Supervisorial Vacancies

AB 1671 (Jeffries) – Support
As Amended on May 17, 2010

Assembly Bill 1671, by Assembly Member Kevin Jeffries would require the Governor to fill by appointment a supervisorial vacancy within 90 days, or else the authority would fall to the Board of Supervisors itself.

Current law gives the Governor the power to appoint people to vacant supervisorial positions, and no time limit for doing so. Recent experience has shown that filling these vacant seats is not necessarily a priority for the Governor. In the rare but actual event that a board has a vacant seat and a temporarily incapacitated member, conducting the county’s business becomes quite difficult since every decision must be unanimous. Counties have many responsibilities, and having a situation such as this for any length of time is untenable.

The Senate Appropriations Committee was going to consider AB 2461 at their meeting on August 2, but it now appears that, because the bill does not affect the State’s finances, it will instead proceed directly to the Senate Floor.

Vehicle Registration Amnesty

AB 2461 (Emmerson) – Support
As Amended on July 15, 2010

Assembly Bill 2461, by Senator Bill Emmerson, would extend the current Vehicle License Fee (VLF) amnesty program for kit cars by one year and give the Bureau of Automotive Repairs the authority to carry out their related duties.

CSAC was pleased to support the bill by then-Assembly Member Emmerson that implemented a VLF amnesty program for so-called kit cars. This bill, AB 2461, would give explicit authority to the Bureau of Automotive Repairs to fulfill their duties under the program, thus making the amnesty program workable. Due to the problems related to implementing the program, it makes sense to extend the sunset date by a couple of years; this will give kit car owners an opportunity to take advantage of the amnesty and come into compliance with the law.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will consider AB 2461 at their meeting on August 2.

Use Tax

AB 2078 (Calderon) – Support
As Amended on June 24, 2010

Assembly Bill 2078, by Assembly Member Charles Calderon, attempts to improve use tax compliance in two ways. First, it would require online and catalogue retailers that do not collect a sales or use tax to remind consumers that they owe that tax to the state. It would also rebuttably presume that if a retailer in a controlled group of corporations is “engaged in business in this state” for tax purposes, then all other retailers in that group are as well.

AB 2078 should at least partly eliminate the unfair business advantage California gives out-of-state companies by making their products appear cheaper, and should also help improve the collection of taxes owed to counties, cities, and the state.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will consider AB 2461 at their meeting on August 2.