Sen. Joel Anderson

This measure would recognize the history and significance of the Eagle Staff to Native American tribes. The measure would express the Legislature's commitment to inclusiveness for all Native Americans and respect for the traditions and symbolism of the Eagle Staff and would urge state government departments to incorporate these principles into their policies and practices.

Existing law provides for the procedures by which a voter may apply for and receive a vote by mail ballot. Existing law requires the elections official to deliver to each qualified applicant the ballot for the precinct in which the applicant resides and all supplies necessary for the use and return of the ballot. Existing law prescribes the contents of an identification envelope and requires a voter to return his or her vote by mail ballot in the identification envelope, as specified. This bill would clarify that the elections official is required to deliver to each qualified applicant an identification envelope for the return of the vote by mail ballot and would require the identification envelope to have prepaid postage. By imposing additional duties on local elections officials, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.

The California Constitution creates the Citizens Redistricting Commission which is charged with the conduct of an open and transparent process enabling full public consideration of and comment on the drawing of district lines according to specific redistricting criteria. The Constitution requires the commission to establish single-member districts for the Senate, Assembly, Congress, and State Board of Equalization pursuant to a mapping process that, among other things, requires the districts to comply with the United States Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act. The Constitution also requires that, to the extent possible, each Senate district be comprised of two whole, complete, and adjacent Assembly districts and that each Board of Equalization district be comprised of 10 whole, complete, and adjacent Senate districts. This measure would modify the redistricting process for the drawing of Senate district lines by requiring the commission to establish 8 geographical regions that each include 5 Senate districts. The measure would eliminate the requirements that, to the extent practicable, each Senate district be comprised of 2 adjacent Assembly districts and that each Board of Equalization district be comprised of 10 adjacent Senate districts.

Under existing law, except as otherwise exempted, a person completing a term of imprisonment in the state prison shall be released for a period of supervised parole. Existing law specifies the length of parole for various classifications of inmates. Under existing law, an inmate is released to the county of his or her residence before incarceration or, when the interest of public safety is best served, to another location specified by the Board of Parole Hearings. Existing law authorizes the Board of Parole Hearings to establish and enforce rules and regulations governing parole. Existing regulations prohibit a parolee from traveling more than 50 miles from his or her residence without the approval of a parole agent. This bill would create a program under which the length of a parolee's period of parole would be reduced through the successful completion of specified education, training, or treatment programs, or by participating in volunteer service, while adhering to the conditions of parole. The bill would make this program inapplicable to a person who is required to register as a sex offender. The bill would also increase the 50-mile travel restriction for a parolee who successfully participates in the program, subject to certain restrictions. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Board of Parole Hearings to adopt regulations to carry out the program.

Existing law prohibits a person from having his or her probation, mandatory supervision, postrelease community supervision, or parole revoked while that person is mentally incompetent. A defendant is mentally incompetent for these purposes if, as a result of mental disorder or developmental disability, the defendant is unable to understand the nature of the criminal proceedings or to assist counsel in the conduct of a defense in a rational manner. If a defendant is found mentally incompetent during postrelease community supervision or parole revocation hearings, existing law requires the court to dismiss the pending revocation matter and return the defendant to supervision, and authorizes the court take other action, including referring the matter to the public guardian of the county of commitment to initiate conservatorship proceedings only if there are no other reasonable alternatives to meet the defendant's mental health needs, as specified. This bill would provide a court with discretion when a defendant is found mentally incompetent during a postrelease community supervision or parole revocation hearing to either dismiss the pending revocation matter, as specified, or, if the court determines that there is a reasonable likelihood that the defendant may be restored to competency and returned to court to face the revocation proceedings, order the county sheriff to deliver the defendant to either a State Department of State Hospitals facility, as specified, or a public or private treatment facility, as specified, for treatment to restore the defendant to mental competency. The bill would require the defendant be returned to court to resume the revocation proceedings if the defendant is restored to competency within 180 days of arrest or before the defendant's date of discharge, whichever is earlier. The bill would alternatively require the court to dismiss the pending revocation matter and return the defendant to supervision, as specified, if the defendant is not restored to competency within 180 days of arrest or before the defendant's date of discharge, whichever comes first. By increasing the duties of local officials, including the county mental health director and county public guardian, 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.

Existing property tax law, pursuant to a requirement of the California Constitution, authorizes the base year value of property that is substantially damaged or destroyed by a disaster, as declared by the Governor, to be transferred to a comparable property located within the same county that is acquired or newly constructed as a replacement for the substantially damaged or destroyed property. This bill would prohibit the limitation requiring the transfer of base year value within the same county from applying to the transfer of base year value of property that is substantially damaged or destroyed by a disaster, as declared by the Governor, occurring on or after January 1, 2017, to July 1, 2018, inclusive, to comparable property located within a different county that is acquired or newly constructed as a replacement for the substantially damaged or destroyed property. The bill would limit these provisions to intercounty transfers of base year value that occur on or after the effective date of this bill. By changing the manner in which local assessors assess property for property taxation purposes, 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 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, but would become operative only if Senate Constitutional Amendment ____ of the 2017–18 Regular Session is approved by the voters.

Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. Under existing law, a child who is placed in the approved home of a relative is eligible for AFDC-FC if he or she is eligible for federal financial participation in the AFDC-FC payment, as specified. Existing law establishes the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program (ARC) for the purpose of making the amount paid to relative caregivers for the in-home care of children placed with them who are ineligible for AFDC-FC payments equal to the amount paid on behalf of children who are eligible for AFDC-FC payments. Existing law provides for the temporary or emergency placement of dependent children of the juvenile court and nonminor dependents with relative caregivers or nonrelative extended family members under specified circumstances. Existing law requires counties, until June 30, 2018, to provide an emergency assistance payment or ARC payment to an emergency caregiver who meets specified requirements, and is caring for a child or nonminor dependent placed in the caregiver's home under specified circumstances, if the child or nonminor dependent resides in California, and is not otherwise eligible for AFDC-FC or ARC. Existing law requires the payments to be made either through ARC or through the TANF block grant emergency assistance program for child welfare services, as specified. This bill would extend indefinitely the requirement that counties provide an emergency assistance payment or ARC payment to an emergency caregiver, but would remove the requirement that the child or nonminor dependent reside in California and not otherwise be eligible for AFDC-FC or ARC. Existing law provides for the implementation of the resource family approval process, which replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families. Existing law defines a resource family as an individual or family that has successfully met both home environment assessment standards and permanency assessment criteria, as specified, necessary for providing care for a child placed by a public or private child placement agency by court order, or voluntarily placed by a parent or legal guardian. This bill would authorize a county to waive the permanency assessment criteria and approve an individual or family as a resource family upon completion of a home environment assessment if exceptional circumstances exist, as specified. The bill would require the county to document the reason for the waiver and indicate its applicability to a specific child. The bill would require the permanency assessment to be completed as soon as possible and no later than the annual update of the resource family approval. This bill would require a county welfare department, immediately following the placement of a child in the home of a relative or nonrelative extended family member who has not been approved as a resource family, to initiate funding through an emergency assistance payment or ARC payment, as specified. By expanding the duties of counties relating to foster care, 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.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. Existing law provides for the establishment of apprenticeship programs in various trades, to be approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards in any trade in the state or in a city or trade area whenever the apprentice training needs justify the establishment. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2024, would allow a credit against the taxes imposed under those tax laws in an amount equal to 50% of wages paid by the taxpayer to a registered apprentice during the taxable year, not to exceed $2,500, for each registered apprentice trained by the taxpayer in the taxable year. The bill would limit the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated and certified pursuant to those provisions to $10,000,000 per fiscal year for income tax credits and $10,000,000 per fiscal year for corporate tax credits. The bill would require the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to perform certain duties in order to allocate and certify these credits. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.