(1)Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of accountants by the California Board of Accountancy. Existing law sets forth the fee structure for licensure as an accountant, including for biennial renewal of a permit to practice. Existing law requires the board to fix the biennial renewal fee, in an amount not to exceed $250, so that the reserve balance in the board’s contingent fund is equal to approximately 9 months of annual authorized expenditures. Existing law allows an increase in renewal fees only upon a determination by the board that additional moneys are required to fund authorized expenditures and maintain the board’s contingent fund reserve.

This bill would delete the requirement that the board fix the biennial renewal fee for purposes of maintaining the 9-month reserve balance in the contingent fund, and would delete the limitation that the biennial renewal fee may only be increased when additional moneys are required to fund authorized expenditures and maintain the contingent fund reserve balance.

(2)The California Small Business Financial Development Corporation Law authorizes the formation of small business financial development corporations to grant loans or loan guarantees for the purpose of stimulating small business development and imposes certain duties with respect thereto on a director designated by the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing. The California Small Business Expansion Fund, which is created under that law and is continuously appropriated, provides funds to be used to pay for defaulted loan guarantees and administrative costs of these corporations.

This bill would require the Director of Finance, upon notification of the receipt of specified federal funds, to order that $20,000,000 of state money in the expansion fund be reverted to the General Fund. The bill would require small business financial development corporations to prioritize the use of federal moneys over the use of state moneys when granting new loan guarantees, as specified.

(3)Existing law establishes the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund in the State Treasury and continuously appropriates to the administrator for oil spill response the moneys in the fund for expenditure for specified purposes, including to cover the costs incurred by state and local government for responding to oil spills. The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act requires the administrator to collect a uniform oil spill response fee, to be deposited into the fund, during any period that the fund contains less than or equal to 95% of a designated amount.

This bill would provide that if a loan or other transfer of money from the fund to the General Fund pursuant to the Budget Act reduces the balance of the fund to less than or equal to 95% of the designated amount, the administrator is not required to collect oil spill response fees if the annual Budget Act requires the transfer or loan to be repaid (A) to the fund with interest calculated at a rate earned by the Pooled Money Investment Account and (B) on or before June 30, 2014. The bill would require that the transfer or loan be repaid as soon as possible if a spill occurs and the administrator determines that response funds are needed immediately. These provisions would be repealed on July 1, 2014.

(4)Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2015, a county, in any fiscal year in which payments authorized for reimbursement to a county for lost revenue pursuant to contracts entered into under the Williamson Act are less than 12 of the participating county’s actual foregone general fund property tax revenue, to revise the term for newly renewed and new contracts and require the assessor to value the property, as specified, based on the revised contract term. Existing law provides that a landowner may choose to nonrenew and begin the cancellation process. Existing law also provides that any increased revenues generated by properties under a new contract are to be paid to the county.

This bill would repeal these provisions.

(5)Existing law appropriates $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the Controller for the 2010–11 fiscal year to make subvention payments to counties under the Williamson Act, as specified.

This bill would reduce this appropriation to zero.

(6)Existing law authorizes the loan of moneys in the State Treasury from one state fund or account to any other state fund or account to address the 2001–02, 2002–03, and 2003–04 fiscal years budgetary shortfalls, subject to certain conditions. Existing law requires the Director of Finance to order the repayment of all or a portion of any loan made pursuant to the above provisions if he or she determines that the fund or account from which the loan was made has a need for the moneys or there is no longer a need for the moneys in the fund or account that received the loan. Existing law imposes certain reporting requirements on the Director of Finance related to the above-described loans.

This bill would, instead, provide that unless law authorizing any budgetary loan states otherwise, the Director of Finance shall order the repayment of all or a portion of any budgetary loan, including, but not limited to, those loans described above, if he or she determines that the fund or account from which the loan was made has a need for the moneys or there is no longer a need for the moneys in the fund or account that received the loan. This bill would require the Director of Finance to make the above-described reports with respect to any outstanding budgetary loan and would make other specified changes related to the content and receipt of the reports.

(7)The Public Employees’ Medical and Hospital Care Act authorizes the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System to contract with carriers for health benefit plans for employees and annuitants, as defined.

This bill would require the board to negotiate with carriers offering health benefit plans to add a core health plan, as defined, to the existing portfolio of health benefit plans, or to implement other measures to achieve ongoing cost savings beginning in the 2012–13 fiscal year, or both.

(8)The 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 compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts between the State of California and specified Indian tribes. Existing law authorizes the Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, upon a filing by the Director of Finance with the bank of a list of specified amended tribal compacts and compact assets, to sell for, and on behalf of, the state all or any portion of those compact assets to a special purpose trust, and authorizes the special purpose trust to issue bonds secured by those compact assets. Existing law provides that the portion of those compact assets that are timely deposited or are due for deposit in a specified fund between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2011, shall not be available for the purpose described above. Existing law requires the Director of Finance to determine the portion of those compact assets attributable to each fiscal year, and authorizes the Director of Finance to direct the Controller, by separate order applicable to the assets for each fiscal year, to transfer the compact assets attributable to that fiscal year to the General Fund.

This bill would extend the period during which deposits of compact assets are not available for the purpose described above from June 30, 2011, to June 30, 2016.

(9)The federal Workforce Investment Act provides for workforce investment activities, including activities in which states may participate.

This bill would create the Consolidated Work Program Fund in the State Treasury, for the receipt of all moneys deposited pursuant to the federal Workforce Investment Act. The bill would require the Employment Development Department to administer those provisions, and moneys in the fund would be made available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for expenditure consistent with the act.

(10)Existing law provides that, for purposes of eligibility for federal-state extended unemployment benefits, an individual have earnings that exceed either 40 times his or her most recent weekly benefit amount or 1.5 times the highest quarter in the base period, and precludes the implementation of the alternative eligibility requirement for federal-state extended benefits unless the Director of the Employment Development Department determines that these provisions have been approved by the United States Department of Labor.

The federal Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008 created the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Program on June 30, 2008, which provides for the payment of up to 13 weeks of federally funded emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) benefits to eligible unemployed individuals nationwide who had already collected all regular state benefits for which they were eligible. The federal Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008, which was enacted on November 21, 2008, further expanded the EUC Program to provide for the payment of 20 weeks of benefits nationwide, and provides for the payment of 13 more weeks of benefits to eligible unemployed individuals in states with high unemployment rates, as determined by specified criteria. The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was enacted on February 17, 2009, extends to May 31, 2010, the period of time during which claims for EUC benefits can be filed and paid.

Existing state law provides for the payment of temporary federal-state EUC benefits authorized under the federal Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008, the federal Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008, and the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to eligible individuals in this state for weeks of unemployment on or after February 1, 2009, and continuing until the week ending 3 weeks prior to the last week for which specified provisions providing for 100% federal sharing authorized under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, except as provided, if specified economic indicators trigger the payment of those benefits.

This bill would instead provide for the payment of temporary federal-state EUC benefits authorized under the federal Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008, the federal Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008, and the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to eligible individuals in this state for weeks of unemployment on or after February 1, 2009, and continuing until the week ending 4 weeks prior to the last week for which specified provisions providing for 100% federal sharing authorized under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, except as provided, if specified economic indicators trigger the payment of those benefits. The bill would also revise the economic indicators triggering payment of benefits for weeks of unemployment beginning on or after December 19, 2010, and continuing until a specified date authorized by federal law or until the week ending 4 weeks prior to the last week for which 100% federal sharing is authorized by federal law, as specified. The bill would make related changes.

Because the bill would provide for the payment of additional amounts from the Unemployment Fund, a continuously appropriated special fund, it would make an appropriation.

(11)The Budget Act for the 2010–11 fiscal year appropriates moneys to state entities to fund the operations of those entities, including, among other things, for the cost of office space.

This bill would authorize the Director of Finance to adjust any item of appropriation for departmental support in the Budget Act for the 2010–11 fiscal year to reflect reductions in the rental rates charged to a state entity by the Department of General Services for the cost of office space in buildings owned or operated by the department.

(12)The Tort Claims Act provides for the liability and immunity of a governmental entity for its acts or omissions that cause harm to persons. Existing law provides that any claim for money or damages against the state is required to be presented to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board within a specified period of time. Existing law requires the board, upon allowing a claim for which the Director of Finance certifies that a sufficient appropriation for the payment of the claim exists, to designate the fund from which the claim is to be paid.

This bill would require the board to provide notice to the chairpersons of the committees in each house of the Legislature that consider appropriations and the annual Budget Act, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, within a specified period of time prior to allowing either the use of a current year appropriation to pay claims for prior year costs of $500,000 or more, or claims from a single provider of goods or services with respect to a single department that exceed $500,000 within one year.

The bill would also appropriate for the 2011–12 fiscal year $1,000 from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board.

(13)Existing law creates in the State Treasury the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund for the receipt and deposit of moneys received by the state from certain Indian tribes pursuant to the terms of gaming compacts entered into with the state. Existing law authorizes moneys in that fund to be used for specified purposes, including for grants for the support of state and local government agencies impacted by tribal government gaming. Existing law, until January 1, 2021, requires each county that administers grants from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to provide an annual report to certain legislative and executive branch members by October 1 of each year detailing the specific projects funded by all grants in the county’s jurisdiction in the previous fiscal year, as specified.

This bill would, until January 1, 2012, and for the 2009–10 fiscal year, authorize the Controller to allocate funding to a county that submits the annual report after the October 1 deadline, but prior to July 1, 2011.

(14)The bill would also make various conforming and nonsubstantive changes.

(15)The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. Governor Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 6, 2010. Governor Brown issued a proclamation on January 20, 2011, declaring and reaffirming that a fiscal emergency exists and stating that his proclamation supersedes the earlier proclamation for purposes of that constitutional provision.

This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared and reaffirmed by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 20, 2011, pursuant to the California Constitution.

(16)This bill would declare that it is to take immediate effect as an urgency statute and a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.