Existing law requires the Regents of the University of California, except as provided, to let all contracts involving an expenditure of more than $50,000 annually for goods and materials be sold to the University of California to the lowest responsible bidder meeting specifications, or to reject all bids. Existing law also requires contracts for services to be performed, other than personal or professional services, involving an expenditure of $50,000 or more annually to be made or entered into with the lowest responsible bidder meeting specifications, or else to reject all bids. This bill would increase the amount for which the above contracts must meet lowest responsible bidder specifications to contracts involving an expenditure of more than $100,000 annually. Existing law prohibits officers or employees of the University of California from engaging in any employment, activity, or enterprise from which the officer or employee receives compensation or has a financial interest if that employment, activity, or enterprise is sponsored or funded by a university department or contract, unless it is within the scope of the officer's or employee's regular university employment. Existing law exempts from that provision officers or employees of the university with teaching or research responsibilities. This bill would also exempt student employees who receive payment for additional campus activities or engagements outside of the scope of their primary university employment.
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Existing law provides that a person is guilty of failure to disclose the origin of a recording or audiovisual work if, for commercial advantage or private financial gain, he or she advertises, sells, rents, manufactures, or possesses for those purposes, a recording or audiovisual work that does not disclose the name of the manufacturer, author, artist, performer, or producer, as specified. Failure to disclose the origin of a recording or audiovisual work is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail, imprisonment in the state prison, or a fine, or by both imprisonment and fine, as specified, depending on the number of articles of audio recordings or audiovisual works involved, and whether the offense is a first offense or a 2nd or subsequent offense. Existing law defines "recording" for the purpose of these provisions to mean any tangible medium upon which information or sounds are recorded or otherwise stored, including any phonograph record, disc, tape, audio cassette, wire, film, or other medium on which information or sounds are recorded or stored, but does not include sounds accompanying a motion picture or other visual work. Existing law defines "audiovisual works" as the physical embodiment of works that consist of related images that are intrinsically intended to be shown using machines or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment, together with accompanying sounds, if any, regardless of the nature of the material objects such as films or tapes on which the works are embodied. This bill would expand the definition of "recording" for the purposes of the above provisions to expressly include, but not be limited to, a memory card, flash drive, hard drive, or data storage device. This bill would, for purposes of the definition of "audiovisual works," add discs, memory cards, flash drives, hard drives, or data storage devices, or other devices to films and tapes as examples of material objects on which the works may be embodied. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would mandate a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate changes to Section 653w of the Penal Code proposed by AB 819, contingent on the prior enactment of that 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires a person who procures or causes to be prepared an investigative consumer report for employment purposes other than suspicion of wrongdoing to make specified disclosures to the consumer, including, but not limited to, the name and address of the agency conducting the investigation, the nature and scope of the investigation, and information on consumer inspection. This bill would additionally require a person who procures or causes to be prepared an investigative consumer report for employment purposes to provide a consumer with the Internet Web site address or telephone number of the investigative consumer reporting agency where the consumer may find additional information about the agency's privacy practices. Existing law requires investigative consumer reporting agencies to establish reasonable procedures to ensure that specified, prohibited items of information concerning consumers are not part of the reports they furnish. Existing law generally provides that an investigative consumer reporting agency or user of information that fails to comply with any requirement under these provisions with respect to an investigative consumer report is liable to the consumer who is the subject of the report for the sum of the greater of actual damages or $10,000, the costs of the action, reasonable attorney's fees, and, in certain cases, punitive damages, as specified. This bill would additionally require an investigative consumer reporting agency to conspicuously post on its primary Internet Web site information describing its privacy practices with respect to its preparation and processing of investigative consumer reports, or, if it does not have an Internet Web site, to mail a written copy of the privacy statement to consumers upon request. The bill would provide that an investigative consumer reporting agency is liable to a consumer who is harmed by any unauthorized access of the consumer's personally identifiable information, act, or omission that occurs outside the United States or its territories, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Office of the Inspector General for the purpose of conducting audits and investigations of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as specified. Under existing law, the Inspector General may require any employee of the department to be interviewed on a confidential basis. Existing law provides that it is not the purpose of these communications to address disciplinary action or grievance procedures that may routinely occur and that if it appears that the facts of the case could lead to punitive action, the Inspector General shall be subject to specified provisions governing interrogations and investigations of public safety officers. This bill would include among those provisions applicable to the Inspector General in interviewing employees of the department a provision that makes it unlawful for any public safety department to deny or refuse to any public safety officer the rights and protections guaranteed to him or her concerning interrogations and investigations, as specified.
Existing law provides that if a court orders a person to make payments for child support until the occurrence of a specified event, the obligation of the person ordered to pay support terminates on the happening of the contingency. This bill would, until July 1, 2015, provide that the obligation of a person to pay child support pursuant to an order that is being enforced by a local child support agency under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act is suspended for the period of time exceeding 90 days in which the obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, with specified exceptions. The bill would require that, upon the release of the obligor, the obligation to pay child support immediately resume in the amount otherwise specified in the child support order prior to the suspension of that obligation. The bill would require the court to provide notice to the parties of the support obligation suspension at the time the order is issued or modified. The bill would authorize an obligor, upon release from incarceration or involuntary institutionalization, to petition the court for an adjustment of the arrears pursuant to the suspension of the support obligation. These provisions would apply to all child support orders and modifications issued on or after July 1, 2011. The bill would also require the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2011, to develop forms necessary for the implementation of the above-described provisions, including forms for a petition to adjust arrears.
(1) Existing law subjects violators of air pollution laws to specified civil and administrative penalties. Existing law imposes various duties on the State Air Resources Board relative to the reduction of air pollution. This bill would require a written communication from the state board alleging that an administrative or civil penalty will be, or could be, imposed either by the state board or another party, including the Attorney General, for a violation of air pollution law, to contain specified information. The bill would require this information and final mutual settlement agreements reached between the state board and a person alleged to have violated air pollution laws to be made available to the public. The bill would require the state board to prepare and submit to the Legislature and the Governor a report summarizing the motor vehicle pollution administrative penalties imposed by the state board for calendar year 2011, and annually thereafter, and would require the state board to publish a penalty policy for motor vehicle pollution laws that is based on specified criteria. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides that, except as specified, a person is prohibited from discharging air contaminants or other materials that cause injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance to the public, or that endanger the comfort, repose, health, or safety of the public, or that cause injury or damage to business or property, as provided. This bill, until January 1, 2014, would authorize a local air pollution control district or air quality management district to adopt a rule or regulation, consistent with protecting the public's comfort, repose, health, and safety, and not causing injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance, that ensures district staff and resources are not used to investigate complaints determined to be repeated and unsubstantiated, alleging a nuisance odor violation of that discharge prohibition. If a district adopts such a rule or regulation, the bill would require the district to submit the rule or regulation to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality and the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources within 30 days of adopting the rule or regulation.
Existing law establishes the Multifamily Improvement District Law to provide, until January 1, 2012, for the establishment of multifamily improvement districts within a city or county to levy assessments on residential rental properties within the district for the purpose of financing certain improvements and promoting certain activities beneficial to those properties. This bill would extend these provisions until January 1, 2022.
Existing law generally provides for the prevention, detection, and investigation of insurance fraud. Existing law requires insurers to disclose to an authorized governmental agency information relative to incidents of workers' compensation fraud, as specified. This bill would authorize the Department of Insurance to convene meetings with insurance companies to discuss specific information concerning suspected, anticipated, or completed acts of insurance fraud and would protect a person sharing information pursuant to that authorization from civil liability for libel, slander, or any other relevant cause of action, as specified.
Existing law provides that in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation, the court may order a party to submit to an examination by a vocational training counselor upon a noticed motion, for good cause, by one of the parties. Existing law authorizes a court to terminate or modify an award of child or spousal support at any time as the court determines to be necessary, except as specified. In this regard, existing case law requires that the court grant a request for modification of spousal support only if there is a material change of circumstances, other than those accounted for in the previous order. Existing law provides, until January 1, 2011, that in a proceeding in which a spousal support order exists or in which the court has retained jurisdiction over a spousal support order, if a companion child support order is in effect, the termination of child support shall constitute a change of circumstances that may be the basis for a request for modification of spousal support. This bill would extend the above repeal date until January 1, 2014. The bill would revise these provisions to require that a motion to modify spousal support on the basis of the change in circumstances caused by the termination of a child support order be filed within 6 months of the termination of the child support order. The bill would authorize either party to request the appointment of a vocational training counselor if a motion to modify spousal support on that basis is filed. The bill would also enumerate specified circumstances in which termination of the child support order does not constitute a change of circumstances.