The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various deductions from gross income in computing adjusted gross income under that law, including deductions for payments to individual retirement accounts, alimony payments, and interest on educational loans. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2021, would allow a deduction in computing adjusted gross income for those amounts contributed to a Coverdell education savings account, up to $750 per taxable year, as provided. The bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2021, would also allow a deduction in computing adjusted gross income, not to exceed $2,500, for the cost of education-related expenses of the taxpayer's dependent child or children attending public or private school, as specified. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of various specified personal characteristics, including disability. The Construction-Related Accessibility Standards Compliance Act establishes standards for making new construction and existing facilities accessible to persons with disabilities and provides for construction-related accessibility claims for violations of those standards. Existing law specifies that a violation of construction-related accessibility standards personally encountered by a plaintiff may be sufficient to cause a denial of full and equal access if the plaintiff experienced difficulty, discomfort, or embarrassment because of the violation. Under existing law, a defendant is liable for actual damages plus minimum statutory damages for each instance of discrimination relating to a construction-related accessibility standard. This bill would, for claims filed on and after its effective date, establish a rebuttable presumption, for the purpose of an award of minimum statutory damages, that certain technical violations do not cause a plaintiff to experience difficulty, discomfort, or embarrassment, if specified conditions are met. This bill would also exempt a defendant from liability for minimum statutory damages with respect to a structure or area inspected by a certified access specialist for a period of 120 days if specified conditions are met. The bill would require a defendant who claims the benefit of this exemption to disclose the date and findings of any certified access specialist (CASp) inspection to the plaintiff. (2) Existing law requires the State Architect to establish and publicize a program for the voluntary certification by the state of any person who meets specified criteria as a CASp. Existing law requires the State Architect to annually publish a list of CASps. Existing law requires each applicant for CASp certification or renewal to pay certain fees, and requires the State Architect to periodically review those fees, as specified. Existing law provides for the deposit of those fees into the Certified Access Specialist Fund, which is continuously appropriated for use by the State Architect to implement the CASp program. This bill would additionally require the State Architect to publish, and regularly update, easily accessible lists of businesses that file prescribed notices of inspection, and businesses which have been inspected by a CASp on or after January 1, 2017, including the date of the inspection. The bill would require the State Architect to develop a process by which a small business may notify the State Architect that a structure or area has had a CASp inspection and to develop a form for businesses to notify the public that the business has obtained a CASp inspection. The bill would also require applicants for CASp certification or renewal to additionally provide to the State Architect the name of the city, county, or city and county in which the applicant intends to provide or has provided services, and would require the Division of the State Architect to post that information on its Internet Web site. (3) Existing law establishes the California Commission on Disability Access for purposes of developing recommendations to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their right to full and equal access to public facilities and facilitating business compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Existing law sets forth the powers and duties of the commission, including developing educational materials and information for businesses, building owners, tenants, and building officials, posting that information on the commission's Internet Web site, and coordinating with other state agencies and local building departments to ensure that information provided to the public on disability access requirements is uniform and complete. This bill would additionally require the commission to provide a link on its Internet Web site to the Internet Web site of the Division of the State Architect's CASp certification program, and make the commission's educational materials and information available to other state agencies and local building departments. (4) The Permit Streamlining Act establishes procedures for the application, and review of an application, for a development project. Existing law requires a public agency to notify applicants for development permits of specified information, including the time limits established for the review and approval of development permits. This bill would additionally require local agencies to develop and provide to applicants materials relating to the requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or to instead provide similar materials developed by the California Commission on Disability Access. The bill would require a local agency to notify an applicant that approval of a permit does not signify that the applicant has complied with that act. The bill would also require local agencies to expedite review of projects for which the applicant provides a copy of a disability access certificate, demonstrates that the project is necessary to address an alleged violation of a construction-related access standard or a violation noted in a CASp report, and, if project plans are necessary for approval, has had a CASp review the project plans for compliance with all applicable construction-related accessibility standards. The bill would declare that these provisions constitute a matter of statewide concern and would apply to charter cities and charter counties. (5) By imposing additional duties on local agencies with respect to the receipt and review of applications for development project permits, 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. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law authorizes a surviving spouse or the personal representative, guardian of the estate, or conservator of the estate of the surviving spouse to file a petition in the superior court of the county in which the estate of the deceased spouse may be administered requesting an order that administration of all or part of the estate is not necessary because all or part of the estate is property passing to the surviving spouse. Existing law specifies the contents of that petition, including, among other things, a description of the property of the deceased spouse which the petitioner alleges is property passing to the surviving spouse and the facts upon which the petitioner bases the allegation that all or part of the estate of the deceased spouse is property passing to the surviving spouse. Existing law provides that if the court finds that all of the estate of the deceased spouse is property passing to the surviving spouse, then the court is required to issue an order describing the property, as specified. Existing law also provides that if the court finds that all or part of the estate of the deceased spouse is not property passing to the surviving spouse, then the court is required to issue an order, as specified. Existing law allows the court, in a case in which property is passing to the surviving spouse or in which property is not passing to the surviving spouse, to issue any further orders that may be necessary to cause delivery of the property or its proceeds to the surviving spouse. This bill would require the above petition to also include reference to any agreements between the deceased spouse and the surviving spouse affecting the character of property and a description of the property as either community or separate property. This bill would authorize a court to issue orders determining whether any property, or interest therein, of the deceased spouse's estate passing to the surviving spouse is separate property or community property.
This measure would recognize and honor the men and women of California agriculture for their dedication and productivity by observing March 15, 2016, as National Agriculture Day, and designating March 16, 2016, as California Agriculture Day.
(1) Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of various specified personal characteristics, including disability. Existing law provides that individuals with disabilities are entitled to full and equal access to places to which the general public is invited, subject to specified conditions and limitations. This bill would provide that when there is a conflict or difference between the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and any state law, standard, or regulation relating to the access of individuals with disabilities to any place to which the general public is invited, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 shall control. (2) Existing law allows a plaintiff to collect statutory damages in a construction-related accessibility claim against a place of public accommodation only if a violation of a construction-related accessibility standard denied the plaintiff full and equal access to the place of public accommodation on a particular occasion, as specified. Existing law reduces a defendant's liability for statutory damages in a construction-related accessibility claim against a place of public accommodation to a minimum of $1,000 for each offense if the defendant demonstrates that it has corrected all construction-related violations that are the basis of a claim within 60 days of being served with the complaint and meets certain requirements, or a minimum of $2,000 for each offense if the defendant has corrected all construction-related violations that are the basis of a claim within 30 days of being served with the complaint and is a small business, as specified. This bill would prohibit a construction-related accessibility claim for statutory damages from being initiated in a legal proceeding against a defendant unless the defendant has been served with a demand letter specifying each alleged violation of a construction-related accessibility standard and the alleged violations have not been corrected within 120 days of service. The bill would provide that a defendant is not liable for statutory damages, costs, or plaintiff's attorney's fees for an alleged violation that is corrected within 120 days of service of a demand letter alleging the violation.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA authorizes specified entities to file and maintain with a court an action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul an act of a public agency on grounds of noncompliance with the requirements of CEQA. Existing law authorizes a court, upon motion, to award attorneys' fees to a successful party in an action that resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest under specified conditions. This bill would require a plaintiff or petitioner, in an action brought pursuant to the provisions of CEQA, to disclose specified information regarding the plaintiff or petitioner in the complaint or petition or in a subsequent notice. The bill would require disclosure of the identity of a person or entity that contributes in excess of $100 dollars, as specified, toward the plaintiff's or petitioner's costs of an action. The bill would provide that a failure to provide this disclosure shall be grounds for dismissal of the action by the court or, if the failure occurs during a postjudgment proceeding, the denial of attorneys' fees for a successful plaintiff or petitioner. The bill also would require the plaintiff or petitioner to identify any pecuniary or business interest related to the project or issues involved in the action of any person or entity named as a plaintiff or petitioner or that contributes in excess of $100 to the costs of the action, as specified.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. This bill would establish the California Promise, which would require the trustees and the board of governors to establish a program that authorizes a campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges to enter into a pledge with a student who satisfies specified criteria to support the student in obtaining an associate degree within 2 academic years, or a baccalaureate degree within 4 academic years, of freshman admission. The bill would prohibit systemwide tuition charged to a California State University student who participates in a California Promise program for an academic year from exceeding the amount of tuition charged to the student for the academic year of the student's freshman admission, and would prohibit tuition of a community college transfer student from exceeding a specified amount. By imposing new duties on community college districts, 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, 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of all state highways and associated property, and sets forth the powers and duties with respect to operation, maintenance, and improvement of state highways. Existing law authorizes the California Transportation Commission to exercise various powers and duties on transportation matters, including the allocation of certain transportation capital improvement funds available to the state. This bill would require the department to participate in a pilot program over a 5-year period under which 2 counties, one in northern California and one in southern California, may be selected to operate, maintain, and make improvements to all state highways, including freeways, in the affected county. The bill would require the department, with respect to those counties, for the duration of the pilot program, to convey all of its authority and responsibility over state highways in the county to the county or to a regional transportation agency that has jurisdiction in the county. The bill would require the commission to administer and oversee the pilot program and to select the county or counties participating in the program by January 1, 2018, from applications received, but would provide that participation of a county in the pilot program is voluntary. The bill would require certain moneys to be appropriated for these purposes as a block grant in the annual Budget Act to a participating county, as specified. The bill would authorize any cost savings realized by a participating county to be used by the county for other transportation priorities. The bill would require the participating counties to report to the Legislature upon the conclusion of the pilot program. The bill would provide that its provisions shall become inoperative on January 15, 2018, if the commission is unable to select at least one county to participate in the pilot program because no county has submitted an application to the commission.
Existing law, the California Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, authorizes a limited liability company to have any lawful purpose, except as specified. A limited liability company is an entity distinct from its members. Existing law authorizes a limited liability company to render services that may be lawfully rendered only pursuant to a license, certificate, or registration authorized by the Business and Professions Code, the Chiropractic Act, the Osteopathic Act, or the Yacht and Ship Brokers Act, if those provisions authorize a limited liability company to hold that license, certificate, or registration. Existing law prohibits the act from being construed to permit a limited liability company to render professional services, as defined. Under existing law, a limited liability company is a member-managed limited liability company unless the articles of organization. Under existing law, the operating agreement governs, among other things, relations among the members as members and between the members and the limited liability company and the activities of the limited liability company. Existing law authorizes a written operating agreement to provide for the appointment of officers. Existing law, the Real Estate Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers by the Real Estate Commissioner, the chief officer of the Bureau of Real Estate. Existing law authorizes a real estate broker license to be issued to an individual or a corporation. Under existing law, when a real estate license is issued to a corporation, if it desires any of its officers other than the specified designated officer to act under its license as a real estate broker, it is required to obtain an additional license to employ each of those additional officers. Under existing law, each officer of a corporation through whom it is licensed to act as a real estate broker is, while so employed under that license, a licensed real estate broker, but licensed only to act as such for and on behalf of the corporation as an officer. Existing law requires applicants for licensure as a real estate broker and real estate broker licensees to pay application, licensure, and renewal fees, which are deposited in the Real Estate Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law also authorizes the commissioner to take disciplinary action against a real estate licensee, including the imposition of a monetary penalty, which is also deposited in the Real Estate Fund. A willful violation of the law and other related real estate provisions is a crime. This bill would authorize a limited liability company to be licensed as a real estate broker. When a real estate license is issued to a limited liability company that desires any of its members, managers, or officers other than the designated member, manager, or officer to act under its license as a real estate broker, the bill would require the limited liability company to obtain an additional license to employ each additional member, manager, or officer. The bill would provide that each member, manager, or officer of a limited liability company through whom the company is licensed to act as a real estate broker is, while employed under license, a licensed real estate broker, but licensed only to act as such for and on behalf of the limited liability company as a member, manager, or officer. The bill would make various other conforming changes in this regard. Because new application, licensure, and renewal fees for limited liability companies would be deposited in the Real Estate Fund, a contiguously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. However, the bill would exclude money in the Real Estate Fund attributable to administrative fines, civil penalties, and criminal penalties imposed by the bureau against a limited liability company broker, or attributable to cost recovery in actions or settlements, from being continuously appropriated, and would instead make that money subject to appropriation by the Legislature. Because a willful violation of the law and other related real estate provisions by a limited liability company 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.