Sen. Susan Eggman

Existing law prohibits the disclosure of the home addresses of certain public employees and officials that appear in any records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, except to a court, a law enforcement agency, an attorney in a civil or criminal action under certain circumstances, and certain other official entities. This bill would extend that prohibition, subject to those same exceptions, to the disclosure of the home addresses of code enforcement officers, as defined.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various healing arts professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires boards within the department to adopt rules and regulations to provide for methods of evaluating education, training, and experience obtained in the armed services, if applicable to the requirements of the business, occupation, or profession regulated, and to specify how this education, training, and experience may be used to meet the licensure requirements for the particular business, occupation, or profession regulated. Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of registered nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law requires applicants for licensure as a registered nurse to meet certain educational requirements, to have completed specified courses of instruction, and to not be subject to denial of licensure under specified circumstances. Existing law authorizes applicants who have served on active duty in the medical corps in the United States Armed Forces to submit a record of specified training to the board for evaluation in order to satisfy the courses of instruction requirement. Under existing law, if the applicant satisfies the other general licensure requirements and if the board determines that his or her education establishes competency to practice registered nursing, the applicant shall be granted a license upon passing a certain examination. This bill would provide that this act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Combat to Care Act and would make various legislative findings and declarations, including that California recognizes that military service members gain skill and experience while serving the country that, upon discharge, can be translated to the civilian world. The bill would require the Board of Registered Nursing, by regulation and in conjunction with the Military Department, to identify the Armed Forces education, training, or experience that is equivalent or transferable to the curriculum required for licensure by the board. The bill would require the board, after evaluating a military applicant's education, training, or experience, to provide the applicant with a list of the coursework, if any, he or she must still complete to be eligible for licensure and to grant the applicant, if he or she meets specified criteria, a license upon passing the standard examination. The bill would require the board to attempt to contact military service members who may meet the bill's criteria and would authorize the board to enter into an agreement with the federal government in that regard. The bill would require the board to maintain records of applicants, as specified.

Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of professional engineers and land surveyors by the Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors in the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law prohibits a person from representing himself or herself as an engineer or surveyor, as described by various titles, unless the person is licensed as an engineer or surveyor, as specified. Other existing law makes a violation of those prohibitions a misdemeanor. This bill would additionally prohibit a person from using the title "city engineer," "county engineer," "city surveyor," or "county surveyor," unless the person is licensed as an engineer or surveyor, respectively, as specified. By expanding the scope of existing law, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law provides for the filing of a record of survey by a licensed surveyor or licensed civil engineer with the county surveyor. This bill would authorize a licensed surveyor to include additional information to be filed simultaneously, as a separate document, as specified, with a record of survey. Existing law requires that any monument set by a licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer to mark or reference a point on a property or land line shall be permanently and visibly marked or tagged with the certificate number of the surveyor or civil engineer setting it, as specified, or, if the monument is set by a public agency, it shall be marked with the name of the agency and the political subdivision it serves. This bill would require the monument to be marked by the surveyor or civil engineer, as specified, and to be marked with the name of the agency and the political subdivision it serves, if the monument is set by a local public agency, or, if set by a state agency, to only be marked with the name of the state agency. 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.

(1) Under existing law, when the Department of Motor Vehicles determines that an applicant is lawfully entitled to a driver's license, the department is required to issue that license to the applicant. Existing law specifies the contents of a driver's license and requires the application for a driver's license or identification card to contain a space for an applicant to indicate whether he or she has served in the Armed Forces of the United States and to give his or her consent to be contacted regarding eligibility to receive state or federal veterans benefits. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2015, require the application for a driver's license or identification card to also allow a person to present to the department, in a manner determined by the department, a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, as specified, and to request the driver's license or identification card be printed with the word "VETERAN." The bill would require the department to allow an applicant to present a verification from the county veterans service officer that the person has received that form. The department would be required to print the word "VETERAN" on the face of a driver's license or identification card issued to a person who makes that request and presents that form to the department. (2) Existing law establishes certain fee amounts for the applications for, and renewal of, driver's licenses and identification cards. This bill would require the department to charge an additional fee in an unspecified amount to a person who requests that the person's driver's license or identification card be designated, as provided above. The bill would require the department to forward $1 of the amount collected to the Controller, for deposit in the Veterans Service Office Fund. The bill would require the revenues deposited in the Veterans Service Office Fund to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the support of county veterans service offices.

The Medi-Cal Act establishes 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 requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced by 1% or 5%, and provider payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 1%, for dates of service on and after March 1, 2009, and until June 1, 2011. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments and payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 10% for dates of service on and after June 1, 2011. This bill would instead require that, to the extent permitted by federal law, this payment reduction not apply to skilled nursing facilities or subacute care units that are a distinct part of a general acute care hospital, intermediate care or other specified facilities serving developmentally disabled individuals, or specified Medi-Cal provider payments for fee-for-service benefits, including payments to pharmacies, for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011. The bill would also provide that this payment reduction shall not apply to managed health care plans for dates of service after the effective date of the bill. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law provides for the regulation of licensed clinical social workers. Existing law makes an individual who styles himself or herself as a licensed clinical social worker, without holding a license in good standing, guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law exempts an individual employed by a government entity, certain academic institutions, an institution that is both nonprofit and charitable, and other specified individuals from that prohibition. Existing law defines an approved school of social work to mean a school that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social Work Education. This bill would prohibit an individual from representing himself or herself as a social worker, unless he or she possesses certain academic qualifications from an accredited school, as specified. This bill would prohibit an employer from representing his or her employee as a social worker, unless that employee possesses certain academic qualifications. This bill would apply those prohibitions to an individual employed by a governmental entity, certain academic institutions, an institution that is both nonprofit and charitable, and other individuals. Because a violation of the bill would be a crime, it 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.

This measure would designate that January 20, 2014, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and 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. This measure would also recognize the anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington in connection with the advancement of civil rights.

Existing law, the Veterans' Bond Act of 2008, as approved by the voters, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $900,000,000, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, for purposes of financing the Cal-Vet program for farm, home, and mobilehome purchase assistance for veterans. This bill would amend the Veterans' Bond Act of 2008 to reduce the amount of bonds that are authorized to be issued under the act from $900,000,000 to $300,000,000. The bill would enact the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014 (the bond act) to authorize 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) , also enacted by the bill. The bill would authorize the Legislature to amend the provisions of the bond act, by majority vote, for specified purposes. The bill would impose a specified reporting requirement on the Department of Housing and Community Development to evaluate, in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, any program established by the former pursuant to the VHHPA. The bill would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to provide specified assistance to veterans. The bill would provide for submission of a specified section to the voters at the June 3, 2014, statewide primary election, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law regulates the sale of livestock drugs by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, and prohibits a person from selling a restricted drug at retail unless he or she holds a license. Existing law authorizes a person to file an application for a license with the secretary and requires that the application be accompanied by an application fee of $25. Existing law establishes a license renewal fee of $25 per year, and provides for an additional penalty of $10 if the fee is not paid by the required date. The funds collected are deposited into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, and are continuously appropriated for purposes of the provisions regulating livestock drugs. This bill would increase the amount of the application fee, the renewal fee, and the penalty fee to $50. By increasing the fees deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law requires the secretary to establish, by regulation, good manufacturing practices as are necessary to carry out the purposes of the provisions regulating commercial feed. This bill would also require the secretary to establish regulations for hazard analysis and preventive control measures as are necessary to carry out those provisions. Existing law requires that a license be obtained from the secretary for each location where commercial feed is manufactured, distributed, sold, or stored for later sale. Existing law requires each license application to be accompanied by an annual fee specified by the Department of Food and Agriculture for each location of at least $100, but not exceeding $600, with the specific fee to be set by the secretary upon recommendation of the Feed Inspection Advisory Board. Beginning on January 1, 2015, the license fee is required to be $100 for each location. The funds collected are deposited into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund and are continuously appropriated for purposes relating to the manufacture and distribution of commercial feed. This bill would extend the date on which the new fee requirement of $100 for each location would take effect from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2020. By extending the time during which a higher license fee may be applied, the bill would increase the fees that are deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, thereby making an appropriation. Existing law establishes an inspection tonnage tax for commercial feed, as specified, with a maximum rate of $0.15 per ton. The funds collected are deposited into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, and are continuously appropriated for purposes of the provisions regulating commercial feed. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, authorizes the secretary to designate a specified amount of the tonnage taxes collected to provide funding for research and education regarding the safe manufacture, distribution, and use of commercial feed. This bill would extend the secretary's authority to designate a specified amount of the tonnage taxes collected for those purposes from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2020. This would constitute a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. By extending the purposes for which funds in a continuously appropriated fund may be spent, the bill would make an appropriation.

(1) Existing law provides for the regulation of animals and pests for the prevention and control of disease. Existing law requires that any bovine animal in a brucellosis control area that reacts positively to a test for brucellosis be immediately identified pursuant to the regulations of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and requires that the animal be slaughtered within 30 days in accordance with the regulations of the secretary. Existing law also authorizes the secretary to identify nonreacting animals in the same herd and to require the slaughter of those animals if certain requirements are satisfied. Existing law requires that if an animal in a brucellosis control area is slaughtered pursuant to these provisions, or under regulations of the secretary which are made pursuant to these provisions, the owner shall receive compensation, as specified. Existing law also provides indemnity, as provided, to the owner of a nonreacting animal that is slaughtered. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to delete any compensation from the state and would provide that if a nonreacting animal is slaughtered pursuant to these provisions the owner would receive the same compensation as the owner of an animal that tested positive for brucellosis. The bill would require that the value of a nonreacting animal that is slaughtered be determined by appraisement by a representative of the Department of Food and Agriculture, or a representative of the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, and by the owner or his or her agent. The bill would also require that if these persons do not agree on the valuation of the animal, the animal be appraised by the chief appraiser of the Department of Food and Agriculture or his or her representative and that determination is final. (2) Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council and requires it, among other things, to provide, fund, and distribute data and information to local governments and regional agencies that will assist in developing and planning sustainable communities. Under existing law, the Strategic Growth Council consists of the Director of State Planning and Research, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing, the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, and one public member appointed by the Governor. Existing law and the Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 2012, effective July 3, 2012, and operative July 1, 2013, assigns and reorganizes the various functions of state government among executive officers and agencies by, among other things, creating the Transportation Agency headed by a secretary. This bill would add the Secretary of Food and Agriculture as a member of the Strategic Growth Council. The bill would enact other statutory changes necessary to reflect the changes in law made by the Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 2 relating to the Transportation Agency.