Existing law, the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, imposes a tax upon each gallon of motor vehicle fuel removed from a refinery or terminal rack in this state, entered into this state, or sold in this state, at a specified rate per gallon. Existing unfair competition laws establish a statutory cause of action for unfair competition, including any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising and acts prohibited by false advertisement laws. This bill would suspend the imposition of the tax on motor vehicle fuels for one year. The bill would require that all savings realized based on the suspension of the motor vehicle fuels tax by a person other than an end consumer, as defined, be passed on to the end consumer, and would make the violation of this requirement an unfair business practice, in violation of unfair competition laws, as provided. The bill would require a seller of motor vehicle fuels to provide a receipt to a purchaser that indicates the amount of tax that would have otherwise applied to the transaction. This bill would also direct the Controller to transfer a specified amount from the General Fund to the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account in the Transportation Tax Fund. By transferring General Fund moneys to a continuously appropriated account, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing federal law establishes the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. This bill would, in the event of a federal funding lapse that results in the withholding, suspension, or delay of federally funded CalFresh benefits, require the State Department of Social Services to utilize state funds to ensure that CalFresh benefits continue to be issued to existing recipients. The bill would define "federal funding lapse" to mean any period during which the federal government fails to appropriate sufficient funds to the United States Department of Agriculture to cover the full monthly allotment of SNAP benefits for eligible households in California, and would require the Director of Social Services to declare a federal funding lapse during any period that meets that definition. The bill would, in the event of a declaration by the director of a federal funding lapse, continuously appropriate to the department from the General Fund an amount necessary to cover the costs to implement these provisions, as determined by the director. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999, creates the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program within the University of California and authorizes the university to establish a spinal cord injury research fund, independent of the State Treasury, to accept public and private funds for purposes of spinal cord injury research, as specified. This bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the General Fund to the spinal cord injury research fund authorized by the above act, to be spent at a rate of $1,000,000 per year, without regard to fiscal year, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year. Existing law, the California Stem Cell Research, Treatments, and Cures Bond Act of 2020, added by initiative measure enacted by the voters by Proposition 14 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, authorizes the state to sell a specified amount in general obligations bonds primarily for the purposes of stem cell research and the development of new medical treatments. If Proposition 14 funding is obtained for the purpose of funding a spinal cord injury research project, as provided, this bill would authorize the university to deposit those funds in an established specified spinal cord injury research fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing federal law establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible low-income individuals by each county, as administered by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law establishes the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) , which is administered by the State Department of Public Health and counties and under which nutrition and other assistance are provided to eligible low-income individuals who have been determined to be at nutritional risk. This bill would create the CalFresh and WIC Contingency Fund. Under the bill, moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation, to the above-described departments for CalFresh and WIC programs, respectively, solely for the purpose of maintaining continuity of CalFresh or WIC benefits, as applicable, during a federal government shutdown or other federal appropriations lapse, subject to certain conditions. The bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health, during a federal government shutdown or other federal appropriations lapse affecting the WIC Program, to obtain a temporary loan, line of credit, or other short-term financing arrangement for the purpose of maintaining uninterrupted WIC services and benefit issuance. The bill would authorize receipt of a loan for this purpose, subject to approval by the Director of Finance, from certain sources. The bill would set forth terms and conditions for repayment of the loan. The bill would require the departments to seek federal reimbursement for expenditures made from the fund or for loan repayments. Under the bill, any federal reimbursements received would, as applicable, be used for the loan repayments or be deposited into the fund until the fund is restored to its prewithdrawal balance. If either of the departments uses moneys in the fund, the bill would require the department to subsequently report that use to the Legislature. The bill would also require the departments to submit a joint report to the Legislature and the Department of Finance detailing certain information. The bill would make these provisions severable. The bill would make the provisions inoperative on January 20, 2029, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2030. However, the bill would resume any provisions necessary to effectuate the repayment of loans, the receipt of federal reimbursements, or the preparation and submission of required reports, until those obligations are fully satisfied. The bill would require the Department of Finance to determine the amount of unencumbered funds subject to reversion and to effectuate the transfer to the General Fund as soon as practicable following January 20, 2029.
Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to appropriate and expend county general fund money to establish county programs or fund other programs to meet various social needs of the county population and the needs of physically, mentally, and financially handicapped persons and aged persons. Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors to contract with other public agencies, private agencies, or individuals to operate programs that the board of supervisors determines will serve public purposes. Existing law prohibits an Orange County Board of Supervisors member from awarding district discretionary funds to a community organization or a nonprofit organization unless the board of supervisors approves that award by a majority vote. Existing law requires the Orange County Board of Supervisors to post on its internet website a log of appropriated district discretionary funds at the end of each quarter, as specified. Existing law prohibits, within 90 days preceding an election, an Orange County Board of Supervisors member who is on the ballot as an Orange County Board of Supervisors member candidate and has an opponent on that ballot from taking any action related to spending district discretionary funds, as specified. This bill would prohibit the Alameda County Board of Supervisors from awarding discretionary funds, as defined, to a community organization, nonprofit organization, or private entity, unless the board of supervisors approves that award by a majority vote and the award includes a description of how the award provides resources of communitywide significance for the district that the member of the board requesting the award represents and identifies the public purposes, as defined, that the award will serve. The bill would prohibit the Alameda County Board of Supervisors from appropriating discretionary funds for an award that is not for a public purpose and from appropriating any funds in a way that allows a member, or less than a majority, of the board to appropriate funds, as specified. The bill would require the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to post on its internet website a log of appropriated discretionary funds at the end of each quarter, as specified. The bill would prohibit, within 90 days before an election, an Alameda County Board of Supervisors member who is on the ballot as an Alameda County Board of Supervisors member candidate from, among other things, placing an agenda item seeking approval to appropriate discretionary funds on the agenda for a meeting of the board. The bill would prohibit discretionary funds from being awarded at a special meeting or on the consent calendar. The bill would make its provisions severable. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for County of Alameda.
Under existing law, if sufficient appropriations are not available for the payment of certain claims, settlements, or judgments, the Attorney General is required to report the claims, settlements, and judgments to the chairperson of either the Senate Committee on Appropriations or the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, who is then required to cause introduction of legislation appropriating the funds necessary for payment. This bill would appropriate $7,391,650.83 from the General Fund to the Attorney General for the payment of claims, settlements, or judgments against the state arising from 8 specified actions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which, through a combination of federal, state, and county funds, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law requires the county, at the time of application, to determine whether the applicant needs immediate assistance because the applicant does not have sufficient resources to meet their emergency needs, and to determine whether the applicant is apparently eligible for CalWORKs aid. Existing law requires the county to determine that the applicant needs immediate assistance if the family's total available liquid resources are less than $100 and there is an emergency situation. Under existing law, apparent eligibility exists when evidence presented by the applicant or which is otherwise available to the county welfare department and the information provided on the application documents indicate that there would be eligibility for CalWORKs aid if the evidence and information were verified. If an applicant needs immediate assistance, and is apparently eligible for CalWORKs aid, existing law requires the county to pay the applicant $200 or the maximum amount for which that applicant is eligible, whichever is less. Under the CalWORKs program, there is also an allowance for nonrecurring special needs for homeless assistance available to a family that is homeless and seeking shelter when the family is either eligible for or apparently eligible for CalWORKs aid. This bill would require the county to make a determination of apparent eligibility for immediate assistance and for homeless assistance without requiring, as a prerequisite to making that determination, that the applicant apply for any unconditionally available income the applicant does not currently receive. To the extent that the bill would expand counties' duties relating to apparent eligibility determinations, the 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 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) Under existing law, if the federal government provides funds for the care of a needy relative with whom a needy child is living, aid to the child for any month includes aid to meet the needs of that relative, except as prescribed. Existing law establishes 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 using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law provides that the parent or parents are to be considered living with the needy child for a period of up to 6 months, or for a time period as determined by the State Department of Social Services, of the needy child's absence from the family assistance unit, and that the parents are eligible for CalWORKs aid and childcare services if specified conditions are met, including, among others, that the child has been removed from the parent or parents and that the family was receiving aid under when the child was removed. Existing law requires all applicants for or recipients of CalWORKs to ensure and provide documentation that each child in the assistance unit who is not required to be enrolled in school has received all age-appropriate immunizations, as specified. This bill would make technical changes to the provisions regarding a parent's eligibility to receive aid as if the child or children were living with them. The bill would also specify that those provisions do not require all children to be removed from the parent or parents or that some, but not all, of the children have reunified. If a family assistance unit is cooperating in the development of, or participating in, a reunification case plan, the bill would exempt a child that has been removed from the parent or parents from specified immunization requirements. For a family assistance unit receiving state-funded CalWORKs reunification cash aid whose grant was lowered as a sanction for not cooperating with child support enforcement, as specified, the bill would require the sanction to end upon the removal of the child from the assistance unit and their placement into out-of-home care. If an applicant applies for assistance for a child who is currently aided in another assistance unit and the county determines that the applicant has care and control of the child and is otherwise eligible, existing law requires the county to discontinue aid to the child in the existing assistance unit and aid the child in the applicant's assistance unit, as specified. Notwithstanding the above-described requirements to discontinue aid, if a child or children have been removed from their parent or parents and are placed with an adult who, prior to the removal, was a noncustodial parent, the bill would prohibit the county from discontinuing aid to the existing assistance unit if it is otherwise eligible for CalWORKs reunification cash aid, as specified. To the extent that this bill would expand county responsibilities under the CalWORKs program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility. Existing law requires the recipient and the county welfare department to enter into a written welfare-to-work plan that includes the activities and services that will move the individual into employment. Existing departmental guidance strongly encourages, for individuals receiving benefits as described in paragraph (1) , counties to use a CalWORKs family reunification plan, which is the case plan developed by the county child welfare services agency for the provision of services to those individuals, in lieu of the welfare-to-work plan. This bill would exempt an individual receiving aid or services for CalWORKs family reunification from the requirement to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility. To the extent that this bill would expand county responsibilities under the CalWORKs program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) This bill would make these provisions operative on July 1, 2027, or when the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform any automation the department deems necessary to implement these provisions, whichever is later. (4) Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for the purposes of implementing the bill. (5) 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.
Under existing law, if sufficient appropriations are not available for the payment of certain claims, settlements, or judgments, the Attorney General is required to report the claims, settlements, and judgments to the chairperson of either the Senate Committee on Appropriations or the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, who is then required to cause introduction of legislation appropriating the funds necessary for payment. This bill would appropriate an unspecified amount from the General Fund to the Attorney General to pay the judgment in an unspecified case. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the State General Obligation Bond Law, generally sets forth the procedures for the issuance and sale of bonds governed by its provisions and for the disbursal of the proceeds of the sale of those bonds. Existing law specifies various provisions required for inclusion in a bond act. Existing law requires any state bond measure approved on or after January 1, 2004, to be subject to an annual reporting process, with the head of the lead state agency administering the bond proceeds reporting certain information about the projects being funded to the Legislature and the Department of Finance. Existing law permits this information to be provided on the agency's internet website or the state's open data portal under certain circumstances. Existing law authorizes the costs of the report to be included in the cost of administering the bond act unless prohibited by the bond act. Existing law defines various terms for these purposes, including "board." Existing law defines "board" to mean the state board, department, or agency authorized by a bond act to request the committee to cause bonds to be issued for the purpose of creating a fund that is to be expended by the board for the purposes specified in the bond act. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. For any state general obligation bond measure that is approved by voters on and after January 1, 2027, this bill would require a bond act to include specified information about the objectives of the bond expenditure and related data. The bill would also require the board to post on its internet website a notification that contains, among other information, details about the programs and projects authorized to be funded by the bond. The bill would require the board to provide a short, one page, executive summary style written report to the Department of Finance, the Legislative Analyst, and specified legislative committees that contains certain information regarding the general obligation bond, in accordance with the above-described provision permitting this information to be provided on the board's internet website or the state's online data portal. The bill would require the report to include, among other information, whether the project, grant, or other expenditure of bond proceeds has been done in a timely manner. The bill would require a bond act to include a provision requiring the cost of the report to be included in the cost of administering the bond act and would require the cost of compliance with the above-described report requirements be included in the cost of administering the bond act. The bill would exempt from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act the development and adoption of program guidelines, recommendations, or criteria pursuant to the bill. The bill would also make nonsubstantive and conforming changes.
