Existing law declares that timely DNA analysis of rape kit evidence is a core public safety issue affecting men, women, and children in the State of California. Existing law encourages law enforcement agencies to either submit sexual assault forensic evidence received on or after January 1, 2016, to a crime lab within 20 days after it is booked into evidence or to ensure that a rapid turnaround DNA program is in place, as specified. Existing law also encourages a crime lab that receives sexual assault forensic evidence on or after January 1, 2016, to either process the evidence, create DNA profiles when able, and upload qualifying DNA profiles into the Combined DNA Index System, as specified, or transmit the sexual assault forensic evidence to another crime lab as soon as practically possible, but no later than 30 days after receiving the evidence, for processing of the evidence for the presence of DNA. This bill would instead require a law enforcement agency to either submit sexual assault forensic evidence to a crime lab or ensure that a rapid turnaround DNA program is in place, as specified, and require a crime lab to either process the evidence or transmit the evidence to another crime lab for processing, as specified. Because this bill would impose a higher level of service on local law enforcement agencies in processing that evidence, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 680 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 1494 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1494 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.
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Existing law defines murder as the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought. Existing law defines malice for this purpose as either express or implied and defines those terms. This bill would require a principal in a crime to act with malice aforethought to be convicted of murder except when the person was a participant in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a specified felony in which a death occurred and the person was the actual killer, was not the actual killer but, with the intent to kill, aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, solicited, requested, or assisted the actual killer in the commission of murder in the first degree, or the person was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life. Existing law defines first degree murder, in part, as all murder that is committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, specified felonies, including arson, rape, carjacking, robbery, burglary, mayhem, and kidnapping. Existing law, as enacted by Proposition 7, approved by the voters at the November 7, 1978, statewide general election, prescribes a penalty for that crime of death, imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole, or imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 25 years to life. Existing law defines 2nd degree murder as all murder that is not in the first degree and imposes a penalty of imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 15 years to life. This bill would prohibit a participant in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of one of the specified first degree murder felonies in which a death occurs from being liable for murder, unless the person was the actual killer or the person was not the actual killer but, with the intent to kill, aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, solicited, requested, or assisted the actual killer, or the person was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life, unless the victim was a peace officer who was killed in the course of performing his or her duties where the defendant knew or should reasonably have known the victim was a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties. This bill would provide a means of vacating the conviction and resentencing a defendant when a complaint, information, or indictment was filed against the defendant that allowed the prosecution to proceed under a theory of first degree felony murder or murder under the natural and probable consequences doctrine, the defendant was sentenced for first degree or 2nd degree murder or accepted a plea offer in lieu of a trial at which the defendant could be convicted for first degree or 2nd degree murder, and the defendant could not be charged with murder after the enactment of this bill. By requiring the participation of district attorneys and public defenders in the resentencing process, 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, 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) Existing law, the California Financing Law, generally provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders, brokers, and, beginning on January 1, 2019, program administrators, by the Commissioner of Business Oversight. The CFL makes a willful violation of specified provisions a crime. The CFL, until January 1, 2023, establishes the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans (pilot program) , which requires licensees and other entities that wish to participate in the pilot program to file an application and pay a specified fee to the commissioner to participate in the pilot program. The pilot program authorizes a licensee approved by the commissioner to participate in the pilot program to impose specified alternative interest rates and charges, including an administrative fee and delinquency fees, on unsecured loans of at least $300 and less than $2,500, subject to certain requirements. This bill would increase the upper limit on the amount of a permissible loan under the pilot program from $2,500 to $7,500 and make corresponding changes. (2) Under the pilot program, a licensee is prohibited from making a loan if that licensee determines, through its underwriting, that the borrower's total monthly debt service payments exceed 50% of the borrower's monthly gross income. This bill would instead prohibit a licensee from making a loan under these circumstances if the borrower's total monthly debt service payments exceed 50% of the borrower's gross monthly income for a loan of no more than $2,500, or exceed 36% of the borrower's gross monthly income for a loan in excess of $2,500. (3) The pilot program establishes that a loan with a principal balance, upon origination, of at least $1,500 is required to have a term of not less than 180 days. As an alternative to other authorized charges, a licensee approved by the commissioner to participate in the pilot program may contract for and receive charges at an annual simple interest rate not exceeding specified amounts. This bill would additionally require a loan under the pilot program that has a principal balance exceeding $2,500 to have a minimum term of one year and a maximum term of 5 years. The bill would also require licensees to reduce the interest rates on each subsequent loan to the same borrower by a minimum of one percentage point and subject to additional reductions, if specified conditions are satisfied. (4) Under the pilot program, licensees are required to develop and implement policies and procedures designed to respond to questions raised by applicants and borrowers regarding their loans, including those involving finders. Existing law describes a finder as an entity that brings a licensee and a prospective borrower together for the purpose of negotiating a loan contract. This bill would also require licensees to perform reasonable background checks on any finders associated with a licensee's participation in the pilot program. (5) The pilot program authorizes a licensee who is approved to participate in the program to use the services of one or more finders. Existing law defines a "finder" for these purposes as an entity that, at the finder's physical location for business, brings a licensee and a prospective borrower together for the purpose of negotiating a loan contract. This bill would authorize the commissioner to charge a licensee participating in the program an additional fee to offset the commissioner's costs to oversee and examine the activities of that licensee's finder or finders. (6) Existing law requires the Commissioner of Business Oversight to examine each licensee that is accepted into the program at least once every 24 months. This bill would require the commissioner also to examine each finder whose services were used by the licensee at least once every 24 months. (7) Existing law requires the Commissioner of Business Oversight to post reports containing specified information on his or her Internet Web site that summarize utilization of the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans. If more than one licensee is approved to participate in the program, existing law requires that information in the report to be stated in aggregate to avoid identifying data by specific licensee. This bill would require that these reports also contain specified information for each finder whose services were used by a licensee in connection with the loans or loan applications, along with the finder's identity. By increasing the scope of the program, the bill would expand the definition of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. (8) 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 provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law provides for a schedule of benefits under the Medi-Cal program and provides for various services, including various behavioral and mental health services. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) , an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the continuously appropriated Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs. The act also requires funds to be reserved for the costs for the State Department of Health Care Services, the California Mental Health Planning Council, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) , the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, the State Department of Public Health, and any other state agency to implement all duties pursuant to certain programs provided for by the act, subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act. The act provides that it may be amended by the Legislature by a 23 vote of each house as long as the amendment is consistent with, and furthers the intent of, the act, and that the Legislature may also clarify procedures and terms of the act by majority vote. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to establish, no later than July 1, 2020, a peer support specialist certification to support the ongoing provision of services to individuals experiencing mental health care needs, substance use disorder needs, or both by certified peer support specialists. The certification components would include, among others, curriculum and core competencies, training and continuing education requirements, a code of ethics, and a process for the investigation of complaints and corrective action. The bill would require an applicant for the certification as a peer support specialist to meet specified requirements, including successful completion of the curriculum and training requirements. This bill would require, among other things, the department to collaborate with OSHPD and interested stakeholders in implementing the certification. The bill would authorize the department to use funding provided through the MHSA to fund state administrative costs related to this article, subject to an express appropriation in the annual Budget Act, and to the extent authorized under the Mental Health Services Act. The bill would permit the department to claim federal financial participation under the Medicaid program, as specified. This bill would authorize the department to establish a certification fee schedule and to require remittance of fees as contained in the schedule, for the purpose of supporting activities associated with the ongoing administration of the peer support specialist certification. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the certification fees charged by the department reasonably reflect the expenditures directly applicable to the ongoing administration of the certification. This bill would authorize the department to enter into exclusive or nonexclusive contracts on a bid or negotiated basis, as specified. This bill also would authorize the department to implement, interpret, or make specific its provisions by means of informational notices, plan letters, plan or provider bulletins, or similar instructions, without taking regulatory action, until regulations are adopted. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations by July 1, 2022, and, commencing July 1, 2019, would require the department to provide semiannual status reports to the Legislature until regulations have been adopted. The bill would provide that the department's implementation of the peer support specialist certification, with respect to Medi-Cal specialty mental health services and Drug Medi-Cal services, is contingent upon federal approval and federal matching funds. This bill would declare that it clarifies terms and procedures under the Mental Health Services Act.
Existing law defines "residence" for voting purposes as a person's domicile. Existing law describes the domicile of a person as that place in which his or her habitation is fixed, wherein the person has the intention of remaining, and to which, whenever he or she is absent, the person has the intention of returning. Existing law describes the residence of a person as that place in which the person's habitation is fixed for some period of time, but wherein he or she does not have the intention of remaining. Existing law provides that a person may have only one domicile at a given time, but may have more than one residence. Existing law also provides that, for purposes of determining the domicile of a Member of the Legislature or a Representative in the Congress of the United States, the residence address indicated on that person's currently filed affidavit of voter registration is conclusively presumed to be that person's domicile. This bill would provide that this presumption applies as long as the address listed is one of the member or representative's residences, notwithstanding that the member or representative may have another residence at which any of certain conditions apply.
Existing law generally provides for the adoption of a child native to a foreign country by a prospective adoptive parent or parents who are California residents that is either finalized in another country or this state. A licensed adoption agency facilitating an intercountry adoption that will be finalized in a foreign country is required to provide specific services that include certification to the federal government whether this state's intercountry adoption requirements have been met. Existing law requires each resident of the state who adopts a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country to readopt the child in this state if it is required by the United States Department of Homeland Security, and requires this readoption to include at least one postplacement in-home visit, a home study report, and final adoption order. Existing law also authorizes a resident of the state who adopts a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country to readopt the child in this state. This bill would repeal these readoption provisions and would instead require an adoptive parent, or if an adoptive parent fails to do so, then the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption, to file a petition to readopt within specified deadlines to establish a record by which an adoptee can prove the facts of the foreign adoption. The bill would require the petition to include, among other things, a report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state. The bill would require the clerk of the court to submit an order granting the petition to the State Registrar, and would require the State Registrar to issue a delayed registration of birth, as specified. This bill would require a court that finds a child may be the subject of human trafficking or specified types of abuse to notify all appropriate authorities. This bill would, if a licensed adoption agency has a written agreement for which postadoption services have been paid, require the licensed adoption agency to provide those services, and would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the other services a licensed adoption agency facilitating an intercountry adoption is required to provide.
Existing law generally provides for the compensation of victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes by the California Victim Compensation Board from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for specified losses suffered as a result of those crimes, including a cash payment or reimbursement not to exceed a specified amount to a victim for expenses incurred in relocating, if the expenses are determined by law enforcement to be necessary for the personal safety of the victim or by a mental health treatment provider to be necessary for the emotional well-being of the victim. Existing law requires the board to be named as the recipient of funds upon expiration of the victim's rental agreement if a security deposit is required for relocation. This bill would authorize "expenses incurred in relocating" as described above to include a pet deposit and additional rent required if the victim has a pet. The bill would also require the board to be named as the recipient of funds upon expiration of the victim's rental agreement if a pet deposit is required for relocation. By expanding the authorization for use of continuously appropriated funds, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 13957 of the Government Code proposed by AB 900, AB 1865, and AB 1939 to be operative only if this bill and any or all of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(1) Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, requires shoplifting, defined as entering a commercial establishment with the intent to commit larceny where the property taken does not exceed $950, to be punished as a misdemeanor. Proposition 47 requires that the act of shoplifting be charged as shoplifting and prohibits a person who is charged with shoplifting from being charged with burglary or theft of the same property. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, create the crime of organized retail theft which would be defined as acting in concert with one or more persons to steal merchandise from one or more merchant's premises or online marketplace with the intent to sell, exchange, or return the merchandise for value, acting in concert with 2 or more persons to receive, purchase, or possess merchandise knowing or believing it to have been stolen, acting as the agent of another individual or group of individuals to steal merchandise from one or more merchant's premises or online marketplaces as part of a plan to commit theft, or recruiting, coordinating, organizing, supervising, directing, managing, or financing another to undertake acts of theft. The bill would make these crimes punishable as either misdemeanors or felonies, as specified. By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Under existing law, when a public offense is committed in part in one jurisdictional territory and in part in another jurisdictional territory, or the acts constituting or requisite to the consummation of the offense occur in 2 or more jurisdictional territories, the jurisdiction for the offense is in any competent court within either jurisdictional territory. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, additionally establish the jurisdiction of a criminal action for theft, organized retail theft, or receipt of stolen property as including the county where an offense involving the theft or receipt of the stolen merchandise occurred, the county in which the merchandise was recovered, or the county where any act was done by the defendant in instigating, procuring, promoting, or aiding in the commission of the offense. The bill would also, if multiple offenses of theft or other specified crimes all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same merchandise or the same defendant or defendants and the scheme or substantially similar activity occur in multiple jurisdictions, establish that any of those jurisdictions is a proper jurisdiction for all of the offenses. (3) Existing law generally requires that a person arrested for a misdemeanor be released on written notice to appear in court. Existing law allows a peace officer to retain a person in custody on an arrest for a misdemeanor if, among other reasons, there are one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the person, there is reason to believe the person will not appear in court, or there is a reasonable likelihood that the offense will continue or resume. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, allow a peace officer to retain a person arrested for a misdemeanor if there are unresolved failures to appear in court on previous misdemeanor citations, if he or she has been cited, arrested, or convicted for misdemeanor or felony theft from a store or from a vehicle in the previous 6 months, or if there is probable cause to believe that the person arrested is guilty of committing organized retail theft, as defined. By increasing the number of persons subject to detention at the county jail, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes a court to issue a bench warrant whenever a defendant fails to appear in court as required by law, as specified. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, authorize the issuance of a bench warrant if a defendant has been cited or arrested for misdemeanor or felony theft from a store or vehicle and has failed to appear in court in connection with that charge or those charges in the previous 6 months. (5) Existing law authorizes a court, with the consent of the defendant and a waiver of the defendant's speedy trial right, to postpone prosecution of a misdemeanor and place the defendant in a pretrial diversion program or a deferred entry of judgment program under specified situations. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, authorize a city or county prosecuting attorney or a county probation department to create a diversion or deferred entry of judgment program for persons who commit repeat theft offenses, as specified. Under the program, the prosecuting attorney may enter into a written agreement to refrain from or defer prosecution on the offense or offenses if the person completes program requirements such as community service and makes adequate restitution or an appropriate substitute for restitution to the establishment or person from which property was stolen. (6) Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California's adult and juvenile criminal justice system. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, additionally require the board to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, award funding for a grant program to 4 or more county superior courts or county probation departments to create demonstration projects to reduce the recidivism of high-risk misdemeanor probationers through the use of risk assessments at sentencing and formal probation. The bill would require the board to develop reporting requirements for each county, as specified, and would require the board to prepare and distribute a report that compiles this information, as specified. The bill would also, until January 1, 2021, require the Department of the California Highway Patrol to, in coordination with the Department of Justice, convene a regional property crimes task force to assist local law enforcement in counties identified by the Department of the California Highway Patrol as having elevated levels of property crime, including, but not limited to, organized retail theft and vehicle burglary. The bill would require the task force to provide local law enforcement in the identified region with logistical support and other law enforcement resources, including, but not limited to, personnel and equipment, as determined to be appropriate by the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol in consultation with task force members. (7) The bill would provide that its provisions are severable. (8) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The existing federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude tribal-state gaming compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments of tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. This bill would ratify the tribal-state gaming compacts entered into between the State of California and the following Indian tribes: the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria, the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, and the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians. The bill would also ratify the amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact between the State of California and the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, executed on August 1, 2018, and the amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact between the State of California and the Karuk Tribe, executed on August 1, 2018. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, certain actions related to these compacts and amended compacts are not projects for purposes of CEQA. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires the board of governors to appoint a chief executive officer, to be known as the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college districts, administered by governing boards, throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained by the districts. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law establishes minimum requirements for the preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential, including satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation, as provided. This bill would establish the California Community College Teacher Credentialing Partnership Pilot Program under which the commission, in coordination with the chancellor, would award up to 3 grants, in the amount of $500,000 each, to collaboratives, that would be comprised of at least one accredited degree-granting institution of higher education with a physical presence in this state and at least one community college, for the purpose of offering teacher credential coursework remotely at participating community college or colleges. The bill would require these degree programs to be accredited by the commission's Committee on Accreditation on the basis of standards of program quality and effectiveness. The bill would authorize priority for the receipt of grants to be given to a collaborative that is located in areas of the state with low rates of K–12 credentialed public school teachers, demonstrates that its degree program or programs meet the documented labor market demand of its target region, and identifies the resources necessary to offer its degree program or programs. The bill would provide that grants shall be awarded only to the extent that funding for the statewide pilot program is provided in the annual Budget Act. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to submit a report on the implementation of the statewide pilot program to the Legislature and the Department of Finance on or before April 1, 2023.