Existing law generally provides for the administration of public health. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to license and regulate alcoholism and drug abuse recovery and treatment facilities for adults. Existing law prohibits specified persons, programs, or entities from giving or receiving remuneration or anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment services. Existing law authorizes the department to investigate and impose specified sanctions for violations of that prohibition, including assessing a penalty or revoking a license. This bill would prohibit a commercially operated recovery residence from giving or receiving remuneration or anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment services, and would require the department to impose a fine of $50,000 for each violation.
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Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities, as defined, by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law authorizes those facilities to provide incidental medical services to a resident of the facility if those medical services are provided by, or under supervision of, a licensed physician and surgeon who is knowledgeable about addiction medicine. This bill would require a person hired by an alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility who has frequent contact with clients of an alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility to be subject to a criminal record review, as specified, and would exempt clients from this requirement. The bill would require the department to conduct this review, and allow the department to approve or deny a person's involvement in the provision of services based on the results of that review. The bill would prohibit the department from automatically denying that involvement due to a drug-related conviction, except in extraordinary circumstances.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2024, in an amount equal to 25% of the amount paid or incurred during the taxable year, not compensated for by insurance or otherwise, by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, for home care services, not to exceed $5,000. The bill would define "home care services" to mean specified nonmedical services and assistance provided by a registered home care aide, as defined, a licensed home health agency, or a licensed hospice to a qualified taxpayer who, because of advanced age or physical or mental disability, cannot perform these services that enable the qualified taxpayer to remain in the qualified taxpayer's residence. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to design, develop, and construct state-owned and state-operated veterans cemeteries, as specified, in northern, southern, and central California. Existing law makes honorably discharged veterans, their spouses, and dependent children eligible for internment in those cemeteries, as specified. This bill would additionally authorize the remains of a person to be buried in those cemeteries if the person was naturalized pursuant to the federal Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000, as specified, and resided in the State of California at the time of the person's death.
Under existing law, when a vacancy occurs in the office of Representative to Congress, or in either house of the Legislature, the Governor is required, within 14 calendar days after the occurrence of the vacancy, to call an election to fill the vacancy, as specified. With regard to a vacancy in the office of the United States Senate, however, existing law authorizes the Governor to appoint a person to fill the vacancy, as specified. This bill would instead require that a vacancy in the United States Senate be filled in the same manner as a vacancy in a congressional representative or state legislative office. The bill would make conforming and technical changes.
(1) Existing law, as amended by the DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocence Protection Act, Proposition 69, approved by the voters at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election (the DNA act) , requires a person who has been convicted of a felony offense to provide buccal swab samples, right thumbprints, and a full palm print impression of each hand, and any blood specimens or other biological samples required for law enforcement identification analysis. Existing law makes this requirement retroactive, regardless of when the crime charged or committed became a qualifying offense. Existing law authorizes amendments to the DNA act that are consistent with its purposes. This bill would also require persons convicted of specified misdemeanors to provide buccal swab samples, right thumbprints, and a full palm print impression of each hand, and any blood specimens or other biological samples required for law enforcement identification analysis. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement agencies to collect and forward these samples, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes the theft of money, labor, or property petty theft, punishable as a misdemeanor, whenever the value of the property taken does not exceed $950. Proposition 47 requires shoplifting, defined as entering a commercial establishment with the intent to commit larceny if the value of the property taken does not exceed $950, to be punished as a misdemeanor. Proposition 47 requires the crime of shoplifting to be charged as shoplifting and prohibits a person who is charged with shoplifting from being charged with burglary or theft of the same property. Existing law authorizes the Legislature to amend the provisions of the act by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature if it is consistent with, and furthers the purpose of, the act. This bill would recast the shoplifting provisions as entering a commercial establishment with the intent to steal retail property or merchandise, as defined. By amending the definition of shoplifting enacted by Proposition 47, this bill would require a23 vote. Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, makes a registered sex offender or a person with a prior conviction for certain serious or violent felonies, such as a sexually violent offense, who commits petty theft, subject to imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year or in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. This bill would apply that penalty to a person who has 2 prior convictions for specified offenses, including certain felonies, and including petty theft and shoplifting, who is subsequently convicted of petty theft or shoplifting if the value of the money, labor, or real or personal property taken exceeds $250. (3) Existing provisions of the California Constitution make a person who was convicted of a nonviolent offense and sentenced to state prison eligible for parole consideration after completing the full term of the person's primary offense. Existing law enumerates various felonies as violent. This bill would classify other existing felonies as "violent felonies" for those purposes, and would apply that definition to persons currently incarcerated in state prison, regardless of the date on which their sentence was imposed. Existing law provides for postrelease community supervision of felons, as provided, including the imposition of intermediate sanctions for noncompliant offender activity, including, among other things, incarceration in jail not exceeding 10 days, mandatory community service, and the revocation of postrelease community supervision by a court or a revocation hearing officer. Existing law requires the supervising county agency who has determined, following application of its assessment processes, that intermediate sanctions are not appropriate, to petition the court to revoke, modify, or terminate postrelease community supervision. This bill would apply that requirement to the circumstance of a supervised offender who has violated the offender's conditions of release 3 times. The bill would also require a county probation department, upon a decision to impose a period of flash incarceration, to notify the court, public defender, district attorney, and sheriff of each imposition of flash incarceration. By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes a specialized license plate program under which the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issues specialized license plates on behalf of a sponsoring state agency that meets certain requirements. Existing law authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to sponsor a Gold Star Family specialized license plate program, which allows specified persons to apply for Gold Star Family license plates. Existing law requires that Gold Star Family license plates be issued in a sequential series. Existing law imposes additional fees for the issuance and renewal of specialized license plates, but exempts Gold Star Family license plates from those fees. Existing law also requires an applicant to pay specified environmental fees when applying for a specialized environmental license plate, and directs the DMV to deposit this revenue in the California Environmental License Plate Fund. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2021, require the DMV to issue Gold Star Family license plates as environmental license plates if the requester pays the above-described environmental license plate fees and specialized license plate fees. The bill would direct the revenue generated from the environmental license plate fees to be deposited into the Motor Vehicle Account within the State Transportation Fund until the DMV's upfront cost of implementing this program is covered. The bill would then direct this revenue to be deposited into the Veterans Service Office Fund.
Existing law requires the Director of Health Care Services to, among other things, maintain or enter into contracts directly with nonprofit caregiver resource centers to provide direct services to caregivers of cognitively impaired adults, as defined, throughout the state. Under existing law, by executive order, CaliforniaVolunteers is established in the office of the Governor and is charged with overseeing programs and initiatives for community service and volunteerism. This bill would establish, until July, 1, 2026, a pilot program, administered by the Chief Service Officer of CaliforniaVolunteers, under which nonprofit entities known as Care Corps Grantees that would contract with the officer would select, train, and place volunteers to provide care to persons who are at least 65 years of age, who have Alzheimer's disease or related dementia, and who have difficulty with self-care or living independently. The bill would establish selection criteria for prospective volunteers and specified training requirements. The bill would require the Care Corps Grantees to provide a stipend and an educational award, as specified, to volunteers. The bill would require the officer to appoint an advisory council and would require the officer and the advisory council to evaluate the program, as specified.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. This bill, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, would allow a credit against those taxes in an amount equal to 50% of the amount paid or incurred by a family caregiver during the taxable year for eligible expenses related to the care of an eligible family member, not to exceed $5,000. The bill would limit the aggregate amount of these credits to be allocated in each calendar year to $150,000,000 as well as any unused credit amount, if any, allocated in the preceding calendar year. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to allocate and certify these tax credits to taxpayers on a first-come-first-served basis. The bill would make these provisions operative on the effective date of any budget measure specifically appropriating funds to the Franchise Tax Board for its costs to administer these provisions. The bill would require an eligible family member to be certified by a physician, registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant, under penalty of perjury, as being an individual with long-term care needs and would require the family caregiver to retain, and make available to the Franchise Tax Board upon request, that certification. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make specified findings detailing the goals, purposes, and objectives of the above-described tax credit, performance indicators for determining whether the credit meets those goals, purposes, and objectives, and data collection requirements. 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law contains provisions governing the operation and financing of community mental health services for the mentally disordered in every county through locally administered and locally controlled community mental health programs. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the Mental Health Services Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, to fund various county mental health programs. Moneys in the fund may only be used for specified purposes, including 5% for certain state administrative costs, which funds are subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act. The act provides that it may be amended by the Legislature by a 23 vote of each house so long as the amendment is consistent with and furthers the intent of the act, and authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to clarify procedures and terms of the act by majority vote. This bill would require the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, by January 1, 2021, to establish one or more centers of excellence to provide the counties with technical assistance to implement best practices related to elements of the act. The bill would require those centers of excellence to be funded with state administrative funds provided under the act. In implementing these provisions, the bill would require the commission to determine the areas of focus for the centers of excellence, including, but not limited to, the areas of service delivery that need improvement. This bill would declare that this amendment is consistent with and furthers the purposes of the act, thereby requiring a 23 vote.