Sen. Melissa A. Melendez

Under existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the state policy for water quality control is required to consist of water quality principles and guidelines for long-range resource planning, water quality objectives, and other principles and guidelines deemed essential by the State Water Resources Control Board for water quality control. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

Existing law prohibits the use of public resources for a campaign activity or personal or other purposes that are not authorized by law. Existing law subjects a person who intentionally or negligently violates this prohibition to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each day on which a violation occurs, plus 3 times the value of the unlawful use of public resources. The Political Reform Act of 1974 establishes the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) as the agency responsible for enforcing the act. The act generally prohibits a public officer from expending, and a candidate from accepting, public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office. The act authorizes the Commission to seek and impose administrative and civil penalties against persons who violate the act, as prescribed. This bill would amend the Political Reform Act of 1974 to prohibit any elected state or local officer, including any state or local appointee, employee, or consultant, from using or permitting others to use public resources for a campaign activity. The bill would authorize the FPPC to impose an administrative or civil penalty against a person for a misuse of public resources for campaign activity, not to exceed $1,000 for each day on which a violation occurs, plus three times the value of the unlawful use of public resources. 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 establishes the Green Ribbon Science Panel and authorizes the panel to, among other things, assist the Department of Toxic Substances Control in developing green chemistry and chemical policy recommendations and implementation strategies and details. Existing law requires the department to provide for staff and administrative support to the panel and requires the panel to meet as often as the department deems necessary, with consideration of available resources, but not less than twice each year. This bill would increase the number of times the panel is required to meet to not less than 3 times each year.

(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Consumer Affairs in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to, among other things, ensure that certain businesses and professions that have potential impact upon the public health, safety, and welfare are adequately regulated. This bill would require the department, beginning on January 1, 2021, to conduct a comprehensive review of all licensing requirements for each profession regulated by a board within the department and identify unnecessary licensing requirements, as defined by the bill. The bill, beginning February 1, 2021, and every 2 years thereafter, would require each board within the department to submit to the department an assessment on the board's progress in implementing policies to facilitate licensure portability for active duty service members, veterans, and military spouses that includes specified information. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature on March 1, 2023, and every 2 years thereafter, on the department's progress in conducting its review, and would require the department to issue a final report to the Legislature no later than March 1, 2033. The bill would require the biennial reports to the Legislature to include the assessment information submitted by each board to the department, to identify the professions reviewed by the department, each unnecessary licensing requirement, and the department's recommendations to the Legislature on whether to keep, modify, or eliminate the unnecessary licensing requirement. The bill would require the department to apply for federal funds that have been made available specifically for the purpose of reviewing, updating, and eliminating overly burdensome licensing requirements, as provided. (2) Existing law, the Barbering and Cosmetology Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of cosmetology by the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology in the department and defines the practice of both barbering and cosmetology to include shampooing the hair of any person. The act also specifies that, within the practice of cosmetology, there is the specialty branch of skin care, which includes applying makeup. This bill would delete shampooing another person from the practice of barbering and cosmetology, and would delete the act of applying makeup on another person from the specialty practice of skin care. The bill would require a person who does not hold a barbering or cosmetology license to disclose that fact before the unlicensed person applies makeup to or shampoos the hair of another person. (3) Existing law provides for the regulation of custom upholsterers by the Bureau of Household Goods and Services in the department, and requires every custom upholsterer to hold a custom upholsterer's license. This bill would delete those provisions requiring licensure of custom upholsterers.

The California High-Speed Rail Act creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state. The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of $9 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail purposes and $950 million for other related rail purposes. Article XVI of the California Constitution requires measures authorizing general obligation bonds to specify the single object or work to be funded by the bonds and further requires a bond act to be approved by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and a majority of the voters. This bill would provide that no further bonds shall be sold for high-speed rail purposes pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, except as specifically provided with respect to an existing appropriation for high-speed rail purposes for early improvement projects in the Phase I blended system. The bill, subject to the above exception, would require redirection of the unspent proceeds received from outstanding bonds issued and sold for other high-speed rail purposes before the effective date of these provisions, upon appropriation, for use in retiring the debt incurred from the issuance and sale of those outstanding bonds. The bill, subject to the above exception, would also require the net proceeds of other bonds subsequently issued and sold under the high-speed rail portion of the bond act to be made available, upon appropriation, to the Department of Housing and Community Development's Multifamily Housing Program. The bill would make no changes to the authorization under the bond act for issuance of $950 million for rail purposes other than high-speed rail. These provisions would become effective only upon approval by the voters at the next statewide general election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year, but excludes certain items of income from the computation of tax, including an exclusion for combat-related special compensation. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2030, would exclude from gross income specified amounts of retirement pay received by a taxpayer from the federal government for service performed in the uniformed services, as defined, during the taxable year. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law generally provides for the administration of public health. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to license and regulate alcoholism and drug abuse recovery and treatment facilities for adults. Existing law prohibits specified persons, programs, or entities from giving or receiving remuneration or anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment services. Existing law authorizes the department to investigate and impose specified sanctions for violations of that prohibition, including assessing a penalty or revoking a license. This bill would prohibit a commercially operated recovery residence from giving or receiving remuneration or anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment services, and would require the department to impose a fine of $50,000 for each violation.

Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services, which is required to, among other things, allocate and award funds to communities developing and providing ongoing citizen involvement and crime resistance programs. This bill would require the office, to the extent funds are available for this purpose and until January 1, 2024, to allocate and award funds to up to 11 district attorney offices that employ a vertical prosecution methodology for the prosecution of human trafficking crimes and that meet other specified criteria, including minimum staffing levels for the program. The bill would require the office, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit to the Legislature and the Governor's office a report that describes the counties that received funding pursuant to this program, the number of prosecutions for human trafficking cases filed by the counties receiving funding, the number of human trafficking convictions obtained by those counties, and the sentences imposed for human trafficking crimes in those counties. The bill would be operative only to the extent that funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute for the purposes of the bill.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would establish credits against the taxes imposed by those laws for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, in an amount equal to the total amount paid or incurred during the taxable year by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, for the payment of development impact fees and connection fees applied to newly constructed single-family and multifamily homes. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law prohibits a person from carrying a concealed firearm or carrying a loaded firearm in public. Existing law authorizes the sheriff of a county, or the chief or other head of a municipal police department, if good cause exists for the issuance, and subject to certain other criteria, to issue a license to carry a concealed handgun or to carry a loaded and exposed handgun, as specified. Existing law exempts from the prohibition against carrying a loaded firearm in public, a person who reasonably believes they are in immediate grave danger, as specified. This bill would authorize a person who, because of prior victimization or based on specific articulable facts, reasonably believes that they are in immediate and grave danger of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, as specified, to apply to the sheriff in the county in which they reside for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed firearm. The bill would require the sheriff to immediately issue an emergency license to such a person if that person submits a signed affidavit describing their circumstances. The bill would authorize the sheriff to verify the applicant's eligibility to receive a license, as specified, but would require such verification to be completed without delay and at the time of application. The bill would also allow an applicant to simultaneously apply for a regular license to carry a concealed firearm and would require such a license to be approved within the period the emergency license is valid, contingent on the applicant's eligibility and completion of the requirements for a regular license. The bill would require that the facts that provide eligibility for the granting of an emergency license establish good cause for the eligibility of the regular license. The bill would require the Department of Justice to complete the fingerprint report for a regular license applied for pursuant to this bill within 21 days. By placing new requirements on county sheriffs to accept and process applications for emergency licenses. This bill would impose a state mandate. 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.