Existing provisions of the California Constitution provide that all voters may vote for any candidate at a voter-nominated primary election for congressional and state elective offices, without regard to the political party preference of the candidate or the voter. Pursuant to these provisions, the top 2 vote-getters in a voter-nominated primary election, regardless of party preference, compete in the ensuing general election. Existing law provides generally for the conduct of primary elections. Existing statutory law implements the above-mentioned constitutional provisions relating to voter-nominated primary elections for congressional and state elective offices, including the provision that the top 2 vote-getters compete in the general election, regardless of party preference. This bill would provide that a candidate for State Senator or Member of the Assembly who receives at least a majority of the votes cast for that office in the primary election shall be declared elected to that office, and that no general election would be held for that office. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill would specify that its provisions become operative only if SCA 14 of the 2013–14 Regular Session is approved by the voters.
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Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or community college district to, when in its judgment it is advisable, order an election and submit to the electors of the district the question whether the bonds of the district shall be issued and sold for the purpose of raising money for specified purposes. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that prohibits a school district from issuing capital appreciation bonds.
Existing law requires a local educational agency to implement one of several specified interventions for a school not identified as a persistently lowest-achieving school that, after one full school year, is subject to corrective action, as specified, and fails to meet specified criteria and has a specified percentage of parents and legal guardians of pupils sign a petition requesting the local educational agency to implement at least one of 5 specified interventions. Existing law requires a local educational agency to implement the intervention option requested by the petition unless the agency makes a specified finding in a regularly scheduled public hearing. This bill would delete the provision excluding schools identified as persistently lowest-achieving schools, and would also make the provisions applicable to schools ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, of the Academic Performance Index. The bill would make technical changes by updating cross-references. By imposing additional duties on school districts, 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 these statutory provisions.
The Corporation Tax Law provides that all banks and corporations subject to tax and not otherwise exempt shall pay annually a minimum franchise tax of $800, except as specified. This bill would exempt from the minimum franchise tax a qualified new corporation, as defined, for its 2nd, 3rd, and 4th taxable years. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Medi-Cal Act establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced by 1% or 5%, and provider payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 1%, for dates of service on and after March 1, 2009, and until June 1, 2011. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments and payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 10% for dates of service on and after June 1, 2011. This bill would instead require that, to the extent permitted by federal law, this payment reduction not apply to skilled nursing facilities or subacute care units that are a distinct part of a general acute care hospital, intermediate care or other specified facilities serving developmentally disabled individuals, or specified Medi-Cal provider payments for fee-for-service benefits, including payments to pharmacies, for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011. The bill would also provide that this payment reduction shall not apply to managed health care plans for dates of service after the effective date of the bill. 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, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allow a deduction for losses sustained during the taxable year and not compensated for by insurance or otherwise. Those state laws conform to specified revenue rulings and revenue procedures of the Internal Revenue Service regarding treatment of losses due to investment arrangements discovered to be criminally fraudulent, except that, among other things, net operating loss carrybacks and carryforwards are not allowed. This bill would provide a safe harbor for determining the year in which those losses attributable to criminal fraud occurred, as described in a specified revenue procedure of the Internal Revenue Service, and would allow a net operating loss carryover or carryback of any resulting deduction from the losses in conformity with federal income tax law. This bill would make a legislative finding and declaration relating to the public purpose served by the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose 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. Those laws provide various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would exempt from those taxes, on and after January 1, 2015, the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, tangible personal property purchased during a disaster period for use by a qualified person to be used primarily for the performance of disaster- or emergency-related work in this state, as provided. The bill would require the purchaser to furnish the retailer with an exemption certificate, as specified. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law impose taxes on taxpayers measured by the amount of the taxpayer's income for the taxable year, but exclude certain items of income from the computation of tax. This bill would, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2015, exclude from income amounts received by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, for the performance of disaster- or emergency-related work in this state that is performed during the disaster period, as provided. 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. Amendments to state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides that the state will 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 act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.
Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, as defined, and requires that the fire prevention fee be adjusted annually using prescribed methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed, commencing with the 2011–12 fiscal year. Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and prohibits the collection of fire prevention fees if, commencing with the 2012–13 fiscal year, there are sufficient amounts of moneys in the fund to finance specified fire prevention activities for a fiscal year. Existing law requires that the fire prevention fees collected, except as provided, be deposited into the fund and be made available, to the board and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for certain specified fire protection activities that benefit the owners of structures in state responsibility areas who are required to pay the fee. Existing law further requires the board, on and after January 1, 2013, to submit an annual written report to the Legislature on specified topics. This bill would repeal the above provisions relating to the fire prevention fees.
(1) Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools operated by local educational agencies throughout the state. Existing law also establishes a system of public postsecondary education in this state that includes 3 segments: the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to establish a pilot program with the goal of creating a model of articulation and coordination among K–12 schools, community colleges, and campuses of the California State University that will allow students, including, but not necessarily limited to, students who have earned college course credit through concurrent enrollment in high school and community college, to earn a baccalaureate degree for a total cost not exceeding $10,000, including textbooks. The bill would establish a Baccalaureate Degree Pilot Program that would include campuses of the California State University, community college districts, and county offices of education in up to 7 areas of the state, but would only include institutions that explicitly request inclusion in the program. The bill would require the public postsecondary educational institutions and local educational agencies participating in the pilot program to coordinate their efforts to expedite the progress of participating students from high school to community college to California State University. Because the bill would impose new duties on community college districts and county offices of education, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize participating high school students to earn an unlimited number of Advanced Placement course credits, and provide these students with priority enrollment at participating community colleges. The bill would impose grade point average and time requirements on participating students at the community college stage of the pilot program. The bill would require a participating California State University campus to accept a minimum of 60 semester units earned by a participating student at a high school or community college. The bill would require a participating student to receive priority enrollment status at a participating California State University, and would require the participating student to be required to enroll at that California State University either in the summer term or the fall semester immediately succeeding the pupil's completion of the required community college coursework. This bill would limit bachelor's degrees awarded at the participating California State University to a participating student to baccalaureate degrees in one or more of specified fields of study. The bill would prohibit the mandatory systemwide fees and tuition and mandatory campus-based fees charged to a participating student from being increased during the first 2 academic years of his or her attendance at a California State University campus under the pilot program. The bill would authorize the institutions participating in the pilot program, in consultation with the appropriate private entities, to develop summer internships for participating students relating to their fields of study for academic credit. (2) 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 establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which basic health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to consider the special needs of rural hospitals that are financially distressed and in danger of closure, and authorizes the department to provide technical and other assistance relating to Medi-Cal to these hospitals, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.