Sen. Tony Mendoza

This measure would encourage public education institutions to designate each campus as a "Discrimination-Free Zone" to provide a safe haven from intolerance or discrimination, to enact appropriate procedures that meaningfully address acts of discrimination that occur on campus, to notify parents and the campus community of existing policies and procedures that encourage tolerance of others, and to use existing resources to identify themselves as "Discrimination-Free Zones" to create a campus climate that welcomes diversity and supports the tolerance of others.

This measure would endorse efforts to raise awareness of global climate change and energy efficiency and would declare the hour of 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of March to be "Earth Hour" throughout the state. The measure would encourage city, county, and state employees, and businesses to turn off nonessential lights in government buildings, public schools, public landmarks, and other buildings for that hour on March 27, 2010.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in modified conformity to federal income tax laws, allow a charitable contribution deduction in computing tax liability. This bill would, for a cash contribution made after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, for the relief of victims in areas affected by the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, authorize taxpayers to treat that contribution as if it were made on December 31, 2009, and not in 2010. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This measure would proclaim January 13, 2010, as Korean-American Day.

(1) Existing law requires vehicles to be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Existing law imposes a vehicle registration fee to be paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. This bill would require that an additional registration fee, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, be collected for race or show vehicles, as defined, and that those vehicles be designated as race vehicles on the certificate of registration. An owner or operator of a race vehicle who fails to pay this additional registration fee is subject to a fine of $1,000. Because a violation of this provision is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require that the additional registration fees collected be deposited into the Street Racing Abatement Account within the General Fund, which would be created by the bill, and the fine collected be deposited into the Penalty Subaccount within the account, which would be created by the bill. The bill would require that moneys in the account and the subaccount, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated to the Office of Traffic Safety within the Department of the California Highway Patrol to fund the development and implementation of street racing abatement programs by state or local law enforcement agencies. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt procedures for determining the compliance of any system designed for the control of gasoline vapor emissions during gasoline marketing operations, including storage and transfer operations, and additional performance standards to ensure that systems for the control of gasoline vapors from motor vehicle fueling operations do not cause excessive spillage and emissions. Existing law prohibits the state board from requiring a gasoline dispensing facility that meets certain requirements from undergoing an Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II upgrade until April 1, 2011. This bill, except as specified, would limit the fines imposed on a gasoline dispensing facility that fails to meet an April 1, 2009, compliance deadline to a total of no more than $1,000 for all violations that occur between April 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009, if the gasoline dispensing facility meets specified requirements. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law establishes the California Housing Finance Agency for the primary purpose of meeting the housing needs of persons and families of low or moderate income. Existing law authorizes the agency to make loans to qualified mortgage lenders under terms and conditions requiring the proceeds to be used for making construction loans and mortgage loans for the purpose of financing housing developments and residential structures. This bill would provide that if the agency receives funds from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program established pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the agency would be limited to using the funds to make or refinance acquisition, construction, or development loans for housing developments or residential structures for persons meeting an income test.

Existing law provides for the licensure of child day care centers, including centers that provide preschool services. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that all families have access to child care and development services, through resource and referral services, where appropriate, regardless of ethnic status, cultural background, or special needs. This bill would require the State Department of Education to post, by January 1, 2011, specified data relating to early childhood education on its DataQuest Internet Web site, and any successor system. This data would be required to be updated at least every 2 years.

Existing law establishes the California State University and its various campuses under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University. Existing law requires the California State University to offer undergraduate and graduate instruction through the master's degree in the liberal arts and sciences and professional education, including teacher education. This bill would authorize the California State University to award the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. The bill would distinguish the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the doctor of philosophy degree offered at the University of California. The bill would require the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program to be designed to enable professionals to earn the degree while working full time, train nurses for advanced practice, and prepare clinical faculty to teach in postsecondary nursing programs. The bill would require initial funding to come from existing budgets, without diminishing the quality of undergraduate programs or reducing enrollment therein. The bill would require the California State University to annually report on the status of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program, as specified.

(1) Existing law establishes the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program, a part of the Public Schools Performance Accountability Program, for schools that have not met adequate yearly progress and Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets, as established by the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to take certain actions when a school does not meet those targets, and also authorizes the Superintendent to require a school district to enter into a contract with a school assistance and intervention team. This bill would require that the members of a school assistance and intervention team, that contracts with a school district in which one or more numerically significant pupil subgroups, as defined, did not meet those targets, possess specified certification and experience in meeting the needs of those pupil subgroups, and to use procedures and tools developed specifically for those pupil subgroups. (2) Existing law requires the school assistance and intervention team to complete a report that includes recommendations for corrective actions, as specified. This bill would require the school assistance and intervention team, in developing recommendations for corrective actions, to ensure that pupils have access to all core subjects, to ensure parental involvement and community involvement, and to include additional recommendations if alternative programs are the reason for program improvement status. (3) Existing law requires a local educational agency identified as a program improvement local educational agency under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to take a self-assessment provided by the department. This bill would require, if a local educational agency is identified as a program improvement local educational agency because of the failure of one or more pupil subgroups to meet adequate yearly progress and API growth targets, that the State Department of Education provide self-assessment materials and criteria specifically for language and content instruction. This bill would require the district assistance and intervention team, in developing recommendations for corrective actions, to ensure that pupils have access to all core subjects, to ensure parental involvement and community involvement, and to include additional recommendations if alternative programs are the reason for program improvement status. The bill would require that the members of a district assistance and intervention team, contracting with a local educational agency identified as a program improvement local educational agency in which one or more pupil subgroups did not meet adequate yearly progress and API growth targets, possess specified certification and experience in meeting the curriculum and instructional needs of the pupil subgroups, as specified. This bill would provide that the additional requirements imposed by its provisions would only apply to school assistance and intervention teams, as specified, that were established on or after January 1, 2010.