(1) Existing federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, provides grants to states to carry out activities relating to the education of homeless children and youths, as defined, including, among others, providing services and activities to improve the identification of homeless children and youths and to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. The act requires a state plan submitted for the receipt of the grant to include assurances that local educational agencies will designate an appropriate staff person to act as a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths and a description of how the state will ensure that local educational agencies and their liaisons will comply with specified requirements of the act, including the identification of homeless children and youths. Under existing state law, public schools, including charter schools, and county offices of education are required to immediately enroll a homeless child or youth seeking enrollment, except as specified. Existing law requires a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths to ensure that public notice of the educational rights of homeless children and youths is disseminated in schools within the liaison's local educational agency that provide services pursuant to the act. This bill would require a local educational agency to ensure that each school within the local educational agency identifies all homeless children and youths and unaccompanied youths enrolled at the school, create a housing questionnaire, as specified, for purposes of identifying homeless children and youths and unaccompanied youths, and annually provide the housing questionnaire to all parents or guardians of pupils and unaccompanied youths of the local educational agency. The bill would require a local educational agency to collect the completed housing questionnaires and report the data from those questionnaires to the State Department of Education in a format determined by the department. The bill would also require the local educational agency to annually report to the department the number of homeless children and youths and unaccompanied youths enrolled. The bill would require a local educational agency to ensure that its school personnel who provide services to youth experiencing homelessness receive training about the homeless education program at least annually. This bill would require a school district or county office of education to create an internet web page or post on its internet website a list of the local educational agency liaisons for homeless children and youths and unaccompanied youths in that school district or county, respectively, the contact information for those liaisons, and specific information regarding the educational rights and resources available to persons experiencing homelessness. The bill would require a school to post on its internet website the contact information for the liaison, if available. The bill would also require, if a school has an employee or person under contract whose duties include assisting the liaison in completing the liaison's duties under the federal act, the school to post on its internet website the contact information for that employee or person under contract. The bill would require data collected by the State Department of Education or by a local educational agency under these provisions to only be used for purposes of implementing the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and related state agency programs. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would appropriate the sum of $1,500,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education, to be equally allocated to 3 county offices of education in different regions throughout the state for purposes of establishing technical assistance centers to foster relationships with community partners and other local educational agencies in each region, as provided. The bill would require the department to determine which county offices of education to allocate those funds to through a competitive process, as provided, and to take into account geographic diversity and concentrations of homeless children and youths and unaccompanied youths. (2) Existing law requires the department to provide, among other things, informational and training materials to local educational agency liaisons regarding the educational rights of homeless children and youths and the responsibilities of the liaisons. This bill would require the department to develop, as specified, best practices and a model housing questionnaire that a local educational agency may use to identify and obtain accurate data on all homeless children and youths and unaccompanied youths enrolled in schools of the local educational agency. The bill would require the department to post the best practices and model housing questionnaire on its internet website. (3) 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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(1) Existing law provides that in an action for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, if it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice, the plaintiff may recover, in addition to the actual damages, exemplary and punitive damages, except as specified. Existing law authorizes the court, for good cause, to grant the defendant a protective order requiring the plaintiff to produce evidence of a prima facie case of liability for exemplary and punitive damages prior to the introduction of evidence of the defendant's financial condition or certain profits. This bill would authorize a court to permit evidence of defendant's financial condition and certain profits under specified circumstances, including if the defendant transferred, as specified, assets that are recoverable under the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act, removed or concealed a majority of assets, or absconded. (2) Under existing law, evidence of a defendant's financial condition or certain profits is not subject to pretrial discovery by the plaintiff, unless the court finds, after a hearing, if the court deems a hearing to be necessary, that the plaintiff has shown a substantial probability of prevailing on the claim pursuant to the exemplary and punitive damages provision. This bill would authorize a court to enter an order permitting discovery of this evidence if the plaintiff has shown a substantial probability of prevailing on the claim pursuant to the exemplary and punitive damages provision, a claim filed under the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act, or any other equitable relief, as specified. This bill would also authorize a court to consider documentary evidence or oral testimony at a hearing to permit discovery of evidence otherwise prohibited by this provision and would authorize the court to expedite the hearing upon a showing of exigency.
This measure would designate April 5, 2020, to April 11, 2020, inclusive, as Women and Girls in STEM Week and would encourage all citizens and community organizations to support the observance of California's Women and Girls in STEM Week by encouraging and celebrating women in the STEM fields.
(1) Existing federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, provides grants to states to carry out activities relating to the education of homeless children and youths, as defined, including, among others, providing services and activities to improve the identification of homeless children and youths and to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. The act requires a state plan submitted for the receipt of the grant to include assurances that local educational agencies will designate an appropriate staff person to act as a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths and a description of how the state will ensure that local educational agencies and their liaisons will comply with specified requirements of the act, including the identification of homeless children and youths. Under existing state law, public schools, including charter schools, and county offices of education are required to immediately enroll a homeless child or youth seeking enrollment, except as specified. Existing law requires a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths to ensure that public notice of the educational rights of homeless children and youths is disseminated in schools within the liaison's local educational agency that provide services pursuant to the act. This bill would require a local educational agency, as defined to include a school district, county office of education, charter school, or special education local plan area, to establish homeless education program policies that are consistent with specified state laws, and would further require the local educational agency to update these policies at intervals not exceeding 3 years. The bill would require local educational agencies to provide training at least annually on designated subjects to its classified and certificated employees who work with pupils, as specified. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to provide, among other things, informational and training materials to local educational agency liaisons regarding the educational rights of homeless children and youths and the responsibilities of the liaisons. This bill would require the department to develop and implement a plan for monitoring the compliance of local educational agencies with state laws relating to youth experiencing homelessness. The bill would require the monitoring plan to include reviews of the local educational agencies including, but not limited to, schoolsite inspections to ensure that the state is not underestimating the number of youth experiencing homelessness. (3) 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 measure would recognize March 7, 2020, as California Arbor Day, and would urge California residents to observe the day with appropriate tree-planting activities and programs.
Existing law, as established in the case of Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 (Dynamex) , creates a presumption that a worker who performs services for a hirer is an employee for purposes of claims for wages and benefits arising under wage orders issued by the Industrial Welfare Commission. Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for those purposes. Existing law establishes that, for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. This test is commonly known as the "ABC" test, as described above. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of Dynamex and the provisions described above, including various professional services provided by a freelance writer, editor, photographer, photojournalist, or newspaper cartoonist who does not provide content submissions to the putative employer more than 35 times per year. This bill would revise that exemption to instead exempt all freelance journalists, including photographers, photojournalists, and videographers, without regard to the number of content submissions per year, from the application of Dynamex and the above provisions.
Existing law creates a private right of action against a person who intentionally distributes a photograph or recorded image of another that exposes the intimate body parts, as defined, of that person without their consent, knowing that the other person had a reasonable expectation that the material would remain private, if specified conditions are met. Existing law also makes it a misdemeanor for a person, with intent to annoy, to make contact with another person by means of an electronic communication device and to address to or about the other person any obscene language or threat to inflict injury. This bill, entitled the Preventing Indecent Content Sharing (PICS) Act, would establish a private cause of action against a person who knowingly transmits or shares a lewd image by electronic means if the transmission or sending of that image was not at the request of, or expressly consented to by, the plaintiff and the plaintiff can demonstrate that the image they received was lewd, there was clear intent by the defendant that the plaintiff receive the image, and that there was no, or only a limited, relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. The bill would authorize a plaintiff to be awarded statutory damages between $500 and $5,000 and reasonable attorney's fees.
This measure would declare August 7, 2020, as Purple Heart Day in California.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a driver's license to an applicant when the department determines that the applicant is lawfully entitled to a license. Existing law allows an in-person applicant for a driver's license or identification card to request the word "VETERAN" be printed on the face of the driver's license or identification card, subject to certain requirements, including, among others, verification of veteran status, as specified, and payment of a $5 fee, which the department is authorized to increase by regulation, in an amount not to exceed $15, as specified. Existing law prohibits a fee from being charged for that request if made by (1) a person who has been determined to have a current income level that meets the eligibility requirements for specified assistance programs, or (2) a person who can verify their status as a homeless person, in accordance with specified provisions. This bill would make the payment of a fee by any veteran inoperative no later than July 1, 2021, and repeal the law on January 1, 2022, thereby indefinitely requiring the department to make a veteran designation on a verified applicant's license, without charge. The bill also would make technical and conforming changes.