Sen. Tom Harman

Under existing law, upon timely application, any person who has an interest in the matter in litigation, or in the success of either of the parties, or an interest against both, may intervene in the action or proceeding. An intervention takes place when a 3rd person is permitted to become a party to an action or proceeding between other persons, as specified. This bill would provide that the proponent, as defined, of a state initiative statute or constitutional amendment that has been approved by the voters shall have the right to intervene and participate in any court action challenging the constitutionality of that initiative statute or constitutional amendment.

The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. Existing law authorizes a credit against those taxes in an amount equal to the lesser of 5% of the purchase price of a qualified principal residence, as defined, purchased on and after March 1, 2009, and before March 1, 2010, or $10,000, allocated by the Franchise Tax Board on a first-come-first-served basis. Existing law requires a taxpayer to provide the Franchise Tax Board with a certification from the seller of the qualified principal residence that the residence has never been previously occupied within one week of the sale of the residence and caps the total amount of the credit at $100,000,000. This bill would allow the tax credit for purchases of a qualified principal residence made before the date that is 12 months after the effective date of this bill, subject to specified restrictions. This bill would revise the certification requirements to provide that the taxpayer receive the certification no later than one week after the close of escrow on the qualified principal residence and that the Franchise Tax Board be provided with the certification upon request by the board. This bill would also remove the cap on the total credit amount allowed and the requirement that the tax credits be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing federal law requires the federal government to compensate a state for the costs of incarcerating undocumented criminal illegal aliens, or to take the undocumented criminal alien into federal custody, as specified. This bill would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to annually bill the federal government for the costs of incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens within California's correctional system. The bill would require the Attorney General to utilize all available legal resources to obtain compliance with payment of the written bill if the federal government fails to make payment. This bill would also require the Department of Justice to collect data on the total number of, and percentage of, undocumented alien inmates in all state and local correctional institutions in the state and to publish the data on its Internet Web site. The data would be required to be annually updated and published.

Existing law requires the residence address in a record of the Department of Motor Vehicles to be kept confidential, with specified exceptions. One exception applies to a financial institution that states that it has obtained a written waiver signed by the individual whose address is requested. Another exception applies to an insurance company when the company requests the information for the purpose of obtaining the address of another motorist or vehicle owner involved in an accident with their insured. This bill would require the department to submit a report to the Legislature on January 1, 2011 regarding all requests made to it in the 2010 calendar year pursuant to the above exceptions.

Existing law requires the Department of Finance, in its role of assisting the Governor in preparing the annual state budget, to develop, issue, and implement consistent and adequate guidelines for agencies required to submit budgets. This bill would additionally require the Department of Finance to develop a performance budgeting pilot project under which the budgets of at least 4 departments in specified fiscal years would be analyzed by specified criteria. The bill would require these pilot project budgets to be considered by the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review and the Assembly Committee on Budget. The bill would require the Department of Finance to evaluate this pilot project and report its findings to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee on or before January 1, 2014.

The Gambling Control Act provides for the licensure of certain individuals and establishments involved in various gambling activities, and for the regulation of those activities, by the California Gambling Control Commission. Existing law provides for the enforcement of those activities by the Department of Justice. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to those provisions.

Existing law, the State Bar Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation. (1) Existing law requires the State Bar to comply with specified standards applicable to state agency contracts when awarding a contract for goods, services, or both, for an aggregate amount in excess of $50,000. This bill would require the State Bar to comply with those standards when awarding a contract for information technology goods, services, or both, only when the contract is for an aggregate amount in excess of $100,000. The bill would require the State Bar to report to the judiciary committees of the Legislature by April 1, 2010, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2014, on the impact of this change. The bill would also require the State Bar to have a preference for using in-house employees for information technology projects. (2) Existing law requires the Board of Governors of the State Bar to charge an annual membership fee for active members of up to $315 for the year 2009. Existing law also requires the board to charge an annual membership fee for inactive members of up to $75. Under existing law, these fees are payable on or before the first day of February of each year. This bill would require the board to charge that annual membership fee for active members for 2010. The bill would specify that, for 2010, the annual membership fee for active members and inactive members is payable on or before the first day of March. (3) Existing law provides for the registration and regulation of law corporations, as defined. Existing law requires law corporations to apply to the State Bar for registration and to supply the State Bar with specified information. Existing law also requires law corporations to pay a registration fee and an annual renewal fee and specifies that all fees are paid into the treasury of the State Bar. This bill would require these fees to be used for regulatory and disciplinary purposes. (4) Existing law, the Uniform Partnership Act of 1994, provides for the registration and regulation of limited liability partnerships, including those partnerships providing legal services. The act requires, at the time of registration and at all times these partnerships transact intrastate business, that these partnerships provide specified security for claims arising out of the practice of law. The act also requires a limited liability partnership providing professional services in this state to comply with the administrative registration or filing requirements of that profession's respective regulatory entity. In this regard, the State Bar, pursuant to its Rules of the State Bar, requires those partnerships that provide legal services to register with the State Bar by submitting an initial application and thereafter to renew annually and to include the payment of a fee in each of these instances. This bill would require these fees to be used for regulatory and disciplinary purposes. The bill would also require applicants for registration with the State Bar to file a separate form stating that the limited liability partnership has complied with the security requirements for claims arising out of the practice of law. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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 requires the Department of Fish and Game to operate wildlife management areas on a nonprofit basis for multiple recreational uses. Existing law authorizes the department to issue an annual wildlife area pass or a day use pass that authorizes the bearer to enter and use facilities and programs on designated department-managed lands. Existing law grants authority to the Fish and Game Commission to issue tags 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.

Existing law prohibits a pawnbroker from charging or receiving compensation at a rate exceeding 2.5% per month on that portion of the unpaid principal balance of any loan up to, including, but not in excess of $225. For other loan amounts, existing law prohibits a pawnbroker from charging or receiving compensation at a rate exceeding specified amounts based upon the unpaid principal balance of the loan. A knowing violation of the laws regulating pawnbrokers is a crime. This bill would revise these limits on pawnbroker compensation and would instead prohibit a pawnbroker from charging or receiving compensation at a rate exceeding 2.5% per month on the unpaid principal balance of any loan. Because a knowing violation of this bill's provisions would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The Unruh Civil Rights Act provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever. This bill would provide that any discount or other benefit offered to, or conferred on, a consumer or prospective consumer by a business because the consumer or prospective consumer has suffered the loss or reduction of employment or reduction of wages would not be considered an arbitrary discrimination in violation of that act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.