Existing law makes it a crime for a person to disturb, obstruct, detain, or interfere with any person carrying or accompanying human remains to a cemetery or funeral establishment, or engaged in a funeral service or an interment. This bill would make it a crime, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by both, for a person to engage in picketing, as defined, except upon private property, which is targeted at a funeral, as defined, during the time period beginning one hour prior to the funeral and ending one hour after the conclusion of the funeral. The bill would set forth related findings and declarations. Because this bill would create a new 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.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires a local agency to adopt a specified model ordinance regarding water-efficient landscapes or a water-efficient landscape ordinance that is at least as effective in conserving water as the model ordinance. Existing law allows certain water providers to take specified actions regarding water conservation. The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act provides for the creation and regulation of common interest developments. That act provides that a provision of any of the governing documents of a common interest development is void and unenforceable if it prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of low water-using plants as a group, or if it has the effect of prohibiting or restricting compliance with a local water-efficient landscape ordinance or water conservation measure, as described above. This bill would provide that a provision of any of the governing documents of a common interest development shall be void and unenforceable if it prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of artificial turf or any other synthetic surface that resembles grass. This prohibition would not prohibit an association from applying landscape rules and regulations established in governing documents that establish design standards and quality standards for the installation of artificial turf, or any other synthetic surface that resembles grass, to the extent the rules and regulations do not prohibit the use of artificial turf or any other synthetic surface that resembles grass.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. This bill would appropriate the sum of $7,300,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for specified veterans' services.
Existing law provides for the creation of various programs to provide health care services to persons who have limited incomes and meet various eligibility requirements. These programs include the Healthy Families Program administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and the Medi‑Cal program administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law provides for the regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Commencing January 1, 2014, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires every individual to be covered under minimum essential coverage, as specified, and requires every health insurance issuer issuing individual or group health insurance coverage to accept every employer and individual who applies for coverage. Existing law establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans through the Exchange by qualified individuals and small employers by January 1, 2014. This bill would establish the California Healthcare System to be administered by the newly created California Healthcare Agency under the control of a Healthcare Commissioner appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The bill would make all California residents eligible for specified health care benefits under the California Healthcare System, which would, on a single-payer basis, negotiate for or set fees for health care services provided through the system and pay claims for those services. The bill would require the commissioner to seek all necessary waivers, exemptions, agreements, or legislation to allow various existing federal, state, and local health care payments to be paid to the California Healthcare System, which would then assume responsibility for all benefits and services previously paid for with those funds. The bill would create the Healthcare Policy Board to establish policy on medical issues and various other matters relating to the system. The bill would create the Office of Patient Advocacy within the agency to represent the interests of health care consumers relative to the system. The bill would create within the agency the Office of Health Planning to plan for the health care needs of the population, and the Office of Health Care Quality, headed by a chief medical officer, to support the delivery of high-quality care and promote provider and patient satisfaction. The bill would create the Office of Inspector General for the California Healthcare System within the Attorney General's office, which would have various oversight powers. The bill would prohibit health care service plan contracts or health insurance policies from being issued for services covered by the California Healthcare System, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, and would authorize the collection of penalty moneys for deposit into the Healthcare Fund, which the bill would create. The bill would create the Payments Board to administer the finances of the California Healthcare System. The bill would create the California Healthcare Premium Commission (Premium Commission) to determine the cost of the California Healthcare System and to develop a premium structure for the system that complies with specified standards. The bill would require the Premium Commission to recommend a premium structure to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2014, and to make a draft recommendation to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public 90 days before submitting its final premium structure recommendation. The bill would specify that only its provisions relating to the Premium Commission would become operative on January 1, 2013, with its remaining provisions becoming operative on the earlier of the date the Secretary of California Health and Human Services notifies the Legislature, as specified, that sufficient funding exists to implement the California Healthcare System and the date the secretary receives the necessary federal waiver under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The bill would extend the application of certain insurance fraud laws to providers of services and products under the system, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by revising the definition of a crime. The bill would enact other related provisions relative to budgeting, regional entities, federal preemption, subrogation, collective bargaining agreements, compensation of health care providers, conflict of interest, patient grievances, and independent medical review. 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 requires that all expenses authorized and necessarily incurred in the preparation for, and conduct of, elections be paid from the county treasuries, except when an election is called by the governing body of a city. This bill would provide that expenses authorized and necessarily incurred for elections proclaimed by the Governor to fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator or Assembly Member, or to fill a vacancy in the office of United States Senator or Representative in the Congress, are to be paid by the state. When an election proclaimed by the Governor is consolidated with a local election, the bill would provide that the state shall pay only those additional expenses directly related to the election proclaimed by the Governor.
Existing law provides for various economic development, job creation, and economic competitiveness programs in the state. This bill would create the Economic Development, Job Creation, and Competitiveness Agency in state government, under the supervision of a Secretary of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Competitiveness, and set forth their respective duties generally. It would also require the agency to develop a statewide strategy that identifies goals and objectives for job creation and competitiveness for the state's top economic sectors, and make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature in that regard.
Existing law requires a school district, as part of its adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study, including, among others, social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology. This bill would encourage the instruction provided in economics to include instruction related to the understanding of personal finances, including, but not limited to, budgeting, savings, credit, and identity theft. The bill would also make several legislative findings and declarations.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Bagley-Keene Act) , generally requires, with specified exceptions for authorized closed sessions, that the meetings of state bodies be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend. The Bagley-Keene Act also generally requires that the agenda for meetings provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the body of any item of interest to the public that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body. Each member of a state body who attends a meeting of that body in violation of any provision of the Bagley-Keene Act, and where the member intends to deprive the public of information to which the member knows or has reason to know the public is entitled under the act, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Under existing law, all meetings of the trustees are subject to the Bagley-Keene Act, except with respect to the compensation of designated executive officers of the university, which is required to be acted upon in an open session. This bill would prohibit the trustees from acting to increase the salary range of any university officer or employee or to increase the tuition or mandatory systemwide fees of university students except in an open public meeting properly noticed pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Act. The bill would prohibit the trustees from awarding a president of a campus compensation, as defined, that exceeds 150% of the compensation of the Chief Justice of California, except if the Governor, by executive order, approves the individual president's compensation. The bill would prohibit the trustees from approving any increase in compensation for a president of a campus if an increase in tuition is scheduled to take effect in that fiscal year or has taken effect in either of the 2 prior fiscal years. The bill would require the trustees, when hiring a president of a campus, to give primary consideration to applicants currently employed by the California State University system and to secondarily give consideration to residents of California who are not employees of the system. The bill would prohibit the trustees from giving consideration to applicants who are neither residents of California nor employees of the system before applicants who are employees of the system or who are residents of California and are not employees of the system.
This bill would urge the United States Patent and Trademark Office to place a satellite office in California.
Existing law, as amended by Proposition 21, adopted March 7, 2000, and by Proposition 83, adopted November 7, 2006, provides for a list of crimes called "violent felonies" and "serious felonies." Other existing law provides specified enhancements to the punishments of certain repeat, state-prison bound offenders with prior violent or serious felony convictions. The initiative statutes provide that any amendment of these provisions by the Legislature shall require a 23 vote of the membership of each house. Existing law defines battery as any willful or unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another. Existing law provides that battery committed against a custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, or animal control officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, as specified, is punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. Existing law provides that battery against a peace officer, as specified, is punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. This bill would add felony battery against the above-named persons to the list of "serious felonies" and to the list of "violent felonies." Existing law specifies, for purposes of the sentence enhancements specified above, that the statutes comprising the lists of violent and serious felonies be interpreted as they existed at the time the provisions were enacted, including amendments made to those statutes during the 2005–06 Regular Session of the Legislature, as specified. This bill would likewise require those statutes to be interpreted as they would be amended following the enactment of this bill for purposes of sentence enhancements. By expanding the punishments for existing crimes, 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.