Two-year Bills Must Clear Early Session Deadlines
January 23, 2019
The deadline for two-year bills is looming next week, and the Legislature has a number of measures it has to consider by January 31st.
Bills introduced last year, but did not pass out of its house of origin must be considered and moved to the second house by the end of the month. This puts the pressure on lawmakers whose bills stalled out last year to move them through committees and off the floor in a short timeframe. A number of outstanding bills remain. Here is a list and short description of the bills that CSAC is tracking through these January deadlines:
AB 31 (C. Garcia): This bill would exempt feminine hygiene products from sales tax until 2025. CSAC recognizes the intent of the measure, but opposes its current form due to the erosion of revenue for counties. As written, AB 31 would reduce sales and use tax revenues to the tune of approximately $21 million statewide.
AB 66 (Gonzalez): This bill would extend the exemption of children’s diapers from sales tax until January 1 2027. CSAC recognizes the intent of the measure, but opposes its current form due to the erosion of revenue for counties.
AB 141 (Cooper): This bill would create the Justice Act of 2019, a reimbursement entitlement and mechanism for the County of Sacramento and other qualifying counties for costs incurred in prosecuting and defending Joseph DeAngelo. CSAC is in support of this measure.
AB 516 (Chiu): This bill would delete the authority of local governments to remove or immobilize a vehicle that has five or more parking tickets and to require a warning before towing when a vehicle has been left more than five days in violation of a local ordinance. CSAC has expressed concerns on this measure.
AB 818 (Cooley): In 2011, changes were made to the way that Vehicle License Fees (VLF) were allocated to cities, removing a funding mechanism that helped support incorporations. AB 818 would provide new cities with shares of property tax to offset the amount of VLF revenue they otherwise would have received. CSAC’s position is pending.
AB 890 (Wood): This bill would expand the scope of practice for board certified nurse practitioners, allowing for greater access to health and behavioral health care for patients, and aligning with the state’s current goals to expand health care coverage.
AB 964 (Medina): This bill would require all local detention facilities provide in-person visitation. For existing local correctional facilities that do not provide in-person visitation, these facilities must comply with the requirements of the legislation by January 1, 2025. CSAC opposes this legislation as it creates a new and costly mandate for counties.
AB 1525 (Jones-Sawyer): This bill would help facilitate banking services to commercial cannabis operators. The bill, as recently amended, allows a licensing authority or the California Cannabis Authority to share application, license, and other regulatory or financial information with a financial institution upon request and permission of a commercial cannabis operator. CSAC has a support position on this bill.
AB 1568 (McCarty): This bill would prevent counties from receiving state grants if they are not in compliance with certain state housing laws. CSAC is opposed to this legislation.
SB 45 (Allen): This bill is titled the Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation and Flood Protection Bond Act and would place a $4.189 billion dollar bond on the November ballot. CSAC has a “Support in Concept” position on this particular bill, however staff has been working with a variety of author’s who also introduced bond bills last year. In addition, the Governor also indicated his support for a bond in the release of this year’s January Budget. CSAC AENR will continue to track all these efforts as they move through the process.
SB 50 (Wiener): This bill would provide for additional residential density in areas near transit, as well as in areas deemed “jobs-rich” by the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, among other provisions. CSAC holds an oppose unless amended position on this bill.
SB 144 (Mitchell): This bill would eliminate a number of criminal justice fees charged by both the county and the courts. Despite the policy merits, CSAC opposes this legislation unless sustainable funding is provided to back-fill the loss of revenue resulting from eliminating counties’ ability to charge criminal justice related fees.
SB 207 (Hurtado): This bill makes it easier for voters to change their party affiliation or their address (within a county) in the two weeks before an election, by filing an affidavit with minimal information instead of requiring a full voter registration card.
