Sen. Susan Eggman

Under existing law, the Department of Rehabilitation is required to provide various services to individuals with physical or mental disabilities who are found to be eligible therefor, including independent living services. Existing law provides for the operation of independent living centers, which are private, nonprofit organizations that provide specified services to individuals with disabilities, in order to assist those individuals in their attempts to live fuller and freer lives outside institutions. Under existing law, the department has the responsibility and authority for the encouragement of the planning, developing, and funding of independent living centers. Under existing law, each independent living center, except those centers which have been both established and maintained using specified federal funding as a base funding, is required to receive, to the extent funds are appropriated by the Legislature, at least $235,000 in base grant funds allocated by the department. Existing law authorizes these state funds to be replaced by reimbursements under the federal Supplemental Security Disability Insurance and the federal Supplemental Security Income programs, as specified. This bill would delete the above provisions excluding the centers that were previously established and maintained with federal funding and would instead require each independent living center to receive at least $235,000 in base grant funds allocated by the department, to the extent funds are appropriated by the Legislature and allocated by the department to the independent living centers from reimbursements under the federal programs. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. The act authorizes, until January 1, 2021, the authority to provide financial assistance in the form of a sales and use tax exclusion for any lease or transfer of title of tangible personal property constituting a project to any participating party, and defines a project and participating party for those purposes. The act limits the sales and use tax exclusion to $100,000,000 for each calendar year. This bill would expand those persons eligible for the sales and use tax exclusion, which is limited in amount, to additionally include any contractor for use in the performance of a construction contract for the participating party that will use that property as an integral part of the approved project. This bill would also allow the exclusion amount granted by the authority in any year to include any amounts not granted or amounts granted but unused from the previous calendar year beginning in the 2017 calendar year. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law establishes a statewide system of courts with a superior court of one or more judges in each county. Existing law authorizes the Judicial Council to prescribe the methods, means, and standards for electronic collection of data related to court administration, practice, and procedure. This bill would require the Judicial Council to report to the Legislature on a study of veterans and veterans treatment courts that includes a statewide assessment, as specified, of veterans treatment courts currently in operation and a survey of counties that do not operate veterans treatment courts that identifies barriers to program implementation and assesses the need for veterans treatment courts in those counties, if funds are received for that purpose. The bill would require the Judicial Council to report to the Legislature on the results of the study, as specified, on or before June 1, 2019. The bill would create the Veterans Court Assessment Fund in the State Treasury, administered by the Judicial Council, and would authorize the fund to accept private donations, as specified. The bill would appropriate specified sums from the Veterans Court Assessment Fund and from the General Fund for the purpose of conducting the study and report.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law requires the Department of Finance to annually submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the status of the projects funded with moneys from the fund. This bill would require the department to include additional information in its annual report to the Legislature, including, among other things, the greenhouse gas emissions reductions attributable to each project and the geographic location, industry sector, and number of employees of the business entities, as defined, receiving moneys from the fund. The bill would require state agencies expending moneys from the fund to condition the acceptance of those moneys on the recipient providing information necessary to meet the reporting requirements.

(1) Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that budget and policy decisions regarding postsecondary education generally adhere to 3 specified goals and that appropriate metrics be identified, defined, and formally adopted to monitor progress toward the achievement of the goals. Existing law establishes the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) as the statewide postsecondary education coordinating and planning agency, and provides for its functions and responsibilities. Existing law also provides for the composition of CPEC's membership. The annual state Budget Acts from the 2011–12 fiscal year to the 2015–16 fiscal year, inclusive, have provided no funding for CPEC. This bill would establish the Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability as the statewide postsecondary education coordination and planning entity. The bill would provide for the appointment by the Governor, subject to confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate, of an executive director of the office. The bill would establish an 8-member advisory board for the purpose of examining, and making recommendations to, the office regarding the functions and operations of the office and reviewing and commenting on any recommendations made by the office to the Governor and the Legislature, among other specified duties. The bill would specify the functions and responsibilities of the office, which would include, among other things, participation, as specified, in the identification and periodic revision of state goals and priorities for higher education, reviewing and making recommendations regarding cross-segmental and interagency initiatives and programs, advising the Legislature and the Governor regarding the need for, and the location of, new institutions and campuses of public higher education, acting as a clearinghouse for postsecondary education information and as a primary source of information for the Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies, and reviewing all proposals for changes in eligibility pools for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary education. The bill would authorize the office to require the governing boards and institutions of public postsecondary education to submit data to the office on plans and programs, costs, selection and retention of students, enrollments, plant capacities, and other matters pertinent to effective planning, policy development, and articulation and coordination. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the office to report to the Legislature and the Governor on or before December 31 of each year regarding its progress in achieving specified objectives and responsibilities. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2021. (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.

This measure would encourage motorists to not idle their motor vehicles near places where children congregate.

This measure would recognize that the Legislature supports the development of safe and secure data sharing between public education, social service, and research entities through the Silicon Valley Regional Data Trust as it pertains specifically to at-risk, foster, homeless, and justice-involved children and youth and their families, in order to better serve, protect, and improve the futures of these Californians.