The bill creates the sales and use tax simplification task force (task force) made up of legislative members and state and local sales and use tax experts. The bill requires the task force to study sales and use tax simplification between the state and local governments, and in particular between the state and home rule jurisdictions. The task force is: Authorized to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources in order to meet its goals; Subject to sunset review in 3 years; and Required to make an annual report to the legislative council that may or may not include recommendations for legislation.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law allows water to be stored only at a location that has been specifically identified in a decree. The bill allows a water right for which the historical consumptive use was previously quantified to be stored in any reservoir, without the necessity of adjudicating an additional change of water right, if: The water will be diverted from a point of diversion that has already been decreed for that water right and the alternate place of storage is located on the same ditch or reservoir system; Previous notice is given to the division engineer; Transit and ditch losses are assessed from the decreed point of diversion to the alternate place of storage; The division engineer approves the proposed accounting of the storage; and The water was not imported from another water division.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill sets the ratio of valuation for assessment for residential real property at 7.2% for property tax years commencing on and after January 1, 2017, until the next property tax year that the general assembly adjusts this ratio. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Under existing law, when a school district submits an innovation plan for a school or multiple schools of the school district, the state board of education (state board) must approve the plan and designate the school district as a district of innovation unless the plan is likely to decrease academic achievement or is not fiscally feasible. Once the plan is approved, the state board must grant any statutory waivers requested in the plan. The bill changes the standard for approving an innovation plan. The state board must approve an innovation plan if it finds that the plan is likely to enhance educational opportunity and quality within the school district, which is similar to the standard for approving statutory waivers under other circumstances, and the plan is fiscally feasible. Later, if the district of innovation seeks additional statutory waivers under the innovation plan, the state board must grant the waivers if it finds that the waivers are likely to enhance educational opportunity and quality within the school district and are fiscally feasible. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill amends the statutes relating to the early childhood leadership commission (commission) in the department of human services (department) as follows: Makes changes to the legislative declaration, mission, and duties of the commission to include consideration of families of pregnant women and children; Repeals the early childhood leadership commission fund. Changes the title of the person appointed to assist the department in fulfilling the duties of the commission from 'executive director' to 'director'; Removes the requirement that the director be compensated from money credited to the early childhood leadership commission fund, and instead requires that the director be compensated with federal funds or gift, grants, or donations, and not with money from the general fund; Permits the commission to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations for the expenses of the commission; and Extends the repeal date and sunset review of the commission prior to its repeal from 2018 to 2023.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law allows boards of political subdivisions to enter into energy cost-savings contracts for utility cost savings. Utility cost savings are defined in law to include an installation, modification, or service that is designed to reduce energy consumption and related operating costs in buildings and other facilities. The bill specifies that the boards may also enter into energy cost-savings contracts for increasing meter accuracy, which is defined as a utility cost-savings measure. The bill also changes the definition of 'operation and maintenance cost savings' to clarify that the calculation must be made on a net basis. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law requires any licensed physician, physician assistant, or anesthesiologist assistant (licensee) who attends or treats any of certain injuries, including injuries resulting from domestic violence, to report the injury at once to the police of the city, town, or city and county or the sheriff of the county in which the licensee is located. The bill states that a licensee is not required to report an injury that the licensee has reason to believe involves an act of domestic violence if: The victim of the injury is at least 18 years of age and indicates his or her preference that the injury not be reported; The injury is not an injury that the licensee is otherwise required to report; and The injury is not a serious bodily injury. When a licensee declines to report an injury that he or she has reason to believe resulted from domestic violence pursuant to the victim's expressed preference, the licensee shall document the victim's request in the victim's medical record. Before a licensee reports an injury that he or she has reason to believe resulted from domestic violence, the licensee shall make a good-faith effort, confidentially, to advise the victim of the licensee's intent to do so. If a licensee has reason to believe that an injury resulted from domestic violence, then, regardless of whether the licensee reports the injury to law enforcement, the licensee shall either refer the victim to a victim's advocate or provide the victim with information concerning services available to victims of abuse. A licensee who, in good faith, refers a victim to a victim's advocate or provides a victim with information concerning services available to victims of abuse is not civilly liable for any act or omission of the victim's advocate or of any agency that provides such services to the victim. Under current law, any licensee who, in good faith, makes such a report of an injury is immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed with respect to the making of the report. The bill states that a licensee who does not make a report under the new conditions described in the bill is also immune to such liability. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill addresses issues related to the state commission on judicial performance and the various district commissions on judicial performance (state commission, district commissions, or collectively all commissions), including: Procedures and duties common to all commissions are combined in a more user-friendly fashion. The current membership of all commissions is left in place as-is until January 31, 2019, at which time the governor's attorney appointment to a district commission and the chief justice's two nonattorney appointments to a district commission expire. The terms of all other existing commissioners continue until such time as the commissioner's term was originally set to expire. Beginning February 1, 2019, the membership of the commissions is structured as follows, with new appointing authorities making appointments on or before March 1, 2019: The state commission consists of 11 members, one attorney and one nonattorney each by the president of senate and speaker of the house of representatives; one nonattorney each by the minority leader of each house; two attorneys appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court; and two nonattorneys and one attorney appointed by the governor. Each district commission consists of 10 members. The make-up of each district commission is the same as that of the state commission except that the governor only appoints two nonattorneys to each district commission and makes no attorney appointment. In the case of a vacancy, the original appointing authority shall make an appointment within 45 days after the date of the vacancy. If the original appointing authority fails to fill the vacancy within 45 days, the governor shall make the appointment. Other conditions related to the membership of state and district commissioners remain as they exist in current law. Duties of all commissions are outlined. The state commission is tasked with developing uniform rules, guidelines, and procedures,, including those related to the development and distribution of surveys for persons affected by justices and judges; promulgation of rules concerning the evaluation of justices and judges, the creation of a standards matrix related to statutory performance criteria and a description of the thresholds for the recommendations of 'meets performance standard' or 'does not meet performance standard', and the continuous collection of data for use in evaluations; and the development of a systemwide judicial training program and a systemwide volunteer courtroom observer program. The state commission is tasked with developing surveys to provide to persons who are affected by justices and judges and to develop guidelines and procedures to make such surveys readily available to those persons. The state commission shall develop rules, guidelines, and procedures to provide attorneys, pro se litigants, and clients with accessible and timely opportunities to review the surveys. Current law requires the state supreme court to approve rules promulgated by the state commission. That requirement is removed. The state commission may, however, at its discretion and within existing appropriations and resources, retain independent legal counsel to review any rules, guidelines, or procedures adopted. The state commission shall post a notice of any proposed rule, guideline, or procedure, allow for a period for public comment, and give the public the opportunity to address the state commission at a public hearing on the proposed rule, guideline, or procedure. The bill adds retired judges who have returned to temporary judicial duties per contract with the judicial department, as allowed by statute, also referred to as senior judges, to the list of judges that commissions are to evaluate. Every third year following the initial appointment of a senior judge to the bench through a contract, the state commission shall conduct a performance evaluation of such judge. The performance evaluation shall be completed and communicate the related narrative to the chief justice no later than 45 days prior to the expiration of the senior judge's contract for that year. Judicial performance evaluation criteria is retained, as is the requirement for all commissions to perform election-retention-year evaluations as well as initial and interim evaluations. Narratives and recommendations stemming from such evaluations are still required. The option to develop an individual improvement plan (improvement plan) for a justice or judge is authorized. If the state or a district commission recommends that a justice or judge receive an improvement plan, the commission shall communicate that recommendation to the chief justice or appropriate chief judge. The chief justice or chief judge shall then develop an improvement plan for the justice or judge in question and forward such improvement plan to the state commission for review. After the state commission reviews and approves an improvement plan, the chief justice or chief judge has the responsibility for implementing the improvement plan. A copy of the improvement plan and a statement of the results of such plan will be maintained in the appropriate commission's files. If a justice or judge is required to complete an improvement plan and he or she fails to satisfactorily do so, the appropriate commission shall automatically issue a 'does not meet performance standard' designation on his or her performance evaluation summary. The state commission is required to gather and maintain statewide data and post a report of the data on its website at least 30 days prior to each retention election; and Beginning in January 2019, and every 2 years thereafter, the judicial department shall include a summary of the commissions' activities in the department's 'State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act' presentation to the joint judicial committee. A private right of action is established in which final actions of the state commission are subject to judicial review if a person is adversely affected or aggrieved by such final action. A 'final action' for purposes of the private right of action is defined as a rule, guideline, or procedure adopted by the state commission. A 'final action' does not include a final recommendation regarding a justice or a judge, an improvement plan, surveys developed by the state commission, or any aspect of an individual justice's or judge's judicial performance evaluation.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The existing all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) program includes the state PACE ombudsman. The bill adds local PACE ombudsmen to the state ombudsman's office (office). The bill contains provisions relating to local PACE ombudsmen, including training, designation as representatives of the office, access to PACE centers and participants, authority to file complaints on behalf of PACE participants, and immunity from liability. The bill includes time frames for the state PACE ombudsman to complete duties and functions of the office, including establishing statewide policies and procedures for investigating and resolving complaints relating to PACE programs and training local PACE ombudsmen. The department of human services shall report to the joint budget committee and to its legislative committee of reference concerning the long-term care ombudsman program and the state PACE ombudsman program, including program caseloads and the need, if any, for additional local ombudsmen. The bill repeals statutory provisions relating to stakeholder recommendations and a report concerning the expansion of the PACE ombudsman program to include local PACE ombudsmen. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill adds the definitions 'psychologically traumatic event' and 'serious bodily injury' to the workers' compensation statutes for the purposes of clarifying a worker's right to compensation for any claim of mental impairment.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law prohibits a motor vehicle manufacturer (manufacturer) from requiring a motor vehicle dealer (dealer) to substantially alter a facility or premises if the manufacturer required it within the last 7 years at a cost set in statute based on the type of dealer. Section 1 of the bill extends this prohibition to 10 years. Section 1 also prohibits a manufacturer from: Selling a similarly equipped motor vehicle to one dealer at a lower price than to another dealer; Requiring or enforcing a contract giving the manufacturer a right of first refusal or an option to purchase the dealership; and Using an unreasonable, arbitrary, unfair, or surprise performance standard in determining a dealer's compliance with a franchise agreement. Section 2 repeals a provision that gives a dealer a right of first refusal for new franchises when the dealer was terminated due to the insolvency of the manufacturer. Section 2 also authorizes a dealer to sue in court to contest a manufacturer adding or moving a dealership to a market with a current dealer when this action would materially and adversely affect the dealer or the public. Such an action may currently be done administratively. Procedures are set for the civil action and an administrative hearing. Standards are set for determining the outcome. A prevailing party may get attorney fees and costs. Section 3 authorizes a dealer to sue a manufacturer in court to contest whether a termination was for just cause or for failing to provide notice of a termination. Such an action may currently be done administratively. The current process for staying the termination is strengthened. The manufacturer has the burden of proof. A prevailing dealer may get attorney fees and costs. Section 4 requires a manufacturer, when the manufacturer requires the dealer to stop selling a used motor vehicle due to a technical mechanical issue, to provide parts and a solution within 30 days or to provide compensation to the dealer. Standards are set for eligibility and payment.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law authorizes a homeowner to finance certain energy efficiency improvements to the home through a loan pursuant to the property assessed clean energy (PACE) program. The program requires an applicant to file a title commitment on the home and a hearing must be held in order to seek a voluntary subordination of existing liens to the program's junior lien. The bill exempts a homeowner from the title commitment and hearing requirements if the owner or lender is not seeking to subordinate the priority of existing liens. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
