Sen. Kelly Seyarto

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. The board of governors appoints the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges as the chief executive officer of the segment. Existing law establishes the California Online Community College, under the administration of the board of governors, for purposes of creating an organized system of accessible, flexible, and high-quality online content, courses, and programs focused on providing industry-valued credentials compatible with the vocational and educational needs of Californians who are not currently accessing higher education. This bill would make the California Online Community College Act inoperative on January 1, 2024. On or before January 1, 2024, the bill would appropriate the California Online Community College's funding for specified purposes at the California Community Colleges, as provided.

This measure would proclaim, in perpetuity, the month of April as California Wines: Down to Earth Month, to celebrate the sustainable leadership of California wineries and winegrape growers throughout the month of April.

(1) Existing law creates the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (council) and requires departments administering state programs created on or after July 1, 2017, to collaborate with the council for the purpose of adopting guidelines and regulations to incorporate core components of Housing First. Existing law defines "Housing First" as an evidence-based model that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery and that centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Under existing law, Housing First providers offer services as needed and requested on a voluntary basis and do not make housing contingent on participation in services. This bill would require a local government entity to provide specified homelessness information for its jurisdiction to the council by January 1, 2025, including expenditures on homelessness programs and efforts provided to homeless persons within its jurisdiction, as well as related information regarding the funding of these services. The bill would specify how a local government would meet this requirement. This bill would require the council to develop and maintain a publicly available internet website homelessness dashboard for prescribed purposes. The bill would require the council to report to the Legislature, and post to its homelessness dashboard, information related to programs that the state has undertaken to reduce homelessness in California, including federal funding for state and local programs by January 1, 2026. The bill would require a state agency or office responsible for these programs to report data related to the programs, in a form prescribed by the council, to the council no later than January 1, 2025. The bill would require the council to perform a specified assessment of the success or failure of funded and implemented programs addressing homelessness. This bill would express that it is the intent of the Legislature that continuums of care collaborate with local government entities, state agencies, and the council to help collect the required information. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2027. By increasing the duties of local government entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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 establishes various programs to provide assistance to homeless persons, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program and homeless youth emergency service pilot projects. Existing law also establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations, and, among other things, identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a working group that includes representatives from all departments and agencies that currently receive funding relating to services for homeless individuals. The bill would require the working group to determine the best approach to creating a Department of Homelessness Prevention, Outreach, and Support and to submit its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2024. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2024.

Existing law, the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act, establishes the Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) and authorizes it to, among other things, issue bonds, make loans, and provide other financial assistance to various types of projects that constitute economic development facilities or public development facilities. The act establishes in the State Treasury the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund (I-Bank Fund) for the purpose of implementing the objectives and provisions of the act and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund, except as prescribed. This bill, the Rural California Infrastructure Act, would authorize the I-Bank to establish the Rural California Infrastructure Program for the purpose of making competitive grant awards to eligible local agencies for rural infrastructure projects, as prescribed. The act would require the Controller to transfer a sum of $1,000,000,000 to the Rural California Infrastructure Account in the I-Bank Fund, which the bill would create and continuously appropriate for purposes of the act. By requiring the Controller to transfer moneys from the General Fund to the Rural California Infrastructure Account for purposes of the program, the bill would make an appropriation. The act would require the I-Bank to submit a specified report to the Governor and the Legislature regarding program activity in any fiscal year that the account receives funding or in which the I-Bank administers the program.

Existing law defines the crime of human trafficking and imposes a penalty of at least 5, 8, or 12 years in state prison and a fine of not more than $500,000. This bill would prohibit plea bargaining in a case in which the indictment or information charges the crime of human trafficking and it is alleged that the victim is a minor, unless there is insufficient evidence to prove the people's case, or testimony of a material witness cannot be obtained, or a reduction or dismissal would not result in a substantial change in sentence. By increasing the penalty 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.

The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year, but excludes certain items of income from the computation of tax, including an exclusion for combat-related special compensation. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2033, would exclude from gross income retirement pay received by a taxpayer from the federal government for service performed in the uniformed services, as defined, during the taxable year. The bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2023, would also exclude from gross income annuity payments received by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, pursuant to a United States Department of Defense Survivor Benefit Plan during the taxable year. The bill would make related findings and declarations. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board and the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide any data requested by the Legislative Analyst to write the report, and would make taxpayer information received by the Legislative Analyst subject to limitation on the collection and use of that information. By expanding the scope 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various deductions from gross income in computing adjusted gross income under that law, but does not conform with the federal deduction in computing adjusted gross income allowed for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers. This bill, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2027, would, in modified conformity with federal personal income tax laws, allow a deduction in computing adjusted gross income for certain expenses of public elementary and secondary school teachers. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law, the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. The act classifies the drug fentanyl in Schedule II. Existing law prohibits a person from possessing for sale or purchasing for purposes of sale, specified controlled substances, including fentanyl, and provides for imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years for a violation of this provision. Existing law also requires a local health officer to assume that the fentanyl manufacturing process has led to some degree of chemical contamination and take action, as prescribed, if a fentanyl laboratory activity has taken place at a property. This bill would establish the California Fentanyl Abuse Task Force to undertake various duties relating to fentanyl abuse including, among others, collecting and organizing data on the nature and extent of fentanyl abuse in California and evaluating approaches to increase public awareness of fentanyl abuse. The bill would require the task force to be chaired by the Attorney General, or their designee, and would specify the membership of the task force. The bill would require the first meeting of the task force to take place no later than March 1, 2023, and would require the task force to meet at least once every 2 months. The bill would require the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the Attorney General, the Governor, and the Legislature by July 1, 2024. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2025.

Existing law establishes the Employment Development Department and vests the department with various duties. Existing law establishes the Director of Employment Development as the executive officer of the department. Existing law provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible persons who are unemployed through no fault of their own through a federal-state unemployment insurance program administered by the department. Existing law requires the department to make various types of information available on its internet website, including information about overpayments and information for victims of identity theft who receive incorrect tax forms. This bill would require the director, beginning on July 1, 2023, to make certain information about timeframes for processing unemployment compensation benefit applications available on the department's internet website, including the current average timeframe for issuing a first payment when the department does not request additional or clarifying information, and for making a final determination of eligibility for benefits, as specified. The bill would also require the director to update the required information every 2 weeks and to display on the department's internet website graphical representations of certain data. The bill would further require the director to provide the web address where this information may be found to claimants, as specified.