(1) Existing law, known as the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, contains provisions relating to employer-employee relations between the state and the employees of state institutions of higher education, including the University of California and the California State University, as well as the Hastings College of the Law. These provisions assign major responsibilities for implementation to the Public Employment Relations Board. Under the act, an "employee" or "higher education employee" is defined as any employee of the Regents of the University of California, the Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, or the Trustees of the California State University. The act authorizes the board to find student employees whose employment is contingent on their status as students are employees only if the services they provide are unrelated to their educational objectives, or that those educational objectives are subordinate to the services they perform and that coverage under this act would further the purposes of the act. This bill would make student employees, whose employment is contingent upon their status as students, "employees" and "higher education employees" for purposes of the act. (2) The act grants employees the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations and for the purpose of meeting and conferring with their employer. Under the act, all matters not within the scope of representation are reserved to the employer and are not subject to meeting and conferring. The act excludes from the scope of representation, for purposes of the University of California only, among other things, conditions for the award of certificates and degrees to students. This bill would specify that, for purposes of the University of California only, the requirements for students to achieve satisfactory progress toward their degrees are also outside of the scope of representation.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law authorizes a person who was born in this state and who has undergone clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition to obtain a new birth certificate from the State Registrar. This bill would enact the Gender Recognition Act. For purposes of obtaining a new birth certificate under the provisions above, the bill would delete the requirement that an applicant have undergone any treatment, and instead would authorize a person to submit to the State Registrar an application to change gender on the birth certificate and an affidavit attesting, under penalty of perjury, that the request for a change of gender is to conform the person's legal gender to the person's gender identity and not for any fraudulent purpose. By requiring the affidavit to be attested to under penalty of perjury, the bill would create a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the change of gender on a new birth certificate to be female, male, or nonbinary. (2) Existing law authorizes a person who has undergone clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition to petition for a court judgment recognizing the change of gender, and to petition for a court order conforming the person's name to the person's gender identity. Existing law provides specific procedures to seek these orders and judgments, either separately or in combination. This bill, commencing on September 1, 2018, would delete the requirement that a person have undergone any treatment to seek a court judgment to recognize a change of gender and instead would authorize the petitioner to attest, under penalty of perjury, that the request is to conform the person's legal gender to the person's gender identity and not for any fraudulent purpose. By requiring the affidavit to be attested to under penalty of perjury, the bill would create a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize a change of gender in the court judgment to female, male, or nonbinary. The bill would provide modified procedures to obtain a court order for a change of name to conform to the petitioner's gender identity and a court judgment to recognize a change in the petitioner's gender. The bill would provide a separate procedure for a person under 18 years of age to petition for a court judgment to recognize a change of gender to female, male, or nonbinary. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a driver's license to an applicant when the department determines that the applicant is lawfully entitled to a license, and requires the license to contain, among other things, a brief description and engraved picture or photograph of the licensee for the purpose of identification. Existing law requires the application for an original driver's license or renewal of a driver's license to contain specified information, as provided by the applicant. Existing law also authorizes the department to issue identification cards and requires an identification card to adequately describe the applicant. Existing law requires the department, upon issuance of a new identification card or renewal of an identification card, to provide information regarding organ and tissue donation, including an enrollment form for the California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry that requires an applicant to mark his or her sex. This bill, on January 1, 2019, would require an applicant for an original driver's license or renewal of a driver's license to choose a gender category of female, male, or nonbinary, as specified, and would require the department to adopt regulations to provide a process for an amendment to a gender category under these provisions. The bill would also require the enrollment form for the California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry to instead require an applicant to mark his or her gender. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations in support of its provisions. (4) 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, programs have been established pursuant to bond acts for, among other things, the development and enhancement of state and local parks and recreational facilities. Existing law, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, approved by the voters as Proposition 1 at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $7,545,000,000 to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. 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 California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002, approved by the voters as Proposition 40 at the March 5, 2002, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $2,600,000,000, for the purpose of financing a program for the acquisition, development, restoration, protection, rehabilitation, stabilization, reconstruction, preservation, and interpretation of park, coastal, agricultural land, air, and historical resources. This bill would enact the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in an amount of $4,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access for all program. The bill, upon voter approval, would reallocate $100,000,000 of the unissued bonds authorized for the purposes of Propositions 1, 40, and 84 to finance the purposes of a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access for all program. The bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary direct election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law authorizes a governing body of a political subdivision, as defined, to declare a shelter crisis if the governing body makes a specified finding. Existing law authorizes a political subdivision to allow persons unable to obtain housing to occupy designated public facilities, as defined, during the period of a shelter crisis. Existing law provides that certain state and local laws, regulations, and ordinances are suspended during a shelter crisis, to the extent that strict compliance would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the shelter crisis. Existing law, upon a declaration of a shelter crisis by the City of San Jose, authorizes emergency housing to include an emergency bridge housing community for the homeless in that city. This bill, until January 1, 2021, upon a declaration of a shelter crisis by the City of Berkeley, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Oakland, or San Diego, the County of Santa Clara, or the City and County of San Francisco, would authorize emergency housing to include homeless shelters in the City of Berkeley, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Oakland, or San Diego, the County of Santa Clara, or the City and County of San Francisco, respectively. The bill, in lieu of compliance with local building approval procedures or state housing, health, habitability, planning and zoning, or safety standards, procedures, and laws, would authorize those jurisdictions to adopt by ordinance reasonable local standards for homeless shelters, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to review and approve the draft ordinance to ensure it addresses minimum health and safety standards and to provide its findings to committees of the Legislature, as provided. The bill would require the city, county, or city and county to develop a plan to address the shelter crisis, as specified. The bill would further require any of the specified jurisdictions that have declared a shelter crisis to annually report to the committees of the Legislature specific information on homeless shelters and permanent supportive housing, through January 1, 2021. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Diego, the County of Santa Clara, and the City and County of San Francisco.
Existing law imposes a general obligation on both parents of a minor child to support their child in the manner suitable to the child's circumstances. Existing law establishes the statewide uniform guidelines for calculating court-ordered child support, based on the income of both parents and the time each parent spends with the child. Existing law establishes a rebuttable presumption that an obligor with a net disposable income, as defined, of a specified amount per month is entitled to a low-income adjustment to his or her child support obligation. Until January 1, 2018, the net disposable income threshold is $1,500 per month, and is requested to be adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to determine the adjustment amount based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index, as specified. Effective January 1, 2018, the net disposable income threshold is $1,000 per month and is not requested to be annually adjusted for cost-of-living increases. This bill would extend the January 1, 2018, date of repeal to January 1, 2021, for the version of existing law that is currently operative, thereby maintaining the net disposable income threshold at $1,500 per month, adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases, until January 1, 2021, and would change the operative date of the successor version of that law to January 1, 2021.
Existing law requires a physician and surgeon, as defined, to give a patient diagnosed with breast cancer a standardized written summary, made available to physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California, containing recommendations of the Cancer Advisory Council, to inform the patient of the advantages, disadvantages, risks, and descriptions of the procedures with regard to medically viable and efficacious alternative methods of breast cancer treatment. The summary is required to be revised every 3 years and include any new or revised information, as specified. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, in the first revision of the summary made following the effective date of the bill, to include information relating to breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA) mutations, in order to achieve increased genetic counseling and screening rates of individuals for whom BRCA test results can inform treatment decisions, as specified. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child care and development programs that offer a full range of services for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age. Existing law establishes eligibility requirements and requires families to meet at least one requirement in each of 2 specified areas, including the area relating to why the family has a need for the child care service. This bill would include in the area relating to need, as a requirement that may be satisfied for purposes of eligibility, that the family needs the child care services because the parents are engaged in an educational program for English language learners or to attain a high school diploma or general educational development certificate.
Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for aid. Existing law requires that necessary supportive services be available to participants in welfare-to-work activities, including child care, personal counseling, transportation costs, and ancillary expenses. This bill would, on and after April 1, 2018, require the above-described supportive services to additionally include the costs of diapers. The bill would make a participant who is participating in a welfare-to-work plan eligible for $30 per month to assist with diaper costs for each child who is under 36 months of age. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to implement this provision through all-county letters until regulations are adopted by January 1, 2020. By increasing the duties of counties administering the CalWORKs program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. 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 grants the victim of sexual assault, as specified, the right to have a victim advocate and a support person of the victim's choosing at any interview by law enforcement authorities, district attorneys, or defense attorneys. Existing law requires the law enforcement authority or district attorney, before commencing the initial interview, to notify a victim that he or she has this right. This bill would require a law enforcement authority or district attorney to also notify the victim that he or she has the right to request to have a person of the same gender or opposite gender as the victim present in the room during any interview with a law enforcement official or district attorney, unless no such person is reasonably available. The bill would prohibit a law enforcement official from discouraging a victim from receiving a medical evidentiary or physical examination. The bill would require every local law enforcement agency to develop a card, as specified, that explains the rights of sexual assault victims, including, among other information, a clear statement that the victim is not required to participate in the criminal justice system or to receive a medical evidentiary or physical examination in order to retain his or her rights under law. The bill would require a law enforcement official or medical provider to provide this card to the victim upon the initial interaction. The bill would also require a law enforcement official, upon written request by the victim, to furnish a copy of the initial crime report related to the sexual assault, as specified. The bill would require a prosecutor, upon written request by the victim, to provide the defendant's information on a sex offender registry, if any, to the victim. The bill would specify that a victim's waiver of the right to an advocate is not admissible in court, unless the waiver is at issue in the pending litigation. (2) Existing law states the minimum standards for the examination and treatment of victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault, including child molestation, and the collection and preservation of evidence therefrom. Existing law requires a physician or other health care provider to give a female victim of sexual assault postcoital contraception upon the request of the victim. This bill would require the postcoital contraception to be provided at no cost to the victim. (3) Existing law requires a law enforcement officer assigned to an alleged violation of specified domestic violence or sexual assault crimes to provide the victim of the crime with a "Victims of Domestic Violence" card, as specified. Existing law requires a medical provider to notify a sexual assault victim that he or she has the right to have a sexual assault counselor and at least one other support person of his or her choosing before commencing an initial medical evidentiary or physical examination. This bill would require a law enforcement officer assigned to an alleged violation of specified domestic violence or sexual assault crimes to also provide the victim with the card developed by local law enforcement agencies, described above, that explains the rights of sexual assault victims, if applicable. The bill would also require a medical provider to give the victim the card developed by local law enforcement agencies, described above, before the commencement of any initial medical evidentiary or physical examination arising out of a sexual assault if the law enforcement agency has provided the card to the medical provider in a language understood by the victim. The bill would require the medical provider to give the victim the opportunity to shower or bathe at no cost to the victim after the examination is conducted, unless a showering or bathing facility is not available. (4) Existing law requires a law enforcement agency that intends to destroy or dispose of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence from an unsolved sexual assault case before the expiration of the statute of limitations to give written notification, as specified, to the victim of that intention. This bill would prohibit a law enforcement agency from destroying or disposing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence from an unsolved sexual assault case before at least 20 years, or if the victim was under 18 years of age at the time of the alleged offense, before the victim's 40th birthday. (5) Because this bill imposes new requirements on local entities, including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies and local entities that provide medical services, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights, which, among other things, encourages a law enforcement agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault offenses to perform DNA testing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence in a timely manner to ensure the longest possible statute of limitations. Existing law also requires a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain unsolved sexual assault offenses if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA evidence within certain time limits. This bill would require law enforcement agencies to report information regarding rape kit evidence, within 120 days of the collection of the kit, to the Department of Justice through a database established by the department. The bill would require that information to include, among other things, whether biological evidence samples were submitted to a DNA laboratory for analysis and if a probative DNA profile was generated. The bill would additionally require a public DNA laboratory, or a law enforcement agency contracting with a private laboratory, to provide a reason for not testing a sample every 120 days the sample is untested, except as specified. The bill would only impose these requirements for a kit collected on or after January 1, 2018. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that money received by the Office of Emergency Services from the federal Office on Violence Against Women be used before appropriating money from the General Fund for purposes of reimbursing any costs determined by the Commission on State Mandates to be mandated by the state to a local law enforcement agency by the bill. This bill would require the department to file a report to the Legislature on an annual basis summarizing the information in its database. The bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies or laboratories from being compelled to provide any contents of the database in a civil or criminal case, except as required by a law enforcement agency's duty to produce exculpatory evidence to a defendant in a criminal case. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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.