Sen. Mimi Walters

Existing law prohibits an individual from selling or offering for sale a child passenger restraint system that was in use by a child during an accident involving a motor vehicle. A violation of that prohibition is an infraction, punishable by a $100 fine. This bill would except from this prohibition certain nonprofit organizations if, with respect to a used child passenger restraint system, the nonprofit organization determines, by visual inspection, that the manufacturer's expiration date for the child passenger restraint system has not passed and that the system is in safe, working condition.

Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of registered nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing and makes a violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a licensee renewing his or her license to submit proof to the board that during a specified time the licensee has been informed of developments in the registered nursing field either by pursuing a continuing education course offered by a provider approved by the board or by other means deemed equivalent by the board. Existing law requires the board to establish, by regulation, standards for continuing education. Existing law requires these standards to make a variety of alternative forms of continuing education available to licensees. Existing law requires the content of all courses of continuing education to be relevant to the practice of nursing. This bill would provide that continuing education courses, as specified, that advance or promote labor organizing on behalf of a union, or that advance or promote statutory or regulatory changes, political candidates, political advocacy, or political strategy shall not be considered content relevant to the practice of nursing and shall not be acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure renewal. The bill would also prohibit an approved provider from representing that such a continuing education course is acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure renewal and would require the board, subject to specified procedural requirements, to withdraw its approval of a provider that violates that requirement for no less than 5 years, as specified. Because a violation of these requirements by a provider would constitute 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing constitutional provisions require each house of the Legislature to pass a bill appropriating money from the General Fund, except appropriations for the public schools, by a 23 vote. This measure would provide, as an exception to this vote requirement, that if the total amount of General Fund appropriations in a Budget Bill, as defined, for the ensuing fiscal year combined with all other General Fund appropriations for that fiscal year on the date of passage does not exceed by 5% or more the amount of General Fund appropriations for the immediately preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Finance, the Budget Bill may be passed by a majority vote. (2) Existing constitutional provisions provide that a statute takes immediate effect upon enactment if the statute calls for an election, provides for a tax levy or makes an appropriation for the usual and current expenses of the state, or is an urgency statute. The California Constitution exempts these statutes from the referendum, which is the power of the electors to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes. This measure would provide that statutes enacting a Budget Bill meeting the condition set forth in (1) above also take effect immediately, and are not subject to referendum.

Existing law authorizes a legislative body of any public agency to determine that it would be convenient and advantageous to designate an area within which authorized officials and free and willing property owners may enter into contractual assessments to finance specified improvements to real property. Existing law requires a legislative body that undertakes to establish and administer a program of contractual assessments to comply with specified procedures, including, but not limited to, providing specified notice to all water and electric providers within the boundaries of the area within which contractual assessments may be entered. This bill would require a legislative body to additionally give specified notice to all sewer providers within the boundaries of the area within which contractual assessments may be entered.

The Personal Income Tax Law provides, in modified conformity to federal income tax laws, for the manner in which taxable gains are to be recognized upon the disposition of property, including real property that is the principal residence of the taxpayer. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2010, provide that gross income does not include any gain from the sale or exchange of the principal residence of a taxpayer who is 65 years of age or older. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This bill would urge the President of the United States and the Congress to employ necessary measures to ensure that no terrorist or suspected terrorist detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is permitted to enter California in custody or otherwise.

The Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a tax on retailers measured by the 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, and provides various exemptions from the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would provide a partial exemption from those taxes for the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, tangible personal property, as defined, purchased for use by a qualified person, as defined, to be used primarily in any stage of manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of property, as specified, or to be used primarily in qualified research, as specified, or to be used to maintain, repair, measure, or test that property. The bill would also partially exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, tangible personal property purchased for use by a contractor, as specified, for a qualified person. The bill would require the purchaser to furnish the retailer with an exemption certificate, as specified. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Exemptions from state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. This bill would specify that this exemption does not apply to local sales and use taxes, transactions and use taxes, and specified state taxes from which revenues are deposited into the Local Public Safety Fund, the Local Revenue Fund, or the Fiscal Recovery Fund. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law provide that gain or loss upon the disposition of a capital asset is determined by reference to the adjusted basis of that asset. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2016, provide that gross income does not include 50% of any net capital gain, as defined, from the sale or exchange of a capital asset, as defined, that is held for more than 3 years, as specified. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Enterprise Zone Act provides for the designation of enterprise zones by the Department of Community Housing and Development, based on the department's approval of applications from a city, county, or city and county with a geographic area meeting certain criteria. Certain entities within a designated enterprise zone may receive regulatory, tax, and other incentives for private investment and employment. Existing law provides that no more than 42 enterprise zones be designated at any one time pursuant to the act. Upon the expiration or termination of a designation, existing law authorizes the department to designate another enterprise zone to maintain a total of 42 enterprise zones. This bill would authorize the department to designate one special enterprise zone within the City of Fremont consisting of a geographical area encompassing a facility that manufactures automobiles and to designate, until June 30, 2010, an additional 10 special enterprise zones limited to one nonrenewable 15-year term. The bill would exclude these enterprise zones from the calculation of the overall number of enterprise zones authorized under the act. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, by reference to a specified federal statute, allow a credit against taxes imposed by those laws for increasing research expenses, as defined. In general, the amount of the credit under both laws is equal to 15% of the excess of the qualified research expenses, as defined, for the taxable year over the base amount, as defined, and, in addition, for purposes of the Corporation Tax Law, 24% of the basic research payments, as defined. The term "base amount" means the product of the average annual gross receipts of the taxpayer for each of the specified years preceding the taxable year and the fixed-base percentage, as defined, but in no event less than 50% of the qualified research expenses for the taxable year. A taxpayer may elect an alternative simplified credit for increasing research expenses under federal income tax laws. This bill would increase the credit for increasing research expenses to 20% of the excess of the qualified research expenses over the base amount. This bill would also provide complete conformity to the alternative simplified credit provided under those federal income tax laws. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.