The Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law, until February 20, 2009, authorized a claimant, as defined, to file a claim with the Controller to postpone the payment of ad valorem property taxes, where household income, as defined, did not exceed specified amounts. Existing law authorized the Controller, upon approval of the claim, to either make payment directly to specified entities, or to issue the claimant a certificate of eligibility that constituted a written promise of the state to pay the amount specified on the certificate, as provided. Existing law required these payments to be made out of specified funds appropriated to the Controller, as specified, and also required repaid property tax postponement payments to be transferred, as specified, to the General Fund. Existing law, on and after February 20, 2009, prohibits a person from filing a claim for postponement, and prohibits the Controller from accepting applications for postponement, under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law. This bill would establish the County Deferred Property Tax Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens, authorize a county to elect to participate in the program by adopting a resolution indicating the county's intention to participate in and administer the program, and specify that the requirements of a county or county officials set forth in the bill are conditioned upon the county's passage of the above-described resolution. Under the program, a participating county would be authorized to defer a claimant's property taxes retroactively, for property taxes due on or before February 20, 2010, and prospectively, as specified. This bill would require a claimant, as defined, to use the application form of a county to initiate participation in the program. The bill would authorize the county treasurer or county tax collector to review the claimant's application for program participation, as specified, and, if the claimant is eligible, and if there are sufficient funds within the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, which this bill would require a participating county to establish within its treasury, to (1) defer property taxes on the claimant's residential dwelling for that fiscal year, (2) issue a subvention payment to that county, in an amount equivalent to the amount of the deferred property taxes, from the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, (3) direct the county auditor to apportion that subvention payment in the same manner as if the property taxes had been paid, and (4) provide a letter or other written notice to the claimant, noting the relevant fiscal year of participation, for use as written confirmation of participation. The bill would authorize the county treasurer of a participating county, if he or she makes a specified determination, upon the adoption of a specified resolution by that county's board of supervisors, to deposit specified funds in the county treasury for the purpose of investment of those funds in the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund. This bill would require the amount of property taxes deferred, plus any interest accrued thereon, to be secured by a county property tax lien, as specified. The bill would also require the lien to be evidenced by a notice of lien, and various county officials to process and record the notice of lien, as specified. The bill would require a participating county to charge a claimant a specified adjusted rate of interest on the amount owed for the deferment of property taxes. The bill would require the amount secured by the lien to be increased to reflect the accrual of interest on the property taxes deferred, or decreased by the amount of any payment made to reduce the amount secured by the lien, as specified. The bill would provide procedures for the release of the lien if the obligation is paid in full or otherwise discharged, and would require all amounts owed by a claimant under the program to become due immediately under specified circumstances. This bill would authorize a participating county to charge an application fee to the claimant to offset the actual costs of administering the program, and would require the fee proceeds to be deposited in an account within the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, to be used exclusively for those administrative costs. The bill would require the letter or other written confirmation of participation in the program provided by the county to be considered as evidence of program participation.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law subjects violators of air pollution laws to specified civil and administrative penalties. Existing law imposes various duties on the State Air Resources Board relative to the reduction of air pollution. This bill would require a written communication from the state board alleging that an administrative or civil penalty will be, or could be, imposed either by the state board or another party, including the Attorney General, for a violation of air pollution law, to contain specified information. The bill would require this information and final mutual settlement agreements reached between the state board and a person alleged to have violated air pollution laws to be made available to the public. The bill would require the state board to prepare and submit to the Legislature and the Governor a report summarizing the motor vehicle pollution administrative penalties imposed by the state board for calendar year 2011, and annually thereafter, and would require the state board to publish a penalty policy for motor vehicle pollution laws that is based on specified criteria. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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, until July 1, 2018, would authorize the California State University to establish a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree pilot program at 3 campuses chosen by the Board of Trustees 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 pilot 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 the California State University to enroll and maintain no more than 90 full-time equivalent students in the degree pilot program at all 3 campuses combined. 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, the Legislative Analyst's Office, and the Department of Finance to jointly conduct a statewide evaluation of the degree pilot program and report the results to the Legislature and the Governor on or before January 1, 2017.
Existing law allows a public agency to elect to be subject to the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, which authorizes bidding procedures for public projects, as specified. The act establishes the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission, which is charged with specified duties, including recommending for adoption by the Controller uniform construction cost accounting procedures for implementation by public agencies in the performance of, or in contracting for, construction on public projects. Under the act, each commission member serves without compensation, but is required to be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred, and the commission is authorized to accept grants from federal, state, or local public agencies, or private foundations or individuals, to assist it in carrying out its duties. Existing law requires the commission to review the accounting procedures of any participating public agency upon evidence of an interested party that the work undertaken by the public agency (1) is to be performed by the public agency after rejection of all bids, claiming work can be done less expensively by the public agency; (2) has exceeded the force account limits; or (3) has been improperly classified as maintenance. In any of those circumstances, a request for commission review may be made within 5 business days and the commission is required to commence review immediately and conclude within 30 days from the receipt of the request. This bill would extend the time to 8 business days to request a commission review, to 45 days for a commission review of a public agency project that is to be performed after rejection of all bids, and to 90 days for a commission review of work for which evidence was provided that the work has exceeded the force account limits or has been improperly classified as maintenance.
(1) The Mobilehome Parks Act requires the Department of Housing and Community Development or a city, county, or city and county that assumes responsibility for the enforcement of the act to enter and inspect mobilehome parks with a goal of inspecting at least 5% of the parks each year to ensure enforcement of the act and implementing regulations. Existing law also requires an enforcement agency to issue notice to correct a violation, as specified. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2012. This bill would extend the repeal of these provisions to January 1, 2019. (2) Existing law requires the department to convene a task force of prescribed membership every 6 months to provide input to the department on the conduct and operation of the mobilehome park maintenance inspection program. Existing law also requires the department to submit a report to the task force semiannually that includes specified elements of the inspection program. This bill would require that the department submit the report in writing and that the report include additional elements of information, as prescribed. (3) The Mobilehome Parks Act imposes prescribed fees, including, among others, a fee of $4 per lot to be used exclusively for the inspection of mobilehome parks and mobilehomes to determine compliance with the Mobilehome Parks Act. Existing law repeals the $4 fee per lot on January 1, 2012. This bill would extend the January 1, 2012, repeal date to January 1, 2019, thereby extending the imposition of the $4 fee per lot until that date.
Existing law requires the payment of interest on late payments, or late prepayments, of tax, fee, or surcharge payments at the modified adjusted rate per month under the provisions of the Sales and Use Tax Law, Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, Use Fuel Tax Law, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law, Alcoholic Beverage Tax Law, Energy Resources Surcharge Law, Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act, Hazardous Substances Tax Law, Integrated Waste Management Fee Law, Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Law, Underground Storage Tank Maintenance Fee Law, Fee Collection Procedures Law, Diesel Fuel Tax Law, and the law governing the taxation of insurance companies. Interest is charged on a per-month basis, with one month's interest charged for each month, or fraction of a month, that a payment or prepayment is unpaid. This bill would allow, until January 1, 2016, the members of the State Board of Equalization, meeting as a public body, to find, under specified circumstances, that it is inequitable to compute interest on a monthly basis and to instead compute interest on a daily basis. The bill would also specify that the above provisions shall only apply to electronic payments or prepayments of taxes, fees, and surcharges.
(1) Existing law requires that unless the insurance contract provides otherwise, an insured person is entitled to a return of his or her premium if the policy is canceled, rejected, surrendered, or rescinded, as provided. This bill would require that any insurance policy that includes a provision to refund a premium other than on a pro rata basis, including the assessment of cancellation fees, disclose that fact in writing, including the actual or maximum fees or penalties applied, which would be permitted to be stated in the form of percentages of the premium. The disclosure would be required to be made prior to, or concurrent with, the application and prior to each renewal, as provided. The disclosure would not be required if the policy provision permits, but does not require, the insurer to refund a premium other than on a pro rata basis, and the insurer refunds the premium on a pro rata basis. If an application is made by telephone, the disclosure would be required to be mailed to the applicant or insured within 5 business days. The disclosure requirements would apply prospectively and only to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2012. This bill would not require any additional disclosure of a fee or penalty for early cancellation if that disclosure is required by any other provision of law. (2) Existing law requires the Insurance Commissioner to conduct an examination of the business and affairs of insurers admitted in this state at least once every 5 years. In scheduling and determining the nature, scope, and frequency of the examinations, the commissioner is required to consider the results of financial statement analyses and ratios, changes in management or ownership, actuarial opinions, reports of independent certified public accountants, market analysis results, including consumer complaint analysis, evaluation of ongoing regulatory activities, analysis of data derived from industry surveys or interrogatories, and other criteria as set forth in the Examiner's Handbook or in the Market Regulation Handbook adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners that are in effect at the time of the examination. This bill would authorize the commissioner to postpone a market conduct examination, otherwise required, for up to 3 years if information derived from a market analysis indicates that the prior examination of the insurer resulted in no significant negative findings, the number of consumer complaints received by the insurer is in the lowest quartile of complaints, on a ratio basis, for insurers in that line of business, and the market analysis identifies no other issues of significant concern.
(1) Existing law provides for various programs to encourage the participation of small businesses and disabled veteran business enterprises, as certified by the Department of General Services, in state agency contracts. Existing law revokes, for a specified period, the small business or microbusiness certification of a business that obtained the classification as a small business or microbusiness by reason of having furnished incorrect supporting information or withholding relevant information, and suspends that business from transacting with the state, as specified. Existing law extends the period of revocation and suspension for additional or subsequent violations and requires the business to pay specified costs to the state related to the contract. This bill would increase the period of certification revocation and suspension for these violations, revoke the disabled veteran business enterprise certification of the business if the business has both certifications, revise the types of costs payable to the state, and additionally prohibit a business or person from contracting with the state until the amounts are paid. (2) Existing law also revokes, for a specified period, the small business or microbusiness or disabled veteran business enterprise certification of a person who, among other activities, fraudulently attempts to become certified as a disabled veteran business enterprise or as a small business or microbusiness and imposes civil penalties upon those persons. Existing law additionally suspends, for a specified period, that person from bidding on or participating in any state contract or project. Existing law extends the period of revocation and suspension for additional and subsequent violations, and requires the person to pay specified costs to the state related to the contract. This bill would increase the period of certification revocation and suspension for these violations, and would revoke both certifications for these violations if a business is certified both as a small business or microbusiness enterprise and a disabled veteran business enterprise. This bill would impose civil penalties against any person who knowingly and fraudulently represents that a commercially useful function is being performed by a disabled veteran business enterprise in order to obtain or retain a bid preference or a state contract, and would subject that person to revocation of the disabled veteran business enterprise certification and suspension from bidding on or participating in any state contract or project for a specified period. This bill would additionally authorize an awarding department and contractor to terminate a contract if the contractor knowingly and fraudulently represents that a commercially useful function is being performed by a disabled veteran business enterprise or by a small business or microbusiness, and require the awarding department and the Controller to set off penalties and costs awarded to the state against payments due to the contractor, as specified. This bill would require persons or businesses found to have obtained small business or disabled veteran business enterprise certification by fraudulent or improper means to pay costs incurred by the awarding department or the Department of General Services, as specified.
Existing law provides that any person who, orally, in writing, or by wearing any military decoration, falsely represents himself or herself to have been awarded any military decoration, as specified, with the intent to defraud, is guilty of an infraction. This bill would instead provide that the offense is a misdemeanor, or in the case where the person committing the offense is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States, an infraction or a misdemeanor, as specified, and would exempt face-to-face solicitations involving less than $10. The bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 19.8 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 451 and AB 1675, to be operative only if this bill and one or both of the other bills are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, and this bill is chaptered last. By increasing the penalty for an existing offense, 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, the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related purposes, including $950 million to be allocated by the California Transportation Commission to eligible recipients for capital improvements to intercity and commuter rail lines and urban rail transit systems in connection with or otherwise related to the high-speed train system. Existing law, with respect to the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, a $19.925 billion general obligation bond act for transportation and related purposes, authorizes a regional or local agency to apply for a letter of no prejudice that makes that agency eligible to expend funds under its control for a project or project component that has been designated to receive bond funding and to be subsequently reimbursed from bond funds for that expenditure when bond funds become available. This bill would allow an eligible recipient for funding for capital improvements to intercity and commuter rail lines and urban rail transit systems in connection with or otherwise related to the high-speed train system under the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century to apply to the California Transportation Commission for a letter of no prejudice relating to those projects. The bill would authorize the commission to develop guidelines to implement these provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.