Existing law authorizes an individual to contribute amounts in excess of his or her personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds, including the School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund. Existing law requires the moneys deposited in the School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated to the State Department of Social Services for distribution to a designated nonprofit organization for the sole purpose of assisting pupils in California pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as provided. Existing law provides that this voluntary contribution remain in effect only until January 1 of the 5th taxable year in which the fund appears on the tax return or when the amount of contributions by taxpayers does not meet the minimum contribution amount, whichever occurs first. This bill would authorize the designated nonprofit organization to provide school supplies and health-related products to homeless children and homeless youth residing in or receiving services from specified living centers and would extend the time period for the School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund to appear on the tax return to January 1, 2022, or when the amount of contributions by taxpayers does not meet the minimum contribution amount, whichever occurs first.
Sponsored bills
Existing law authorizes the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to jointly adopt a commute benefit ordinance that requires covered employers operating within the common area of the 2 agencies with a specified number of covered employees to offer those employees certain commute benefits through a pilot program. Existing law requires that the ordinance specify certain matters, including any consequences for noncompliance, and imposes a specified reporting requirement. Existing law makes these provisions inoperative on January 1, 2017. This bill would extend these provisions indefinitely, thereby establishing the pilot program permanently. The bill would also delete bicycle commuting as a pretax option under the program and instead would authorize a covered employer, at its discretion, to offer commuting by bicycling as an employer-paid benefit in addition to commuting via public transit or by vanpool. The bill would also delete the reporting requirement.
Existing law establishes the Department of Parks and Recreation and vests the department with the control of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the Director of Parks and Recreation to negotiate or renegotiate a concession contract within state parks if specified conditions exist and generally requires that a concession contract within state parks for a period of more than 2 years be awarded to the best responsible bidder. This bill would enact the California Heritage Protection Act, which would make various changes to the process for negotiating or renegotiating state parks concession contracts. The bill would modify the definition of a best responsible bidder to include that the bidder, among other things, will operate the concession in a manner that protects the state's trademark and service mark interest in the names associated with a state park venue and its historical, cultural, and recreational resources. This bill would prohibit a concession contract from providing a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and would prohibit a concession contract from serving as the basis for any legal claim that the contracting party has that interest. The bill would declare that these provisions do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory of, existing law. The bill would prohibit a bidder who makes that legal claim or assertion, and a bidder who a court has determined has made that legal claim or assertion with respect to a state or federal park venue without reasonable cause and in bad faith, from being awarded a concession contract within state parks. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to provide a bidder who is denied a contract award based on these reasons with written notice and an opportunity to rebut the basis of the contract denial at a formal hearing. The bill would render a provision of a concession contract that, on and after January 1, 2017, provides a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, void and unenforceable. This bill would require a concession contract to contain provisions requiring the concessionaire to forfeit the right to bid on future state park concession contracts if the concessionaire makes the above-described legal claim or assertion and requiring a concessionaire to be responsible for the state's attorney fees, costs, and expenses if the concessionaire in bad faith files a federal or state trademark or service mark application for a trademark or service mark that incorporates or implies association with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and the state files a successful opposition or cancellation of the trademark or service mark application. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5080.18 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 1473 to be operative only if SB 1473 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law prohibits a person from being tried or adjudged to punishment while that person is mentally incompetent. Existing law establishes a process by which a defendant's mental competency is evaluated, which includes requiring the court to appoint a psychiatrist or licensed psychologist, and any other expert the court may deem appropriate. This bill would, on or before July 1, 2017, require the State Department of State Hospitals, through the use of a workgroup representing specified groups, to adopt guidelines for education and training standards for a psychiatrist or licensed psychologist to be considered for appointment by the court. The bill would provide that if there is no reasonably available expert who meets the guidelines, the court shall have discretion to appoint an expert who does not meet the guidelines.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish and administer the State Emergency Food Assistance Program (SEFAP) , to provide food and funding for the provision of emergency food to food banks, as provided. Existing law creates the State Emergency Food Assistance Program Account and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, allocates the moneys in the account to SEFAP and requires that those moneys be used for the purchase, storage, and transportation of food grown or produced in California and for the department's administrative costs. This bill would rename the State Emergency Food Assistance Program as the CalFood Program and would rename the State Emergency Food Assistance Program Account as the CalFood Account. The bill would make other conforming changes in this regard. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 18995 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 1747 that would become operative if this bill and AB 1747 are both enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law requires a debt collector that receives a copy of a police report filed by the debtor alleging that the debtor is the victim of an identity theft crime and a written statement in which the debtor claims to be the victim of identity theft to cease collection activities until completion of a review. Existing law requires the debt collector to review and consider all of the information provided by the debtor and other available information and authorizes the debt collector to recommence debt collection activities only upon making a good faith determination that the information does not establish that the debtor is not responsible for the specific debt in question. This bill, the Identity Theft Resolution Act, would require the debt collector, upon receipt of the police report and written statement described above, if it furnished adverse information about the debtor to a consumer credit reporting agency, to notify the consumer credit reporting agency that the account is disputed, and initiate a review, as specified, within 10 business days. The bill would require the debt collector to send notice of its determination to the debtor no later than 10 business days after concluding the review. The bill would require a debt collector that does not recommence collection activities under these provisions to notify the creditor, no later than 10 business days after making its determination, and if it furnished adverse information to a consumer credit reporting agency, to notify the agency to delete that information no later than 10 business days after making its determination. The bill would also prohibit a creditor from selling a consumer debt to a debt collector if the creditor has received notice that the debt collector has terminated debt collection activities, as described above.
Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, regulates the application, issuance, and suspension of alcoholic beverage licenses by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The act provides that a violation of its provisions is a misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified. The act provides for a limitation on the number of on-sale general licenses that may be issued by the department based on the population of the county in which the licensed premises are located, as provided. However, existing law provides an exception to this limitation for the County of Napa and authorizes the department to issue 5 additional new original on-sale general licenses per year for bona fide public eating places with a seating capacity for 50 or more diners, for a period of 3 years. Existing law prohibits more than 15 of these licenses from being issued pursuant to this exception. This bill would authorize the department to issue no more than 5 additional new original on-sale general licenses to bona fide public eating places with a seating capacity of 25 or more diners, for a period of 1 year. Existing law authorizes the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to issue a special on-sale general license to any nonprofit theater company, subject to specified requirements. This bill would authorize the department to issue a special on-sale general license to the operator of any for-profit theater located in the County of Napa, configured with theatrical seating and primarily devoted to live theatrical performances, which would permit sales, service, and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the lobbies and seating areas of the theater at specified times. The bill would not require the licensee to operate as a bona fide public eating place. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Napa. 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 sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state of, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. Existing law provides various exemptions from those taxes, including an exemption for the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption of, tangible personal property purchased by the San Diego Air & Space Museum and the California Science Center if the property is purchased and used exclusively for display purposes within the museum, as provided. This bill would additionally exempt from those taxes tangible personal property purchased by the Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum Education Foundation for those purposes. The bill would also make a nonsubstantive change. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes cities and counties to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse cities and counties for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding these provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse cities and counties for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum Education Foundation. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law establishes the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission to, among other things, maintain contact with state and municipal bond issuers, underwriters, investors, and credit rating agencies to improve the market for state and local government debt issues and to assist state and local governments to prepare, market, and sell their debt issues. Existing law requires the commission to collect, maintain, and provide comprehensive information on all state and all local debt authorization and issuance and to serve as a statistical clearinghouse for all state and local debt issuance. This bill would additionally require the commission to track and report on all state and local outstanding debt until fully repaid or redeemed. Existing law requires the issuer of debt of state or local government to submit reports to the commission, within specified timeframes, of the proposed issuance of debt and of final sale, as provided. This bill would require that the report of proposed debt include a certification by the issuer that it has adopted local debt policies, which include specified provisions concerning the use of debt and that the contemplated debt issuance is consistent with those local debt policies. This bill would also require a state or local public agency to submit an annual report for any issue of debt for which it has submitted a report of final sale on or after January 21, 2017. The bill would require the annual report to cover a reporting period of July 1 to June 30, inclusive, and to include specified information about debt issued and outstanding and the use of proceeds from debt during the reporting period. The bill would require that the report be submitted within 7 months after the end of the reporting period by any method approved by the commission. The bill would require the commission to consult with appropriate state and local debt issuers and organizations representing debt issuers prior to approving any annual method of reporting pursuant to these provisions, as provided. This bill would make various findings and declarations regarding its provisions.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including certain credits that are allowed in modified conformity to credits allowed by federal income tax laws. Federal income tax laws allow a refundable earned income tax credit for certain low-income individuals who have earned income and who meet certain other requirements. The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income credit against personal income tax, and a payment in excess of that credit amount, to an eligible individual that is equal to that portion of the earned income tax credit allowed by federal law as determined by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor as set forth in the annual Budget Act. Existing law, the Earned Income Tax Credit Information Act, requires an employer, as defined, to notify all employees that they may be eligible for the federal earned income tax credit, as specified. This bill would require those same employers currently required to notify employees who may be eligible for the federal earned income tax credit to also notify these employees that they may be eligible for the California Earned Income Tax Credit under the same conditions.