Sen. Ted Lieu

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 authorize a school district, in providing instruction 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 require the State Department of Education to consider a personal finances curriculum in the next cycle in which the history-social science curriculum framework is adopted.

This measure would resolve that the month of April be designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, would recognize April 27, 2011, as Denim Day California, and would encourage everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the message that there is no excuse for, and never an invitation to, rape or sexual assault.

Existing law authorizes the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency to, among other duties, engage in trade and foreign investment activities. This bill would additionally authorize the agency to coordinate international trade marketing and promotion activities. Existing law authorizes the secretary to convene a statewide business partnership for international trade and investment, to advise the secretary on business needs and priorities in that regard. This bill would also authorize the secretary to convene a statewide business partnership for international trade marketing and promotion no later than March 1, 2012, to advise the secretary on what role the state should play in international trade marketing and promotion.

(1) The Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 prohibits a person, with exceptions, from conducting surface mining operations unless a permit is obtained from, a reclamation plan is submitted to and approved by, and financial assurances for reclamation have been approved by, the lead agency for the operation. Existing law prohibits a lead agency from approving a reclamation plan for a surface mining operation for gold, silver, copper, or other metallic minerals or financial assurances for the operation if the operation is located on, or within one mile of, a Native American sacred site and is located in an area of special concern, unless certain criteria are met. This bill would also prohibit a lead agency from approving a reclamation plan for an aggregate products operation if the operation is located on or within 2,000 yards of the external boundaries of an Indian reservation and is on or within 5,000 yards of a Native American sacred site, and is on or within 4,000 yards of the Santa Margarita River or an aquifer that is hydrologically connected to the river, unless the tribe whose reservation is nearest the operation consents to the operation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law provides for statewide election of a slate of electors to vote in the electoral college for President and Vice President of the United States. Under existing law, each political party selects its slate of presidential electors in accordance with statutory procedures that differ by party. This bill would ratify a specified interstate compact that requires the chief election official of each signatory state to appoint the slate of presidential electors that was nominated in association with the presidential ticket that received the largest national popular vote total. This compact would only become effective if states cumulatively possessing a majority of the total electoral votes have ratified the compact.

Existing law provides, subject to exceptions, that every person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, or causes or procures any animal to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of necessary sustenance, drink, shelter, or to be cruelly beaten, mutilated, or cruelly killed; and whoever, having the charge or custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects any animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon the animal, or in any manner abuses any animal, or fails to provide the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter or protection from the weather, or who drives, rides, or otherwise uses the animal when unfit for labor, is guilty of a crime punishable as a misdemeanor or as a felony, or alternatively as a misdemeanor or a felony and a fine of not more than $20,000. This bill would revise the punishment for this offense to provide that it is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine of not more than $20,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes. By revising the penalty for an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law proscribes animal abuse, as specified, including the failure to maintain and care for the premises and animals at pet shops. Existing law also generally provides that a pet store shall not sell, offer for sale, trade, or barter any dog or cat that is under 8 weeks of age, but may sell, offer for sale, trade, or barter a dog or cat over 8 weeks of age only if the animal is weaned. This bill would provide, in addition and with specified exceptions, that it shall be a crime, punishable as specified, for any person to willfully sell or give away as part of a commercial transaction, a live animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk, or to display or offer for sale, or display or offer to give away as part of a commercial transaction, a live animal if the act of selling or giving away the live animal is to occur on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk. The bill would provide that a notice describing the charge and the penalty for a violation of this bill may be issued by a peace officer, animal control officer, or humane officer. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate changes to Section 597 of the Penal Code made by AB 109, which has been chaptered but is not operative, to become operative only if AB 109 becomes operative. 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 measure would request the Department of Transportation to issue an encroachment permit to the Venice Japanese American Memorial Marker Committee to enable the placement of a suitable memorial monument on State Highway Route 1 in the City of Los Angeles at the northwest corner of Venice and Lincoln Boulevards to commemorate the internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II.

This measure would recognize May 2011 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to falsely represent himself or herself as a veteran, ex-serviceman, or member of the Armed Forces of the United States in connection with specified acts. Existing law provides that any person who, orally, in writing, or by wearing any military decoration, falsely represents himself or herself to have been awarded any military decoration, with the intent to defraud, is guilty of a misdemeanor, or in the case where the person committing the offense is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States, an infraction or a misdemeanor, as specified. Existing law requires certain elected officers to forfeit their office upon the conviction of a crime pursuant to the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2005, that involves a false claim of receipt of a military decoration or medal described in that act. This bill would provide that the above provisions shall be known as the California Stolen Valor Act. The bill would require that the elected officers described above additionally forfeit their office upon conviction of any of the crimes specified in the California Stolen Valor Act.

This measure would declare June 2011 as Scleroderma Awareness Month.