Sen. Sabrina Cervantes

Under the Donahoe Higher Education Act, the segments of postsecondary education in this state are the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions. Existing law requires each campus of the California State University, and requests each campus of the University of California, to post on its internet website information about the market cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the areas surrounding that campus where its students commonly reside. This bill would require institutions in the California Community Colleges, California State University, or the University of California systems, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions to each calculate a full-time student's cost of attendance at that institution. The bill would require that calculation to include, at a minimum, specified items, including room and board. The bill would require an institution to calculate student costs for room and board for a student living with family as a dependent, living on campus, or living independently off campus, as specified, and for the institution to update the calculation for room and board each fiscal year using the most recent fiscal year data available. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, 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, 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.

The Economic Revitalization Act establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, to serve as the Governor's lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. The office, among others, makes recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding policies, programs, and actions to advance statewide economic goals. This bill would require the economic development activities of this state to be guided by the policies, priorities, and actions identified in the California Economic Development Strategic Action Plan, which would, among other things, set a comprehensive agenda and framework for the purposes of supporting regional economic priorities, increasing the state's overall national and international competitiveness, and resulting in inclusive economic growth. This bill would require GO-Biz to facilitate the development of the action plan through a public engagement process that includes local and regional stakeholders, and to post the first action plan on its internet website on or before January 10, 2021. The bill would require, by July 1, 2020, GO-Biz to prepare or cause to be prepared an economic status report before the development of the action plan that would include, among other things, an evaluation of California's national and international competitiveness, as specified. This bill would require the action plan to be reviewed biennially and revised every 5 years in accordance with certain requirements. Existing law creates the California Economic Development Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of receiving federal, state, local, and private economic development funds, which, upon appropriation by the Legislature, may be expended by GO-Biz to provide matching funds for loans or grants to public and private entities and for other economic development purposes. The bill would authorize GO-Biz to accept nonstate moneys for the purposes of preparing, developing, and updating the economic status report and the action plan. The bill would require the deposit of any amounts received by GO-Biz into the Economic Action Plan Account, which this bill would establish in the California Economic Development Fund. This bill would make those amounts available to the office for those purposes upon appropriation by the Legislature.

Existing law provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) , under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) , to secure generating and transmission resources necessary to guarantee achievement of specified minimum planning and operating reserve criteria for much of the state's electrical transmission system. This bill would require the ISO, on or before June 30, 2022, to complete a competitive solicitation process for the procurement of one or more long duration energy storage projects that in aggregate have at least 2,000 megawatts capacity, but not more than 2,400 megawatts, as provided. The bill would require the ISO, after December 31, 2030, and only if found to be necessary, to complete an additional competitive solicitation process for additional long duration bulk energy storage projects that in aggregate have up to 2,000 megawatts capacity and have targeted commercial operation dates of no later than January 1, 2045. The bill would require that the competitive solicitation processes provide for cost recovery from load-serving entities within the ISO-controlled electrical grid in a manner that allocates those costs among load-serving entities based on cost causation and each load-serving entity's need for, and benefits realized from, the long duration bulk energy storage. If FERC takes any action that materially affects California's clean energy and climate laws, programs, or policies, the bill would relieve the ISO from the duty to comply with the bill's requirements, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act, a violation of which would be a 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.

Existing law allocates additional judgeships to the various counties in accordance with uniform standards for factually determining additional need in each county, as approved by the Judicial Council. Existing law authorizes 50 additional judges, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated to the various county superior courts, pursuant to uniform criteria approved by the Judicial Council. This bill would appropriate $36,500,000 from the General Fund for the purpose of funding 25 superior court judgeships currently authorized by the Legislature, and expenses associated with those positions. The bill would require the Judicial Council to determine the allocation of those positions, pursuant to that uniform criteria.

Existing law authorizes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to develop content on its internet website or through other mediums to be used for public dissemination, through outreach activities, in order to provide information and resources to inform the general public about place-based and other geographically targeted economic development programs, including California Promise Zones and California Opportunity Zones. Existing law requires the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to convene, at least annually, representatives from various programs and agencies across the state, and from various federal programs and agencies, for the purpose of discussing how California can leverage Promise Zones and Opportunity Zones to meet state and local community and economic development needs. This bill would enact the Place-Based Economic Strategies Act, which would create the Office of Place-Based Economic Strategies, headed by the deputy director of the Office of Place-Based Economic Strategies, for the purposes of supporting place-based and other geographically targeted economic development programs, including, but not limited to, federal California Promise and California Opportunity Zones. The bill would require the office to serve as a liaison between community and economic stakeholders and the state agencies that oversee programs and offer services that are intended to finance and support business and economic development needs, as specified. The bill would also require the office to establish a process for identifying and publicizing public and private resources that are available to support Opportunity Zone investments, as specified, and to establish a process for addressing impediments to Opportunity Zone investments, as specified.

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 law school in the County of Riverside administered by the University of California.

Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending all segments of postsecondary education. Under existing law, the commission, among other things, administers the Cal Grant Program, the Student Opportunity and Access Program, the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, the Graduate Assumption Program of Loans for Education, the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program, and the California State Work-Study Program. This bill would establish the California Kickstart My Future Loan Forgiveness Program, under the administration of the commission, to provide student loan forgiveness awards for the purpose of alleviating the burden of federal student loan debt for recent graduates meeting specified requirements. The bill would, subject to an available and sufficient appropriation, authorize an eligible applicant to receive a student loan forgiveness award equal to 100% of his or her monthly federal income-driven repayment plan payments for 24 months of repayment under the federal program. The bill would require a recipient who no longer meets the program requirements at the time any payment is made under this program to refund that payment to the state, and would authorize the Franchise Tax Board to recover the payments owed.

Existing law, the Ralph C. Dills Act (Dills Act) , governs collective bargaining between the state and recognized state public employee organizations. Existing law excludes certain employees from coverage under the Dills Act, including, among others, managerial employees, supervisory employees, and confidential employees, as defined. Existing law creates the Public Employment Relations Board and authorizes it, among other things, to determine appropriate state employee bargaining units, as specified. This bill would enact the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act, to provide employees of the Legislature, including some supervisory and managerial employees, the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. The bill would prescribe rights, duties, and prohibitions in this context that parallel those in the Dills Act. The bill would prohibit the Public Employment Relations Board from including employees of the Legislature in a bargaining unit that includes employees other than those of the Legislature. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with any member of the board, or any of its agents, in the performance of duties pursuant to its provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the provisions of the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act are severable. 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.

The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) in the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development. Existing law, among other things, authorizes the I-Bank to make loans, issue bonds, and provide financial assistance for various types of projects that qualify as economic development or public development facilities. Existing law authorizes the I-Bank to consider a project for conduit financing for economic development facilities upon a filing of an application with the I-Bank by an appropriate participating party. The act establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund (I-Bank fund) , a continuously appropriated fund, for support of the I-Bank and for expenditure for the purposes stated in the act. The California Constitution, with respect to any taxes levied on taxable property in a redevelopment project established under the Community Redevelopment Law, as it then read or may be amended, authorizes the Legislature to provide for the division of those taxes under a redevelopment plan between the taxing agencies and the redevelopment agency, as provided. The portion of taxes diverted is the amount attributable to increases in assessed valuation of property in the redevelopment project area subsequent to establishment thereof and is commonly known as "tax increment" financing. This bill would require the I-Bank to establish criteria, priorities, and guidelines for receiving and reviewing applications to enter into a development agreement with a redevelopment agency in which the redevelopment agency would agree to commit a portion of property tax increment to finance a project for economic development facilities in a low-income census tract, including an Opportunity Zone designated by the United States Treasury. This bill would allow the I-Bank to accept those applications and would authorize the I-Bank to issue either tax-exempt or taxable revenue bonds to provide financing for those projects. The bill would require the I-Bank, in order to use this financing method, to determine that the redevelopment agency has demonstrated its ability to support the upward mobility of local residents and inclusive economic growth within the project area, as specified. By expanding the I-Bank's authority to finance additional projects, and thereby expanding the I-Bank's authority to expend funds in a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would apply only if a successor law to the Community Redevelopment Law is enacted on or after January 1, 2020, that provides for the tax increment financing of redevelopment projects by a redevelopment agency.

Existing federal law allows a New Markets Tax Credit to a taxpayer holding a qualified equity investment in an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the amount paid to the qualified community development entity for investment in low-income communities. The state Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would allow a California New Markets Tax Credit under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in modified conformity with the federal New Markets Tax Credit, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2026, in a specified amount for investments in low-income communities. The bill would limit the total annual amount of credit allowed pursuant to these provisions to $100,000,000 per calendar year. The bill would impose specified duties on the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) with regard to the application for, and allocation of, the credit. The bill would require GO-Biz to establish and impose reasonable fees upon entities that apply for the allocation of the credit, to be deposited in the California New Markets Tax Credit Account established by the bill within the California Economic Development Fund, and use the revenue, upon annual appropriation by the Legislature, to defray the cost of applying to and administering the credits, as specified. The bill would only authorize the allocation for these credits for those taxable years for which moneys are appropriated to GO-Biz to administer these credits for those taxable years. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new personal income tax or corporation tax credit to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements, as provided. This bill would also include that additional information required for any bill authorizing a new personal or corporation income tax credit. The bill would provide that its provisions are severable. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.