Sen. Jim Nielsen

Existing law, the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $600,000,000, as specified, for expenditure by the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide multifamily housing to veterans pursuant to the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014 (VHHPA) . Existing law requires the departments to establish and implement programs that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Existing law, as amended by Proposition 21 as approved by the voters at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election and by Proposition 83 of the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, classifies certain felonies as violent felonies for purposes of various provisions of the Penal Code. Existing law generally imposes an additional one-year term for a felony and 3-year term for a violent felony for each prior separate prison term served for a felony or a violent felony, respectively. The Legislature may amend these initiative statutes by a statute passed in each house by a 2/3 vote. This bill would amend the above initiative statutes by defining additional crimes, including, among others, human trafficking, elder and dependent adult abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, rape under specified circumstances, discharge of a firearm at an occupied building, and specified crimes against peace officers and witnesses, as violent felonies for purposes of the above specified sentence enhancements. The bill would also make conforming changes. By increasing the punishment for these crimes, 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 makes it a felony to possess a silencer in the state, punishable by imprisonment in county jail or by a fine not to exceed $10,000 or by both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would delete the felony prohibition on possession of a silencer and would authorize an individual in lawful possession of a device that will silence, suppress, or muffle the sound or natural report of a firearm when the firearm is discharged to use that device to hunt a bird, mammal, fish, reptile, or amphibian for which the individual is licensed if the firearm to which the device is attached is lawfully possessed.

Existing law requires the Department of General Services' small business advocate to provide, at a minimum, specified services to small businesses. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to those provisions.

Existing law regulates real property acquired and operated by the state as wildlife management areas, and authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife, when income is directly derived from that real property, as provided, to annually pay to the county in which the property is located an amount equal to the county taxes levied upon the property at the time it was transferred to the state. Existing law further authorizes the department to pay the assessments levied upon the property by any irrigation, drainage, or reclamation district. Existing law requires those payments to only be made from funds that are appropriated to the department for those purposes. This bill would, commencing with the 2018–19 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, require, instead of authorize, the department to make these payments subject to appropriation by the Legislature.

Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by 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, measured by sales price. Those laws partially exempt from those taxes, for a specified period, the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, specified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person, as defined, to be used primarily in manufacturing or other processes, and in research and development. On and after July 1, 2014, tangible personal property with a useful life of one or more years, as defined by reference to state income or franchise taxes, is deemed to have a useful life of one or more years for purposes of the exemption. This bill would define "useful life" for periods on and after July 1, 2014, to also include tangible personal property that is expensed for state income or franchise tax purposes and that has a physical useful life of one or more years. The bill, with respect to property with a useful life of one or more years as redefined by this bill, would require the State Board of Equalization to cancel any notice of determination and any related penalties and interest and would prohibit the board from issuing any notice of determination with respect to the purchase or sale of that property. The bill would authorize a qualified person to offset the amount of sales tax reimbursement or use tax paid against any sales and use tax imposed on the qualified person when a qualified person has paid sales tax reimbursement or use tax on purchases of qualified tangible personal property that has a useful life of one or more years, as redefined by the bill, as provided. The bill, beginning on and after January 1, 2018, and before July 1, 2026, would additionally exempt from those taxes special purpose buildings and foundations used for the generation or production or storage and distribution, as defined, of electric power and qualified tangible personal property purchased for used by a qualified person to be used primarily in the generation or production or storage and distribution of electric power or purchased for use by a contractor for the qualified person, as specified. The bill, on and after January 1, 2018, would expand the definition of qualified person to include, among others, a person primarily engaged in the business of electric power generation. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would improve the state's sales and use tax incentives to promote a stronger California economy by securing a greater share of the high-paying, high-skilled jobs in manufacturing and research and development.

The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, provides that children up to 13 years of age are eligible, with certain requirements, for child care and development services. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer all migrant child care and development programs. Existing law provides for child care alternative payment programs, the purpose of which is to provide for maximum parental choice in child care. Existing law requires reimbursement for alternative payment programs to include the cost of child care paid to child care providers, plus administrative and support services costs. Under existing law, the total cost for administrative and support services is not permitted to exceed 17.5% of the total contract amount. This bill would provide that an alternative payment program that operates an individual contract in an amount of less than $3,000,000, or a migrant alternative payment program that operates an individual contract in any dollar amount, shall receive a base support reimbursement that does not exceed 22% of the total contract amount, for each individual contract.

Existing law, as amended by Proposition 21 as approved by the voters at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election and by Proposition 83 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, classifies certain felonies as violent felonies for purposes of various provisions of the Penal Code. Existing law imposes an additional one-year term for a felony and a 3-year term for a violent felony for each prior separate prison term served for a violent felony. The Legislature may amend the above-specified initiative statutes by a statute passed in each house by a 23 vote. This bill would additionally define as a "violent felony" the unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a felony enumerated as a violent felony. 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 the Board of State and Community Corrections to collect and maintain available information and data about state and community correctional policies, practices, capacities, and needs, as specified. Existing law also requires the board, in consultation with the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Chief Probation Officers of California, and the California State Sheriffs' Association, to collect and analyze data regarding local plans implementing the 2011 public safety realignment. This bill would require the board, in consultation with the Administrative Office of the Courts, the California District Attorneys Association, the California State Association of Counties, the California State Sheriffs' Association, and the Chief Probation Officers of California, to collect and analyze data regarding recidivism rates of all persons who receive a felony sentence punishable by imprisonment in county jail or who are placed on postrelease community supervision. The bill would also require the board to make this data available on the board's Internet Web site.

Existing law provides for 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 provides for a schedule of benefits provided under the Medi-Cal program, which includes certain dental services that are referred to as Denti-Cal. Existing law, the California Healthcare, Research, and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016, or Proposition 56, which was approved by voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, increases taxes imposed on distributors of cigarettes and tobacco products and allocates a specified percentage of those revenues to the department to increase funding for existing health care programs under the Medi-Cal program. Existing law establishes the Healthcare Treatment Fund for this purpose. This bill would require the department, for the 2017–18 fiscal year, to double Denti-Cal provider reimbursement rates for the 15 most common prevention, treatment, and oral evaluation services based on the average rates per service established in the 2015–16 fiscal year. The bill would appropriate for the 2017–18 fiscal year such an amount as may be necessary to double the reimbursement rates from the Healthcare Treatment Fund to the department, as specified.