Sen. Marty Block

This measure would amend Senate Rule 56 of the Standing Rules of the Senate for the 2015–16 Regular Session by requiring a Member of the Assembly who establishes a campaign contribution account for the purpose of promoting his or her candidacy for State Senate to comply with contribution restriction periods applicable to Members of the Senate.

This measure would designate the portion of Interstate 15 from Camino Del Norte to Scripps Poway Parkway/Mercy Road in the County of San Diego as the Tony Gwynn Memorial Freeway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

This measure would commend AMVETS Department of California, also known as Team AMVETS, for providing benefits and services to veterans, and for playing an important role in the community for 70 years.

Existing law makes it a crime for a person who knows or reasonably should know that a person is an elder or dependent adult to willfully cause or permit the person or health of the elder or dependent adult to be injured, or willfully cause or permit the elder or dependent adult to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is endangered. Existing law specifies penalties for a person who violates any provision of law proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, or specified identity theft provisions of law when the victim is an elder or dependent adult. Existing law makes it a crime to falsely imprison an elder or dependent adult by the use of violence, menace, fraud, or deceit. This bill would require a sentencing court, upon a person's conviction for violating these provisions, to consider issuing an order restraining the defendant from any contact with the victim, whether the defendant is sentenced to state prison or county jail, or if imposition of sentence is suspended and the defendant is placed on probation, which may be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by the court. By expanding the scope of the crime of violating a protective order, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also make a conforming change. 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 measure would urge the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold the federal constitutional principle of "one person, one vote" and not deny California's children and immigrants equal protection under the law.

Existing law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, provides, among other things, for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary schools in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act requires an institution to annually report to the bureau specified information regarding completion rates and license examination passage rates, among other things, and to publish that information on its School Performance Fact Sheet. The act defines numerous terms for purposes of this reporting requirement, including defining "graduates" to mean students who complete a program within 100% of the published program length. This bill would recharacterize "graduates" as "on-time graduates" for purposes of a completion rate calculation, and would redefine the term "graduate" for other purposes to mean an individual who has been awarded a degree or diploma.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, and professional clinical counselors by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law requires applicants for licensure in those professions to comply with specified educational and experience requirements, including, but not limited to, hours of supervised experience, and sets forth terms, conditions, and limitations for those hours of experience, as specified. This bill would revise those experience requirements and provide that individuals who submit applications for examination eligibility between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020, may alternatively qualify under the current requirements. The bill would also make other technical and conforming changes. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.43 of the Business and Professions Code made by this bill and AB 250 to take effect if both bills are chaptered and this bill is chaptered last.

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Existing law continuously appropriates 10% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and 5% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program. This bill would instead continuously appropriate 20% of those annual proceeds to the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, and 10% of those annual proceeds to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, thereby making an appropriation.

Existing law regulates pawnbrokers and sets the maximum compensation charged or received by pawnbrokers on loans to their customers. A knowing violation of the provisions regulating pawnbrokers is a crime. Existing law provides a schedule of maximum charges for 21 loan brackets for the first 3 months of any loan. This bill, in that schedule, would consolidate the 21 loan brackets into 6 and set maximum charges within those brackets. Existing law, among other things, limits the charge for the 4th and subsequent months of a loan to 2.5% per month on the unpaid balance, as specified. This bill would increase the charge limit for the 4th and subsequent months to 3% per month. Existing law permits a loan setup fee of the greater of $5 or 2% of the loan amount, not to exceed $10. This bill would adjust the permitted loan setup fee to the greater of either $5 or 3% of the loan amount, not to exceed $30. Existing law establishes the maximum amount, irrespective of the duration of the loan, that may be charged based on size of pawned articles, as specified, and prohibits a storage charge for any article that can be contained within one cubic foot. This bill would permit a pawnbroker to additionally charge a maximum of $1 for handling and storage of any article that can be contained within one cubic foot. Existing law requires a written contract that provides a 4-month loan period for every loan made by a pawnbroker for which goods are received in pledge as security and, under specified circumstances, requires a pawnbroker to notify the borrower at his or her last known address of the termination of the loan period, by a means for which verification of mailing or delivery of the notification can be provided by the pawnbroker, and provides for extending the right of redemption for a period of 10 days from the date that notice is mailed. This bill instead would require a minimum 4-month loan period and would require the pawnbroker to provide that notification to the pledgor at his or her last known mailing or electronic address, by a means for which verification of mailing or, at the sole option of the pledgor, electronic transmission of the notification can be provided by the pawnbroker, as specified. This bill also would require representatives of the pawnbroker industry to poll their members annually to gather data relating to the current financial condition of the California pawn industry. Because a knowing violation of these provisions by a pawnbroker would be 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 establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts, each administered by a governing board, throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction to students at community college campuses maintained by the districts. Existing law provides for the removal, suspension, and expulsion of a community college student, as specified, for good cause, as defined. Existing law prohibits a community college student from being removed, suspended, or expelled unless the conduct for which the student is disciplined is related to college activity or attendance. The bill would authorize the governing board of a community college district to remove, suspend, or expel a student for sexual assault or sexual exploitation, as defined, regardless of the victim's affiliation with the community college, even if the offense is not related to college activity or attendance.