Sen. Kelly Seyarto

Existing law defines and regulates the terms and conditions of employment. Existing law generally defines "workweek" for these purposes and requires that work in excess of 40 hours in a workweek be compensated at a rate of at least 112 times the employee's regular rate of pay, subject to certain exceptions. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. This bill would expressly require that overtime provisions apply to an employee of the Legislature. By expanding the application of a crime, this bill would create 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.

The California Constitution grants the retirement board of a public retirement system plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of moneys and administration of the system. The California Constitution qualifies this grant of powers by reserving to the Legislature the authority to prohibit investments if it is in the public interest and the prohibition satisfies standards of fiduciary care and loyalty required of the public retirement system's board. Existing law establishes the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to ascertain facts and make recommendations to the Legislature and to the houses thereof concerning the state budget, the revenues and expenditures of the state, the organization and functions of the state, its departments, subdivisions and agencies, and such matters as may be provided for in the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly, and grants the committee the authority to appoint a legislative analyst who is also referred to as the Legislative Auditor or Legislative Analyst. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst to prepare a pension fiscal impact analysis on any measure introduced on or after January 1, 2024, that is referred to the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee, or any successor committee, as specified, and that requires a public retirement system to take prescribed action, including the divestiture of an existing investment. The bill would require the California Actuarial Advisory Panel and the affected public retirement system to provide assistance to the Legislative Analyst in preparing the analysis. By requiring the boards of local public retirement systems to take specified actions, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst to develop specified criteria, including, at a minimum, the likely short-term and long-term costs to the General Fund, as prescribed. This bill would prohibit a member of the Legislature from presenting any measure for which the Legislative Analyst must prepare a pension fiscal impact analysis under the bill's provisions until the Legislative Analyst posts the completed analysis on its website and transmits it to the legislative committee. 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 shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions for costs mandated by the state pursuant to this act, but would recognize that a local agency or school district may pursue any available remedies to seek reimbursement for these costs.

Existing law declares that the protection of the public interest in the development of the water resources of the state is of vital concern to the people of the state and that the state shall determine in what way the water of the state, both surface and underground, should be developed for the greatest public benefit. Existing law establishes within the Natural Resources Agency the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards. Existing law requires the work of the state board to be divided into at least 2 divisions, known as the Division of Water Rights and the Division of Water Quality. This bill would establish a statewide goal to increase above- and below-ground water storage capacity by a total of 3,700,000 acre-feet by the year 2030 and a total of 4,000,000 acre-feet by the year 2040. The bill would require the Department of Water Resources, in consultation with the state board, to take reasonable actions to promote or assist efforts to achieve the statewide goal, as provided. The bill would require the department, beginning July 1, 2027, and on or before July 1 every 2 years thereafter until January 1, 2043, in consultation with the state board, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the progress made to achieve the statewide goal.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2028, allow a credit of $5,000 against the taxes imposed by those laws to a qualified taxpayer. The bill would define a qualified taxpayer for this purpose to mean a taxpayer that owns and leases qualified rental property, as defined, to a qualified nonprofit, as defined, pursuant to a qualified lease. The bill would require the qualified taxpayer to obtain certification, under penalty of perjury, from the qualified nonprofit that the qualified rental property will be used to provide housing to survivors of domestic violence, as provided. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would establish a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. 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 take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law declares that it is the policy of the state that no adoptable animal should be euthanized if it can be adopted into a suitable home. Existing law also declares that it is the policy of the state that no treatable animal should be euthanized.. This bill, Bowie's Law, would require all animal shelters, as defined, to provide public notice on their internet website at least 72 hours before euthanizing any dog, cat, or rabbit, except as provided. The bill would require that notice to indicate that the animal is subject to euthanasia and to include information about the animal and its availability for adoption. The bill would authorize an animal shelter to provide this public notice for less than 72 hours if the animal shelter makes certain determinations. The bill would, for each instance where the animal shelter provides public notice for less than 72 hours, require the animal shelter to document the reason and to keep it on file and available for public inspection, as provided. By imposing new requirements on a public animal control agency or shelter, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the Department of Food and Agriculture to conduct a study on the overcrowding of California's animal shelters, the ways in which the state might address animal shelter overcrowding, and the feasibility of a statewide database of dogs and cats that provides public notice and information at the statewide level, as specified. The bill would require the department to, on or before January 1, 2026, submit a report on its study findings to the Legislature, as provided. The bill would repeal these study and reporting requirements on January 1, 2027. 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.

This measure would designate the overcrossing on State Route 210 at Archibald Avenue in the City of Rancho Cucamonga as the Senator Bob Dutton Memorial Overcrossing. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, erect those signs.

Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires state and local agencies to make their records available for inspection by the public, subject to specified criteria and with specified exceptions. Existing law exempts from disclosure any investigatory or security file compiled by any other state or local police agency, or any investigatory or security files compiled by any other state or local agency for correctional, law enforcement, or licensing purposes. Under existing law, criminal offenders sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison are sentenced for either a determinate term or an indeterminate life sentence, and a person sentenced to an indeterminate life sentence is held until release by the Board of Parole Hearings. Under existing law, a person sentenced to a determinate sentence is released after serving the term of their sentence, minus any credits earned, and is required to serve a period of time after release under parole supervision. Existing constitutional provisions, enacted by Proposition 57 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, make an inmate sentenced to state prison for a conviction of a nonviolent felony offense eligible for early parole consideration after completing the full term for their primary offense, as defined. This bill would provide that Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records pertaining to an inmate's release date and their early release credits are public records and are subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act, with specified exceptions. The bill would state that the provisions relative to the California Public Records Act are declaratory of existing law.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions to ensure that the statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years. This bill would require the state board to include greenhouse gas emissions from wildlands and forest fires in the scoping plan.

This measure would declare October 2023 as Women's Small Business Month and encourage all citizens to recognize the economic importance of women's small business in California.