This measure would request the Congress of the United States to, among other things, act immediately to avert federal spending cuts known as "sequestration" to protect the California and national economies.
(1) Existing law authorizes general obligation bonds to be issued and sold under various transportation bond measures approved by the voters. Debt service for general obligation bonds is generally payable from the General Fund. Existing law provides for the imposition of weight fees on certain vehicles. Revenues from weight fees, after administrative expenses, are available for expenditure from the State Highway Account. Under Article XIX of the California Constitution, weight fee revenues are restricted to expenditure on certain transportation purposes. Existing law, beginning with the 2012–13 fiscal year, provides for the transfer to the Transportation Debt Service Fund of weight fee revenues deposited in the State Highway Account. These revenues are then transferred from the Transportation Debt Service Fund to the General Fund, as reimbursement for debt service on certain transportation general obligation bonds until all of the eligible debt service on those bonds has been reimbursed, or to redeem or defease bonds that are maturing in a subsequent fiscal year. Existing law also provides for a loan to the General Fund of any of these weight fee revenues that are not immediately needed for debt service reimbursement purposes, but provides for the loans to be repaid when those revenues are needed for debt service reimbursement purposes at a later time, as specified. This bill would create a class of transportation general obligation bonds known as designated bonds, which would be a portion of the transportation general obligation bonds issued and sold pursuant to Proposition 1B of 2006. The bill would provide for transfer, pursuant to a certificate of the Treasurer, of a certain amount of weight fee revenue to the Transportation Debt Service Fund for the purpose of directly paying the debt service on the designated bonds, rather than providing for payment of the debt service indirectly through reimbursement of the General Fund. These weight fee revenues would be deposited in the newly created Transportation Bond Direct Payment Account in the Transportation Debt Service Fund and would be continuously appropriated for that purpose. To the extent the transferred weight fee revenues are insufficient to pay all the debt service on the designated bonds, the General Fund would remain responsible for the remaining debt service. The weight fee revenue to be used to pay debt service on the designated bonds would generally be the amount of weight fee revenue received by the Controller from the 15th day to the last day of each month. The remaining weight fee revenue would be used to pay the debt service on certain other transportation general obligation bonds. This bill would provide that the state covenants with bond holders of designated bonds that it will not alter, amend, or restrict the statutory provisions in this bill that provide for the transfer of weight fees to the Transportation Debt Service Fund or the Transportation Bond Direct Payment Account, and that it will not reduce weight fees below a specified amount on and after the first date that designated bonds are issued. The bill would enact other related provisions. (2) Existing law provides that the Department of Finance may adjust the budgeting, accounting, and reporting systems for various transportation funds and accounts so that unliquidated encumbrances are not reflected in the fund balance or financial statements. These provisions apply to the Public Transportation Account, the State Highway Account, the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund, the Transportation Investment Fund, and the Transportation Deferred Investment Fund. This bill would delete these provisions and instead provide that, upon order of the Department of Finance, all or some of the state agencies collecting revenues for, or spending from, each of these funds or accounts shall adjust budgeting, accounting, and reporting systems and documents so that unliquidated encumbrances, payables, and other accruals are not reflected in the fund balance in the Governor's Budget fund condition display or the fund balance in the financial statements submitted to the Controller for the Budgetary/Legal Annual Report. In addition, this bill would provide that the balance of cash advanced from each of these funds and accounts to the Transportation Revolving Account shall be deemed available for budgeting purposes to certain funds and accounts, as specified. (3) Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state, with specified powers and duties, including the power to enter into contracts, as specified. This bill would provide legal procedures for the relocation of publicly and privately owned utility facilities, as defined, when the authority requires any utility to remove any utility facility lawfully maintained in the right-of-way of any high-speed rail property to a location entirely outside the high-speed rail property right-of-way subject to specified conditions. The bill would generally require the authority to pay the reasonable and necessary cost of the removal, including the cost of relocation to a new location outside of the high-speed rail property right-of-way, subject to specified credits. The bill would authorize the authority and any utility to enter into a specified agreement or contract to remove or relocate any utility facility that provides for, among other things, the respective amounts of the cost to be borne by each party or that apportions the obligations and costs of each party. The bill would authorize each party to bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to adjudicate the obligations and costs to be borne by each party or in the event of a failure to reach an agreement as provided under these provisions. The bill would also authorize the authority to issue permits to utilities for specified purposes, including applications of utilities for permits to occupy high-speed rail property for longitudinal locations of utility facilities. (4) Existing law, in the 2010–11, 2011–12, and 2012–13 fiscal years, requires certain revenues deposited in the State Highway Account that are not restricted as to expenditure by Article XIX of the California Constitution to be transferred to the Transportation Debt Service Fund in the State Transportation Fund for payment of current year debt service on certain mass transportation bonds. Existing law, commencing with the 2013–14 fiscal year, requires that these revenues be retained in the State Highway Account until appropriated by the Legislature. This bill would delete this latter requirement and, instead, commencing with the 2013–14 fiscal year, would require the Controller to transfer these revenues to the Transportation Debt Service Fund in the State Transportation Fund, as specified, and would continuously appropriate these funds for payment of current year debt service on certain mass transportation bonds. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
This measure would call upon all Californians to observe César Chávez's birthday, March 31, as a day of public service, to recognize the hard work and self-sacrifice that farmworkers go through to feed all the families in our state, and to learn from César Chávez's life and his mission of nonviolence, social justice, and selfless service to others.
(1) Existing law establishes the public elementary and secondary school system in this state, and further establishes a funding system pursuant to which the state apportions funds to local educational agencies based on, among other factors, the average daily attendance of pupils at the schools operated by those agencies. Numerous statutes and regulations govern the calculation and reporting of average daily attendance. Existing law, commencing with the 2014–15 school year, authorizes, for purposes of computing average daily attendance, the inclusion of pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, under the immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of the school district or county office of education who is delivering synchronous, online instruction, as defined, provided that this instruction meets specified criteria. Existing law requires, if a school district or county office of education elects to offer synchronous, online instruction, that the school district or county office of education provide all pupils who choose to enroll in a synchronous, online course access to the computer hardware or software necessary for the pupil to participate in the course. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish rules and regulations for purposes of implementing these provisions, and requires those rules and regulations to, at a minimum, address specified matters. Existing law also authorizes the Superintendent to provide guidance regarding the ability of a school district or county office of education to provide synchronous, online instruction. This bill would make these provisions applicable to technology-based synchronous instruction, as defined, rather than synchronous, online instruction. (2) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or a county office of education to offer independent study to meet the educational needs of pupils in accordance with prescribed criteria. Existing law requires that not more than 10% of the pupils participating in an opportunity school or program, or a continuation high school, calculated as specified by the State Department of Education, be eligible for apportionment credit for independent study. This bill, commencing July 1, 2014, would require the calculation to be based on the prior year average daily attendance reported to the department. (3) Existing law requires the ratio of average daily attendance for independent study pupils 18 years of age or less to full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for independent study to not exceed a specified ratio. This bill, commencing July 1, 2014, would authorize a school district or a county office of education to establish a different ratio of average daily attendance for independent study pupils 18 years of age or less to full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for independent study through a local collectively bargained agreement. (4) Existing law provides that a school district or county office of education is not eligible to receive apportionments for independent study pupils unless it has adopted and implemented certain policies, including, but not limited to, policies related to the maximum length of time that may elapse between the time an independent study assignment is made and the date by which the pupil must complete the assigned work, the number of missed assignments that will be allowed before an evaluation is conducted to determine whether it is in the best interests of the pupil to remain in independent study, the manner, time, frequency, and place for submitting a pupil's assignments and for reporting his or her progress, and requiring a written agreement for each independent study pupil to be maintained on file. This bill, commencing July 1, 2014, would require a school district or county office of education to adopt different policies to be eligible to receive apportionments for independent study pupils, including policies requiring periodic contact, as defined, between the certificated employee providing instruction and the pupil to assess whether satisfactory educational progress, as described, is made. The bill would require the written agreement for each independent study pupil that is maintained on file to include additional information, including a copy of the governing board of the school district's, county board of education's, or governing body of a charter school's independent study authorization, and would authorize the written agreement to be maintained in a paper or electronic copy, as defined. The bill would authorize independent study to commence upon receipt of an electronic copy of the agreement.
Existing law, the California Adult Day Health Care Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of adult day health care centers, with administrative responsibility shared between the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the California Department of Aging pursuant to an interagency agreement. Existing law provides that a negligent, repeated, or willful violation of a provision of the California Adult Day Health Care Act is a misdemeanor. This bill would require an adult day health care center licensed pursuant to the act to comply with specified staffing requirements, maintain policies and procedures for providing supportive health care services to participants, and conduct and document training, as prescribed. Because a negligent, repeated, or willful violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services are provided to qualified, low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law provides, to the extent permitted by federal law, that adult day health care (ADHC) be excluded from coverage under the Medi-Cal program. This bill would establish the Community-Based Adult Services (CBAS) program, as specified, as a Medi-Cal benefit. The bill would require CBAS providers to meet specified requirements and would require the department to, commencing July 1, 2015, certify and enroll as new CBAS providers only those providers that are exempt from taxation as a nonprofit entity. 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.
Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program for the allocation of federal funds received through the TANF program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Under existing law, for purposes of determining a family's maximum aid payment under the CalWORKs program, the number of needy persons in the same family is not increased for any child born into a family that has received aid under the CalWORKs program continuously for the 10 months prior to the birth of the child, with specified exceptions. This bill would repeal that exclusion for purposes of determining the family's maximum aid payment and would expressly prohibit the denial of aid or denial of an increase in the maximum aid payment if a child on whose behalf aid, or an increase in aid, is being requested was born into an applicant's or recipient's family while the applicant's or recipient's family was receiving aid under the CalWORKs program. The bill would specify that an applicant or recipient is not entitled to an increased benefit payment for months prior to January 1, 2014, as a result of the repeal of that exclusion or the enactment of that express prohibition. The bill would also prohibit the department from conditioning an applicant or recipient's eligibility for aid on the applicant or recipient's disclosure of specified information regarding rape, incest, or contraception, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county aid grant costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would declare that no appropriation would be made for purposes of the bill. To the extent that this bill affects eligibility under the CalWORKs program, the bill would create 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 these statutory provisions.
(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 for a rate imposed by a city, county, city and county, or special district, as defined, to service bonded indebtedness incurred to fund specified public improvements and facilities, or buildings used primarily to provide sheriff, police, or fire protection services, that is approved by 55% of the voters of the city, county, city and county, or special district, as applicable. (2) 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 similarly lower to 55% the voter-approval threshold for a city, county, or city and county 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 to fund specified public improvements and facilities, or buildings used primarily to provide sheriff, police, or fire protection services.
Under the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, the Emergency Medical Services Authority is responsible for establishing minimum standards and promulgating regulations for the training and scope of practice for an emergency medical technician (EMT-I) , an advanced emergency medical technician (EMT-II) , and an emergency medical technician-paramedic (EMT-P) certified or licensed, as applicable, under the act. This bill would require the authority to develop and adopt regulations to, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence, accept the education, training, and practical experience completed by an applicant with military experience toward the qualifications and requirements for EMT-I certification, EMT-II certification, or EMT-P licensure, as specified.
Existing law requires the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to develop and implement an International Trade and Investment Program, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to establish an international trade and investment office outside of the United States if specified conditions occur. This bill would establish the California and Israel Trade and Economic Development Act of 2013 to facilitate greater economic development and job creation opportunities for this state. The bill would direct the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to formalize an economic relationship between this state and Israel and to build a framework to explore new research and development opportunities to increase investments for renewable energy and increase clean technology, promote development of green collar jobs, and expand employment opportunities in the state. The bill would provide that the provisions of this act that go beyond the current International Trade and Investment Program be funded through donations and bequests designated for this purpose and would create a special fund, the California-Israel Clean Tech Development Fund, that would be continuously appropriated for purposes of carrying out these provisions.
Under existing law, the Improvement Act of 1911, the owners of lots or portions of lots fronting on any portion of a public street or place are required to maintain any sidewalk in such condition that the sidewalk will not endanger persons or property and maintain it in a condition that will not interfere with the public convenience in the use of those works or areas, except as to those conditions created or maintained by persons other than the owner. This law imposes a duty of repair on the abutting property owners for defects in sidewalks, regardless of who created the defects, but does not of itself create tort liability to injured pedestrians or a duty to indemnify municipalities, except where a property owner created the defect or exercised dominion or control over the abutting sidewalk. This bill would prohibit a city, county, or city and county that has an ordinance in operation that requires the city, county, or city and county to repair or reconstruct streets, sidewalks, or driveways that have been damaged as a result of tree growth from repealing the ordinance without the concurrence of the local electorate by majority vote. The bill would also declare that this is a matter of statewide concern.
