Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, measured by sales price. Those laws partially exempt from those taxes, for a specified period, the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, specified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person, as defined, to be used primarily in manufacturing or other processes, and in research and development. On and after July 1, 2014, tangible personal property with a useful life of one or more years, as defined by reference to state income or franchise taxes, is deemed to have a useful life of one or more years for purposes of the exemption. This bill would define "useful life" for periods on and after July 1, 2014, to also include tangible personal property that is expensed for state income or franchise tax purposes and that has a physical useful life of one or more years. The bill, with respect to property with a useful life of one or more years as redefined by this bill, would require the State Board of Equalization to cancel any notice of determination and any related penalties and interest and would prohibit the board from issuing any notice of determination with respect to the purchase or sale of that property. The bill would authorize a qualified person to offset the amount of sales tax reimbursement or use tax paid against any sales and use tax imposed on the qualified person when a qualified person has paid sales tax reimbursement or use tax on purchases of qualified tangible personal property that has a useful life of one or more years, as redefined by the bill, as provided. The bill, beginning on and after January 1, 2018, and before July 1, 2026, would additionally exempt from those taxes special purpose buildings and foundations used for the generation or production or storage and distribution, as defined, of electric power and qualified tangible personal property purchased for used by a qualified person to be used primarily in the generation or production or storage and distribution of electric power or purchased for use by a contractor for the qualified person, as specified. The bill, on and after January 1, 2018, would expand the definition of qualified person to include, among others, a person primarily engaged in the business of electric power generation. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would improve the state's sales and use tax incentives to promote a stronger California economy by securing a greater share of the high-paying, high-skilled jobs in manufacturing and research and development.
Sponsored bills
Existing law classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. The drug fentanyl, an opiate, is classified in Schedule II. Existing law prohibits a person from possessing for sale or purchasing for purposes of sale specified controlled substances, including fentanyl, and provides for imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years for a violation of this provision. Existing law also imposes an additional term and a specified fine upon a person who is convicted of a violation of, or of a conspiracy to violate, specified provisions of law with respect to a substance containing heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine, depending on the weight of the substance. This bill would classify carfentanil, an opiate, in Schedule II. The bill would also make the provisions imposing an additional term and fine, as described above, applicable with respect to a substance containing carfentanil or fentanyl. By imposing additional incarceration costs on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also make conforming changes. 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 the Instructional Quality Commission to recommend to the State Board of Education a curriculum framework in history-social science, and defines "curriculum framework" as an outline of the components of a given course of study designed to provide state direction to school districts in the provision of instructional programs. Existing law authorizes the state board to consider the adoption of a revised curriculum framework and evaluation criteria for instructional materials in history-social science. This bill would require the commission and the state board, when the history-social science curriculum framework is next revised after January 1, 2018, to ensure that the history-social science curriculum framework includes instruction related to the Vietnamese-American refugee experience that began with the Fall of Saigon in 1975, as provided. The bill would specify that the Legislature encourages the incorporation of oral testimony by survivors, rescuers, liberators, and Vietnamese refugees and their experiences in that instruction.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law provides for a schedule of benefits provided under the Medi-Cal program, which includes certain dental services that are referred to as Denti-Cal. Existing law, the California Healthcare, Research, and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016, or Proposition 56, which was approved by voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, increases taxes imposed on distributors of cigarettes and tobacco products and allocates a specified percentage of those revenues to the department to increase funding for existing health care programs under the Medi-Cal program. Existing law establishes the Healthcare Treatment Fund for this purpose. This bill would require the department, for the 2017–18 fiscal year, to double Denti-Cal provider reimbursement rates for the 15 most common prevention, treatment, and oral evaluation services based on the average rates per service established in the 2015–16 fiscal year. The bill would appropriate for the 2017–18 fiscal year such an amount as may be necessary to double the reimbursement rates from the Healthcare Treatment Fund to the department, as specified.
Existing law requires a pupil's vision to be appraised by a school nurse or other authorized person in the pupil's kindergarten year or upon first enrollment in elementary school, and in grades 2, 5, and 8, unless the appraisal is waived by the pupil's parents upon presentation of a certificate from a physician and surgeon, a physician assistant, or an optometrist. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to adopt guidelines to implement those provisions. This bill would require, during the kindergarten year or upon first enrollment or entry at an elementary school, including a charter school, a pupil's eyes and vision to be examined by a physician, optometrist, or ophthalmologist in accordance with specified provisions, unless the pupil's parent or guardian submits a written waiver to the school or charter school. The bill would require, in a pupil's kindergarten year or upon first enrollment or entry at an elementary school that is not a charter school, the pupil's vision to be appraised in accordance with the above-specified provisions only if the pupil's parent or guardian fails to provide the results of the eye and vision examination. The bill would require a school or charter school to notify parents and guardians of the examination requirement and waiver option, as specified. By imposing additional duties on schools and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would prohibit a school or charter school from denying admission to, or taking adverse action against, a pupil if his or her parent or guardian fails to provide the results of the eye and vision examination. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations, rather than guidelines, to implement these provisions. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, whenever the department finds that a class of food distributed in the state may, by reason of contamination with micro-organisms during manufacture, packing, or storage, be injurious to the health of a man or other animal that consumes it, and that the injurious nature cannot be adequately determined after the food has entered commerce, to adopt regulations providing for the issuance of permits to manufacturers, processors, or packers of the class of food. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, measured by sales price. Those laws partially exempt from those taxes, until July 1, 2018, the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, specified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person, as defined, to be used primarily in manufacturing or other processes, and in research and development. Consumables with a useful life of less than one year do not qualify for exemption, and useful life is defined by reference to state income or franchise taxes. This bill, on and after January 1, 2018, and before July 1, 2028, would additionally define useful life by reference to manufacturer or other warranties, maintenance contracts, and normal replacement as established by industry or business practices, would additionally exempt from those taxes special purpose buildings and foundations used for the generation, production, storage, or distribution, as defined, of electric power, and would expand the definition of qualified person to include, among others, a person primarily engaged in the business of electric power generation. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would improve the state's sales and use tax incentives to promote a stronger California economy by securing a greater share of the high-paying, high-skilled jobs in manufacturing and research and development. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of the state highway system. Existing law authorizes a regional transportation agency or the department to apply to the California Transportation Commission to develop and operate high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or other toll facilities. Existing law requires certain excess revenue generated by the toll facility to be used in the corridor from which the revenue was generated pursuant to an expenditure plan developed by the sponsoring agency, as provided. This bill would instead require net excess toll revenues, as defined, received from high-occupancy toll lanes on a specified portion of an approximately 16-mile-long project corridor in the County of Orange on Interstate 405 and that traverses the Cities of Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Westminster, and Seal Beach to be allocated to the Orange County Transportation Authority and certain project corridor jurisdictions according to a specified schedule. The bill would require these moneys to be spent on specified transportation improvement projects.
Existing law requires the Director of Health Care Services to, among other things, maintain or enter into contracts directly with nonprofit caregiver resource centers (CRCs) to provide direct services to caregivers of cognitively impaired adults, as defined, throughout the state. These services include, but are not limited to, specialized information, family consultation, respite care, short-term counseling, and support groups. This bill would, each fiscal year, commencing with the 2017–18 fiscal year, appropriate $3,300,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Health Care Services for allocation to CRCs for the purpose of providing those respite care services, and would require this funding to be used by the department to supplement, and not supplant, the level of funding that was allocated in the 2016–17 fiscal year for CRCs. The bill would also authorize those services to be provided in person and, except for respite care services, through the use of remote technologies.