Sen. Leland Yee

Existing law, the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act, requires each school district, charter school, and county office of education to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, certain achievement tests. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2010, exclude pupils in grade 2 from the standards-based achievement test requirement and make conforming changes.

Under existing law, the Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Registered Nursing 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 new direct care registered nursing hire to receive and complete an orientation to the hospital and patient care unit in which he or she will be working. It would preclude a nurse who has not completed this orientation from being assigned direct patient care, and would require observation of the nurse during the orientation by a direct care registered nurse. This bill would specify that, until the nurse completes orientation, 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, or a state veterans' home from those provisions of the bill requiring observation of the nurse during the orientation. Existing law allows the State Department of Public Health to take into consideration the unique nature of the University of California teaching hospitals and requires the department to coordinate with the Board of Registered Nursing in setting the nurse-to-patient ratios, as specified. This bill would remove those provisions. 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.

Under existing law, prosecution for specified felony sex offenses, including rape, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and acts of sexual penetration that are alleged to have been committed when the victim was under the age of 18 years, may be commenced at any time prior to the victim's 28th birthday. Existing law also allows a complaint alleging one or more of these offenses to be filed beyond this time limitation in certain specified instances if the crimes involve substantial sexual conduct and there is independent corroborating evidence of the allegations. This bill would allow the prosecution of the felony sex offenses specified above to be commenced at any time if the crime is alleged to have been committed when the victim was under the age of 14.

Existing law defines human trafficking as the deprivation or violation of the personal liberty of another person with the intent to commit certain specified sex offenses with the person or to obtain forced labor or services, as specified. This bill would provide that upon conviction for the offense of human trafficking involving real property that is used to facilitate the commission of an offense involving illegal gambling, lewdness, assignation, or prostitution, that real property is authorized to be declared and treated as a nuisance, as specified.

Existing law requires the translation of ballots and ballot materials into languages other than English when specified circumstances exist. This bill would require that, if a jurisdiction provides a translation of the candidates' alphabet-based names into a character-based language, such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, phonetic transliterations of the alphabet-based names of candidates be provided. The bill would also permit a specified jurisdiction that provides translations of candidates' names to establish a process by which specified candidates may appeal the translation of his or her alphabet-based name in addition to procedures available under current law. This bill would provide an exception for a candidate who has a character-based name by birth or has verifiably been known by a character-based name for at least 2 years to permit him or her to use that name on the ballot instead of a phonetic transliteration. This bill would require that, if a jurisdiction provides separate ballots containing translations of the candidates' names in different languages, both the alphabet-based names and the translations of the candidates' names appear on the translated ballot. This bill would also require a county to purchase voting equipment that permits compliance with this section as a part of any new purchase of voting equipment. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local elections officials, 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, 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.

Existing law, the California Whistleblower Protection Act, authorizes a University of California employee or applicant for employment to have an available action for damages caused by intentional acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats, or coercion only if the university failed to reach a decision regarding a complaint filed with a specified university officer by the injured party within the time limits established for that purpose by the Regents of the University of California. This bill would also authorize an available action for damages if the university reached a decision regarding the complaint filed with the specified university officer and state that these provisions are not intended to prohibit an injured party from seeking a remedy if the university has not satisfactorily addressed the complaint within 18 months.

The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection and to make copies available upon request and payment of a fee unless those records are exempt from disclosure. The act defines the terms "local agency" and "state agency" for purposes of the act. This bill would revise the definition of the term "local agency" to additionally include specified auxiliary organizations established for the purpose of providing support services and specialized programs for the general benefit of a community college. This bill would revise the definition of the term "state agency" to additionally include specified auxiliary organizations and other specified entities. The bill would exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act the names of individuals who donate to specified entities if those individuals request anonymity. However, the bill would provide that this exemption does not apply if a donor, in a quid pro quo arrangement, receives anything that has more than a nominal value in exchange for the donation. This bill would also provide that it is the intent of the Legislature to reject the court's interpretation of state law regarding the application of the act to auxiliary organizations, such as the CSU Fresno Association, at issue in California State University, Fresno Assn., Inc. v. Superior Court (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 810. The bill would also provide that it is the intent of the Legislature that specified organizations be included in the definition of "state agency" solely for the purposes of the California Public Records Act.

Existing law establishes the University of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, which is administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, which is administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law authorizes the regents, the trustees, and the board to employ officers and other employees. This bill would prohibit the trustees from increasing the monetary compensation, as defined, of, or approving a monetary bonus for, any executive officer, as defined, of the California State University in any fiscal year in which the General Fund appropriation to the California State University in the annual Budget Act is less than, or equal to, the General Fund appropriation to the university in the annual Budget Act for the immediately preceding fiscal year. The bill would request the regents to not increase the monetary compensation of, or approve a monetary bonus for, any executive officer, as defined, of the University of California, in any fiscal year in which the General Fund appropriation to the University of California in the annual Budget Act is less than, or equal to, the General Fund appropriation to the university in the annual Budget Act for the immediately preceding fiscal year.

Existing law provides for the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which, either through employment by the recipient or by or through contract by the county, qualified, aged, blind, and disabled persons receive services enabling them to remain in their own homes. This bill would provide that, for purposes of in-home supportive services providers, the entity that administers health benefits under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) shall be the same entity that implements a specified federal COBRA subsidy program for these providers. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Unruh Civil Rights Act generally prohibits business establishments from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition. The act provides civil remedies for violations of its provisions. Under the California Fair Employment Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to adopt or enforce a policy that prohibits the use of any language in the workplace, except if that policy is justified by business necessity, as defined, and prescribed notice of the policy and consequences for violation of the policy is given to employees. This bill would make it a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act to adopt or enforce a policy that requires, limits, or prohibits the use of any language in or with a business establishment, unless the policy is justified by a business necessity, as defined, and notification has been provided of the circumstances and the time when the language restriction or requirement is to be observed and of the consequences for its violation. The bill would define business necessity to require, among other things, that the language restriction or requirement is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the business and that an equally effective, but less discriminatory, alternative practice does not exist. The bill would provide for an award of damages, and attorney's fees as may be determined by the court, for a violation of its provisions.