Sen. Tom Harman

This measure would observe June 20, 2010, as Father's Day and recognize the contribution of fathers. This measure would also urge men to embrace the responsibilities of fathering a child and encourage parents to strengthen their relationship by attending and participating in marriage and relationship education classes. The measure would state the intent of the Legislature to explore ways to increase access to and participation in marriage and relationship education programs.

Existing law establishes various offenses relating to the unauthorized provision of specified items to persons confined in local and state correctional facilities. This bill would provide, subject to exceptions, that a person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to an inmate or ward in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation any cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a subscriber identity module (SIM card) or memory storage device, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000, for each device. The bill would also provide that if a person visiting an inmate or ward in the custody of the department is found to be in possession of a cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a SIM card or memory storage device, when searched or subjected to a metal detector, as specified, that cellular telephone or wireless communication device or component shall be subject to confiscation, but shall be returned on the same day the person visits the inmate or ward, except as provided. The bill would require posted notices regarding those search and confiscation provisions, as specified. By creating a new 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.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development with duties that include overseeing various programs to promote economic and community development throughout the state. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2016, the department to designate, based on specific factors, a Research and Development Tax Credit Area located within an Innovation Hub or a city, as respectively defined. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, by reference to a specified federal statute, allow a credit against taxes imposed by those laws for increasing research activities. The amount of the credit under both laws is equal to 15% of the excess of the qualified research expenses, as defined, for the taxable year over the base amount, as defined, and, in addition, under the Corporation Tax Law, 24% of the basic research payments, as defined. This bill would, under both laws, in lieu of that credit, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2011, and before January 1, 2016, provide to a qualified taxpayer, as defined, a tax credit for research and development, as defined, for expenses equal to 20% of the research and development expenses relating to the development of alternative energy sources and advanced transportation technologies, as those terms are defined, conducted in California in a research and development tax area, as described. The bill would further require the Legislative Analyst's Office to report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the tax credit program established by this act. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law provides that grand theft is committed when domestic fowls, avocados, olives, citrus or deciduous fruits, other fruits, vegetables, nuts, artichokes, or other farm crops are taken of a value exceeding $250. Existing law provides a method for establishing the value of avocados or citrus fruit for purposes of this offense based on wholesale value. This bill would provide that this same method may be used to establish the value of the other products listed above for purposes of determining if a taking is grand theft. This bill would incorporate amendments to Section 487 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 2372, if both this bill and AB 2372 are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, and this bill is enacted after AB 2372.

(1) The California Water District Law provides for the formation and operation of California water districts. That district law authorizes the Irvine Ranch Water District and the Santa Margarita Water District, which are California water districts, to form improvement districts and to issue and sell general obligation bonds and consolidated general obligation bonds for improvement districts of those districts in accordance with specified requirements. This bill would authorize the Irvine Ranch Water District and the Santa Margarita Water District to pledge and apply all or part of the revenues of each district to the payment or security of any or all of the principal, redemption price, and purchase price of general obligation bonds for improvement districts and consolidated general obligation bonds for improvement districts, and the interest thereon, in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would require each district, on or before January 1, 2014, to submit a report to specified persons describing the district's use, if any, of the authority this bill would grant. By imposing duties on these districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations regarding the need for special legislation. (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.

(1) Existing law regulates the administration of trusts by trustees on behalf of beneficiaries. Existing law provides that, if the principal of a trust does not exceed $20,000 in value, the trustee has the power to terminate the trust. This bill would provide, instead, that a trustee has the power to terminate a trust if the principal does not exceed $40,000 in value. (2) Existing law provides that the trustee shall provide the beneficiary, upon reasonable request, information about the assets, liabilities, receipts and disbursements of the trust, acts of the trustee, and the administration of the trust relevant to the beneficiary's interest. Existing law also allows the trust instrument to waive the report, as provided. This bill would instead provide that on reasonable request the trustee shall report to the beneficiary information relating to the administration of the trust, and on request of the beneficiary the trustee shall provide the terms of the trust, unless it is during the period when a revocable trust can be revoked, as provided, or if the beneficiary and the trustee are the same person. This bill would allow a beneficiary or trustee to petition the court to determine the existence of a trust if a trustee has failed to report the requested information within 60 days after written request. This bill would also require a court to compel the trustee to account, regardless of waiver by a beneficiary, upon a showing that it is reasonably likely that a material breach of the trust has occurred and would provide when a waiver is void as against public policy. The bill would permit the court, on its own motion, to set and give notice of an order to show cause why a trustee who is a professional fiduciary, as provided, should not be removed for failing to hold a valid, unexpired, unsuspended license. (3) Existing law requires, when a revocable trust or any portion of a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, as provided, the trustee to provide a copy of the trust to any beneficiary who requests it and to any heir of a deceased settlor who requests it. Existing law also requires a trustee to serve a notification, as provided, to specified persons including each beneficiary of an irrevocable trust, each heir of the deceased settlor, and to the Attorney General if the trust is a charitable trust. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to require the trustee to provide a true and complete copy of the terms of an irrevocable trust, or the irrevocable portion of the trust, to any beneficiary or heir of a deceased settlor who requests it, as provided, including when the power of appointment is effective or lapses upon the death of a settlor, except as provided, to any beneficiary whenever there is a change of trustee of an irrevocable trust, and if the trust is a charitable trust subject to the supervision of the Attorney General, to the Attorney General, as provided. This bill would also specify that the duty to serve the notification by the trustee is the duty of the continuing or successor trustee.

Existing law generally prohibits an instrument from making a donative transfer to the person who drafted or transcribed the instrument and certain other disqualified persons. This provision is subject to specified exceptions, including when the instrument is reviewed by an independent attorney who counsels the client about the nature and consequences of the intended transfer, attempts to determine if the intended consequence is the result of fraud, menace, duress, or undue influence, and signs and delivers to the transferor a certificate of independent review. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to establish an express presumption of fraud or undue influence when a donative instrument makes a gift to the person who drafted or transcribed the instrument, and certain other disqualified persons. The bill would define relevant terms for purposes of these provisions and make other technical and conforming changes.

The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to adopt those regulations that are necessary to carry out the act. The act also requires the commission, after one or more public hearings, to prescribe, by regulation, standards for minimum levels of operating efficiency and prescribe other measures, such as energy and water consumption labeling not preempted by federal labeling law, to promote the use of energy and water efficient appliances that do not result in any added total costs for consumers over the designed life of the appliances concerned. This bill would provide that the television product labeling regulations adopted by the commission would not be effective until July 1, 2011, and would be effective on that date only if a United States Federal Trade Commission labeling rule for those products is not effective on or before July 1, 2011. The bill also would provide that those regulations would remain in effect only until a Federal Trade Commission labeling rule for television products becomes effective.

(1) Existing law imposes licensing and regulatory requirements on vehicle dealers and vehicle salespersons. Existing law requires a dealer's place of business to have posted the license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to the dealer and to each salesperson employed by the dealer. This bill would instead authorize the dealer to post a true and exact copy of the license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to the dealer and to each salesperson employed by the dealer and would make other conforming changes. (2) Existing law requires the applicant of a dealer's or remanufacturer's license, before the license is issued or renewed by the department, to procure and file with the department a bond, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director of the department, if a deposit is given instead of the bond, to order the deposit returned at the expiration of specified dates. This bill would also authorize the director to order the deposit to be returned at the expiration of 5 years from the date the licensee secured and maintained a dealer bond, after posting a deposit, if the director is satisfied that there are no outstanding claims against the deposit. (3) Existing law requires a dealer that obtains a consumer credit score from a consumer credit reporting agency, for use in connection with an application for credit initiated by a consumer for the purchase or lease of a motor vehicle for specified uses, to provide, prior to the sale, certain information in at least 10-point boldface type on a document separate from the sale or lease contract, that includes, among other things, the credit score obtained and used by the dealer and the name of the credit reporting agency providing the credit score to the dealer. This bill would delete these requirements and instead require a dealer to provide a document, in at least 10-point type, that contains certain information pertaining to credit scores, including each credit score obtained and used by the dealer and a statement that a consumer report or credit report is a record of the consumer's credit history and includes information about whether the consumer pays his or her obligations on time and how much the consumer owes to creditors, among other things. The bill would provide that use of a specified model form, that meets federal requirements for form and content, would be deemed to comply with the above requirements. The bill would also provide that it does not limit or restrict any rights or remedies otherwise available under existing law. (4) Existing law authorizes the department to refuse to issue, to suspend, or to revoke a vehicle salesperson's license when it determines, among other things, that the applicant or licensee has acted as a vehicle salesperson or engaged in that activity for, or on behalf of, more than one licensed dealer whose business does not have identical ownership and structure. Existing law provides that the law does not preclude a vehicle salesperson from working at more than one location of one licensed dealer if the business of that dealer has identical ownership and structure. This bill would authorize the department to refuse to issue, to suspend, or to revoke a vehicle salesperson's license when it determines, among other things, that the applicant or licensee has concurrently acted as a vehicle salesperson and engaged in that activity for, or on behalf of, more than one licensed dealer unless all of the licensed dealers, for whom that salesperson works, have common controlling ownership. The bill would also provide that the law does not preclude a vehicle salesperson from working for more than one dealer provided that all of the licensed dealers for whom that salesperson works have common controlling ownership, as defined. (5) Existing law requires the salesperson's license to be displayed continuously during employment and requires that the license be returned to the salesperson once employment is terminated. A violation of these requirements is a crime. This bill would require the dealer to display the license or a true and exact copy of the license continuously at each location where the salesperson is actually engaged in the selling of vehicles. Once the employment is terminated, this bill would require all copies used by the dealer for posting or display to be destroyed by the dealer. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) 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 all money collected under the provisions of the Fish and Game Code, including money received as a result of the sale of licenses issued under the provisions of the code, to be deposited into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, unless otherwise provided. Existing law grants authority to the department to issue tags, stamps, and licenses for the hunting of antelope, elk, upland game birds, deer, wild pigs, bears, and bighorn sheep upon payment of a fee, to be deposited into the fund. This bill would establish the Upland Game Bird Account within the fund to permit separate accountability for the receipt and, subject to appropriation, the prescribed expenditure of revenues from upland game bird validations and stamps. The bill would establish the Big Game Management Account within the fund to permit separate accountability for the receipt and, subject to appropriation, the prescribed expenditure of revenues from antelope, elk, deer, wild pig, bear, and bighorn sheep tags. The bill would exempt projects funded from the accounts from the State Contract Act and from statutory provisions relating to the Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program. The bill would make various conforming changes relating to the establishment of the accounts.