Sen. Isadore Hall

This measure would declare February 6, 2013, as Ronald Reagan Day.

This measure would designate that January 21, 2013, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America. This measure would also recognize the anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington in connection with the advancement of civil rights.

(1) Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses to applicants who meet specified criteria and provide the department with the required information. Existing law requires the department to establish that the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law. Under existing federal law, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has issued a directive allowing certain undocumented individuals who meet several key criteria for relief from removal from the United States or from entering into removal proceedings to be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of 2 years, subject to renewal, and who will be eligible to apply for work authorization. This bill would allow persons who provide satisfactory proof, as described, that their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law, but who are not eligible for a social security account number, to receive an original driver's license from the Department of Motor Vehicles if they meet all other qualifications for licensure. (2) Existing law prohibits a person from renting a motor vehicle to another unless the person to whom the vehicle is rented is a validly licensed driver, as specified, and the person renting to that driver has inspected the person's driver's license and compared the signature on the license with the signature of the driver written in his or her presence. This bill would delete the requirement that the signature of the driver be written in his or her presence and would allow the person renting the vehicle to instead compare the photograph on the driver's license of the person with the person to whom the vehicle is to be rented. The bill would also exempt, a "rental company," as defined, from these requirements if the rental is subject to the terms of a membership agreement that allows the renter to gain physical access to a car without a key through use of a code, key card, or by other means that allow the car to be accessed at a remote location or at a business location of the rental company outside of that location's regular hours of operation.

Existing law contains provisions that define unlawful discrimination and employment practices by employers and employment agencies. This bill would make it unlawful, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification or any other provision of law, for an employer, an employment agency, or a person who operates an Internet Web site for posting jobs in this state to publish an advertisement or announcement for any job that includes provisions pertaining to an individual's current employment or employment status, as specified. This bill would subject an employer, an employment agency, or a person who operates an Internet Web site for posting jobs in this state who violates the above provisions to civil penalties that increase as the number of violations increase. The State Contract Act governs contracting between state agencies and private contractors, and sets forth requirements for the procurement of materials, supplies, equipment, and services by state agencies. This bill would provide that failure to comply with the requirements of the bill would constitute a breach of a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2013, and may be grounds for canceling, terminating, or suspending the contract, as specified, and debarring the contractor from eligibility for an award of future state agency contracts for a period not to exceed 3 years, as specified.

Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Under existing law, for a family that does not include a needy child qualified for CalWORKs benefits, a pregnant mother is eligible for aid for the month in which the birth is anticipated, and the 3 months immediately prior to that month. However, CalWORKs aid is required to be paid to a pregnant woman who is also eligible for the Cal-Learn Program, as specified, at any time after verification of pregnancy. This bill would require CalWORKs aid to be paid to a pregnant mother who is 18 years of age or younger at any time after verification of pregnancy, when the Cal-Learn Program is operative, regardless of whether she is eligible for the Cal-Learn Program. The bill would provide that CalWORKs aid would otherwise be paid to a pregnant mother in the month in which the birth is anticipated, and the 3 months immediately prior to that month. Because the bill would expand eligibility for CalWORKs aid under some circumstances, the bill would increase the duties of counties in administering the program, thus imposing a state-mandated local program. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would, instead, provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. 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.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations, as defined. This bill would, until January 1, 2020, prohibit the commission from regulating Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Internet Protocol enabled service (IP enabled service) , as defined, except as required or delegated by federal law or expressly provided otherwise in statute. The bill would prohibit any department, agency, commission, or political subdivision of the state from enacting, adopting, or enforcing any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, standard, order, or other provision having the force or effect of law, that regulates VoIP or other IP enabled service, unless required or delegated by federal law or expressly authorized by statute. The bill would specify certain areas of law that are expressly applicable to VoIP and IP enabled service providers. The bill would provide that its limitations upon the commission's regulation of VoIP and IP enabled services do not affect the commission's existing authority over non-VoIP and other non-IP enabled wireline or wireless service and do not affect the enforcement of any state or federal criminal law or local ordinances of general applicability that apply to the conduct of business, the California Environmental Quality Act, or a local utility user tax, among other things.

Existing law creates in the State Treasury the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund for the receipt and deposit of moneys received by the state from certain Indian tribes pursuant to the terms of gaming compacts entered into with the state. Existing law authorizes moneys in that fund to be used for specified purposes, including for grants for the support of state and local government agencies impacted by tribal government gaming. Existing law, until January 1, 2021, creates a County Tribal Casino Account in the treasury of each county that contains a tribal casino, which is funded according to specified formulas. Existing law requires the Controller to divide the County Tribal Casino Account for each county that has gaming devices that are subject to an obligation to make contributions to the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund into a separate account, known as an Individual Tribal Casino Account, for each tribe that operates a casino within the county. Each Individual Tribal Casino Account is required to be funded in proportion to the amount that each individual tribe paid in the prior fiscal year to the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund, and used for grants to local agencies impacted by tribal casinos, as specified. Existing law establishes an Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee in each county in which gaming is conducted, specifies the composition and responsibilities of that committee, and requires that committee to make the selection of grants from the casino accounts. Among other things, the committee is responsible for establishing all application policies and procedures for grants from the casino accounts. This bill would require each grant application to clearly show how the grant will mitigate the impact of the casino on the grant applicant. By increasing the duties of local government entities, 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, 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 bill would appropriate $9,100,000 from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to the California Gambling Control Commission to provide grants to local agencies for the 2012–13 fiscal year.

(1) Existing law prohibits a person from displaying upon a vehicle a license plate altered from its original markings. Existing law also prohibits a person from selling a product or device that obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a license plate, as specified. A violation of these provisions is an infraction and the penalty for the first conviction of an infraction under the Vehicle Code is a fine not exceeding $100. This bill would additionally prohibit a person from selling a product or device that obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a license plate by visual means. The bill would also prohibit a person from operating a vehicle with such a product or device and would make it a crime for a person to erase the reflective coating of, paint over the reflective coating of, or alter a license plate to avoid visual or electronic capture of the license plate or its characters by state or local law enforcement. By creating new crimes and expanding the definition of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that a violation of these prohibitions is punishable by a fine of not more than $250 per item sold or per violation and would provide that these offenses are subject to specified procedures with regard to a defendant electing to have the case proceed as a misdemeanor. (2) Existing law authorizes a prosecutor to file specified misdemeanors as infractions unless the defendant elects to have the case proceed as a misdemeanor, and authorizes the court, with the consent of the defendant, to determine that the offense is an infraction. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions by updating cross-references and deleting obsolete provisions. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5201 of the Vehicle Code proposed by AB 2679, to become operative if both AB 2679 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2013, and this bill is chaptered last. (4) 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 prohibits a person, firm, or subsidiary thereof, which has been awarded a consulting services contract, from submitting a bid for, or being awarded a contract for, the provision of services, procurement of goods or supplies, or any other related action which is required, suggested, or otherwise deemed appropriate in the end product of the consulting services contract, except as specified. The Public Utilities Act provides that customers of an electrical corporation are entitled to aggregate their electric loads as members of their local community with community choice aggregators. It authorizes public entities to serve as a community choice aggregator under specified conditions. This bill would prohibit a person, firm, or subsidiary thereof, which has been awarded a consulting services contract for advising a public entity on the feasibility of creating a community choice aggregator, as defined, from submitting a bid for, or being awarded a contract for, any work, including the procurement of electric supply and renewable energy credits, or any other related action that is required, suggested, or otherwise deemed appropriate in the end product of the consulting services contract. By imposing new restrictions on local government entities with respect to their contract procedures, the 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, 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.