(1) Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for school districts and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires funding pursuant to the local control funding formula to include a base grant that in each fiscal year is adjusted for inflation by the percentage change in the annual average value of the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services for the United States, as specified. If the inflation adjustment for the base grant for a school district or charter school is calculated to be less than 4%, this bill would require the inflation adjustment for the base grant for a school district or charter school to instead be 4%. The bill would require the State Department of Education, on or before January 1, 2030, to establish and publish on its internet website regional cost adjustment factors in order address regional cost differences in housing and labor, and, commencing with the 2030–31 fiscal year, would require the adjustment to the base grant, whether calculated by the inflation adjustment or 4%, as applicable, to be further adjusted by multiplying that calculation by the applicable regional cost adjustment factor. (2) Existing law requires the local control funding formula to include, in addition to the base grant, supplemental and concentration grant add-ons that are based on the percentage of pupils who are unduplicated pupils, as defined to include English learners, pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals, and foster youth, as specified. Existing law requires school districts and charter schools to annually report their enrollment of unduplicated pupils to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as specified, and requires county superintendents of schools to review and validate that pupil data, as provided. Existing law requires pupils who are classified in more than one of these groups to be counted only once for these purposes. The bill would add pupils experiencing homelessness, as defined, to the categories of pupils who are unduplicated pupils for purposes of determining eligibility for supplemental and concentration grants. The bill would place reporting requirements on school districts and charter schools to implement these provisions. By imposing additional duties on county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools related to reporting unduplicated pupils, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the supplemental grant add-on to be equal to 20% of the base grants, as adjusted, for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils, as specified, and requires the concentration grant add-on to be equal to 65% of the base grants, as adjusted, for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils in excess of 55% of the school district's or charter school's total enrollment, as specified. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt regulations that govern the expenditure of funds apportioned on the basis of the number and concentration of unduplicated pupils, as provided. This bill, commencing with the 2030–31 fiscal year, would require the supplemental grant add-on to instead be equal to 35% of the base grants, as adjusted, for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils, as specified, and would require the concentration grant add-on to instead be equal to 65% of the base grants, as adjusted, for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils in excess of 45% of the school district's or charter school's total enrollment, as specified. The bill would establish transition adjustments for the 2025–26 fiscal year to the 2029–30 fiscal years, inclusive, to be calculated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for each school district and charter school based on increased funding that would have been generated by the changes to supplemental and concentration grant eligibility and percentages described above, as provided. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys necessary to implement those adjustments and would require the Superintendent to add those transition amounts to the school district's and charter school's local control funding formula amounts. The bill, notwithstanding any other law, would require any increase in apportionment to a school district or charter school due to the bill's changes to the local control funding formula to be demonstrated to be used to support additional services for the targeted pupil group. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on school districts and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill, commencing with the 2025–26 fiscal year, would prohibit each school district and charter school from receiving less state aid under the local control funding formula for the then current fiscal year than they received in the 2024–25 fiscal year under the local control funding formula, as calculated on a per average daily attendance basis. (4) Existing law requires the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before January 1, 2026, to submit a report to the Legislature on the effects of changing the pupil count methodology of the local control funding formula from average daily attendance to pupil enrollment, as provided. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before January 1, 2027, to submit a report to the Legislature that studies the impact of the changes to the local control funding formula made by the bill within and between geographic regions of the state. (5) This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to develop recommendations for adequacy adjustments to the grade span adjusted base grants in order to address the unique costs for each grade span and to account for the revisions to supplemental and concentration grants described above, and to report those recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, as provided. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to fully transition the local control funding formula commencing with the 2030–31 fiscal year consistent with those recommendations. (6) 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. (7) Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
(1) Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, provides awards to certain California postsecondary students to help pay the costs of postsecondary education. Existing law sets the maximum Cal Grant A and B tuition award amount for new recipients in the 2023–24 award year at $9,358 for students attending independent institutions of higher education. Existing law authorizes community colleges to award an associate degree for transfer, and provides that the Cal Grant A and B tuition award amount for future years for students attending independent institutions of higher education depends on the number of commitments those institutions make to accept associate degrees for transfer. Beginning with the 2024–25 award year, existing law sets the maximum tuition award amount for new Cal Grant A and B recipients at either $9,358 or $8,056, depending upon whether the number of new unduplicated transfer students accepted by those institutions who have been given associate degree for transfer commitments in the prior award year exceeds statutory targets. This bill would set, beginning with the 2026–27 award year, and subject to an appropriation for this purpose, the maximum tuition award amount for new Cal Grant A and B recipients at either $9,708 or $8,056, with the higher amount conditioned on the achievement of the target numbers for associate degree for transfer commitments that apply for the prior award year. (2) Existing law establishes a California Community College Expanded Entitlement Award for students who were not awarded a Cal Grant A or B award at the time of the student's high school graduation but who will be enrolled at a California community college during the award year and meet other criteria. Existing law authorizes a student who receives a California Community College Expanded Entitlement Award to subsequently transfer to a University of California or California State University campus and remain eligible to receive the award. Existing law also authorizes a student who receives a California Community College Expanded Entitlement Award and who subsequently transfers to an independent institution of higher education to remain eligible to receive the award, but only if General Fund moneys over the multiyear forecasts beginning in the 2024–25 fiscal year are available to support ongoing augmentations and actions, and if funding is provided in the annual Budget Act to implement the Cal Grant Reform Act. This bill would instead authorize a student who receives a California Community College Expanded Entitlement Award and who subsequently transfers to an independent institution of higher education to remain eligible to receive the award without the above-described conditions.
The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act, an initiative approved by the voters as Proposition 98 at the November 8, 1988, statewide general election, amended the California Constitution to, among other things, set forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts in any given fiscal year. The California Constitution creates the Public School System Stabilization Account in the General Fund and requires the Controller to transfer, pursuant to a schedule provided by the Director of Finance, a specified amount from the General Fund to the account in each fiscal year, except as provided. The California Constitution generally prohibits the total annual appropriations subject to limitation of the state and each local government from exceeding the appropriations limit of the entity of government for the prior fiscal year, adjusted for the change in the cost of living and the change in population. The California Constitution defines "appropriations subject to limitation" for these purposes. Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula (LCFF) , as specified. Under existing law, school districts that do not receive an apportionment of state funds under the LCFF because their local revenues exceed the amount calculated pursuant to the LCFF are considered "basic aid school districts" or "excess tax entities." This measure would establish the Equalization Reserve Account in the General Fund. The measure would require the Controller, in any fiscal year in which there is an increase over the preceding fiscal year in the minimum amount of revenues the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts, to transfer from the General Fund to the Equalization Reserve Account an amount equal to the total amount transferred from the General Fund to the Public School System Stabilization Account in that fiscal year, as provided. The measure would require interest earned on funds in the Equalization Reserve Account to be deposited in the account and would require the Legislature, in each fiscal year, to allocate at least 80% of that interest to increase per-pupil funding in non-basic aid school districts. The measure would define non-basic aid school districts as school districts that received an apportionment of state funds under the LCFF in any of the preceding 3 fiscal years. The measure would authorize the Legislature to suspend the required transfers from the General Fund in any fiscal year in which average per-pupil funding in non-basic aid school districts equals or exceeds the average per-pupil funding in basic aid school districts. The measure would prohibit the allocation of funds transferred to the account from the General Fund. The measure would exclude funds transferred to or allocated from the account from computations of the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts, from the moneys allocated for purposes of meeting that minimum funding obligation, and from the total annual state appropriations subject to the limitation described above.
Existing law provides for the establishment of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, with specified powers and duties related to the operation of public transit services serving the County of Santa Cruz. Existing law, among other things, authorizes the board of directors of the district to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law by an ordinance approved by the electors voting on the measure at a special election called by the board of directors for that purpose. This bill would also authorize those special taxes to be imposed by a qualified voter initiative. The bill would require the special election for a tax measure proposed by the board of directors or a qualified voter initiative to be consolidated with a statewide general election by the board of supervisors of the County of Santa Cruz and would require the tax measure to be submitted to the voters in accordance with specified elections provisions. The bill would also require the county elections official for the County of Santa Cruz to serve as the elections official of the district for purposes of administering the ballot measure process and any election for purposes of specified provisions of law. To the extent that the bill would impose additional duties on a county elections official, the 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, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Constitution generally limits the maximum rate of ad valorem tax on real property to 1% of the full cash value of the property and defines "full cash value" for these purposes as the appraised value of real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred after the 1975 assessment. Pursuant to constitutional authorization, existing property tax law excludes from the definition of "newly constructed" for these purposes the construction or addition of any active solar energy system, as defined, through the 2025–26 fiscal year, except as specified. This bill would prescribe rules for the valuation of an active solar energy system under certain valuation methods, including a requirement that, under the income method, the assessor exclude from income the benefit from, among other things, renewable energy credits, as defined. By expanding the duties of local tax officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Existing law prescribes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of state and local public contracts. Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2027, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017, a claim resolution process applicable to any claim by a contractor in connection with a public works project against a public entity, as specified. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines "public entity" to include, among others, a city, including a charter city, and county, including a charter county. Existing law imposes various requirements on a public entity in relating to the claim resolution process, including, among other things, conducting a reasonable review of the claim and, within 45 days, providing the claimant a written statement identifying the disputed and undisputed portions of the claim. This bill would repeal the above-described January 1, 2027, repeal date, thereby extending the operation of these provisions indefinitely. By indefinitely extending the duties of local agencies in relation to the above-specified claim resolution process, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. 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 creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a local area planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law establishes the Public Transit Revenue Measure District, governed by the same board that governs the commission, with jurisdiction extending throughout the boundaries of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, and the City and County of San Francisco. Existing law authorizes a retail transactions and use tax applicable to the entire district to be imposed by the board of the district or by a qualified voter initiative for a duration of 14 years, and in specified amounts, subject to voter approval at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election. Existing law establishes specified procedures for that election, including a requirement that the elections officials of the counties where the measure will appear on the ballot mutually agree to use the same letter designation for the measure. This bill would revise those election procedures by, among other things, instead requiring the measure to be identified on the ballot by the designation "Regional Transit Measure" in each county included in the district and by requiring each county elections official in the district to select, from among the submissions of proposed arguments in favor of, and against, the measure, the arguments to be included in the county voter information guide of that county, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state of, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes, including a partial exemption for the sale of, or the storage, use, or consumption of, qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily in any stage of the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of tangible personal property, beginning at the point any raw materials are received by the qualified person and introduced into the process and ending at the point at which the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling has altered tangible personal property to its completed form, including packaging, if required. Existing law (backfill requirement) requires an amount that equals the estimated revenue loss to the General Fund from the allowance of the above-described exemptions, with the concurrence of the Department of Finance, to be transferred from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the General Fund, as prescribed. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2027, define "processing" to include the altering, converting, conditioning, or other preparation of hydrogen or electricity for the purposes of selling the hydrogen for fueling or the electricity for charging a vehicle and would define "qualified tangible personal property" to include hydrogen fueling station equipment and charging station equipment and component parts used as an integral part of those activities. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would provide that the backfill requirement does not apply with respect to the exemptions allowed by the bill, as specified. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various deductions from gross income in calculating adjusted gross income. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, would allow a deduction in determining adjusted gross income for a taxpayer in an amount equal to $3,000 per qualified individual, reduced by 6% of the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income in excess of specified thresholds. The bill would define "qualified individual" for these purposes to mean the taxpayer if the taxpayer is an elderly senior and, in the case of a married couple filing a joint return, the taxpayer's spouse if the taxpayer's spouse is an elderly senior, and would define "elderly senior" to mean an individual who meets specified age criteria as of the last day of the taxable year. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law establishes the California College Promise, under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each community college meeting prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college to use that funding to waive some or all of the fees for 2 academic years for first-time community college students and returning community college students, as defined, who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent, or less for students certified as "full time," as specified, and who complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application, except that a student who has previously earned a degree or certificate from a postsecondary educational institution is not eligible for this fee waiver. This bill would prohibit a certificate awarded to a student by a postsecondary educational institution as part of a course sequence leading to an associate degree from making the student ineligible for that fee waiver.
