BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 837|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 837
Author: Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
Amended: 6/12/16
Vote: 21
SENATE FLOOR: Not relevant
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Not available
SUBJECT: General government
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill makes various statutory changes necessary to
implement the state administration-related provisions of the
Budget Act of 2016.
Assembly Amendments delete the Senate version of the bill and
insert the current language.
ANALYSIS: This bill makes the following statutory changes to
implement the 2016-17 Budget:
Housing
1) Allows the California Housing Finance Agency to (a) replace
the Director of Insurance position with a Director of
Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance and (b) to require
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the annual audit of the California Housing Loan Insurance
Fund to be based on agreed upon procedures.
2) Gives the Department of Housing and Community Development
the authority to issue one grant to Habitat for Humanity of
California. In turn, Habitat for Humanity will administer a
competitive project-specific grant process to eligible local
Habitat affiliates throughout the state.
3) Combines remaining funding from multiple down payment
assistance programs into the MyHOME program for the purpose
of making home purchases more affordable to low and moderate
income Californians for owner-occupied homes, with a priority
for first-time homebuyers.
4) Establishes the California Emergency Solutions Grant Program
until July 1, 2020, to provide grants through a formula
process for permanent housing solutions for people
experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness, or both, and
to engage and to shelter individuals and families while in
the crisis of homelessness.
5) Establishes the Community-Based Transitional Housing
Program, administered by the Department of Finance, for
persons who have been released from state prison or county
jail after serving a sentence for one or more felony or
misdemeanor convictions. The program provides grants of up to
$2 million to cities and counties that facilitate such
housing, with a total of $25 million available for grants in
2016-17.
6) Establishes the California Seismic Safety Capital Access
Loan Program, which provides a loan loss reserve facility to
cover losses on qualified loans to participating lenders for
loans made to residential and small business owners for
seismic retrofit construction. The program is established in
the State Treasurer's Office and is funded at $10 million for
2016-17.
Tax Credits
7) Allows until 2020 the sale of the low-income housing tax
credits (LIHTC) allocated by the California Tax Credit
Allocation Committee, under certain conditions, thus
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increasing the efficiency of these tax credits available
under the personal income tax, corporation tax and insurance
tax. The provision reduces the increased federal tax
liability that otherwise is associated with reduced state tax
liabilities resulting from the credits.
8) Extends California's current tax credit for farm donations
to food banks from 2017 to 2022, increases the credit amount
from 10 percent to 15 percent, and changes the basis on which
the credit is allowed from inventory cost to the weighted
average wholesale cost of the donated item.
Department of Consumer Affairs
9) Authorizes the State Board of Optometry to issue a citation,
not to exceed $50,000 per investigation, and subject to
specified factors, to an optical company, an optometrist, or
a registered dispensing optician for violating existing law.
Medical Cannabis Regulation Safety Act
10)Requires additional conditions of licensures, such as proof
of bond to cover the cost of destroying product.
11)Establishes a filing deadline for individuals to submit an
application for licensure.
12)Authorizes the Board of Equalization, for purposes of
taxation and regulation, to have access to the Department of
Food and Agriculture's track and trace electronic database.
13)Provides the Department of Public Health (DPH) cite and fine
authority and the authority for mandatory recalls. Shifts
authority to license laboratories from the DPH to the Bureau
of Medical Cannabis Regulation.
14)Excludes a cannabis manufacturer, who infuses butter with
cannabis, from having to be licensed as a milk product plant.
15)Requires the State Water Resources Control Board, in
consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to
adopt principles and guidelines for diversion and use of
water for cannabis cultivation in areas where cannabis
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cultivation may have the potential to substantially affect
instream flows. The principles and guidelines may include,
among others: instream flow objectives, limits on diversions,
and requirements for screening of diversions and elimination
of barriers to fish passage. The principles and guidelines
may also include requirements that apply to groundwater
extractions where the board determines those requirements are
reasonably necessary for purposes of this section.
16)Requires annual filings of statements of diversion and use
to report the amount of water used for cannabis cultivation.
17)Authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to issue
cease and desist orders for any diversion or use of water for
cannabis cultivation if:
a) A cannabis cultivation license is required but has not
been obtained.
b) The diversion in not in compliance with an applicable
limitation or requirement established by the board or the
Department of Fish and Wildlife.
c) The diversion is not in compliance with any relevant
mitigation requirements the Department of Food and
Agriculture imposes as part of its approval of the final
environmental documentation for the cannabis cultivation
licensing program.
18)Authorizes a licensing authority to promulgate regulations,
including emergency regulations.
Secretary of State
19)Clarifies that in the instance when an individual's
registration does not show a party preference, the county
elections official must designate the individual's party
preference as "unknown," and the individual must be treated
as a "no party preference" voter.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
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According to the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, the
funding related to the changes in this bill is contained in the
2016-17 Budget. In addition, the bill provides for continuous
appropriation of funds in the California Seismic Safety Capital
Access Loan Program.
SUPPORT: (Verified6/15/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/15/16)
None received
Prepared by: Farra Bracht/Mark Ibele/Samantha Lui / B. & F.R. /
(916) 651-4103
6/16/16 9:47:56
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