Sen. Sabrina Cervantes

(1) For purposes of state apportionments to public schools, if the average daily attendance of a school district, county office of education, or charter school during a fiscal year has been materially decreased during a fiscal year because of a specified event, including an epidemic, existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to estimate the average daily attendance in a manner that credits to the school district, county office of education, or charter school the total average daily attendance that would have been credited had the emergency not occurred. This bill would revise the above-described triggering event to be an epidemic, pandemic, or outbreak of infectious disease, and would provide that the various specified triggering events apply to decreases in average daily attendance due to illness, quarantine, social isolation, and social distancing, absences taken as preemptive measures, independent study and distance learning requests, and pupils who are absent due to quarantine, but cannot provide the appropriate documentation. Existing law requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining any kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide for each needy pupil, as defined, one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday, and authorizes them to use funds made available through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a pupil. The Charter Schools Act of 1992 requires a charter school to provide each needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday, except as provided. This bill would require each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining any kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to continue to provide each needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each day that, had it not been declared a state of emergency or a major disaster, would have been considered a schoolday, except for family daycare homes that are required to be reimbursed for 75% of the meals served. The bill would require a charter school also to continue to provide each needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each day that, had it not been declared a state of emergency or a major disaster, would have been considered a schoolday. The bill would require meals to be distributed, with an option to deliver to the home of each needy pupil, in a manner that complies with local, state, and federal agency guidelines regarding the declared state of emergency or major disaster. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law establishes a procedure, known as an unlawful detainer action, that a landlord must follow in order to evict a tenant. A tenant is subject to an unlawful detainer action if the tenant continues to possess the property without permission of the landlord in specified circumstances, including when the tenant has violated the lease or rental agreement by defaulting on rent. A landlord commences an unlawful detainer action by filing and serving the defendant with a complaint. The California Emergency Services Act authorizes the Governor to declare a state of emergency, and local officials and local governments to declare a local emergency, when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist, and authorizes the Governor or the appropriate local government to exercise certain powers in response to that emergency. This bill would, during a state-declared state of emergency, establish a moratorium of the collection of rent from a tenant that is a small business and a moratorium on the filing of an unlawful detainer action due to a default in the payment of rent against a small business, as defined. (3) Under the Small Business Financial Assistance Act of 2013, the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, administers specific programs relating to small business, either administered directly by the bank or under contract with small business financial development corporations. This bill would require the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, during a state-declared public health state of emergency or a prolonged medical emergency or natural disaster, to provide zero-interest rate loans directly to small businesses and nonprofit organizations affected by the emergency or disaster, as specified, from the California Small Business Expansion Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. The bill would require the bank to establish an application process and a selection criteria for the loans awarded pursuant to these provisions. (4) Under existing law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment is entitled to paid sick days, as specified. Existing law requires an employee to accrue paid sick days at the rate of not less than one hour per every 30 hours worked subject to specified use and accrual limitations. This bill, in the event of a state-declared public health state of emergency, including the COVID-19 pandemic, would provide each employee with paid sick days for immediate use, regardless of how long the employee has been employed. The bill would provide a full-time salaried employee paid sick days in an amount sufficient to provide the employee with 14 continuous days away from work, and would provide a part-time or hourly employee with paid sick days in an amount equal to the number of hours that the employee was scheduled to work, or, if not scheduled to work, regularly works in a 14-day period, as specified. The bill would authorize an employee to use those paid sick days to care for a family member affected by the public health crisis, to care for a child because of a school closing related to the public health crisis, or because the employee has been affected by the public health crisis. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the Department of Industrial Relations to establish a program to provide paid sick days for family care and medical leave due to a public health crisis to independent contractors and day laborers. The bill would require the program to provide paid sick days in an amount equal to the number of hours that the independent contractor or day laborer was scheduled to work or, if not scheduled, regularly works in a 14-day period, as specified. The bill would require the department to establish an application process for independent contractors and day laborers to apply for the paid sick days provided under these provisions. (5) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, gas corporations, and water corporations. Existing law prohibits an electrical, gas, or water corporation from terminating residential service (A) during the pendency of an investigation by the utility of a customer or subscriber dispute or complaint, (B) when a customer has been granted an extension of the period for payment of a bill, or (C) on the certification of a licensed physician and surgeon that to do so will be life threatening to the customer and the customer is financially unable to pay for service within the normal payment period and is willing to enter into an amortization agreement with the utility with respect to all charges that the customer is unable to pay prior to delinquency. Existing law requires that a customer that meets the requirements of (C) , upon request, be permitted to amortize, over a period not to exceed 12 months, the unpaid balance of any bill asserted to be beyond the means of the customer to pay within the normal period for payment. Existing law requires that a residential customer who has, before termination of service, made a request for extension of the payment period of a bill asserted to be beyond the means of the customer to pay in full within the normal period for payment, be given an opportunity for review of the request by a review manager of the utility and that the review include consideration of whether the customer will be permitted to amortize any unpaid balance of the delinquent account over a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 12 months. Existing law prohibits termination of the service of any customer complying with an amortization agreement, if the customer also keeps the account current as charges accrue in each subsequent billing period. Existing law authorizes the furnishing of utility services by publicly owned entities that are subject to control by their governing bodies, including municipal corporations, municipal utility districts, and public utility districts. Existing law places restrictions upon a municipal corporation, municipal utility district, or public utility district that provides light, water, power, or heat from terminating service identical to those above-described restrictions that are applicable to electrical, gas, and water corporations. This bill would prohibit an electrical corporation, gas corporation, water corporation, municipal corporation, municipal utility district, or public utility district from terminating residential or small commercial electrical, gas, or water service for nonpayment for the first 3 billing cycles following a state of emergency or major disaster, as defined, for a customer that may have been affected by the emergency or major disaster, except in compliance with the bill's requirements. The bill would require those utilities, following a state of emergency or major disaster, to include a notice in the first 3 billing statements made to those residential and small commercial customers that may have been affected by the state of emergency or major disaster, informing those customers that if, as a result of conditions associated with the state of emergency or major disaster, the customer suffered financially and is unable to pay for service in full within the normal period for payment, the customer may apply for an amortization agreement or other extension, to pay the unpaid balance within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 12 months. The bill would require the utility to grant an extension or amortization request if the residential or small commercial customer represents to the utility that the customer suffered financially as a result of the conditions associated with the state of emergency or major disaster and that as a result the customer is unable to pay for service in full within the normal period for payment. The bill would prohibit the utility from terminating the service of any customer complying with an amortization agreement or other extension, if the customer also keeps the account current as charges accrue in each subsequent filling period following the first 3 billing statements made following the state of emergency or major disaster. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements with respect to an electrical, gas, or water corporation would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. By placing additional requirements upon municipal corporations, municipal utility districts, and public utility districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) The Irrigation District Law authorizes the formation of irrigation districts and authorizes those districts to provide various utility services, including providing water service and the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity for use inside or outside the boundaries of the district. Existing law authorizes an irrigation district to refuse service to any land if outstanding charges for services already rendered to that land have not been paid within a reasonable time. Existing law authorizes the formation of municipal water districts, county water districts, and California water districts and authorizes those districts to adopt ordinances fixing the charges for the furnishing of commodities or services, to enforce district rules or regulations pertaining to the sale or distribution of water, and to petition the superior court for the issuance of an order stopping or disconnecting a service if the charges for that service are unpaid at the time specified in an ordinance, rule, or regulation. This bill would prohibit an irrigation district from terminating residential or small commercial electrical or water service, and would prohibit a municipal water district, county water district, or California water district from terminating residential or small commercial water service for nonpayment for the first 3 billing cycles following a state of emergency or major disaster for a customer that may have been affected by the emergency or major disaster, except in compliance with the bill's requirements, which are identical to the obligations and restrictions that the bill places upon an electrical corporation, gas corporation, water corporation, municipal corporation, municipal utility district, and public utility district. (7) This bill would declare that its provisions are severable. (8) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing state 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 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. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill, on and after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2027, would exempt the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, breast pumps, breast pump collection and storage supplies, breast pump kits, and breast pads. Existing law requires a bill that would authorize a new tax expenditure under the Sales and Use Tax Law to identify specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, and detailed performance indicators and data collection requirements for determining whether the tax expenditure achieves these goals, purposes, and objectives. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to comply with those new tax expenditure requirements. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize 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 counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. This bill would appropriate an unspecified sum of moneys from the General Fund to the Regents of the University of California each fiscal year, commencing with the 2020–21 fiscal year, to be expended only for the creation, construction, and establishment of a public Level IV neonatal intensive care unit in the County of Riverside administered by the University of California.

Existing law requires a county, including a city and county, to, upon the next update to its emergency plan, integrate access and functional needs into its emergency plan, by addressing, at a minimum, how the access and functional needs population is served by emergency communications, evacuation, and sheltering. Existing law requires a county, including a city and county, to include representatives from the access and functional needs population when making this update to integrate access and functional needs into its emergency plan. Existing law defines the access and functional needs population for these purposes as consisting of certain individuals, including seniors, children, and those who are low income. This bill would also require the 10 most populous cities in the state, according to data from the United States Census Bureau, to, in their next update to their emergency plans, integrate access and functional needs into their emergency plans and include representatives of the access and functional needs population when making the updates. The bill would also include foster youth in the definition of the access and functional needs population. By imposing these requirements on cities and counties, 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, 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.

Existing law requires local educational agencies, as defined, to adopt School Plans for Student Achievement as a condition of receiving certain state and federal funds. Existing law requires a school that operates a program that requires a School Plan for Student Achievement to establish a schoolsite council. At a secondary school, existing law requires the schoolsite council to consist of 2 groups: (1) the principal of the school or the principal's designee, classroom teachers employed at the school, and school personnel employed at the school who are not teachers, with classroom teachers constituting a majority of the first group, and (2) parents of pupils attending the school, or other members of the school community, and pupils attending the school. Existing law requires that the number of persons selected for the second group equal the number of persons selected for the first group. This bill would instead authorize the number of persons selected for the second group of a schoolsite council at a secondary school to exceed the number of persons selected for the first group.

The California Revised Uniform Limited Company Act governs the formation and operation of limited liability companies (LLCs) , including executing and filing articles of organization with the Secretary of State. Existing law establishes procedures governing the use of the name of an LLC or foreign LLC authorized to transact business in this state. Existing law prohibits the name of an LLC from being a name that the Secretary of State determines is likely to mislead the public and requires that the name be distinguishable in the Secretary of State's records from other specified entities. This bill would require the Secretary of State, after accepting a filing of an articles of organization and determining that the filing does not comply with the above name requirements, to provide written notice to the LLC requesting an amendment, in accordance with specified timelines and procedures. The bill would require the Secretary of State, if the LLC has not submitted completed documentation to meet the amendment requirements, to send notice to the LLC that the next biennial statement of information shall not be accepted until the LLC either amends its name or submits appropriate documents to meet these requirements. The bill would also require the Secretary of State, if the issue of noncompliance is brought forward by a party other than the Secretary's office, to review the complaint and make a determination of its validity within 30 days after submittal of the complaint.

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 this state. The California State University comprises 23 institutions of higher education located throughout the state. Existing law authorizes the trustees to require the payment of fees, rents, deposits, and charges for services, facilities, or materials provided by the trustees. Existing law establishes the California Promise, which requires at least 20 individual campuses of the California State University to establish a California Promise program through which each campus would enter into a pledge with a student who satisfies specified criteria to support the student in earning a baccalaureate degree in limited time. Existing law establishes the California College Promise, under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each community college meeting prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college to use that funding to waive some or all of the fees for 2 academic years for certain first-time students. This bill would prohibit the charging of tuition or mandatory systemwide fees for enrollment at a campus of the California State University for any academic year, up to 2 academic years, to a California Community College resident transfer student who has completed an associate degree for transfer or has received a fee waiver pursuant to the California College Promise. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the bill would require the Chancellor of the California State University to distribute funding to each campus participating in the California Promise to offset the costs of waiving tuition and mandatory systemwide fees to transfer students pursuant to this bill.

Existing law permits the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans and the dependent or survivor of a veteran with presenting and pursuing claims against the federal government arising out of military service and establishing rights to any privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided for by the federal government or the state. County veteran service officers are appointed by county officials to assist veterans, dependents, and survivors in presenting and pursuing claims. Existing law requires the department to disburse funds, appropriated to the department pursuant to the annual Budget Act, on a pro rata basis, to counties that have established and maintain a county veterans service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of each county veterans service officer under a formula based upon performance developed by the department. The department is required to submit an annual report on the activities of county veteran service officers to the Department of Finance, the State Department of Health Care Services, the California Veterans Board, and to each Member of the Legislature. This bill would appropriate $11,000,000 on July 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, from the General Fund to the department for allocation to counties for county veterans service officers based upon a workload unit performance formula to be developed by the department. This bill would also require the department to develop performance metrics to demonstrate the effective use of appropriated funds. Finally, this bill would require the department to submit the annual report of county veterans service officer activities by November 15 of each year, and to include the new performance metrics within the report. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law establishes a system of postsecondary education in this state, including the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of that system. Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the state agency that generally administers student financial aid programs. These programs include, among others, the Cal Grant Program. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact later legislation that would prohibit the Student Aid Commission or an institution of higher education from performing a verification to establish eligibility for state financial aid on a student more than once.

Existing law prohibits the destruction, damaging, or removal of, or interference with, as specified, any railroad or related infrastructure. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to those provisions.