Existing law relating to public contracts requires local agencies, including cities and counties, to comply with specified procedures for public contracting for public construction. The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act requires the governing body of a local public agency to meet and confer in good faith regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment with representatives of a recognized employee organization. This bill would enact the Civic Reporting Openness in Negotiations Efficiency Act to establish specific procedures for the negotiation and approval of certain contracts valued at $250,000 or more for goods or services by cities, counties, cities and counties, or special districts that have adopted a civic openness in negotiations ordinance, or COIN ordinance, defined as an ordinance imposing specified requirements as part of any collective bargaining process undertaken pursuant to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. The act would require the designation of an independent auditor to review and report on the cost of any proposed contract. The act would require a city, county, city and county, or special district to disclose prescribed information relating to the contract and contract negotiations on its Internet Web site. The act would prohibit a final determination by the governing body regarding approval of any contract until the matter has been heard at a minimum of 2 public meetings of the governing body. The act would exempt from its provisions contracts required to respond to, recover from, or mitigate the effects of a temporary public safety emergency declared by the chief law enforcement officer of a city, county, city and county, or special district, or a state of war emergency, state of emergency, or local emergency, as those terms are defined in the California Emergency Services Act. The act would also exempt from its provisions a renewal of a contract if the employees performing the services are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that is governed by the National Labor Relations Act. By imposing new requirements on cities, counties, cities and counties, and special districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law requires each school district that has one or more pupils who are English learners, and, to the extent required by federal law, a county office of education and a charter school, to assess the English language development of each of those pupils in order to determine the pupil's level of proficiency. Existing law requires the State Department of Education, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to establish procedures for conducting the assessment and for the reclassification of a pupil from English learner to English proficient. Existing law defines "long-term English learner" as an English learner who is enrolled in any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, has been enrolled in schools in the United States for more than 6 years, has remained at the same English language proficiency level for 2 or more consecutive years as determined by a specified English language development test, or any successor test, and scores far below basic or below basic on a certain English language arts standards-based achievement test, or any successor test. This bill would revise that definition to instead mean, except as specified, an English learner who is enrolled in any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, who has been enrolled in schools in the United States for 6 years or more, has remained at the same English language proficiency level for 2 or more consecutive prior years, or has regressed to a lower English language proficiency level, as determined by the specified English language development test, or a score determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction on any successor test, and, for a pupil in any of grades 6 to 9, inclusive, scored far below basic or below basic on the specified English language arts standards-based achievement test, or a score determined by the Superintendent on any successor test. The bill would encourage the Superintendent to revisit the score determined for any successor test after 3 years of assessment data on the successor test. (2) Existing law defines an "English learner at risk of becoming a long-term English learner" as an English learner who is enrolled in any of grades 5 to 11, inclusive, in schools in the United States for 4 years, scores at the intermediate level or below on the specified English language development test, or any successor test, and scores in the 4th year at the below basic or far below basic level on a certain English language arts standards-based achievement test, or any successor test. This bill would revise that definition to instead mean, except as specified, an English learner who is enrolled in any of grades 3 to 12, inclusive, in schools in the United States for 4 to 5 years, scored at the intermediate level or below on the specified English language development test, or a score determined by the Superintendent on any successor test, and, for a pupil in any of grades 3 to 9, inclusive, scored in the 4th or 5th year at the below basic or far below basic level on the specified English language arts standards-based achievement test, or a score determined by the Superintendent on any successor test. The bill would encourage the Superintendent to revisit the score determined for any successor test after 3 years of assessment data on the successor test. (3) Existing law requires the department to annually ascertain and provide to school districts and schools the number of pupils in each school district and school, as specified, who are, or are at risk of becoming, long-term English learners. This bill would also require the department to post on the department's Internet Web site the number of long-term English learners and English learners at risk of becoming long-term English learners in the state.
(1) Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of his or her employment. Existing law authorizes an insurer, employer, or entity that provides physician network services to establish or modify a medical provider network for the provision of medical treatment to injured employees, and requires the administrative director to contract with individual physicians or an independent medical review organization to perform independent medical reviews. This bill would clarify that those independent medical reviews are medical provider network independent medical reviews. The bill would make related and conforming changes. (2) Existing law requires every medical provider network to post, and update quarterly, a roster of treating physicians in the medical provider network on its Internet Web site. This bill would require every medical provider network to post on its Internet Web site information about how to contact the medical provider network contact and medical access assistants, and also information about how to obtain a copy of any notification regarding the medical provider network that is required to be given to an employee by regulations adopted by the administrative director. (3) Existing law requires an insurer, employer, or entity that provides physician network services to submit a plan for the medical provider network to the administrative director to be approved for a period of 4 years. Commencing January 1, 2014, existing approved plans are deemed approved for a period of 4 years from their most recent application or modification approval date. This bill would provide that, commencing January 1, 2016, a modification that updates an entire medical provider network plan to bring the plan into full compliance with applicable laws would be deemed approved for a period of 4 years from the modification approval date. The bill would provide that the expiration of the medical provider network's current 4-year approval period will not change if a modification does not update a medical provider network plan to bring the plan into full compliance with applicable laws. (4) Existing law requires an insurer, employer, or entity that provides physician network services to file continuity of care policies. Existing law requires an insurer, employer, or entity that provides physician network services to provide completion of treatment by a terminated provider if at the time of the employer-employee contract's termination, the injured employee was receiving services from that provider for various conditions, as specified. This bill would instead require medical provider networks to file continuity of care policies. The bill would require an employer or its claims administrator to provide for the completion of treatment by a terminated provider under specified circumstances. The bill would also define an "entity that provides physician network services" for the purposes described above to mean a medical network licensed by a designated government department or a legal entity that offers medical management and physician network services within California. (5) Existing law requires the administrative director to adopt an official medical fee schedule that establishes reasonable maximum fees paid for specified medical services related to workers' compensation. Existing law also requires the administrative director to adopt a schedule for payment of home health care services that are not covered by a Medicare fee schedule and are not otherwise covered by the official medical fee schedule. Existing law requires this fee schedule to be based on the maximum service hours and fees set forth in provisions of law governing in-home supportive services. This bill would authorize, rather than require, the fee schedule to be based on either the maximum service hours and fees set forth in provisions of state law governing in-home supportive services or other state or federal home health care services fee schedules, as specified.
The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to permit private, nonprofit, eligible organizations to conduct raffles as a funding mechanism to support beneficial and charitable works, if, among other conditions, at least 90% of the gross receipts from the raffle go directly to beneficial or charitable purposes in California. The California Constitution further authorizes the Legislature to amend the percentage of gross receipts required to be dedicated to beneficial or charitable purposes by a statute passed by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature. Existing statutory law implements those provisions and requires the Department of Justice to administer and enforce those provisions. This bill would authorize a major league sports raffle at a home game conducted by an eligible organization, as defined, for the purpose of directly supporting specified beneficial or charitable purposes in California, or financially supporting another private, nonprofit, eligible organization, as defined, that performs those purposes if, among other requirements, each ticket sold contains a unique and matching identifier, 50% of the gross receipts generated from the sale of raffle tickets are used to benefit or provide support for beneficial or charitable purposes, as defined, the other 50% is paid to the winner, and the winners of the prizes are determined by a manual draw, as specified. The bill would authorize an electronic device to be used to sell tickets. The bill would prohibit the use of a random number generator for the manual draw or sale of tickets. This bill would define an eligible organization as a private, nonprofit organization established by, or affiliated with, a team from specified sports organizations that has been qualified to conduct business in California for at least one year before conducting a raffle and is exempt from taxation pursuant to specified provisions of federal and California law. The bill would require, if an eligible organization conducts a raffle for purposes of financially supporting another private, nonprofit, eligible organization, the eligible organization conducting the raffle to distribute to the other eligible organization all proceeds not paid out to the winners within 15 days of conducting the raffle. The bill would require an eligible organization to disclose to all ticket purchasers the designated private, nonprofit organization for which the raffle is being conducted. This bill would also prohibit an eligible organization from conducting a raffle, and a manufacturer or distributor of raffle-related products or services from conducting business with an eligible organization for purposes of conducting a raffle pursuant to these provisions, without first having obtained and thereafter maintained a registration from the Department of Justice, as specified. Once registered, the bill would require an eligible organization to file annually thereafter with the department a report that includes specified information for each of the eligible organization's last 3 fiscal years, and would require the department to make those reports available online, as provided. This bill would require the department to adopt, on or before June 1, 2016, regulations to enforce these provisions, would authorize the department to assess annual registration fees, as specified, to be deposited in the General Fund to cover the reasonable costs of establishing and operating this registration system, and would require the department to maintain a database of registrants and conduct specified proceedings in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would repeal its provisions on December 31, 2018.
The Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 authorizes an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action to recover specified civil penalties, that would otherwise be assessed and collected by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, on behalf of the employee and other current or former employees for the violation of certain provisions affecting employees. The act provides the employer with the right to cure certain violations before the employee may bring a civil action, as specified. For other violations, the act requires the employee to follow specified procedures before bringing an action. Existing law requires an employer to provide its employees with specified information regarding their wages, including, among others, the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid and the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer, either semimonthly or at the time of each wage payment and provides that the employer does not have the right to cure a violation of that requirement before an employee may bring a civil action under the act. This bill would provide an employer with the right to cure a violation of the requirement that an employer provide its employees with the inclusive dates of the pay period and the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer before an employee may bring a civil action under the act. The bill would provide that a violation of that requirement shall only be considered cured upon a showing that the employer has provided a fully compliant, itemized wage statement to each aggrieved employee, as specified. The bill would limit the employer's right to cure with respect to alleged violations of these provisions to once in a 12-month period, as specified. The bill would also delete references to obsolete provisions of law. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law regulates pawnbrokers and requires a written contract for every loan by a pawnbroker for which goods are received in pledge as security, as specified, and requires a copy of that contract to be furnished to the borrower. Existing law requires the contract to provide a 4-month loan period. This bill would, instead, specify that the contract be for a minimum of 4 months. (2) Existing law requires a pawnbroker, within one month after the loan period expires, to notify the borrower at his or her last known address of the termination of the loan period, by a means for which verification of mailing or delivery of the notification can be provided by the pawnbroker, and provides for extending the right of redemption for a period of 10 days from the date that notice is mailed. This bill would instead require the pawnbroker to provide that notification to the pledgor at his or her last known mailing or electronic address, by a means for which verification of mailing or, at the sole option of the pledgor, electronic transmission of the notification can be provided by the pawnbroker, as specified. The bill would provide that the electronic notice of the termination of the loan period would be valid only if the pledgor has previously responded to an electronic communication sent by the pawnbroker to the pledgor's last known electronic address and would require the pledgor to affirm the electronic address on file, as prescribed. (3) Existing law permits a pledgor and a pawnbroker to agree to a new loan to become effective at the end of the loan period and requires the new loan to be processed as a new loan subject to loan origination, storage, and other fees as specified. This bill would permit a replacement loan to be issued at the request of the pledgor with consent of the pawnbroker before the expiration of the redemption period, to become effective on the date it is issued, subject to specified requirements, including, but not limited to, that the pledgor pay off all outstanding charges from the prior loan then due before a replacement loan may be issued. The bill would also permit the replacement loan to be issued electronically, provided that the contract and transaction comply with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and meet certain disclosure requirements.
(1) Existing law requires each school district and county superintendent of schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide for each needy pupil one nutritionally adequate, free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district and the county superintendent of schools to make applications for free or reduced-price meals available to pupils at all times during each regular schoolday. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to supervise the implementation of this program and to investigate acts of alleged noncompliance. This bill would authorize the governing boards of school districts and county superintendents of schools to also make applications for free or reduced-price meals electronically available online. The bill would specify requirements that would have to be met by the governing boards of school districts, county offices of education, and school food authorities who choose to provide access to an online application under this bill. The bill would require all applications to include clear instructions for families that are homeless or are migrants. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on local educational agencies, it would constitute 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 these statutory provisions.
This measure would urge the United States Congress to require the United States Postal Service to take all appropriate measures to restore service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012, would urge Congress to place a moratorium on planned shutdowns of mail sorting centers, and would urge Congress to oppose any postal reform legislation that does not continue the mandate for 6-day delivery service or protect door-to-door delivery as it currently exists. The measure would also urge the Secretary of State to publicly oppose changes in the United States Postal Service that negatively impact the rights of California voters who vote by an absentee ballot.
This measure would recognize the month of November 2015 as the Nursing Home Caregiver Professionals and Long Term Care Provider Month.