Existing law governs the determination of child custody and visitation in contested proceedings. Existing law requires the court, for purposes of deciding custody, to determine the best interests of the child based on certain factors, including the nature and amount of contact with both parents, and consistent with specified findings, including that the court's primary concern must be to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the child. Existing law further provides that custody should be granted in a specified order of preference, according to the best interests of the child. Existing law prohibits the court, in granting custody to either parent, from preferring a parent as custodian because of the parent's sex. This bill would prohibit the court from considering the sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation of a parent, legal guardian, or relative in determining the best interests of a child for the purpose of granting custody, and would make related findings.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district or community college district to order an election and submit to the electors of the district the question of whether the bonds of the district shall be issued and sold to raise money for specified purposes. Existing law generally requires, to pass a school bond measure, that either at least 23 of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds be in favor of issuing the bonds to pass the measure, or, if certain conditions are met, at least 55% of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds be in favor of issuing the bonds. Existing law prohibits the total amount of bonds issued by a school district or community college district from exceeding 1.25% of the taxable property of the district, as provided. This bill would raise that limit to 2%. (2) Existing law also authorizes a unified school district to issue bonds receiving at least 55% of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing the bonds that, in aggregation with bonds issued with a 23 favorable vote, do not exceed 2.5% of the taxable property of the district, as provided. This bill would raise that limit to 4%. The bill would make a similar percentage increase for community college districts. (3) The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 provides for the adoption of rules, regulations, and procedures, under the administration of the Director of General Services, for the allocation of state funds by the State Allocation Board for the construction and modernization of public school facilities. This bill would, among other things, require a school district to submit to the Department of General Services a 5-year school facilities master plan or updated 5-year school facilities master plan, as provided, as a condition of participating in the school facilities program under the act, would require the school district to submit specified information in the school district's application for an apportionment of state funds, and would make other changes to requirements a school district is required to comply with before participating in programs under the act. The bill would require the department to process applications to participate in the program, as specified, and would make other changes to the method by which the board makes apportionments of moneys under the act. This bill would establish the 2020 State School Facilities Fund, and authorize the board to apportion, and make disbursements of, moneys in the fund, as provided. The bill would require, for bonds approved by voters in 2020 or thereafter, the board to adjust a school district's required local and state contribution, as specified. The bill would authorize new construction and modernization grants to be used for seismic mitigation purposes and, among other things, to establish schoolsite-based infrastructure to provide broadband internet access. The bill would also authorize modernization grants to be used, among other things, for the control, management, or abatement of lead and for the demolishment and construction of a building on an existing schoolsite that meets specified conditions. The bill would prohibit the use of new construction and modernization grants for the purchase of portable electronic devices with a useful life of less than 3 years. This bill would authorize funding for health and safety projects by a school district, as provided. This bill would authorize the board to provide a grant to test for lead in water outlets used for drinking or preparing food on schoolsites serving kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as provided. The bill would specify procedures that small school districts, as defined, may use to obtain project and construction management, new construction grants, and modernization grants. The bill would also make conforming changes in, and remove inoperative provisions from, the act. (4) The act also requires the board to adopt regulations for determining the amount of funding and the eligibility and prioritization of funding that school districts with a financial hardship may receive from bond acts for construction, modernization, or relocation assistance. The act requires those regulations to include consideration of various factors, including whether the school district's total bonding capacity is $5,000,000 or less, in which case the school district shall be deemed eligible for financial hardship. This bill, for purposes of the regulations related to financial hardship eligibility, would increase the total bonding capacity cap to $15,000,000, to be adjusted as specified. (5) The California Constitution prohibits the Legislature from creating a debt or liability that singly or in the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities exceeds the sum of $300,000, except by an act that (A) authorizes the debt for a single object or work specified in the act, (B) has been passed by a 23 vote of all the Members elected to each house of the Legislature, (C) has been submitted to the people at a statewide general or primary election, and (D) has received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at that election. This bill would set forth the Public Preschool, K-12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2020 as a state general obligation bond act that would provide $15,000,000,000 to construct and modernize education facilities, as specified. This bond act would become operative only if approved by the voters at the March 3, 2020, statewide primary election. The bill would also provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at that election. (6) Existing law establishes the California State University, which is administered by the Board of Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as segments of public postsecondary education in this state. This bill would require the Board of Trustees and the Regents to comply with certain conditions, as provided, before receiving funds from the 2020 University Capital Outlay Bond Fund established pursuant to the Public Preschool, K-12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2020. (7) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to impose, as specified, an alternative fee, charge, dedication, or requirement on developers to fund school facilities, until the date new construction bond proceeds authorized by the Preschool-College Public Education Bond Act of 2016 are expended, or December 31, 2020, whichever is earlier. This bill would remove this authority beginning the earlier of January 1, 2021, or the date new construction bond proceeds authorized by the 2016 bond act are expended or apportioned, until January 1, 2028. The bill would also exempt multifamily housing developments that are located no further than 12 mile from a major transit stop, and reduce by 20% from specified amounts for any other multifamily housing developments, as specified, from any fee, charge, dedication, or other requirement for the construction or reconstruction of school facilities, as provided. (8) This bill, except for the provision making the provisions of the bill severable, would become effective upon the adoption of the Public Preschool, K-12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2020 by the voters at the March 3, 2020, statewide primary election.
The California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 provides for the regulation of private postsecondary educational institutions by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education in the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act also establishes the Student Tuition Recovery Fund and requires the bureau to adopt regulations governing the administration and maintenance of the fund, including requirements relating to assessments on students and student claims against the fund, and establishes that the moneys in this fund are continuously appropriated to the bureau for specified purposes. The act authorizes a California student of a Corinthian Colleges, Inc., institution who meets all of the other eligibility requirements, including that the student was enrolled as of June 20, 2014, or withdrew within 120 days of that date, to receive payment from the fund. The act defines economic loss, for the purposes of a student's loss that may be relieved or mitigated through the fund, to include but not necessarily be limited to, pecuniary loss, which is the sum of the student's tuition, all other institutional charges, the cost of equipment and materials required for the educational program, and interest on any student loan used to pay for such charges. This bill would instead allow a California student of a Corinthian Colleges, Inc., institution who was residing in California and attending a campus on or after January 1, 2010, and who would be eligible but for the Corinthian College's exemption from the act, or a student of a Corinthian College who was enrolled as of June 20, 2014, or withdrew within 120 days of that date, as specified, to receive payment from the fund. The bill would expand the definition of economic loss to include all cash or other consideration paid by the student to an institution, all expenses related to private or government student loans in connection with the student's attendance, and all third-party payments paid to the student or to the institution in connection with the student's attendance at the institution, as specified. To the extent that the bill expands the purposes of the fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
(1) Existing law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, provides, among other things, for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary schools in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. This bill would require an institution subject to the act to collect and retain for each graduate completing a program at that institution on or after January 1, 2020, individual identifying information, the program the graduate was enrolled in, and specified student loan debt information. The bill would require the institution to report that information to the bureau annually according to a schedule and format determined by the bureau. The bill would require the bureau to match the data reported by institutions pursuant to this provision with wage data from the Employment Development Department, as specified. The bill would require this data to be reported to the Employment Development Department to fulfill specified requirements of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The bill would require the bureau to make available on its internet website certain program-level and institution-level statistics regarding the earnings levels of students and student debt burdens. The bill would require the labor market outcome data reported under the bill to, at a minimum, provide data relating to graduates at 2 years and at 5 years after their graduation. The provisions related to reporting, matching, and internet posting would not be operative until the Director of Consumer Affairs certifies that the bureau's information technology system has been updated and is capable of processing data as required by this bill. The bill would require the bureau to notify institutions subject to the act when this certification has occurred, and would require institutions to comply with the bill's provisions within 120 days from the date they receive this notification. (2) Existing law requires the Director of Employment Development to permit the bureau to access relevant quarterly wage data, as necessary, for the bureau's evaluation and reporting of program performance outcomes as required and permitted by various state and federal laws, including the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. Existing law makes a person who knowingly accesses, uses, or discloses this confidential information without authorization guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would permit the bureau to access and use any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the labor market outcome reporting data match requirement described above. The bill would specify that this data would be provided to the extent permitted by state and federal law and regulations. By providing this information to the bureau, the bill would expand the crime related to unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of this information, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code proposed by AB 593 and AB 1296 to be operative only if this bill and either AB 593 or AB 1296, or both, are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (4) 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, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, provides for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary institutions in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act requires an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution to comply with specified requirements, including providing the bureau evidence of the institution's accreditation, evidence that the institution is approved to operate in the state where the institution maintains its main administrative location, the agent for service of process, and a copy of the institution's catalog and sample agreement. Under existing law registration with the bureau is valid for 2 years. Existing law repeals the act on January 1, 2021. If the operation of the act is extended by another measure, this bill would, effective July 1, 2022, specify additional duties under the act. In particular, the bill would require an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution to provide the bureau with specified information regarding whether or not the institution, or a controlling officer of, or a controlling interest or controlling investor in, the institution, or in the parent entity of the institution, has been subject to certain adverse state or federal actions in the previous 5 years before seeking authorization to operate in California, and with any additional documentation the bureau deems necessary for consideration in the registration process. The bill would require an institution that is registered with the bureau and enrolls any student residing in California to notify the bureau of any of specified indicators of potential suspect activities of the institution or a controlling officer of, or a controlling interest or controlling investor in, the institution or in the parent entity of the institution, and would authorize the bureau to determine, within 30 days of receipt of the notification, whether the institution should be permitted to continue to enroll California residents. The bill would authorize the bureau, in its discretion, to limit enrollments, permitting the institution to enroll California residents pending the completion of a review by the bureau. The bill would authorize an institution to seek review of a bureau decision through a writ of mandate action. The bill would require the bureau to adopt through emergency regulations an updated registration form. The bill would require the bureau to disclose on its internet website a list of registered institutions and disclose a designated email address for a California resident to send a complaint to the bureau about an institution. Existing law specifies conduct by regulated institutions that, if undertaken, is a crime. Because this bill would extend the application of those criminal provisions, 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.
Existing law relating to whistleblower protection prohibits an employer, as defined, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, as defined, from, among other things, preventing an employee from, or retaliating against an employee for, providing information to, or testifying before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry, if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a law, regardless of whether disclosing the information is part of the employee's job duties. Existing law relating to mental health advocacy requires each local mental health director to appoint, or contract for the services of, one or more county patients' rights advocates to perform prescribed duties. Existing law prohibits the knowing obstruction of a county patients' rights advocate in the performance of the advocate's duties. This bill would establish similar whistleblower protections specifically for county patients' rights advocates. The bill would apply prohibitions against retaliation by an employer to a local contracting agency under these provisions. The bill would establish a private right of action to enforce the rights and protections afforded to county patients' rights advocates.
Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which is permitted to adjudge certain children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, and prescribes various hearings and other procedures for these purposes. Existing law prohibits the court from terminating dependency jurisdiction over a nonminor who has reached 18 years of age until a hearing is conducted and the county welfare department has submitted a report verifying that specified information, documents, and services have been provided to the nonminor. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to, among other things, require the county welfare department to submit reports at the first regularly scheduled review hearing after a dependent child has attained 16 years of age and at the last regularly scheduled review hearing before a dependent child attains 18 years of age, and at every regularly scheduled review hearing thereafter, verifying that the county has provided certain of the above-described information, documents, and services, and additional financial literacy information, to the child. By increasing the reporting duties of county welfare departments, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, and before January 1, 2022, a credit for qualified taxpayers, defined as the person responsible for planting a crop, managing the crop, and harvesting the crop from the land, in an amount equal to 15% of the qualified value of fresh fruits or vegetables donated to a food bank. This bill, under both laws, would expand the credit to apply to the donation of qualified donation items, defined as raw agricultural products or processed foods. The bill would expand the definition of qualified taxpayer to include the person responsible for growing or raising a qualified donation item, or harvesting, packing, or processing a qualified donation item but would exclude a retailer, as defined, from that expanded definition. The bill would apply these provisions to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, requires every local public agency to establish within its jurisdiction a basic emergency telephone system that includes, at a minimum, police, firefighting, and emergency medical and ambulance services. Existing law authorizes a public agency to incorporate private ambulance service into the system. This bill would prohibit a public agency from delegating, assigning, or contracting for "911" emergency call processing services for the dispatch of emergency response resources unless the delegation or assignment is to, or the contract or agreement is with, another public agency. The bill would exempt from that prohibition a public agency that is a joint powers authority that delegated, assigned, or contracted for "911" call processing services on or before January 1, 2019, under certain conditions. The bill would also authorize a public agency that delegated, assigned, or contracted for "911" call processing services on or before January 1, 2019, to continue to do so with the concurrence of the public safety agencies that provide prehospital emergency medical services. If a public safety agency does not concur with the public agency to continue to delegate, assign, or contract for those services, the bill would authorize the public agency to continue to delegate, assign, or contract for those services for the remaining concurring public safety agencies. The bill would state the Legislature's intent to affirm and clarify a public agency's duty and authority to develop emergency communication procedures and respond quickly to a person seeking emergency services through the "911" emergency telephone system. Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, authorizes each county to develop an emergency medical services (EMS) program and designate a local EMS agency. Existing law delegates responsibility over the medical direction and management of an EMS system to the medical director of the local EMS agency, and requires the local EMS agency to maintain medical control over the EMS system in accordance with minimum standards established by the Emergency Medical Services Authority. This bill would require a public safety agency that provides "911" call processing services for medical response to make a connection available from the public safety agency dispatch center to an EMS provider's dispatch center, as specified. The bill would provide that the public safety agency is entitled to recover from an EMS provider the actual costs incurred in establishing and maintaining the connection. The bill would require the local EMS-agency-authorized EMS providers and the EMS system providers within the jurisdiction of the incident, to be simultaneously notified and dispatched at the same response mode. The bill would require a local EMS agency to review and approve or deny a public safety agency's plan to implement an emergency medical dispatcher or advanced life support program within 90 days of submission of the plan. This bill would provide that medical control by a local EMS agency medical director, or medical direction and management of an EMS system, may not be construed to, among other things, limit the authority of a public safety agency to directly receive and process "911" emergency requests originating within the agency's territorial jurisdiction or authorize a local EMS agency to unilaterally reduce a public safety agency's response mode below that of the EMS transport provider, prevent a public safety response, or alter the deployment of emergency response resources within the agency's territorial jurisdiction. The bill would also clarify that a public safety agency does not transfer its authority to administer emergency medical services to a local EMS agency by adhering to the policies, procedures, and protocols adopted by a local EMS agency.
This measure would condemn regulations recently adopted by the Department of Homeland Security to prescribe how a determination of inadmissibility for a person who is not a citizen or national is made based on the likelihood that the person will become a public charge. This measure would also urge the federal government to repeal the new regulations.