Rep. Alberto Torrico

Existing law requires any person who negotiates, attempts to negotiate, arranges, attempts to arrange, or otherwise offers to perform a mortgage loan modification for compensation to provide specified information to the borrower. This bill would require any lender or servicer that rejects a loan modification request to send within 7 days, by certified mail, a notification to the borrower that specifically states the reasons why the loan modification request is rejected.

The Administrative Procedure Act contains provisions governing the conduct of administrative adjudication for state agencies. This bill would require the Director of Pesticide Regulation, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Department of Industrial Relations, the State Air Resources Board, and the State Water Resources Control Board to update the maximum and minimum amounts of specified civil and administrative penalties for inflation or deflation using the Consumer Price Index, as provided. The bill would require the updated penalties to be filed with the Secretary of State and published in the California Code of Regulations.

Existing law generally regulates the granting and conditioning of parole, and places the duty to monitor parolees on the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Adult Parole Operations. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to classify parolees into a 5-tiered parole supervision system, as specified. The bill would require the department to allocate available supervision resources consistent with meeting the supervision requirements of all 5 tiers.

Existing law requires that, upon a breach of the obligation of a mortgage or transfer of an interest in property, the trustee, mortgagee, or beneficiary record a notice of default in the office of the county recorder where the mortgaged or trust property is situated and mail the notice of default to the mortgagor or trustor. Existing law provides that, after not less than 3 months after the filing of the notice of default, the parties described above may give notice of sale, stating the time and place of the sale, as specified. This bill would prohibit the mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent from giving notice of sale if the mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent is currently in negotiations to modify the existing loan. The bill also would repeal a duplicative provision. Existing law requires that before any sale of property can be made under the power of sale contained in any deed of trust or mortgage, or any resale resulting from a rescission for a failure of consideration, notice of the sale must be given, published, and posted in a specified manner at least 20 days before the date of sale, as specified. Existing law also requires the mortgagee, trustee, or other person authorized to record the notice of default or the notice of sale to send to each mortgagee or trustee a copy of the notice of sale at least 20 days before the date of sale. Existing law provides that there may be a postponement or postponements of the sale proceedings, under specified circumstances. This bill would provide that if there is a postponement, or if there are postponements, of the sale proceedings, the borrower shall receive a new notification before the date of the actual sale.

The Community Redevelopment Law authorizes the establishment of redevelopment agencies in communities to address the effects of blight, as defined, in those communities and requires those agencies to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and approve a redevelopment plan for each project area. That law authorizes the agencies to use tax increment financing for redevelopment projects and repayment of redevelopment debts. This bill would redefine the term "redevelopment" to include the provision of loan assistance to qualified homeowners, until January 1, 2016, as determined by the agency. The bill would authorize a redevelopment agency to use redevelopment funds to issue a subordinate loan limited to low- and moderate-income borrowers and to owner-occupied homes, to reduce the principal balance on the home mortgages of qualified homeowners, as prescribed, who reside in or outside of the project area. The bill would authorize the use of funds outside the project area only upon a specified resolution of the agency and the legislative body. The bill would authorize the issuance of a subordinate loan only upon the agreement of the lender to reduce the principal balance of the primary loan so that the loan-to-value ratio is equal to or less than 110%. The bill would repeal this authorization on January 1, 2016.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a security department under the supervision of a chief of security or a police department under the supervision of a chief of police and under the direction of the superintendent of the school district. The governing board is authorized to employ personnel to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils and the security of the real and personal property of the school district. In addition, a school district is authorized to assign a school police reserve officer who is deputized to a schoolsite to supplement the duties of school police personnel. This bill would establish the Safe Schools Initiative, under which the Superintendent of Public Instruction would award grants to school districts with high schools located in areas with the highest crime rates. A grant recipient would be required to use funds awarded to employ at least one police officer to provide services at the high school or high schools in the school district that qualified the school district for the award. The grant program would be funded by a 0.025% augmentation of the vehicle license fee that would be imposed on vehicles with a market value of $50,000 or more. This bill would result in a change in state taxes for the purpose of increasing state revenues 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.

This measure would designate the week of May 2 to May 8, 2010, as Public Service Recognition Week, and encourage all Californians to recognize the crucial role of public employees in this state.

The Golden State Scholarshare Trust Act establishes the Golden State Scholarshare Trust, under the administration of the Scholarshare Investment Board, to provide financial aid for postsecondary education costs of participating students. The act requires the board to segregate moneys received by the trust into 2 funds, one of which is the administrative fund. Existing law requires the funds in the administrative fund to be available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes. This bill would expand the purpose for which funds in the administrative fund can be expended, to include reimbursement of the Franchise Tax Board's actual cost of implementing and maintaining a specified designation on the form of the return. The Personal Income Tax Law imposes taxes on taxable income which are administered by the Franchise Tax Board. Existing law authorizes taxpayers to contribute amounts in excess of their tax liability for the support of specified funds. This bill would, until December 31, 2014, authorize a taxpayer to designate on his or her tax return that a contribution in excess of tax liability, as specified, be deposited by the Franchise Tax Board into a qualified tuition program account, as specified. This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to revise the form of the return to include the necessary information that will allow a taxpayer to make this designation, as provided. This bill would require the Scholarshare Investment Board to reimburse the Franchise Tax Board for the actual cost of implementing and maintaining this designation on the form of the return, as provided.

Existing law provides time credit for work performance and good behavior to prisoners confined to a county jail, industrial farm, or road camp, or any city jail, industrial farm, or road camp. Specifically, except regarding certain prisoners who are limited to 15% credit against sentenced time, existing law provides that a term of 4 days will be deemed to have been served for every 2 days spent in actual custody in one of these facilities, except that a term of 6 days will be deemed to have been served for every 4 days in actual custody for prisoners required to register as sex offenders, prisoners committed for a serious felony, or prisoners with a prior conviction for a serious or violent felony. This bill would instead provide that prisoners sentenced to state prison, except for those required to register as sex offenders, committed for a serious felony, or with a previous conviction for a serious or violent felony, who are confined in a city or county jail, industrial farm, or road camp prior to and after the date of a sentence to state prison shall have one day deducted from his or her period of confinement for every day the prisoner served in a city or county jail, industrial farm, or road camp. The bill would provide that a prisoner sentenced to state prison who is confined in a city or county jail, industrial farm, or road camp may not receive the day for day credit if it appears by the record that the prisoner refused to satisfactorily perform labor or failed to satisfactorily comply with rules and regulations, as specified. The bill would provide that, for prisoners otherwise in a county jail, industrial farm, or road camp, or any city jail, industrial farm, or road camp, except those subject to the 15% limitation on credits noted above, a term of 6 days will be deemed to have been served for every 4 days spent in actual custody. Because this bill would change the punishment for crimes, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that persons sentenced to prison for a determinate sentence serve the entire sentence imposed by the court, except for a reduction in the time served in the custody of the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as specified. Existing law provides that except regarding certain prisoners who are limited to 15% credit against sentenced time, for every 6 months of continuous incarceration, a prisoner shall be awarded credit reductions from his or her term of confinement of 6 months. Existing law provides that prisoners who are denied the opportunity to earn credits for the commission of specified crimes or misconduct shall be awarded no credit reduction pursuant to these provisions. The bill would instead provide that, except for those prisoners subject to the 15% limitation on credits noted above, for every 6 months of full-time performance in a credit qualifying program, a prisoner shall be awarded credit reductions of 6 months. The bill would provide that prisoners who refuse to accept a full-time credit qualifying assignment shall be awarded no credit reduction. The bill would provide for the earning of credit reductions for prisoners who voluntarily accept a half-time credit qualifying assignment and prisoners who are willing to participate in a full-time credit qualifying assignment but who are either not assigned to a full-time assignment or are assigned to a program for less than full-time. Existing law places a limit on the number of days of lost credit that may be restored for the commission or attempted commission of certain crimes by prisoners. This bill would provide that in order for the limitation on the restoration of credits to apply, the crime committed or attempted must be a felony. The bill would make other conforming changes.