(1) Existing law prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle with an object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows, or upon the vehicle that obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the windshield or side windows. Existing law provides that the above prohibition does not apply to, among other things, a video event recorder with the capability of monitoring driver performance to improve driver safety. Existing law requires a city or county to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by adopting an ordinance or resolution with regard to taxicab transportation service rendered in vehicles that are operated within the jurisdiction of the city or county. This bill would additionally exempt from that prohibition a video recorder that is installed, as specified, in a licenced taxicab pursuant to a city or county ordinance or resolution if certain requirements are met. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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This measure would designate Monday, May 7, 2012, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day, urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers, and recognize specified California peace officers who were killed in defense of their communities.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various healing arts practitioners. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. This bill would state various findings with respect to the use of retainer practices in which a patient enters into a direct relationship with a physician and pays the physician a fixed amount for primary care services. The bill would define a retainer practice and specify that such a practice is not subject to regulation as a health care service plan or a health insurer.
Existing law prescribes the duties of the Controller, including auditing all claims against the state and the disbursement of state money, for correctness, legality, and for sufficient provisions of law for payment. This bill would authorize the Controller to contract with consultants to provide semiannual recovery audits of state agencies with expenditures exceeding $50,000,000 in a fiscal year, unless excepted by regulation. The bill would authorize reasonable payment to the consultants, as specified. The bill would require contracts made under its provisions to apply the same confidentiality provisions to consultants as are applicable to the Controller, the state agency that is subject to the audit, or employees of the Controller or the state agency. The bill would further require the Controller to provide copies of the consultants' audit reports to the Department of Finance and the State Auditor, and would, until January 1, 2017, require annual reports by the Controller to the Legislature summarizing these audits.
Under existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, the State Department of Developmental Services is authorized to contract with regional centers to provide support and services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Existing law requires a regional center to include specified information on its Internet Web site for the purpose of promoting transparency and access to public information that includes specified information. This bill would add prescribed information to this requirement.
Existing law imposes various taxes that are administered by the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization, and the Employment Development Department. This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization, and the Employment Development Department to collaborate and focus the agencies' current and future information technology efforts on developing a single Internet Web site portal that virtually consolidates the agencies to enable online, self-service access to the agencies, as provided. This bill would also require, upon a joint determination by the agencies and appropriation by the Legislature, these agencies to consolidate forms, applications, and other documents to reduce or eliminate the number of multiple submissions of the same information by taxpayers.
Existing law requires every schoolbus, while being used for the transportation of school pupils at or below the 12th grade level, to bear upon the front and rear of the bus a plainly visible sign containing the word "schoolbus" in letters not less than 8 inches in height. Existing law requires that the letters on schoolbus signs be of proportionate width. This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, authorize a local school district to approve the placement of commercial advertisements on the exterior of a schoolbus, subject to specified restrictions, that require, among other things, that the district adopt policies and guidelines in connection with the content of the advertising. The bill would require the Department of the California Highway Patrol to adopt and enforce rules and regulations relating to the design, placement, and size of the signage on the exterior of the schoolbus. The bill would prohibit a schoolbus from having more than 2 advertisements at a time and would prohibit each advertisement from covering more than 35% of the space available.
The State Government Strategic Planning and Performance and Review Act requires each state agency, department, office, and commission for which strategic planning efforts are recommended to develop a strategic plan, as specified, that identifies, among other things, the steps being taken to develop performance measures to implement a performance budgeting system or a performance review. The act also requires that these entities report to the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee by April 1 of each year on the steps being taken to develop and adopt a strategic plan. Existing law sets forth specified procedures for the preparation, submission, and implementation of the Governor's reorganization plans. This bill would enact the Bureaucracy Realignment and Closure Act of 2013. It would establish the Bureaucracy Realignment and Closure Commission in state government with a specified membership. Beginning on January 1, 2013, the Controller, the Director of Finance, the Legislative Analyst, the Legislative Counsel, and the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy would be required to develop recommendations for the closure or realignment of state bureaucracies for consideration by the commission. It would require the commission to independently evaluate the recommendations, conduct 3 public hearings, and, by January 1, 2014, have at least one member of the commission visit each state bureaucracy considered for realignment or closure. This bill would require the commission, before July 16, 2014, to submit a report of its final recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature that establishes a list of state bureaucracies that are proposed to be realigned or abolished. It would require the Governor, upon approval of the list of recommendations, to prepare the list as a reorganization plan and to submit the plan to the Legislature under the provisions relating to the Governor's reorganization plans. This bill would repeal the act on June 30, 2015.
This measure would proclaim the week of April 23 to April 30, 2012, inclusive, as Black April Memorial Week, a special time for Californians to remember the countless lives lost during the Vietnam War era, and to hope for a more humane and just life for the people of Vietnam.
Existing law generally imposes an annual minimum franchise tax of $800, except as provided, on every corporation incorporated in this state, qualified to transact intrastate business in this state, or doing business in this state, and on every limited partnership, limited liability partnership, and limited liability company registered, qualified to transact business, or doing business in this state, as specified. This bill would reduce that minimum tax, as provided, for a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, and limited liability company that is a small business, as defined, that first commences business operations on or after January 1, 2013. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.