Sen. Sabrina Cervantes

This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration.

This measure would proclaim the month of January 2018 as National Mentoring Month.

This measure would declare the week of January 7 to January 13, 2018, as California Fitness Week and would encourage Californians to enrich their lives through proper nutrition and exercise.

This measure would proclaim January 13, 2018, as Korean American Day.

This measure would honor the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

This measure would designate the month of January 2018 as Gang Awareness and Prevention Month in the State of California and would encourage cities and constituents across the state to observe the month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities to prevent future gang activity and honor those who lost their lives due to gang activity.

Existing law generally protects employees who disclose illegal or improper workplace activities by prohibiting interference with, and retaliation for, making such disclosures. Existing law provides procedures for a person to file a complaint alleging violations of legislative ethics. Existing law also authorizes each house of the Legislature to adopt rules for its proceedings and to select committees necessary for the conduct of its business. This bill would impose criminal and civil liability on a Member of the Legislature or legislative employee, as defined, who interferes with, or retaliates against, a legislative employee's exercise of the right to make a protected disclosure, which is defined as a good faith allegation made by a legislative employee to specified entities that a Member of the Legislature or a legislative employee has engaged in, or will engage in, activity that may constitute a violation of law, including sexual harassment, or a violation of a legislative standard of conduct. The bill would also impose civil liability on an entity that interferes with, or retaliates against, a legislative employee's exercise of the right to make a protected disclosure, as specified. By creating new crimes, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires a person who, having been previously convicted of specified vehicle theft offenses regardless of whether or not the person actually served a prior prison term for the offense, is subsequently convicted of any of the specified offenses to be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years, or a fine of $10,000, or both that fine and the imprisonment. This bill would instead require a person who is subsequently convicted of an above-specified vehicle theft offense to, in addition and consecutive to a sentence imposed for that conviction, serve a one-year term for each prior conviction of those offenses. By increasing the punishment for a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, as amended by Proposition 21 as approved by the voters at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election and by Proposition 83 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, classifies certain felonies as violent felonies for purposes of various sentencing schemes. Existing law imposes an additional one-year term for a felony and a 3-year term for a violent felony for each prior separate prison term served for a violent felony. The Legislature may amend the above-specified initiative statutes by a statute passed in each house by a23 vote. This bill would additionally define human sex trafficking as a violent felony and expand the scope of sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, and rape offenses that are categorized as violent felonies, including if the victim was unconscious, if the victim was incapable of giving consent due to intoxication, if the victim was incapable of giving legal consent because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, if the victim submitted to the act under the belief that the person committing the act was someone known to the victim other than the accused, or if the act was accomplished against the victim's will by threatening to use the authority of a public official. By changing the sentence of a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.