Existing law, the Physical Therapy Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physical therapists by the Physical Therapy Board of California, and establishes education, examination, and other requirements for licensure in this state. This bill would enact the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, under which each member state is required to grant a compact privilege, as defined, to a physical therapist holding a license in another member state if specified conditions are satisfied. The bill would authorize a member state to charge a fee for granting a compact privilege. The bill would prohibit fees collected by the Physical Therapy Board of California for purposes of granting a compact privilege from exceeding the cost of administering that privilege under the compact and would require the fees to be deposited in the Physical Therapy Fund. The bill would require the board to select a delegate to be a member of the Physical Therapy Compact Commission, a joint public agency which would be authorized to promulgate uniform rules in accordance with specified rulemaking procedures to implement the compact. The bill would authorize an executive board of the commission to act on behalf of the commission, and would specify the executive board's duties, including recommending changes to fees. The bill would authorize the commission to levy and collect an annual assessment from each state or impose fees on other parties to cover the costs of the operations and activities of the commission. The bill would require the board to transmit specified data on licensees to a coordinated database and reporting system maintained by the commission. The bill would specify that the provisions of the compact and the rules promulgated pursuant to the compact shall have the force and effect of state law. The bill would state that if any provision of the compact is contrary to the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, or any state or federal statute or regulation, the provision is void and unenforceable. Because a person licensed in another state practicing under a compact privilege would be subject to the provisions of the act, a violation of which is a misdemeanor, the bill would expand the scope of a crime and would thereby 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.
Sponsored bills
(1) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow credits against the taxes imposed under those laws. Existing law allows an earned income tax credit under the Personal Income Tax Law, beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws. This bill would allow a small business or a nonprofit organization impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as those terms are defined, an earned income tax credit for each taxable year beginning on and after January 1, 2020, in an amount equal to 20% of the taxpayer's annual revenue. The bill would specify that the credit is only operative for taxable years for which the Legislature appropriates from the General Fund to the Franchise Tax Board moneys to administer the credit. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law also allow a credit against the taxes imposed under those laws, for each taxable year beginning on and after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2030, in an amount as provided in a written agreement between the GO-Biz and the taxpayer, agreed upon by the California Competes Tax Credit Committee, and based on specified factors, including the number of jobs the taxpayer will create or retain in the state and the amount of investment in the state by the taxpayer. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the General Fund to the GO-Biz to administer this provision, require GO-Biz, when determining whether to enter into a written agreement with a taxpayer for allocation periods beginning with the 2020–21 fiscal year, to consider the overall economic impact in this state of the COVID-19 pandemic to the taxpayer's project or business. (2) Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, and prescribes the duties and functions of the Small Business Advocate, who is also the Director of the Office of Small Business Advocate. Among these duties, the director is to serve as the principal advocate in the state on behalf of small businesses and to represent the views and interests of small businesses before other state agencies whose policies and activities may affect small businesses. This bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the General Fund, the Small Business Advocate to convene a task force to research and provide a report to the Legislature, on or after the effective date of this bill, regarding the regulations or regulatory areas that most negatively impact small businesses in the state. (3) Existing law creates the Department of Human Resources, which succeeds to and is vested with all of the powers and duties exercised and performed by the Department of Personnel Administration. Existing law specifically grants the department the powers, duties, and authority necessary to operate the state civil service system in accordance with Article VII of the California Constitution, the Government Code, the merit principle, and applicable rules duly adopted by the State Personnel Board. Existing law requires the State Personnel Board to prescribe rules consistent with a merit-based civil service system to govern classification, examinations, probationary periods, disciplinary actions, and other matters related to the board's authority under the California Constitution. This bill would require the State Personnel Board to prescribe rules to include as a factor for recruitment, outreach, and hiring whether the person can demonstrate that they have become unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as provided. (4) Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Under existing the law, the department is responsible for, among other things, the fire protection, fire prevention, maintenance, and enhancement of the state's forest, range, and brushland resources, and for maintaining an integrated staff to accomplish, among other things, fire protection and fire prevention activities as needed. Existing law requires the department, in accordance with a plan approved by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, to, among other things, provide fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus, organize fire crews and patrols, and employ people to effect the plan. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the department to establish new, or expand existing, entry-level positions within the department that are aimed at reducing and mitigating wildfire risk and to give priority, in hiring for these positions, to applicants who have lost their jobs due to the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, pandemic. (5) Existing law establishes the California Conservation Corps and requires that young people participating in the corps program generally be engaged in projects that, among other things, preserve, maintain, and enhance environmentally important lands and waters. Existing law authorizes the Director of the California Conservation Corps to adopt criteria for selecting applicants for enrollment in the corps program. This bill would authorize, notwithstanding any other law, a person who is over 25 years of age to serve as a corpsmember, require priority, in the selection of any corpsmember, to be given to applicants who have lost their jobs because of the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, pandemic, and require corpsmembers who join the corps because they lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic to be paid at least minimum wage pursuant to existing law. The bill would require these provisions to be implemented only upon appropriation by the Legislature. (6) Existing law establishes the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in the California Health and Human Services Agency. The office is vested with all the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the State Department of Public Health relating to health planning and research development. Existing law establishes various scholarship and training programs that are managed by the office to improve access to health care. These programs include, among others, the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program, which provides for the repayment of prescribed educational loans obtained by a physician and surgeon who practices in a medically underserved area of the state. Existing law also requires the office to establish a nonprofit public benefit corporation known as the Health Professions Education Foundation to perform various duties with respect to implementing health professions scholarship and loan programs. This bill would establish, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Health Profession Economic Recovery Program to be administered by the office. The bill would require the program to accomplish various goals, including expanding the number of primary care physician and psychiatry residency positions and expanding and strengthening programs to recruit and prepare students from underrepresented and low-income backgrounds for health careers. (7) Existing law authorizes a person or gleaner engaged in the business of processing, distributing, or selling an agricultural product to donate, free of charge, a product that is in a condition that it may be used as food for human consumption to a nonprofit charitable organization within the state. For this purpose, existing law authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to divert agricultural products to nonprofit organizations, including food banks, and authorizes the board of supervisors of a county to establish a surplus food collection and distribution system. In order to qualify as a food bank, existing law requires an organization to meet certain minimum standards. This bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the General Fund, to create a grant program to provide grants to food banks to contract labor to harvest produce from farms willing to donate produce and to transport the produce to the food bank for distribution to the public. (8) Under existing law, the Department of Housing and Community Development Department administers various grant programs to local governments to fund housing and community development projects. This bill would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the General Fund, to create a grant program to award grants to local governments for shovel-ready housing and community development projects. (9) Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of the state highway system and associated property. Existing law provides various sources of funding to local governments for transportation projects and operations. This bill would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the General Fund, to create a grant program to award grants to local governments for shovel-ready transportation projects. (10) The Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983 establishes a program of seismic safety building standards for certain hospitals. The act requires the office to observe the construction of, or addition to, a hospital building or the reconstruction or alteration of a hospital building, as it deems necessary to comply with the act for the protection of life and property. This bill would establish, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Economic Recovery Seismic Retrofitting Program to be administered by the office. The bill would require the office to provide loans to hospitals to fund seismic retrofit construction, as defined. The bill would also establish the Economic Recovery Seismic Retrofitting Program Fund to fund loans made under the program.
Existing law authorizes a life or disability income insurer to decline a life or disability income insurance application or enrollment request on the basis of positive test results from certain tests, known as the ELISA test and the Western Blot Assay, that detect antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) , performed by or at the direction of the insurer. This bill, to become operative January 1, 2023, would instead prohibit an insurer from declining an application or enrollment request for coverage under a policy or certificate for life insurance or disability income insurance based solely on the results of a positive HIV test, regardless of when or at whose direction the test was performed. However, the bill would not prevent or restrict an insurer from refusing to insure an applicant that is HIV positive, limiting the amount, extent, or kind of coverage for an applicant that is HIV positive, or charging a different rate to an applicant that is HIV positive, if the refusal, limitation, or charge is based on sound actuarial principals and actual or reasonably anticipated experience. The bill would define "HIV test" for purposes of these provisions to mean any clinical test, laboratory or otherwise, used to identify HIV, a component of HIV, or antibodies or antigens to HIV. Existing law imposes a civil penalty on a person who negligently or willfully discloses results of an HIV antibody test to any third party, except pursuant to written authorization or informed consent, in a manner that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of the person to whom the test results apply. Under existing law, the penalty for a negligent violation of those provisions is civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 plus court costs, and the penalty for a willful violation of those provisions is a civil penalty in an amount not less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000 plus court costs. If the negligent or willful disclosure results in economic, bodily, or psychological harm to the subject of the test, existing law makes the person guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Existing law defines "HIV antibody test" for these purposes to mean an ELISA test or a Western Blot Assay, or both. This bill would eliminate the references to HIV antibody test for purposes of those civil and criminal penalty provisions and instead would impose penalties for the negligent, willful, or malicious disclosure of results of an HIV test, as defined above. The bill would increase the civil penalty for a negligent violation of those provisions to an amount not to exceed $2,500 plus court costs and would increase the civil penalty for a willful violation of those provisions to an amount not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 plus court costs. The bill would impose the same civil penalty for a malicious violation of those provisions as is provided for the willful violation. The bill would also increase the amount of the fine that may be imposed for a misdemeanor violation of those provisions to an amount not to exceed $25,000. By changing the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make conforming changes. 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.
The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year, but excludes certain items of income from the computation of tax, including an exclusion for combat-related special compensation. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2031, would exclude from gross income specified amounts of retirement pay received by a taxpayer from the federal government for service performed in the uniformed services, as defined, during the taxable year. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure with achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. The bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new income tax credit. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Under the ABC test, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of the ABC test described above. Existing law, instead, provides that these exempt relationships are governed by the multifactor test previously established in the case of S.G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341. This bill would establish an alternative test for determining whether an individual having a contractual relationship with a contracting entity or through a platform is an employee or an independent contractor. The bill would provide that an individual or sole proprietor providing labor or services for remuneration who meets specified conditions shall be considered an independent contractor rather than an employee with respect to the individual's relationship with a contracting entity or platform. These conditions would include, among others, that the services to be provided by the individual be set forth in a written contract of limited duration, that the individual sets their own schedule and can decline any offer for remuneration from a contracting entity or through a platform without penalty, that the equivalent hourly rate paid to the independent contractor meet or exceed the applicable minimum wage, and that the contract must address meal and rest breaks if it requires the independent contractor to work multiple consecutive hours and must include a premium rate of pay for any hours in excess of 8 that the contract requires the individual to work in a day. The bill would specify that this provision does not preclude a contract from limiting the number of hours that an independent contractor can perform work under the contract in a single day. The bill would require the independent contractor to be covered by a policy for occupational accidents that insures the independent contractor for medical expenses and lost income resulting from injuries suffered while the independent contractor is performing services, in accordance with specified policy requirements, including medical coverage in excess of the independent contractor's own medical insurance, death and survivor payments, and disability payments. The bill would also provide that independent contractors who satisfy the conditions of the bill are eligible for state disability insurance and paid family leave benefits offered through the Employment Development Department and State Disability Insurance Program. The bill would require the contracting entity or platform to maintain a policy against the discrimination against an independent contractor on the basis of race, color, ancestry, and various other protected classes recognized under existing law. The bill would specify that as of April 1, 2021, the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission do not apply to the independent contractor relationships under the bill's provisions, except as expressly set forth in the bill. The bill would also specify that the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission do not apply to work performed on or before March 31, 2021, provided that the then-effective contract between a contracting entity or a platform and an individual substantially complied with specified provisions of the bill or the equivalent hourly rate earned by an individual or sole proprietor met or exceeded the then-applicable minimum wage for the time necessary to complete the service, excluding commute time. The bill would also define various terms.
Existing law establishes the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, which is administered by the State Air Resources Board. The program authorizes the state board to provide grants to offset the incremental cost of eligible projects that reduce emissions from covered vehicular sources. The program also authorizes funding for a fueling infrastructure demonstration program and for technology development efforts that are expected to result in commercially available technologies in the near-term that would improve the ability of the program to achieve its goals. Existing law authorizes the state board to delegate to an air quality management district or air pollution control district the administration of the program. This bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2022, to adopt an online application process for the submission of grant applications under the program. The bill would require the state board and air districts administering the program to use the online application process. The bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2022, to review the program and to submit to the Legislature a report on the review containing certain information. The bill would prohibit the state board from adopting or amending regulations making changes to the program until it has submitted the report.
Under existing law, a person is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, if they intentionally distribute an image that was intended to remain private of the intimate body parts of another or of the person depicted engaged in a sex act, as specified. Existing law requires prosecution for this offense to be commenced within one year after commission of the offense. This bill would instead allow prosecution for this offense to commence within one year of the discovery of the commission of the offense.
Existing law allows a person who was arrested or convicted of a nonviolent offense while they were a victim of human trafficking to petition the court for vacatur relief. Existing law requires the petitioner to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the arrest and conviction was the direct result of being a victim of human trafficking. This bill would prohibit a court from refusing to hear the petition on the basis of the petitioner's outstanding fines and fees or the petitioners's failure to meet the conditions of probation. With the exception of restitution, the bill would require that the collection of fines imposed as a result of a nonviolent offense that is the subject of the petition be stayed while the petition is pending.
This measure would designate the week of February 24, 2020, to March 1, 2020, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
Existing law provides for programs relating to treatment of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) . Under existing law, the Office of AIDS, in the State Department of Public Health, is the lead agency within the state responsible for coordinating state programs, services, and activities relating to HIV, AIDS, and AIDS-related conditions. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to develop and review plans and participate in a program for the prevention and control of venereal disease. Existing law authorizes the department to establish, maintain, and subsidize clinics, dispensaries, and prophylactic stations for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of venereal disease, and authorizes the department to provide medical, advisory, financial, or other assistance to those clinics, dispensaries, and stations, as may be approved by the department. This bill would require the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and the Chief of the Office of Aids to develop and implement a statewide master plan on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) , hepatitis C virus (HCV) , and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) , for the purpose of improving the health of people living with, and vulnerable to, those conditions, reducing new transmissions, and ending these epidemics. The bill would require the secretary and chief to create a stakeholder advisory committee and a cabinet-level workgroup to advise them in developing and implementing the master plan. The bill would require the master plan to be developed to accomplish key goals to end the HIV, HCV, and STD epidemics in California, including, but not limited to, increasing access to comprehensive HIV, HCV, and STD prevention services, and addressing social determinants of health that impact people living with, and vulnerable to, those conditions. The bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, in coordination with the Office of AIDS, to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1, 2021, and submit updates annually thereafter, until October 1, 2031, regarding the master plan.