Sen. Tim Grayson

This measure would urge the United States Congress and the President of the United States to permit states to extend burial and memorial benefits to Hmong veterans at state veterans cemeteries.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and activities. Among other things, the act requires specified disclosures in advertisements regarding the source of the advertisement. The act defines "advertisement" for these purposes to mean a general or public communication that is authorized and paid for by a committee for the purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate or candidates for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures. The act also requires certain advertisements paid for by certain committees to disclose the names of the top contributors, which is defined for these purposes to mean the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. This bill would require a person who makes payments of $10,000 dollars or more for "electioneering communications" or "issue lobbying communications" to make specified disclosures in connection with those communications. The bill would define "electioneering communication" to mean any public communication that clearly identifies a candidate for elective state office, but does not expressly advocate for the election or defeat of the candidate, and that is disseminated, broadcast, distributed, or published during a specified period before an election. It would define "issue lobbying communication" to mean any public communication that clearly refers to and reflects a view on the subject matter, description, or name of one or more clearly identified pending state legislative or administrative actions, and that meets other specified criteria. The bill would also require a person who makes payments for electioneering or issue lobbying communications to disclose the names of the persons providing the funding for those payments, as specified, and to maintain records to verify the accuracy of the required disclosures. Because a violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, 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. 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 of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) The California Constitution prohibits the ad valorem tax rate on real property from exceeding 1% of the full cash value of the property, subject to certain exceptions. This measure would create an additional exception to the 1% limit that would authorize a city, county, city and county, or special district to levy an ad valorem tax to service bonded indebtedness incurred to fund the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure, affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing, or the acquisition or lease of real property for those purposes, if the proposition proposing that tax is approved by 55% of the voters of the city, county, or city and county, as applicable, and the proposition includes specified accountability requirements. The measure would specify that these provisions apply to any city, county, city and county, or special district measure imposing an ad valorem tax to pay the interest and redemption charges on bonded indebtedness for these purposes that is submitted at the same election as this measure. (2) The California Constitution conditions the imposition of a special tax by a local government upon the approval of 23 of the voters of the local government voting on that tax, and prohibits these entities from imposing an ad valorem tax on real property or a transactions or sales tax on the sale of real property. This measure would authorize a local government to impose, extend, or increase a sales and use tax or transactions and use tax imposed in accordance with specified law or a parcel tax, as defined, for the purposes of funding the construction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure, affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing if the proposition proposing that tax is approved by 55% of its voters voting on the proposition and the proposition includes specified accountability requirements. This measure would also make conforming changes to related provisions. The measure would specify that these provisions apply to any local measure imposing, extending, or increasing a sales and use tax, transactions and use tax, or parcel tax for these purposes that is submitted at the same election as this measure. (3) The California Constitution prohibits specified local government agencies from incurring any indebtedness exceeding in any year the income and revenue provided in that year, without the assent of 23 of the voters and subject to other conditions. In the case of a school district, community college district, or county office of education, the California Constitution permits a proposition for the incurrence of indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of school facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for school facilities, to be adopted upon the approval of 55% of the voters of the district or county, as appropriate, voting on the proposition at an election. This measure would expressly prohibit a special district, other than a board of education or school district, from incurring any indebtedness or liability exceeding any applicable statutory limit, as prescribed by the statutes governing the special district. The measure would also similarly require the approval of 55% of the voters of the city, county, city and county, or special district, as applicable, to incur bonded indebtedness, exceeding in any year the income and revenue provided in that year, that is in the form of general obligation bonds issued to fund the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure, affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing projects, if the proposition proposing that bond includes specified accountability requirements. The measure would specify that this 55% threshold applies to any proposition for the incurrence of indebtedness by a city, county, city and county, or special district for these purposes that is submitted at the same election as this measure.

This measure would request the Congress of the United States to enact, and the President to sign, legislation that would repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision from the Social Security Act.

This measure would urge the federal government to use California as an example for firearm safety and for stronger firearm laws to protect all citizens. The measure would also urge the federal government to pass legislation that would provide universal firearm safety regulation throughout the nation.

This measure would commemorate the American Legion for 100 years of service to the United States.