Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees. The act requires elected officers, candidates, committees, and slate mailer organizations to file various reports, including semiannual reports, preelection statements, and supplemental preelection statements. The act requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission, to develop online and electronic filing processes for specified entities. This bill would require elected state officers, candidates for elective state office and their controlled committees, committees primarily formed to support or oppose a candidate for elective state office or a statewide ballot measure, and state general purpose committees to file quarterly statements each year instead of semiannual statements, as specified. The bill would recast or repeal other specified reporting requirements, including supplemental preelection statements, supplemental independent expenditure reports, and odd-numbered year reports. The act defines "late contributions" and "late independent expenditures" for purposes of the act to include certain contributions and independent expenditures, respectively, that are made within 90 days before the date of the election. This bill would revise the definitions to specify that those terms also include contributions and independent expenditures that are made on the date of the election. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill would require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission, to develop a statewide Internet-based system for the electronic filing and public display of all records filed by or for specified entities. This bill would make all other changes to existing law effected by the bill operative on January 1 of the year following the year in which this system becomes operative, as certified by the Secretary of State. A violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of a crime, this 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
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Under the existing Political Reform Act of 1974, the Fair Political Practices Commission has primary responsibility for the impartial, effective administration and implementation of the act. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to review the Commission's responsibilities.
Existing law establishes various health research grant programs, including the Cancer Research Program, the Breast Cancer Research Program, and the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program. This bill, the California Blueprint for Research to Advance Innovations in Neuroscience (Cal-BRAIN) Act of 2014, would request the Regents of the University of California to establish the Cal-BRAIN program to leverage California's research assets and the federal BRAIN Initiative's funding opportunities to accelerate the development of brain mapping techniques, including the development of new technologies, in order to achieve certain goals. The bill would additionally request the University of California to convene certain stakeholders to develop a governing structure for the Cal-BRAIN program designed to do specified tasks, and to provide information about the program through an Internet Web site. These provisions would only be implemented to the extent that adequate funding is appropriated to the University of California, as specified.
Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly. These provisions are administered by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law requires the department to notify affected placement agencies and the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman whenever the department substantiates that a violation has occurred which poses a serious threat to the health and safety of any resident when the violation results in the assessment of any penalty or causes an accusation to be filed for the revocation of a license. This bill would additionally require the department to provide the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman with a precautionary notification if the department begins to prepare to issue a temporary suspension or revocation of any license.
This measure would designate Monday, May 5, 2014, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day, urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers, and recognize specified California peace officers who were killed in defense of their communities.
Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, places limits on the amount of campaign contributions that a person may make to a candidate for elective state office. This bill would prohibit any campaign contribution to a Member of the Legislature during the following periods of time: (1) in each year, a specified period before the enactment of the Budget Bill, (2) in each odd-numbered year, during the 30 days preceding the adjournment of the legislative session, and (3) in each even-numbered year, the period from August 1 to August 31, inclusive. This bill would exempt from these provisions a contribution made to, or solicited or accepted by, a Member of the Legislature for purposes of that Member's candidacy for an elective state office that is to be voted upon at a special election. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes. 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. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Constitution conditions the imposition of a special tax by a city, county, or special district upon the approval of 23 of the voters of the city, county, or special district voting on that tax, except that certain school entities may levy an ad valorem property tax for specified purposes with the approval of 55% of the voters within the jurisdiction of these entities. This measure would provide that the imposition, extension, or increase of a special tax by a local government for the purpose of providing funding for community and economic development projects, as specified, requires the approval of 55% of its voters voting on the proposition, if the proposition proposing the tax contains specified requirements. The measure would also make conforming and technical, nonsubstantive changes.
Existing law required the State Board of Education, not later than November 1, 1998, to adopt statewide academically rigorous content standards in the core curriculum area of history-social science. This bill would require the state board, on or before July 30, 2018, to adopt, reject, or modify history-social science content standards in accordance with specified procedures. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene a group of history-social science experts, as specified, and, with input from the group, would require the Superintendent, on or before March 30, 2018, to recommend history-social science content standards to the state board. The bill would require the Superintendent and the state board, by October 1, 2018, to report certain information on the implementation of those standards to the Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The bill would express legislative findings and declarations relating to history-social science content standards.
(1) Existing law, the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water and water supply reliability program. Existing law provides for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. This bill would repeal these provisions. (2) Under existing law, various measures have been approved by the voters to provide funds for water supply and protection facilities and programs. Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 84 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, natural resource protection, and park improvements. Existing law, the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1E at the November 7, 2006, general statewide election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,090,000,000 for the purposes of financing disaster preparedness and flood prevention projects. Existing law, the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 50 at the November 5, 2002, statewide general election, authorizes, for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, water quality, and water reliability program, the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,440,000,000. Existing law, the Costa-Machado Water Act of 2000, approved by the voters as Proposition 13 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $1,970,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, clean water, watershed protection, and flood protection program. Existing law, the Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act, approved by the voters as Proposition 204 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $995,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe, clean, reliable water supply program. Existing law, the Water Conservation and Water Quality Bond Law of 1986, approved by the voters as Proposition 44 at the June 3, 1986, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $150,000,000 for the purposes of financing a water conservation and water quality program. This bill would enact the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7,120,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill, upon voter approval, would reallocate $425,000,000 of the unissued bonds authorized for the purposes of Propositions 1E, 13, 44, 50, 84, and 204 to finance the purposes of a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and sets forth its powers and duties as the Governor's lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. The office makes recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding policies, programs, and actions to advance statewide economic goals. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law requires the Department of Finance, in consultation with the state board and any other relevant state agency, to develop, as specified, a 3-year investment plan for the moneys deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Existing law permits moneys from the fund to be allocated for the research, development, and deployment of innovative technologies, measures, and practices related to programs and projects funded under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. This bill would create the Clean Technology Innovation Account within the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The bill would require the Legislature to annually appropriate moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund or other funds to the Clean Technology Innovation Account in the Budget Act. The bill would make the moneys in the Clean Technology Innovation Account available to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development for the purposes of evaluating the efficacy of a new technology or product to potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to provide grants for activities in California for technologies or products that have been evaluated and confirmed to have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as specified. The bill would require the office to establish a Science and Business Review Committee, with a prescribed membership, to provide programmatic and technical expertise to the office.