(1) The Corporation Tax Law imposes taxes according to or measured by net income at a rate of 8.84%, or for financial institutions, at a rate of 10.84%, as specified. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2015, revise that rate for taxpayers that are publicly held corporations, as defined, and instead impose a tax rate from 7% to 13%, or for financial institutions, from 9% to 15%, based on the compensation ratio, as defined, of the corporation. This bill would increase the applicable tax rate by 50% for those taxpayers that have a specified decrease in full-time employees employed in the United States as compared to an increase in contracted and foreign full-time employees, as described. (2) Existing law establishes the California Competes Tax Credit Committee, which has specified duties in regard to tax credits for economic development. Existing law establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as "GO-Biz," to, among other duties, serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. The Corporation Tax Law allows various credits against the tax imposed by that law. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, would allow a credit to a qualified taxpayer, as defined, in an amount as provided in a written agreement between GO-Biz and the qualified taxpayer, agreed upon by the committee, and based on specified factors, including the number of jobs the qualified taxpayer will create or retain in the state and the amount of investment in the state by the qualified taxpayer. The bill would limit the total amount of the credit available to an amount equal to the amount of revenue generated by the application of the above-referenced tax rates on publicly held corporations. The bill would also impose various duties upon GO-Biz, including the adoption of regulations. (3) 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 act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.
Sponsored bills
Existing law regulates various business activities and practices, including the sale of telephones. This bill would require that any smartphone, as defined, that is manufactured on or after July 1, 2015, and sold in California after that date, include a technological solution at the time of sale, which may consist of software, hardware, or both software and hardware, that, once initiated and successfully communicated to the smartphone, can render inoperable the essential features, as defined, of the smartphone to an unauthorized user when the smartphone is not in the possession of an authorized user. The bill would require that the technological solution, when enabled, be able to withstand a hard reset, as defined, and prevent reactivation of the smartphone on a wireless network except by an authorized user. The bill would make these requirements inapplicable when the smartphone is resold in California on the secondhand market or is consigned and held as collateral on a loan. The bill would additionally except from these requirements a smartphone model that was first introduced prior to January 1, 2015, that cannot reasonably be reengineered to support the manufacturer's or operating system provider's technological solution, including if the hardware or software cannot support a retroactive update. The bill would authorize an authorized user to affirmatively elect to disable or opt-out of the technological solution at any time. The bill would make the knowing retail sale in violation of the bill's requirements subject to a civil penalty of not less than $500, nor more than $2,500, for each violation. The bill would limit an enforcement action to collect the civil penalty to being brought by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or city attorney, and would prohibit any private right of action to collect the civil penalty. The bill would prohibit any city, county, or city and county from imposing requirements on manufacturers, operating system providers, wireless carriers, or retailers relating to technological solutions for smartphones.
The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 authorizes counties and districts to establish retirement systems pursuant to its provisions in order to provide pension benefits to their employees. The law defines a district for these purposes and includes specified county retirement systems within that definition. The law generally provides that the personnel of a county retirement system are county employees, but also authorizes the board of retirement in specified counties to appoint certain personnel who are designated employees of the retirement system. This bill would make the Contra Costa County retirement system a district for purposes of the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937. The bill would authorize the board of retirement to appoint a retirement administrator and other personnel as required to accomplish the necessary work of the board and would authorize the administrator to make appointments on its behalf. The bill would provide that these employees are employees of the retirement system, not the county, and would except them from civil service provisions and merit system rules that would otherwise apply. The bill would make the retirement board a public agency for purposes of collective bargaining and provide that the compensation of the personnel so employed by the board is an expense of the system. The bill would require the retirement system to retain, for a 90-day transition period, nonprobationary county employees employed at the retirement system's facilities who were covered by a memorandum of understanding, as specified. The bill would provide that, during the 90-day transition period, probationary employees would maintain only those rights they had pursuant to their employment with the county. The bill would require the retirement system to recognize as the exclusive representative of the former county employees who are retained, as specified, those recognized employee organizations that represented the employees when they were employed by the county, and would require that the initial terms and conditions for those employees be as previously established. The bill would make technical and conforming changes in relation to these provisions.
Existing law also establishes the Antiterrorism Fund for purposes that include funding antiterrorism activities. Existing law establishes the California Memorial Scholarship Program, administered by the Scholarshare Investment Board and funded by the California Memorial Scholarship Fund. Existing law states that the purpose of the program is to provide scholarships for surviving dependents of California residents killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Existing law further provides that these scholarships shall be used to defray the costs incurred by participants in the program at institutions of higher education. Existing law requires the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to identify all persons who are eligible for scholarships under the program and to notify them of their eligibility no later than July 1, 2003. Existing law requires eligible persons to inform the Scholarshare Investment Board in a timely manner of their decision on whether to participate in the program and requires eligible persons who are to become participants in the program to execute agreements no later than July 1, 2005. Existing law requires an agreement to specify that any moneys remaining in an account after the 30th birthday of the participant, or not later than July 1, 2015, whichever occurs last, shall revert to the Antiterrorism Fund. This bill would instead require the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to identify, and confirm by documentation, all persons who are eligible for scholarships under the program by use of various methods, including, among others, media outreach and communication with the Special Master of the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, and, after creating a new list of eligible persons, to notify those persons of their eligibility by no later than July 1, 2015. The bill would require the Scholarshare Investment Board to service these scholarships only for individuals determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board. The bill would require eligible persons who are to become participants in the program to execute participation agreements no later than July 1, 2016, and would require those agreements to revert the moneys remaining in a participant's account to the Antiterrorism Fund after the 30th birthday of the participant, or not later than July 1, 2026, whichever occurs last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law, the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water and water supply reliability program. Existing law provides for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. This bill would repeal these provisions. (2) Under existing law, various measures have been approved by the voters to provide funds for water supply and protection facilities and programs. Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 84 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, natural resource protection, and park improvements. Existing law, the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1E at the November 7, 2006, general statewide election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,090,000,000 for the purposes of financing disaster preparedness and flood prevention projects. Existing law, the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 50 at the November 5, 2002, statewide general election, authorizes, for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, water quality, and water reliability program, the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,440,000,000. Existing law, the Costa-Machado Water Act of 2000, approved by the voters as Proposition 13 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $1,970,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, clean water, watershed protection, and flood protection program. Existing law, the Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act, approved by the voters as Proposition 204 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $995,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe, clean, reliable water supply program. Existing law, the Water Conservation and Water Quality Bond Law of 1986, approved by the voters as Proposition 44 at the June 3, 1986, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $150,000,000 for the purposes of financing a water conservation and water quality program. This bill would enact the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7,120,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill, upon voter approval, would reallocate $425,000,000 of the unissued bonds authorized for the purposes of Propositions 1E, 13, 44, 50, 84, and 204 to finance the purposes of a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would urge the United States Department of Transportation and other relevant federal entities to (1) safeguard communities and environmentally sensitive areas from rail accidents involving transportation of crude oil by expediting rail safety reforms, (2) prioritize safety considerations over cost-effectiveness in deliberations about improving the transport of crude oil by rail, (3) mandate, at a minimum, the best practices explained in a 2014 safety initiative, as specified and (4) partner with the Canadian Transportation Agency to improve safety of the North American railroad tank car fleet by swiftly adopting a stricter design standard, and by retrofitting or phasing out tank cars that do not meet that standard.
This measure would declare the month of May 2014 as Foster Care Month.
This bill would call a special election to be consolidated with the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. The bill would require the Secretary of State to submit to the voters at the November 4, 2014, consolidated election an advisory question asking whether the Congress of the United States should propose, and the California Legislature should ratify, an amendment or amendments to the United States Constitution to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) 558 U.S. 310, and other applicable judicial precedents, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of State to communicate the results of this election to the Congress of the United States. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an act calling an election.
Existing law requires a law enforcement officer assigned to a sexual assault case, or his or her agency, to immediately notify the local rape victim counseling center, whenever a victim of an alleged rape or an alleged violation of other specified sex crimes is transported to a hospital for any medical evidentiary or physical examination. This bill would allow the hospital to notify the local rape victim counseling center when the victim is presented to the hospital for the medical or evidentiary physical examination, upon approval of the victim.