The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including a credit for qualified renters in the amount of $120 for spouses filing joint returns, heads of household, and surviving spouses if adjusted gross income is $50,000, as adjusted, or less, and in the amount of $60 for other individuals if adjusted gross income is $25,000, as adjusted, or less. Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to annually adjust for inflation these adjusted gross income amounts. For 2018, the adjusted gross income limit is $83,282 and $41,641, respectively. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax credit to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Tax Relief and Refund Account in the General Fund and provides that payments required to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account, including any amount allowable as an earned income tax credit in excess of any tax liabilities. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, and only when specified in a bill relating to the Budget Act, would increase the credit amount for a qualified renter to $220 and $434, as provided. In the event the increased credit amount is not specified in a bill relating to the Budget Act, the existing credit amounts of $120 and $60, as described above, respectively, would be the credit amounts for that taxable year. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to annually recompute for inflation the credit amount for taxable years on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2025, unless otherwise provided. The bill would provide findings and declarations relating to the goals, purposes, and objectives of this credit. The bill, for credits allowable for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, would provide that the credit amount in excess of the qualified renter's liability would be refundable and paid from the Tax Relief and Refund Account to the qualified renter upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Sponsored bills
The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act requires that all meetings of a state body, as defined, be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate in a meeting of a state body, subject to certain conditions and exceptions. This bill would specify that the definition of "state body" includes an advisory board, advisory commission, advisory committee, advisory subcommittee, or similar multimember advisory body of a state body that consists of 3 or more individuals, as prescribed, except a board, commission, committee, or similar multimember body on which a member of a body serves in their official capacity as a representative of that state body and that is supported, in whole or in part, by funds provided by the state body, whether the multimember body is organized and operated by the state body or by a private corporation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Under the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of 1986, the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of 1988, and the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of June 1992, the issuance, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, of bonds in an amount not to exceed $400,000,000, $600,000,000, and $900,000,000, respectively, and the expenditure of the revenues therefrom, were authorized for the purpose of aid to the University of California and the California State University for, among other things, the construction and equipping of educational facilities, as specified. Existing law establishes the Higher Education Facilities Finance Committee to administer those acts, and to authorize the issuance and sale of bonds to the extent necessary to fund the education facilities construction apportionments expressly authorized by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. More recently, the Class Size Reduction Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 1998, the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002, the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2004, and the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2006 authorized the issuance of bonds and the expenditure of revenues therefrom for the University of California and the California State University, as well as for the California Community Colleges and public elementary and secondary schools. This bill would enact the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of 2020, which, upon approval by the state electorate, would authorize the issuance of state general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $8,000,000,000, with one-half of the amount designated for the University of California and the Hastings College of the Law and the other half designated for the California State University, for purposes similar to those specified in the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of 1986, the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of 1988, and the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of June 1992, to be issued and sold in a manner similar to that provided under those acts. The bill would require that any request for funds from the bonds issued pursuant to the bond act enacted by this bill be accompanied by the 5-year capital outlay plan of the particular university or college and include a schedule that prioritizes the seismic retrofitting needed to significantly reduce seismic hazards in buildings identified as high priority by the university or college, as specified. (2) This bill would provide for the submission of the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of 2020 to the voters at the March 3, 2020, statewide primary election, as specified.
Existing law establishes various programs, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide assistance to homeless persons. Existing law requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, except as specified, to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. Existing law establishes the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to oversee the implementation of the Housing First guidelines and regulations and, among other things, to identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. This bill would require the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, by July 1, 2021, to develop and implement a statewide strategic plan for addressing homelessness in the state, as specified. The bill would require the council, by January 1, 2021, to implement strategic plans to assist federal Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care lead agencies in better implementing Housing and Urban Development recommended activities and meeting Housing and Urban Development requirements.
Existing law provides for 5 segments of postsecondary education in this state: the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education as defined in the Donahoe Higher Education Act, and private postsecondary educational institutions as defined in the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009. The Donahoe Higher Education Act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act by resolution to make them applicable. This bill would establish the Office of Higher Education Coordination, Accountability, and Performance under the administration of a governing board composed of 5 members, as specified. The bill would give the office specified functions and responsibilities for purposes of statewide postsecondary education planning, oversight, data collection, and coordination. The bill would require the governing board to establish an advisory body, comprising 11 members, as specified, to provide recommendations to the governing board on issues before the governing board. The bill would require the public postsecondary segments and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to submit specified data to the office in support of these functions and responsibilities. On or before January 31 of every year, the bill would require the office to submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor on its progress in achieving its functions and responsibilities. On or before July 1, 2025, the bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to review and report to the Legislature on the office's performance of its functions and responsibilities. The bill would apply to the University of California only to the extent the Regents act by resolution to make it apply. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on community college districts, the 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
(1) Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulates the application, issuance, and suspension of alcoholic beverage licenses. Existing law defines a licensed branch office with reference to certain winegrower and brandy manufacturer facilities for which a duplicate license has been issued. Existing law prohibits a winegrower or brandy manufacturer from selling wine or brandy to consumers, or engaging in winetasting activities, at more than one licensed branch premise. Existing law limits the effect of this prohibition in connection with other premises, as specified. Existing law generally provides that a violation of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act is a misdemeanor. This bill would revise the prohibition described above to allow a winegrower or brandy manufacturer to sell wine or brandy to consumers, or to engage in winetasting activities, at up to 2 licensed branch premises. By broadening the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the California Promise, which requires specified minimum numbers of campuses of the California State University to establish a California Promise program by which the campus would enter into a pledge with a student who satisfies specified criteria to support the student in earning a baccalaureate degree within 4 academic years, or if the student is a community college transfer student who earned an associate degree for transfer, within 2 academic years, of the academic year of the student's first year of enrollment at the California State University, as specified. This bill would add to the qualifying criteria for a student to participate in the program that, for any student not already participating as of the 2020–21 academic year, the student is eligible for a Cal Grant award or federal Pell Grant award after filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act Application. The bill would establish the Student Success and On-time Completion Fund in the State Treasury, and would authorize the trustees, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to use moneys in the fund to incentivize participation in a campus' California Promise program by providing summer term grants and annual progress grants, as specified. Commencing July 1, 2020, if a California Promise student cannot complete a baccalaureate degree program within the pledged time of support because a required course for the degree program is not offered or is full at the campus, this bill would prohibit systemwide tuition and fees from being charged to the California Promise student to register and enroll in the course once the course becomes available, or in a substitute course that fulfills the graduation requirement.
The Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Act of 2003 creates the Division of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation within the Department of Parks and Recreation. The act gives the division certain duties and responsibilities, including the planning, acquisition, development, conservation, and restoration of lands in state vehicular recreation areas. Existing law creates the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund to be the repository of certain moneys, including certain fees received by the department for the use of state vehicular recreation areas. Existing law requires the revenues in the fund to be available, upon appropriation, for grants and cooperative agreements, as specified, the support of the division, and the planning, acquisition, development, mitigation, construction, maintenance, administration, operation, restoration, and conservation of lands in state vehicular recreation areas and certain other areas. This bill would authorize the department to dispose of the portion of the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area known as the "Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area" to permanently preserve that land for conservation purposes, as specified, if the department determines that disposing of the land is in the public interest. The bill would require that the land only be sold to a local agency or nonprofit organization for use as a park or other open-space purpose, as specified. The bill would require any revenue from the disposition of the land to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, first be used to reimburse the Department of General Services for any cost or expense incurred in the disposition of the land, and then would require any remaining revenue to be deposited in the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund.
Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to establish uniform statewide recycling criteria for each varying type of use of recycled water where the use involves the protection of public health. Existing law requires, on or before December 1, 2022, the state board, in consultation with specified state agencies, to adopt regulations for risk-based water quality standards for the onsite treatment and reuse of nonpotable water, as provided. Existing law requires that a local jurisdiction establish a program for onsite treated nonpotable water systems before any such systems are installed. This bill would require the state board, on or before December 1, 2025, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch, to adopt regulations for microbiological, chemical, and physical water quality and treatment requirements for voluntary onsite treatment and reuse of process water in breweries, as specified. The bill would require an entity that implements a process water treatment system in a brewery to submit a report containing specified information to the state board and the food and drug branch, as provided, and to terminate the operation of, and modify to render inoperable, process water treatment systems in a brewery at the direction of the food and drug branch after having reasonable opportunity to come into compliance with applicable regulations, as warranted. The bill would require the food and drug branch to consult with the state board before requiring termination of a process water treatment system. The bill would require a process water treatment system in a brewery to comply with the regulations within 2 years of the effective date of the regulations with possible extensions, as specified. The bill would allow the state board to contract with private and public entities for advice regarding the content of the regulations. The bill would require, before beginning onsite process water reuse, a brewery engaging in onsite reuse using a process water treatment system to consult with the water and wastewater service providers in its service area that would potentially be impacted by operation of the system. The bill would authorize breweries to install and operate onsite process water treatment systems even if a local jurisdiction has not established a program for onsite treated nonpotable water systems.