(1) Under existing law, the segments of the public postsecondary education system in the state include the University of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, which is administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, which are administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law exempts a student of the California Community Colleges or the California State University who was a member of the Armed Forces of the United States stationed in this state on active duty for more than one year immediately prior to being discharged from paying nonresident tuition for the length of time he or she lives in the state after being discharged up to the minimum time necessary to become a resident. Existing law also exempts one of those students if he or she is enrolled, or intending to enroll, at a campus of the California Community Colleges or as an undergraduate at a campus of the California State University from paying nonresident tuition for up to one year if he or she files an affidavit with the institution stating that he or she intends to establish residency in California as soon as possible. Existing law requires a student to use this exemption within 2 years of being discharged. Existing law prohibits a former member of the Armed Forces who received a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge from receiving an exemption from paying nonresident tuition under either of the provisions described above. Existing law provides that the statutory provisions relating to student residency requirements for public postsecondary education apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents act, by resolution, to make these provisions applicable. The bill, notwithstanding the requirements of existing law as referenced above, would require the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and request the University of California, to update and adopt policies no later than July 1, 2015, regarding tuition rates for eligible veterans and their eligible dependents to ensure conformity to, and compliance with, a specified federal statute and the requirements of existing law as described above. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (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, 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. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Department of General Services, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to establish a minimum fuel economy standard for the purchase of passenger vehicles and light duty trucks for the state fleet that are powered solely by internal combustion engines utilizing fossil fuels. Existing law requires all new state fleet purchases of those vehicle types to meet that standard, with certain exemptions. This bill would require the Department of General Services to include within the fuel economy standard passenger vehicles and light duty trucks that are powered by more than one source, such as nonplug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and would require new state vehicle fleet purchases of those vehicles to conform to that standard. These requirements would not apply to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or battery electric vehicles.
Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. Existing law also requires the DMV to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. Under existing law, the Salton Sea Authority, a joint powers authority, is authorized to form an infrastructure financing district for purposes of restoring the Salton Sea. This bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to apply to the DMV to sponsor a special Salton Sea license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue the license plates if the Department of Fish and Wildlife meets certain requirements. The bill would also require the revenue generated from the license plates, as specified, to be deposited in the Salton Sea Restoration Account created by the bill in the Specialized License Plate Fund, for use, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the Salton Sea Authority, for restoring the Salton Sea.
This measure would encourage the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to work in coordination with the Legislature to develop comprehensive trade promotion and foreign investment activities that encourage stronger economic ties with El Salvador.
Existing law authorizes employers to provide their employees paid sick leave. This bill would enact the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 to provide that an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment is entitled to paid sick days for prescribed purposes, to be accrued at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. An employee would be entitled to use accrued sick days beginning on the 90th day of employment. The bill would authorize an employer to limit an employee's use of paid sick days to 24 hours or 3 days in each year of employment. The bill would prohibit an employer from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who requests paid sick days. The bill would require employers to satisfy specified posting and notice and recordkeeping requirements. The bill would define terms for those purposes. The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to enforce these requirements, including the investigation, mitigation, and relief of violations of these requirements. The bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to impose specified administrative fines for violations and would authorize the commissioner or the Attorney General to recover specified civil penalties against an offender who violated these provisions on behalf of the aggrieved, as well as attorney's fees, costs, and interest. The bill would not apply to certain categories of employees that meet specified requirements.
Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments of tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. This bill would ratify the amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact entered into between the State of California and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, executed on August 12, 2014. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, certain actions related to that amended compact are not projects for purposes of CEQA. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would acknowledge the history of the Chinese in California, recognize the contributions made to the State of California by Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants, and apologize for past discriminatory laws and constitutional provisions that resulted in the persecution of Chinese living in California.
This measure would designate the portion of State Highway Route 710 between Pico Avenue and the Pacific Coast Highway in the City of Long Beach as the Senator Jenny Oropeza 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.
Existing law provides that the military courts of this state are general courts-martial, special courts-martial, summary courts-martial, and courts of inquiry. Existing law provides that general, special, and summary courts-martial have the power to try and adjudge specified members of the active militia. Existing law establishes various sexual assault offenses, including the offenses of rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, and abduction. Existing law establishes the Military Department, which includes the office of the Adjutant General, the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, the California Cadet Corps, and the Naval Militia. Federal laws and regulations governing the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard and not in conflict with state law are adopted with respect to the state military forces. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1 of each year, to report prescribed information to the Governor, the Legislature, the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs, the Attorney General, and the United States Attorneys in California regarding the federal government's activities relating to sexual assault prevention and response. The bill would restrict the authority of the department or the California National Guard to assert jurisdiction over qualifying sexual assault offenses, as defined, by a member of the active militia when subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to occasions when a civilian prosecutorial authority refuses to prosecute on behalf of the state. The bill would require a member of the active militia recommended for court-martial pursuant to a specified hearing for a qualifying sexual assault offense, or an attempt of that offense, to be tried by general court-martial. The bill would prohibit a convening authority from overturning a conviction for a qualifying sexual assault offense issued by a general court-martial. The bill would require the convening authority to dispose of cases on appeal in accordance with the decision of the Courts-Martial Appellate Panel. Under the bill, no statute of limitations would apply for a member of the active militia to be charged with a qualifying sexual assault offense when subject to the jurisdiction of the military court, and the bill would require the punishment for a conviction of any of the specified offenses to be issued as directed by the general court-martial, and to include, at a minimum, dismissal or dishonorable discharge. The bill would define the term "sexual assault crime" to include specified offenses under existing law.
Existing law requires listing and selling agents, as defined, to provide the seller and buyer in a residential real property transaction, including a leasehold interest, with a disclosure form, as prescribed, containing general information on real estate agency relationships. Existing law also requires the listing or selling agent to disclose to the buyer and seller whether he or she is acting as the buyer's agent exclusively, the seller's agent exclusively, or as a dual agent representing both the buyer and the seller. This bill would extend these disclosure requirements to include transactions involving commercial real property, as defined, including a leasehold interest.