Existing law, the Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards, the Cal Grant C Awards, and the Cal Grant T Awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. The program prohibits an applicant from receiving one or a combination of program awards in excess of the amount equivalent to the award level for a total of a 4-year period of full-time attendance in an undergraduate program, except as provided. This bill would increase this generally applicable maximum for total Cal Grant awards to an applicant to the award level for a 6-year period of full-time attendance.
Sponsored bills
This measure would declare April 7, 2016, and every April 7 thereafter, as Biotechnology Day in California.
(1) Under existing law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment is entitled to paid sick days, as specified. Existing law requires an employee to accrue paid sick days at the rate of not less than one hour per every 30 hours worked subject to specified use and accrual limitations. For the purposes of the act, an "employee" does not include a provider of in-home supportive services, as described. This bill, on and after July 1, 2018, would entitle a provider of in-home supportive services who works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment to paid sick days, subject to specified full amount of leave time amounts and that rate of accrual. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with stakeholders, to convene a workgroup to implement paid sick leave for in-home supportive services providers and to issue guidance in that regard by December 1, 2017. The bill would authorize the department to implement that paid sick leave without complying with the Administrative Procedure Act. (2) On and after July 1, 2014, existing law requires the minimum wage for all industries to be not less than $9 per hour. On and after January 1, 2016, existing law requires the minimum wage for all industries to be not less than $10 per hour. This bill would require the minimum wage for all industries to not be less than specified amounts to be increased from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2022, inclusive, for employers employing 26 or more employees and from January 1, 2018, to January 1, 2023, inclusive, for employers employing 25 or fewer employees, except when the scheduled increases are temporarily suspended by the Governor, based on certain determinations. The bill would also require the Director of Finance, after the last scheduled minimum wage increase, to annually adjust the minimum wage under a specified formula. On or before July 28, 2017, and on or before every July 28 thereafter until the minimum wage is a specified amount for employers employing 26 or more employees, the bill would require the Director of Finance to annually determine, based on certain factors, whether economic conditions can support a scheduled minimum wage increase and certify that determination to the Governor and the Legislature. The bill would also require the State Board of Equalization to publish specified retail sales and use tax information on its Internet Web site to be used by the Director of Finance in making that determination. On or before July 28, 2017, and on or before every July 28 thereafter until the minimum wage is a specified amount for employers employing 26 or more employees, in order to ensure that the General Fund can support the next scheduled minimum wage increase, the bill would also require the Director of Finance to annually determine and certify to the Governor and the Legislature whether the General Fund would be in a deficit in the current fiscal year, or in either of the following 2 fiscal years.
Existing law, the Teachers' Retirement Law, establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. STRS is governed by the Teachers' Retirement Board. Existing law permits members retired for service from STRS to perform member activities without reinstatement into the system if certain conditions are met and requires payment for the performance of retired member activities to be $0 during the first 180 calendar days after the most recent retirement of a retired member, as specified. This bill would authorize a member retired from service to perform member activities for a school district, notwithstanding the above-mentioned 180 calendar days compensation limitation, if certain conditions are met, including that there is a current or projected teacher shortage in a subject area, as designated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
This measure would recognize "Women Warriors" by proclaiming the week of March 14, 2016, to March 20, 2016, inclusive, as Women's Military History Week in California and would encourage Californians to recognize, among other things, the contributions of women to our military and our freedom and the historic lifting of the ban on women in combat on January 24, 2013.
This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration.
Existing law provides that the Governor is the primary state officer representing the state's interest in international affairs and designates the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development as the primary state agency responsible for international trade and investment activities in the state. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would support the memorandum of understanding for strategic partnerships for joint innovation, exchanges, and cooperation between California and Israel signed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on March 5, 2014.
(1) The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities. Under existing law, the regional centers purchase needed services for individuals with developmental disabilities through approved service providers or arrange for those services through other publicly funded agencies. The annual Budget Act also appropriates funds to the department to fund regional center operations. This bill would require the department, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes, to increase the funding paid to a regional center for the regional center's operating budget by 10%, and to increase funding to enable the regional center and the regional center's purchase-of-service vendors to fund certain costs related to minimum wage requirements. The bill would also require the department to develop a 10-year financial sustainability plan to ensure that the state's community-based developmental services system effectively serves all individuals with developmental disabilities. (2) Existing law establishes specified rates to be paid to certain service providers and the rates to be paid for certain developmental services. Existing law requires that rates to be paid to other developmental service providers either be set by the department or negotiated between the regional center and the service provider. This bill would increase the rates established by existing law by 10%, as specified, and would require a 10% increase to the rates set by the department and the rates negotiated between regional centers and service providers, as specified. (3) Existing law requires an entity that receives payments between $250,000 and $500,000 per year from one or more regional centers to obtain either an independent audit or independent review report of its financial statements and requires an entity that receives payments that are equal to or more than $500,000 per year to obtain an independent audit. Existing law exempts payments made using usual and customary rates for services provided by regional centers from these requirements. This bill would instead require an entity to obtain only an independent review report of its financial statements relating to payments made by regional centers if it receives payments between $250,000 and $2,000,000 from one or more regional centers and would authorize these entities to apply for, and require the regional center to grant, a 2-year exemption from this requirement if the regional center does not find issues in the prior year's independent review report that have an impact on regional center services. The bill would also require an entity to obtain an independent audit of its financial statements relating to payments made by regional centers if it receives payments that are equal to or more than $2,000,000 and would authorize these entities to apply for, and require the regional center to grant, a 2-year exemption from the audit requirement if the prior year's audit resulted in an unmodified opinion, an unmodified opinion with additional communication, or a qualified opinion with issues that are not material and pervasive. The bill would require a regional center to notify the department of any exemption it grants to an entity that receives a qualified opinion report. The bill would also exempt social security benefit payments from these requirements.
The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities. Under existing law, regional centers purchase needed services for individuals with developmental disabilities through approved service providers or arrange for those services through other publicly funded agencies. Existing law establishes specified rates and wages to be paid to certain service providers and the rates to be paid for certain developmental services. Existing law requires that rates to be paid to other developmental service providers either be set by the department or negotiated between the regional center and the service provider. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which basic 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 requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced, as specified. This bill would appropriate a specified sum to the State Department of Developmental Services to, commencing July 1, 2016, among other things, increase rates and wages for certain developmental services providers and fund incentive payments for competitive integrated employment opportunities and internships for individuals with developmental disabilities. The bill would require the department to submit a rate study to specified committees of the Legislature on or before March 1, 2019, regarding community-based services for individuals with developmental disabilities. The bill would require each regional center to report specified information to the department regarding increased funding for regional center operations. The bill would, for dates of service on or after August 1, 2016, increase the payment rates for intermediate care facilities and skilled nursing facilities that provide services to developmentally disabled individuals under the Medi-Cal program, as specified. The bill would also prohibit the State Department of Health Care Services from seeking to retroactively implement certain Medi-Cal provider payment reductions and limitations with regards to reimbursements for services provided by skilled nursing facilities that are distinct parts of general acute care hospitals for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011, and on or before September 30, 2013, and from seeking to recoup overpayments, as specified. Existing law requires the department and regional centers to annually collaborate to compile specified data relating to purchase of service authorization, utilization, and expenditure by each regional center. Existing law requires each regional center to annually report to the department regarding the regional center's implementation of these requirements, including whether the data indicates a need to reduce disparities in the purchase of services among consumers in the regional center's catchment area and the regional center's recommendations and plan to promote equity, and reduce disparities, in the purchase of services. Existing law requires the department to consult with specified stakeholders to review the data, develop recommendations to help reduce disparities in purchase of service expenditures, and encourage development and expansion of culturally appropriate services, among other things, and to report the status of its efforts during the 2016–17 legislative budget subcommittee hearing process. The bill would also require the department, subject to available funding, to allocate funding to regional centers to assist in implementing specified recommendations and plans, including the recommendations and plans of the regional centers to promote equity, and reduce disparities, in the purchase of services. Existing law requires an entity that receives payments between $250,000 and $500,000 per year from one or more regional centers to obtain either an independent audit or an independent review report of its financial statements, and requires an entity that receives payments that are equal to or more than $500,000 per year to obtain an independent audit. This bill would instead require an entity that receives payments between $500,000 and $2,000,000 from one or more regional centers to obtain an independent review report of its financial statements, and would authorize these entities to apply for, and require the regional center to grant, a 2-year exemption from this requirement if the regional center does not find issues in the independent review report that have an impact on regional center services. The bill would require an entity that receives payments from one or more regional centers that are equal to or more than $2,000,000 to obtain an independent audit and would authorize these entities to apply for, and require the regional center to grant, a 2-year exemption from the audit requirement if the audit resulted in an unmodified opinion, an unmodified opinion with additional communication, or a qualified opinion with issues that are not material. The bill would require a regional center to annually report to the State Department of Developmental Services any exemptions granted pursuant to these provisions.