The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates mass mailings, known as slate mailers, that support or oppose multiple candidates or ballot measures for an election. The act requires that each slate mailer identify the slate mailer organization or committee primarily formed to support or oppose one or more ballot measures that is sending the slate mailer, and to contain other specified information in specified formatting. The act requires that each candidate and each ballot measure that has paid to appear in the slate mailer be designated by an asterisk. This bill would instead require that a candidate or ballot measure appearing in the slate mailer be designated by an asterisk if the slate mailer organization or committee primarily formed to support or oppose one or more ballot measures that is sending the slate mailer has received payment to include the candidate or ballot measure in the slate mailer. The bill would also recast the language of the prescribed notice to voters that must be included on a slate mailer. The act also regulates advertisements, which are defined as any general or public advertisement that is authorized and paid for by a person or committee for the purpose supporting or opposing a candidate for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures. The act places certain disclosure requirements on advertisements for or against any ballot measure, including that the advertisement disclose any person who has made cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more, as prescribed. The act places more specific disclosure requirements on broadcast or mass mailing advertisements that are paid for by independent expenditures that support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure. This bill would repeal provisions relating to disclosures for advertisements paid for by an independent expenditure and required disclosures of persons who have made cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. This bill would, instead, impose specified disclosure requirements on radio, television, and video advertisements, and certain mass mailing and print advertisements that support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure or solicit contributions in support of those purposes. The bill would require advertisements that are authorized by a candidate or agent of the candidate to include a statement in which the candidate identifies himself or herself and states that he or she approves the message. The bill would require advertisements that are not authorized by a candidate or an agent of the candidate to disclose, in a prescribed format, the 3 largest identifiable contributors, as defined, of the committee that paid for the advertisement. The bill would require mass mailings or print advertisements that are paid for by certain persons who are not committees to disclose the name of that person as the funder of the mass mailing or print advertisement. The bill would also require that certain committees establish and maintain a committee disclosure Internet Web site, as defined, which discloses the top 5 identifiable contributors and provides a link to the Internet Web site maintained by the Secretary of State for campaign finance disclosures of the committee. The bill would require these advertisements to identify the address for the committee disclosure Internet Web site. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes. 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. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensing of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California. Existing law requires the board to take action against any licensee who is charged with unprofessional conduct, as specified. This bill would make a nonsubstantive clarifying change to these provisions.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Bagley-Keene Act) , generally requires, with specified exceptions for authorized closed sessions, that the meetings of state bodies be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend. The Bagley-Keene Act also generally requires that the agenda for meetings provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the body of any item of interest to the public that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body. Each member of a state body who attends a meeting of that body in violation of any provision of the Bagley-Keene Act, and where the member intends to deprive the public of information to which the member knows or has reason to know the public is entitled under the act, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Under existing law, all meetings of the trustees are subject to the Bagley-Keene Act, except with respect to the compensation of designated executive officers of the university, which is required to be acted upon in an open session. This bill would prohibit the trustees from acting to increase the salary range of any university officer or employee or to increase the tuition or mandatory systemwide fees of university students except in an open public meeting properly noticed pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Act. The bill would prohibit the trustees from awarding a president of a campus compensation, as defined, that exceeds 150% of the compensation of the Chief Justice of California, except if the Governor, by executive order, approves the individual president's compensation. The bill would prohibit the trustees from approving any increase in compensation for a president of a campus if an increase in tuition is scheduled to take effect in that fiscal year or has taken effect in either of the 2 prior fiscal years. The bill would require the trustees, when hiring a president of a campus, to give primary consideration to applicants currently employed by the California State University system and to secondarily give consideration to residents of California who are not employees of the system. The bill would prohibit the trustees from giving consideration to applicants who are neither residents of California nor employees of the system before applicants who are employees of the system or who are residents of California and are not employees of the system.
The California Environmental Protection Agency, created pursuant to the Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1991, consists of the State Air Resources Board, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the State Water Resources Control Board, and each California regional water quality control board, and the following departments: Pesticide Regulation, Toxic Substances Control, and Resources Recycling and Recovery. This bill would make a statutory change consistent with the plan.
This bill would urge the United States Patent and Trademark Office to place a satellite office in California.
Under existing law, the Board of Registered Nursing in the Department of Consumer Affairs regulates the licensing of registered nurses. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to license and regulate health facilities, including hospitals, and establish minimum hospital nurse-to-patient ratios by licensed nurse classification and by hospital unit. Under existing law, specified hospitals are required to adopt written policies and procedures for training and orientation of nursing staff. These provisions prohibit a registered nurse from being assigned to a nursing unit or clinical area until that nurse has received the specified orientation and demonstrated sufficient competency. A violation of these health facility provisions is a crime. This bill would require each direct care registered nurse to receive and complete an orientation to the hospital and patient care unit in which he or she will be working and to have demonstrated competency, as specified. It would preclude a nurse who has not completed this orientation and had validation of competency from being assigned direct patient care. This bill would specify that, until the nurse completes orientation and has validation of competency, he or she would not be counted as staff in computing the nurse-to-patient ratio. This bill would exempt a state inpatient mental health hospital, a state developmental center, a state veterans' home, or a state correctional institution from those provisions of the bill requiring specified observation of the nurse. By creating a new crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides that 2 unmarried, unrelated adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring may establish a domestic partnership by filing a declaration with the Secretary of State if certain requirements are met, including that both persons have a common residence and that both persons are at least 18 years of age. Existing law authorizes 2 unmarried persons, not minors, who have been living together as husband and wife to obtain a confidential marriage license, as specified. This bill would eliminate the requirement that domestic partners have a common residence. This bill would also permit a person who is under 18 years of age who otherwise meets the requirements for establishing a domestic partnership to do so upon obtaining a court order that provides that authority to the underage person. The bill would also provide for the consent of the underage person's parent or guardian, except as specified, and would require that the court order and the written consent be filed with the court clerk and submitted to the Secretary of State with a Declaration of Domestic Partnership. The bill would also require the Secretary of State to establish a process by which 2 persons could enter into a confidential domestic partnership and maintain each confidential Declaration of Domestic Partnership, as specified, and permit the Secretary of State to charge a reasonable fee in this regard. Existing law prohibits a judgment of dissolution of marriage from being entered unless one of the parties to the marriage has been a resident of this state for 6 months and of the county in which the proceeding is filed for 3 months before the filing of the petition. This bill would authorize a judgment for dissolution, nullity, or legal separation of a marriage between persons of the same sex to be entered if the marriage was entered in California and neither party to the marriage resides in a jurisdiction that will dissolve the marriage.
Existing law defines "public works," for purposes of regulating public works contracts, as, among other things, construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for, in whole or in part, out of public funds. Existing law further requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages be paid to workers employed on public works and imposes misdemeanor penalties for a violation of this requirement. Existing law provides that for the purposes of provisions of law relating to the payment of prevailing wages, "public works" includes specified types of construction, alteration, demolition, installation, and repair work. This bill would expand the definition of "public works," for the purposes of provisions relating to the prevailing rate of per diem wages, to also include any construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under private contract that satisfies specified conditions related to energy, as prescribed. Because the violation of prevailing wage requirements by local public entities when engaged in these public works projects would result in the imposition of misdemeanor penalties, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law regulates the sale, possession, and disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes, and requires, with certain exceptions, a prescription to purchase a hypodermic needle or syringe for human use. Existing law prohibits any person from possessing or having under his or her control any hypodermic needle or syringe, except in accordance with those regulatory provisions. This bill would delete the prohibition against any person possessing or having under his or her control any hypodermic needle or syringe, except in accordance with the aforementioned regulatory provisions. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2011, and ending December 31, 2018, authorizes a county or city to authorize a licensed pharmacist to sell or furnish 10 or fewer hypodermic needles or syringes to a person 18 years of age or older for human use without a prescription if the pharmacist works for a pharmacy that is registered with a local health department in the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project, established by law to evaluate the long-term desirability of allowing licensed pharmacies to sell or furnish nonprescription hypodermic needles or syringes to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens, including HIV and hepatitis C. Under existing law, it is unlawful to possess an opium pipe or any device, contrivance, instrument, or paraphernalia used for unlawfully injecting or smoking specified controlled substances. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2011, and ending December 31, 2018, provides that the above-described provisions, pursuant to authorization from a city or county, shall not apply to the possession solely for personal use of 10 or fewer hypodermic needles or syringes. This bill would, until January 1, 2015, make these provisions, including any local authorization, but not including the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project, inoperative, and would, in the interim, authorize a physician or pharmacist, without a prescription or a permit, to furnish 30 or fewer hypodermic needles and syringes for human use to a person 18 years of age or older and would authorize a person 18 years of age or older, without a prescription or license, to obtain 30 or fewer hypodermic needles and syringes solely for personal use from a physician or pharmacist. This bill would, until January 1, 2015, provide that the above-described provisions making it unlawful to possess an opium pipe or any device, contrivance, instrument, or paraphernalia for unlawfully injecting or smoking certain controlled substances shall not apply to possession solely for personal use of 30 or fewer hypodermic needles or syringes if acquired from a physician, pharmacist, hypodermic needle and syringe exchange program, or any other source that is authorized by law to provide sterile syringes or hypodermic needles without a prescription. This bill would require the state Office of AIDS to develop and maintain information on its Internet Web site to educate consumers at risk of bloodborne infections of opportunities to improve and protect their health, and to protect the public health and would also require the California State Board of Pharmacy to post, or post a link to, this information on its Internet Web site. The Pharmacy Law authorizes a pharmacist to provide hypodermic needles and syringes without a presceription in specified circumstances. Existing law makes it a crime to knowingly violate any provision relating to the Pharmacy Law. This bill would, until January 1, 2015, require pharmacies that furnish nonprescription hypodermic needles and syringes to store the hypodermic needles and syringes in a manner that ensures that they are not accessible to unauthorized persons, and would require pharmacies or hypodermic needle and syringe exchange programs to provide consumers with prescribed options for consumer disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes. This bill would also, until January 1, 2015, require the pharmacies to provide prescribed written information or verbal counseling at the time of furnishing or sale of nonprescription hypodermic needles or syringes. By changing the definition of an existing crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state, and that it is the purpose of existing law to prohibit acts that are contrary to that policy and to provide remedies therefor. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to develop a model handout, posted on appropriate department Internet Web sites, describing the rights and obligations set forth in these provisions and the policies addressing bias-related discrimination and harassment in schools. Existing law also requires the department to monitor adherence to these provisions and, as part of its regular monitoring and review of local educational agencies, to assess whether local educational agencies have adopted a policy that prohibits discrimination and harassment and a process for receiving and investigating complaints of discrimination and harassment, as specified. This bill would require the policy adopted by the local educational agencies to prohibit discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived characteristics, as specified. The bill also would require the process for receiving and investigating complaints to include complaints of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived characteristics, as specified, and to include a requirement that school personnel who witness such acts take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so, a timeline to investigate and resolve complaints, and an appeal process, as specified. The bill would make other conforming changes. Because this bill would require local educational agencies to perform additional duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post, and annually update, on his or her Internet Web site, and to provide to each school district, a list of statewide resources, including community-based organizations, that provide support to youth who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and their families. The bill would make its provisions operative on July 1, 2012. 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.