cost of a meal plan that would cover 10 meals per week, as provided. The bill, notwithstanding any other law, and to the extent permitted by federal law, would prohibit an award received pursuant to these provisions from being considered as income for the purpose of determining eligibility in any state or county administered needs-tested financial aid or public benefit. The bill would make these provisions operative only if funds are specifically appropriated for the purposes of these provisions in the annual Budget Act or another statute.