Sen. Sabrina Cervantes

Existing law, as added by Proposition 83 of the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, makes it a crime for a person to contact or communicate with a minor, or attempt to contact or communicate with a minor, who knows or reasonably should know that the person is a minor, with intent to commit a specified offense involving the minor, including, among other offenses, kidnapping and rape. This bill would additionally make it a crime to contact or communicate with a minor, or attempt to contact or communicate with a minor, as specified, with the intent to commit human trafficking of the minor. By expanding the definition of 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 requires specified sex offenders to register with local law enforcement within five working days of coming into, or changing his or her residence within, a city, county, or city and county. If the person's new address is in a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility or state mental institution, existing law requires an official of the institution to forward the registrant's change of address information to the Department of Justice within 90 days. This bill would instead require the change of address to be forwarded within 15 working days of both receipt and release of the person. The bill would also require an official with a county or local custodial facility that receives or releases a sex offender registrant to forward his or her change of address information to the Department of Justice. By imposing duties on local officials, 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.

(1) Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, requires shoplifting, defined as entering a commercial establishment with the intent to commit larceny where the property taken does not exceed $950, to be punished as a misdemeanor. Proposition 47 requires that the act of shoplifting be charged as shoplifting and prohibits a person who is charged with shoplifting from being charged with burglary or theft of the same property. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, create the crime of organized retail theft which would be defined as acting in concert with one or more persons to steal merchandise from one or more merchant's premises or online marketplace with the intent to sell, exchange, or return the merchandise for value, acting in concert with 2 or more persons to receive, purchase, or possess merchandise knowing or believing it to have been stolen, acting as the agent of another individual or group of individuals to steal merchandise from one or more merchant's premises or online marketplaces as part of a plan to commit theft, or recruiting, coordinating, organizing, supervising, directing, managing, or financing another to undertake acts of theft. The bill would make these crimes punishable as either misdemeanors or felonies, as specified. By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Under existing law, when a public offense is committed in part in one jurisdictional territory and in part in another jurisdictional territory, or the acts constituting or requisite to the consummation of the offense occur in 2 or more jurisdictional territories, the jurisdiction for the offense is in any competent court within either jurisdictional territory. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, additionally establish the jurisdiction of a criminal action for theft, organized retail theft, or receipt of stolen property as including the county where an offense involving the theft or receipt of the stolen merchandise occurred, the county in which the merchandise was recovered, or the county where any act was done by the defendant in instigating, procuring, promoting, or aiding in the commission of the offense. The bill would also, if multiple offenses of theft or other specified crimes all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same merchandise or the same defendant or defendants and the scheme or substantially similar activity occur in multiple jurisdictions, establish that any of those jurisdictions is a proper jurisdiction for all of the offenses. (3) Existing law generally requires that a person arrested for a misdemeanor be released on written notice to appear in court. Existing law allows a peace officer to retain a person in custody on an arrest for a misdemeanor if, among other reasons, there are one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the person, there is reason to believe the person will not appear in court, or there is a reasonable likelihood that the offense will continue or resume. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, allow a peace officer to retain a person arrested for a misdemeanor if there are unresolved failures to appear in court on previous misdemeanor citations, if he or she has been cited, arrested, or convicted for misdemeanor or felony theft from a store or from a vehicle in the previous 6 months, or if there is probable cause to believe that the person arrested is guilty of committing organized retail theft, as defined. By increasing the number of persons subject to detention at the county jail, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes a court to issue a bench warrant whenever a defendant fails to appear in court as required by law, as specified. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, authorize the issuance of a bench warrant if a defendant has been cited or arrested for misdemeanor or felony theft from a store or vehicle and has failed to appear in court in connection with that charge or those charges in the previous 6 months. (5) Existing law authorizes a court, with the consent of the defendant and a waiver of the defendant's speedy trial right, to postpone prosecution of a misdemeanor and place the defendant in a pretrial diversion program or a deferred entry of judgment program under specified situations. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, authorize a city or county prosecuting attorney or a county probation department to create a diversion or deferred entry of judgment program for persons who commit repeat theft offenses, as specified. Under the program, the prosecuting attorney may enter into a written agreement to refrain from or defer prosecution on the offense or offenses if the person completes program requirements such as community service and makes adequate restitution or an appropriate substitute for restitution to the establishment or person from which property was stolen. (6) Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California's adult and juvenile criminal justice system. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, additionally require the board to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, award funding for a grant program to 4 or more county superior courts or county probation departments to create demonstration projects to reduce the recidivism of high-risk misdemeanor probationers through the use of risk assessments at sentencing and formal probation. The bill would require the board to develop reporting requirements for each county, as specified, and would require the board to prepare and distribute a report that compiles this information, as specified. The bill would also, until January 1, 2021, require the Department of the California Highway Patrol to, in coordination with the Department of Justice, convene a regional property crimes task force to assist local law enforcement in counties identified by the Department of the California Highway Patrol as having elevated levels of property crime, including, but not limited to, organized retail theft and vehicle burglary. The bill would require the task force to provide local law enforcement in the identified region with logistical support and other law enforcement resources, including, but not limited to, personnel and equipment, as determined to be appropriate by the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol in consultation with task force members. (7) The bill would provide 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 law requires criminal justice agencies to compile records and data, including a summary of arrests, pretrial proceedings, the nature and disposition of criminal charges, sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation, and release, about criminal offenders. Existing law requires admissions or releases from detention facilities to be reported by the detention agency to the Department of Justice within 30 days of that action. This bill would clarify the requirement that both admission and release from detention facilities be reported by the detention agency to the department within 30 days. By increasing the duties of local detention facilities, 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 governs the procedure by which crime victims may obtain compensation from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law establishes eligibility for compensation when prescribed requirements are met and authorizes the California Victim Compensation Board to grant compensation from the fund for pecuniary loss when the board determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation. Existing law authorizes the board to provide compensation equal to the loss of income or loss of support, or both, that a victim or derivative victim incurs as a direct result of the victim's or derivative victim's injury or the victim's death. Under existing law, as amended by Proposition 35, the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, a person who deprives or violates another person's personal liberty with the intent to obtain forced labor or services or who deprives or violates another person's personal liberty for the purpose of prostitution or sexual exploitation is guilty of human trafficking, a felony. This bill would authorize the board to provide compensation equal to loss of income or support that a victim incurs as a direct result of the victim's deprivation of liberty during the crime, if the qualifying crime is human trafficking, in an amount not exceeding the value of the victim's labor as guaranteed under California law for up to 40 hours per week, as specified. The bill would require the board to adopt guidelines on or before July 1, 2019, that allow the board to rely on evidence other than official employment documentation in considering and approving an application for loss of income or support, including any reliable corroborating information approved by the board. The bill would prohibit compensation for loss of income paid by the board if the qualifying crime is human trafficking from exceeding $10,000 per year that the services were performed, for a maximum of 2 years. By expanding the authorizations for use of moneys in the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 13957 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1865, AB 1939, and SB 1005 to be operative only if this bill and any or all of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law, enacted by the approval of Proposition 58 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, requires school districts and county offices of education to solicit input on and provide to pupils effective and appropriate instructional methods, including establishing language acquisition programs, in order to ensure that all pupils, including English learners and native speakers of English, have access to the core academic content standards and become proficient in English. This bill would establish the Pathways to Success Grant Program with the goal of providing pupils in preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, with dual language immersion programs, developmental bilingual programs for English learners, or early learning dual language learners programs, as those terms are defined. The bill would require the State Department of Education to administer the program and, commencing September 1, 2019, would require the department to award a minimum of 10 one-time grants of up to $300,000 per grant, to school districts and consortia of school districts in partnership with other specified entities. The bill would require the department to develop criteria for awarding the grants, and would require the department to consult with specified persons and entities in developing those criteria. The bill would authorize a school district or consortium to apply to the department to be eligible to receive a grant, as provided. The bill would require a school district or consortium that receives a grant to use it for specified purposes relating to dual language immersion programs, developmental bilingual programs for English learners, and early learning dual language learners programs. The bill would require the department, on or before June 30, 2025, to submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature detailing the successes, best practices, barriers or constraints, and outcomes of school district and consortium programs funded with these grants. The bill would require its provisions to be implemented only upon an appropriation for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or other statute.

Existing law, the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. That act prescribes specific tasks with which the board assists the Governor, including the development and updating of comprehensive state performance accountability measures, to assess the effectiveness of the core programs in the state as required under specific federal law. That act also requires the establishment of a local workforce development board in each local workforce development area of the state to, among other things, develop effective linkages with employers in the region to support employer utilization of the local workforce development system and to support local workforce investment activities. The bill would require, by July 1, 2020, the California Workforce Development Board to develop, in conjunction with the Employment Development Department and with input from local workforce development boards, a policy regarding mutual aid agreements between and among local workforce development boards to enable them to effectively respond to disasters and that is consistent with applicable state and federal law.

(1) Existing law, the California Industrial Development Financing Act, authorizes cities, counties, cities and counties, and redevelopment agencies to establish industrial development authorities that are authorized to issue industrial development bonds, the proceeds of which may be used to fund capital projects of private enterprise under terms and conditions specified in the act. The act authorizes an authority to issue tax-exempt bonds, and defines "tax-exempt" for these purposes to mean that the interest on the bonds is excluded from gross income of the holders thereof for federal income tax purposes. The act establishes the California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission, and requires the commission to approve the issuance of industrial development bonds pursuant to these provisions. The act also authorizes the commission to carry out other specified powers related to the issuance of industrial development bonds, including authorizing the commission to act as a bond pooling agent and requires fees to be charged to cover the costs of the commission in carrying out these provisions. Existing law requires these fees to be deposited in the Industrial Development Fund, which is available, upon appropriation, to the commission for expenses. This bill would abolish the California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission, and would make conforming changes to that effect. The bill would also provide that "tax-exempt" for purposes of the act includes that the interest on the bonds is otherwise entitled to any federal tax advantage. The bill would transfer any moneys, including interest earned, in the Industrial Development Fund to the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee Fund, established in existing law, and appropriate those moneys to the California Pollution Control Financing Authority to reimburse this authority for its administrative costs related to the abolishment of the California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission, as specified, and also to the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. (2) Existing law establishes the Capital Access Loan Program to assist small businesses in financing the costs of complying with environmental mandates and the remediation of contamination on their properties. Existing law establishes the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program (ADA program) , within the Capital Access Loan Program, to assist small businesses in financing the eligible costs of projects that alter or retrofit existing small business facilities to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Existing law defines a small business for purposes of the ADA program to mean a business that meets certain criteria, including that it be a small business concern, as defined under specified federal law, and additionally that it has 15 or fewer full-time employees, has less than $5,000,000 in total gross annual income from all sources, and does not provide overnight accommodations. Existing law establishes the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund as a continuously appropriated fund, and requires the authority to use the fund for specified purposes related to the ADA program. This bill would modify the definition of a small business for purposes of the ADA program to instead mean a business that is independently owned and operated and not dominant in its field, and that has 30 or fewer full-time employees or that has less than $5,000,000 in total gross annual income from all sources. The bill would thereby expand the types of businesses that qualify for funding under the ADA program. By expanding the authorized uses of moneys in a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. (3) Existing law establishes within the Capital Access Loan Program the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program to assist qualified residential property owners and qualified small business owners in seismically retrofitting qualified buildings by covering losses on qualified loans for those purposes. Existing law defines the term "qualified building" for these purposes to mean a building that is certified by the appropriate local building code enforcement authority as hazardous and in danger of collapse during an earthquake. Existing law requires a "qualified small business" and "qualified residential property owner" to own and occupy the qualified building, and prohibits a qualified loan under the program from being used to finance passive real estate ownership. Existing law requires the California Pollution Control Financing Authority to administer the program, including regulations and funds received for the program, as specified. Existing law establishes the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the authority to carry out the purposes of the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program. This bill would modify the term "qualified building" to mean a residential or commercial building identified by the local building code official as a building in need of seismic retrofitting and is either a building of a type that is potentially vulnerable in the event of a catastrophic earthquake or a building constructed before 1981. This bill would no longer require a "qualified small business" or a "qualified residential property owner" to occupy a qualified building in order to be eligible under the program, and would authorize a qualified loan under the program to be used to finance passive real estate ownership. By expanding the purposes of a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (4) The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act authorizes, until January 1, 2021, the authority to provide financial assistance in the form of a sales and use tax exclusion for projects, including those that promote California-based manufacturing, California-based jobs, the reduction of greenhouse gases, or the reduction in air and water pollution or energy consumption. The act prohibits the sales and use tax exclusions from exceeding $100,000,000 for each calendar year. The act authorizes the authority, until July 1, 2021, to grant financial assistance in the form of a sales and use tax exclusion for projects that promote the use of advanced manufacturing. This bill would expand the sales and use tax exemption to include the lease or transfer of tangible personal property, constituting any project, to any contractor for use in the performance of a construction contract that will use the property as an integral part of the approved project. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing law governing public contracting authorizes regional transportation agencies, as defined, to use the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) project delivery method, as specified, to design and construct certain projects if there is an evaluation of the traditional design-bid-build method of construction and of the CM/GC method and the board of the regional transportation agency adopts the CM/GC method in a public meeting. Existing law defines "project" for these purposes to mean the construction of an expressway that is not on the state highway system, the construction of specified bridges that are not on the state highway system, specified projects in the County of Riverside, and the construction, alteration, repair, rehabilitation, or improvement of the Golden Gate Bridge. Existing law requires that specified information provided to a regional transportation agency under the CM/GC method be verified under oath. This bill would include in the definition of "project" a Metrolink commuter rail project. By expanding the scope of the existing crime of perjury, the 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 Metrolink commuter rail projects. (2) Existing law exempts from civil liability any person who, in good faith and not for compensation, renders emergency care or treatment by the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) at the scene of an emergency, except in the case of personal injury or wrongful death that results from the gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct of the person who renders emergency care or treatment. Existing law also exempts from civil liability a person or entity that acquires an AED for emergency use and a health care professional who is involved with the selection, placement, or installation of the AED, as specified. This bill would require a public entity that operates, or contracts for the operation of, a commuter rail system to ensure that each train has an AED as part of its safety equipment subject to specified requirements, including that the AED be installed by July 1, 2020, except as specified, and to transmit confirmation of its compliance with those requirements in writing to the Public Utilities Commission. The bill would exempt an affected public entity that acquires an AED for emergency care from liability for any civil damages resulting from any acts or omissions in the rendering of the emergency care by use of the AED if the public entity has complied with certain requirements. (3) By imposing new duties on local public officials, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) 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 law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at the campuses they operate. Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, using common course descriptors and pertinent recommendations of the American Council on Education, to determine, by July 1, 2015, for which courses credit should be awarded for prior military experience. This bill would instead require the chancellor to establish, by March 31, 2019, an initiative to expand the use of course credit at the California Community Colleges for students with prior learning. The bill would require the chancellor to submit, by January 1, 2020, a report on the initiative to the Legislature.