The California Constitution provides that all property is taxable, and requires that it be assessed at the same percentage of fair market value, unless otherwise provided by the California Constitution or federal law. The California Constitution and existing property tax law provide various exemptions from taxation, including, among others, a disabled veterans' exemption and a veterans' organization exemption. This bill would exempt from taxation, property owned by, and that constitutes the principal place of residence of, a veteran, the veteran's spouse, or the veteran and the veteran's spouse jointly, if the veteran is 100% disabled. The bill would provide an unmarried surviving spouse a property exemption in the same amount that they would have been entitled to if the veteran was alive and if certain conditions are met. The bill would require certain documentation to be provided to the county assessor to receive the exemption and would prohibit any other real property tax exemption from being granted to the claimant if receiving the exemption provided by the provisions of this bill. The bill would make these exemptions applicable for property tax lien dates occurring on or after January 1, 2025, but occurring before January 1, 2035. By imposing additional duties on local tax officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to apply those requirements to the bill and would set forth specified information relating to those 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, 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 to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Sponsored bills
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions to ensure that the statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030. Pursuant to the act, the state board has adopted the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations. This bill would void specified amendments to the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations adopted by the state board on November 8, 2024, or as subsequently adopted, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides funding for homelessness prevention and mental health services through various state programs, such as Housing First, and the Early Psychosis Intervention Plus Program. Existing law establishes the State Department of Health Care Services and, among other things, requires the department to implement certain mental health services through contracts with a county or counties acting jointly. Existing law requires the Governor to create a California Interagency Council on Homelessness to serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California, among other things. Existing law requires the council to create a statewide data system with a goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs. This bill would require the Controller, by January 1, 2027, in collaboration with the department and the council to develop, publish, and maintain an online search portal that contains specified information relating to state funding for programs as described above. The bill would require the portal to include funding amounts provided in the current fiscal year and the previous 10 fiscal years, as well as specified information about the state program that received the funds and the department or agency that administers the program. The bill would require the Controller, the department and the council to each include a link to the online portal on their internet websites. The bill would authorize the Controller, the department and the portal to request any relevant information from a state agency or department for the purpose of reporting accurate information within the portal.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs. The department, among other services, provides veterans and their dependents and survivors with assistance in processing service-related disability claims, assistance in obtaining affordable housing, and information about health ailments associated with military service. This bill would require the department to establish a program to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, an academic study of mental health among women veterans in California, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit a report that summarizes the findings and recommendations of the study to the Legislature no later than June 30, 2029. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.
Existing law, the Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A Entitlement Awards, the Cal Grant B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Expanded Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards, the Cal Grant C Awards, and the Cal Grant T Awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission. Existing law, the Cal Grant Reform Act, revises and recasts the provisions establishing and governing the existing Cal Grant Program into a new Cal Grant Program. Existing law specifies that the act becomes operative only if General Fund moneys over the multiyear forecasts beginning in the 2024–25 fiscal year are available to support ongoing augmentations and actions, and if funding is provided in the annual Budget Act to implement the act. Under either Cal Grant Program that is operative, existing law establishes eligibility requirements for awards under the program for participating students attending qualifying institutions, including, among others, California residency requirements, as provided. Existing law establishes the Middle Class Scholarship Program (MCSP) under the administration of the commission. Existing law makes an undergraduate student eligible for a scholarship award under the MCSP if the student is enrolled at the University of California or the California State University, or enrolled in upper division coursework in a community college baccalaureate program, and meets certain eligibility requirements, including, among others, that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements for a Cal Grant. This bill would extend Cal Grant and MCSP eligibility to a student who was not a resident of California at the time of high school graduation or its equivalent but meets all other applicable eligibility requirements and is a dependent natural or adopted child, stepchild, or spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States stationed outside of California on active duty, if the member of the Armed Forces of the United States otherwise maintains California as their state of legal residence. The bill also would make conforming changes.
Existing law makes a person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for the person's safety, or the safety of the person's immediate family, guilty of the crime of stalking, punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. This bill would expand the meaning of "credible threat" to include threats to a person's pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse. By changing the definition of a crime, 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.
Existing law requires elections officials to commence the canvass for an election no later than the Thursday following the election and to make the canvass open to the public. Existing law requires the canvass to be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed. Existing law requires elections officials to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election within 30 days of the election and to send the Secretary of State a complete copy of all election results within 31 days of the election. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to prepare, certify, and file a statement of the vote no later than the 38th day after the election. This bill would require elections officials, on or before the 13th day following an election, to finish counting all ballots, with certain exceptions, including provisional ballots and ballots for which the voter must either verify or provide a signature, and release a vote count for those ballots. If an elections official will not meet that deadline, they would be required to file a notice of extension, including the reason for the extension, with the Secretary of State. By increasing the duties of county elections officials, 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, 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.
(1) Existing law regulates the investment of public funds by local agencies, as defined. Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a local agency, as specified, that has money in a sinking fund or in its treasury not required for the immediate needs of the local agency to invest the money as it deems wise or expedient in certain securities and financial instruments, subject to various requirements. These permissible investments include, among others, commercial paper of "prime" quality of the highest ranking or of the highest letter and number rating as provided for by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization that is issued by entities meeting certain criteria, if the eligible commercial paper has a maximum maturity of 270 days or less. This bill would revise the maximum maturity periods for the investments in prime quality commercial paper to 397 days. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes local agencies, as specified, that have less than $100,000,000 of investment assets under management to invest no more than 25%, and those local agencies that have $100,000,000 or more of investment assets under management to invest no more than 40%, of their moneys in eligible commercial paper, as specified. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2026, instead authorizes those local agencies regardless of the amount of investment assets they have under management to invest no more than 25% of their moneys in eligible commercial paper, as specified. This bill would instead repeal the former provisions on January 1, 2031, and would postpone the operative date for the latter provisions until January 1, 2031. Existing law prohibits a local agency from investing specified public funds in any security that could result in zero-interest accrual if held to maturity, as specified. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes a local agency as an exception to that provision to invest in securities issued by, or backed by, the United States government that could result in zero-interest accrual if held to maturity, as specified. This bill would instead repeal the above-described exception on January 1, 2031. (2) Existing law requires the Controller to annually compile, publish, and make publicly available on the Controller's website reports of the information concerning financial transactions and annual compensation of each county, city, and school district within the state, as specified. If an officer of a local agency fails or refuses to make and file their financial report within 20 days after receipt of a written notice of the failure from the Controller, existing law requires that officer or local agency to forfeit to the state a specified amount depending on the amount of total revenue of that local agency. This bill would instead require that forfeiture if the officer fails or refuses to make and file their financial report within 10 months after the end of the local agency's fiscal year, or within the time prescribed by the Controller, whichever is later.
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 exempts from its requirements various projects, including, but not limited to, housing projects that meet certain requirements and activities and approvals related to certain prison facilities. This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA any activity or approval necessary for the completion of the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery in the County of Orange if specified conditions are met. To the extent that a local agency would be required to determine whether an activity or approval qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal this provision on January 1, 2030. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery in the County of Orange. 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.
Existing sales and use tax laws, among other things, impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from their sales of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law makes certain sellers of tangible personal property consumers, and not retailers, of the tangible personal property they sell, including, until January 1, 2026, an all-volunteer fire department, as defined, if the profits are used solely and exclusively in furtherance of the purposes of the all-volunteer fire department, as prescribed. This bill would extend the sunset described above until January 1, 2031. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. The bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. 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 laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.