Sen. Jim Nielsen

This measure would state the intent of both houses of the Legislature to begin each of their respective floor sessions, following the opening prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the flag, with a recitation of an excerpt from the United States Constitution, and to begin their respective floor sessions held nearest in time to the 4th of July of each year with a recitation of the full text of the Declaration of Independence.

This measure would designate that January 17, 2011, be observed as the official memorial of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth, commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America.

Existing law provides that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall not return to prison, place a parole hold on, or report any parole violation to the Board of Parole Hearings regarding any parolee to whom all of specified criteria apply. This bill would add additional criteria to prohibit the release of an inmate to parole with the limitations described above, if the person is affiliated with a criminal street gang, as determined in any of specified ways.

Existing law establishes the State Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account into which moneys derived from civil penalties for violations of state law are deposited. Moneys in this account may be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the protection of health or property of residents of long-term health care facilities, as specified. Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in the California Department of Aging. Existing law requires the department to allocate all federal and state funds for local ombudsman programs according to a specified schedule. This bill would appropriate the sum of $1,600,000 from the State Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account to the department to fund local ombudsman programs in accordance with the distribution schedule during the 2010–11 fiscal year. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would designate the week of May 2 to May 8, 2010, as Public Service Recognition Week, and encourage all Californians to recognize the crucial role of public employees in this state.

Existing law requires the court to refrain from making an order granting or modifying a custody order on an ex parte basis unless there has been a showing of immediate harm to the child or immediate risk that the child will be removed from the State of California. For purposes of this provision, immediate harm to the child includes, but is not limited to, having a parent who has committed acts of domestic violence, or the sexual abuse of the child, where the court determines that the acts of domestic violence or of sexual abuse are of recent origin or are a part of a demonstrated and continuing pattern of those respective acts. This bill would revise that provision to prohibit the court from making, rather than refrain from making, that order. The bill would also prohibit, unless there is a showing of immediate danger to the health and safety of the child or immediate risk that the child will be removed from the State of California, a court from granting a request to modify a child custody order on an ex parte basis if there is a finding that there has been sexual abuse of, or domestic violence against, the child, if the court determines that the act of sexual abuse or domestic violence is of recent origin, or part of a demonstrated and continuing or escalating pattern of acts of sexual abuse of, or domestic violence against, the child, and if the request for modification of the custody order is made by a person who is alleged to have perpetrated a recent act or a pattern of acts of sexual abuse of, or domestic violence against, the child and it is alleged that the person is seeking the modification in order to gain greater access to the child. Under those circumstances, a hearing regarding modification of the custody order would be conducted in open court. The bill would make a related change. The bill would also define "recent origin," for purposes of these provisions, to apply to acts occurring within the previous 5 years.

Existing law prescribes the course of study a pupil is required to complete while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to adopt rules specifying additional coursework requirements. Existing law requires each school district maintaining any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades a course of study that provides an opportunity for those pupils to attain entry-level employment skills in business or industry upon graduation from high school. This bill would prohibit a school district from adopting a graduation requirement that commences with the 2010–11 school year and requires the completion of additional coursework to meet or exceed the requirements and prerequisites for admission to a 4-year California public university unless the district also requires the completion of a sequence of at least 3 career and technical education courses. However, this provision would not apply to a school district that, by June 30, 2009, has adopted graduation requirements that require the completion of all minimum coursework necessary to meet the requirements and prerequisites for admission to a 4-year California public university. The bill also would make conforming and clarifying changes.

Existing law prohibits the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment by any person in any river, stream, or lake of this state without a permit issued by the Department of Fish and Game. Existing law designates the issuance of permits to operate vacuum or suction dredge equipment to be a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) , and suspends the issuance of permits, and mining pursuant to a permit, until the department has completed an environmental impact report for the project as ordered by the court in a specified court action. Existing law prohibits the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment in any river, stream, or lake, for instream mining purposes, until the Director of Fish and Game certifies to the Secretary of State that (1) the department has completed the environmental review of its existing vacuum or suction dredge equipment regulations as ordered by the court, (2) the department has transmitted for filing with the Secretary of State a certified copy of new regulations, as necessary, and (3) the new regulations are operative. This bill would require the department, upon request, to refund the amount of the permit fee paid in 2009 by a person issued a vacuum or suction dredge equipment permit and subject to the latter prohibition. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would designate that January 18, 2010, be observed as the official memorial of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth, commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America.

(1) The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity to specified provisions of the federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, allows an exclusion from a taxpayer's income for the discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness, as defined, if that debt is discharged after January 1, 2007, and before January 1, 2009, as provided. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 extended the operation of those federal provisions to debt that is discharged before January 1, 2013. This bill would provide further conformity to those federal acts, including allowance of the exclusion for debt that is discharged before 2013, as provided. (2) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.