Bill Text: CA AB2303 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Education finance: instructional materials and teacher recruitment: computer science.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-08-24 - Re-referred to Com. on ED. pursuant to Assembly Rule 97. [AB2303 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB2303-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  August 24, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2303

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Introduced by Assembly Member Thurmond

February 13, 2018

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An act to add Part 28 (commencing with Section 53001) to Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. An act to add Section 44415.5 to the Education Code, relating to education finance, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2303, as amended, Thurmond. Taxation: prison contracts: goods and services. Education finance: instructional materials and teacher recruitment: computer science.

Existing law imposes various taxes, including taxes on the privilege of engaging in certain activities. The Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges.

This bill, for the privilege of contracting with a state prison, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or the Department of General Services to provide a state prison with goods, services, or both, would impose a tax on vendors, as defined, at the rate equal to 10% of the final contract price, as defined, for contracts entered into on or after the effective date of the bill. The bill would require all amounts paid, less refunds, to be deposited into the State Incarceration Prevention Fund, which this bill would establish in the State Treasury, and would continuously appropriate those moneys to the State Department of Education for preschool and after school programs for the purposes of providing services to prevent people from being incarcerated and providing early intervention programs, less the amount needed to reimburse the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the Attorney General for costs incurred in administering these provisions. The bill would prohibit this tax from being passed through to the state by way of higher prices for the goods or services in the contract, and would require a vendor to certify under penalty of perjury that this tax was not passed through to the state. The bill would require a vendor to pay a penalty if it fails to comply with these provisions. The bill would require the Attorney General to enforce this prohibition and would authorize the Attorney General to monitor and, if necessary, investigate any instance where a vendor has passed or attempted to pass the tax through to the state. The bill would require the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to assess and collect the tax imposed by this part pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law and would provide an appeals process for a vendor from which the state incarceration prevention tax is determined to be due, as provided.

By expanding the application of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, and by expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, administer the Teacher Residency Grant Program and the Local Solutions Grant Program, as specified.

This bill would, for the 2019–20 fiscal year, appropriate $50,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission to establish the Computer Science Teacher Grant Program. The bill would require the commission to competitively select a county office of education to administer the grant program to provide specified grants to each student enrolled in an approved teacher preparation program who commits to teaching computer science, at a school district, county office of education, or charter school, for 4 years after he or she receives a preliminary teaching credential, and when he or she has completed 2 and 4 years of the teaching obligation, as provided. The bill would require the administrator of the grant program to annually report the status and progress of the grant program to the commission and to submit a final implementation report, within 6 years of being selected as the administrator, that describes the outcomes and effectiveness of the grant program.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Education, under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and assigns to the department numerous duties relating to the financing, governance, and guidance of the public elementary and secondary schools in this state. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission, on or before July 31, 2019, to consider developing and recommending to the State Board of Education computer science content standards for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, pursuant to recommendations developed by a group of computer science experts that the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, is required to consider convening.

This bill would, for the 2019–20 fiscal year, appropriate $50,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to apportion funds on a one-time basis to all county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools, on the basis of average daily attendance, for the purpose of purchasing instructional materials that are aligned to the forthcoming computer science content standards to be adopted for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as provided.

Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Digest Key

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YESNO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.Part 28 (commencing with Section 53001) is added to Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

28.State Incarceration Prevention Tax

1.General Provisions

53001.

For the purposes of this part, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a)“Department” means a state prison, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or the Department of General Services.

(b)“Final contract price” means a mutually agreed upon total amount that a department pays to a vendor on completion of the contract, in accordance with contract terms and conditions and their subsequent modifications, for goods, services, or both.

(c)“Vendor” means a private, for-profit prison that contracts with a department to provide a state prison with goods, services, or both.

53002.

For contracts entered into on or after the effective date of this part, for the privilege of contracting with a department to provide a state prison with goods, services, or both, a tax is hereby imposed upon all vendors at the rate equal to 10 percent of the final contract price.

53004.

(a)(1)The tax imposed pursuant to Section 53002 shall be collected annually by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law (Part 30 (commencing with Section 55001)). For the purposes of this part, the references in the Fee Collection Procedures Law to “fee” shall include the tax imposed by this part, and references to “feepayer” shall include any vendor.

(2)Notwithstanding the appeal provisions in the Fee Collection Procedures Law, a determination by a department that a vendor is required to pay the tax, or a determination by that department regarding the amount of that tax, is subject to review pursuant to paragraph (3) and is not subject to a petition for redetermination by the Office of Tax Appeals.

(3)(A)Notwithstanding the refund provisions in the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall not accept any claim for refund that is based on the assertion that a determination by a department improperly or erroneously calculated the amount of the tax, or incorrectly determined that the vendor is subject to that tax, unless that determination has been set aside by that department or a court reviewing the determination of that department.

(B)If it is determined by a department or a reviewing court that a vendor is entitled to a refund of all or part of the state incarceration prevention tax, the vendor shall make a claim to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 55221) of Part 30 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(b)(1)On or before each January 1, a department shall annually transmit to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration the name and address of each vendor that is liable for the tax and the amount of the tax to be assessed. A department also shall provide the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration a department contact telephone number to be printed on the bill to respond to questions about the tax.

(2)The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall assess and collect the tax annually on or before April 1 of each year.

53005.

Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code shall not apply to any standard, criterion, procedure, determination, rule, notice, or guideline established or issued by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or the Attorney General to implement the purposes of this part.

53006.

(a)The State Incarceration Prevention Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury.

(b)The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall transmit the payments, less refunds, to the State Treasury to be deposited into the State Incarceration Prevention Fund.

(c)Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all amounts deposited into the State Incarceration Prevention Fund shall be continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal years to the following:

(1)The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the Attorney General for reimbursement of their costs for administering this part.

(2)The remainder to the State Department of Education to administer grants for preschool and after school programs for the purposes of providing services to prevent people from being incarcerated and providing early intervention programs.

53008.

(a)The tax imposed by this part shall not be passed through to the state by way of higher prices for the goods or services in the contract.

(b)A vendor shall certify in the contract under penalty of perjury that the tax imposed by this part was not passed through to the state by way of higher prices for the goods and services in the contract.

(c)The Attorney General shall enforce this section and may monitor and, if necessary, investigate any instance where a vendor has passed or attempted to pass the tax through to the state.

(d)Any vendor that fails to comply with this section shall pay a penalty in an amount not to exceed 1 percent of the final contract price for each instance the vendor fails to comply with this section.

2.Appeals Process

53010.

A vendor from which the tax under this part is determined to be due may petition for a redetermination of whether this part applies to that vendor within 30 days after service upon that vendor of a notice of determination. If a petition for redetermination is not filed within the 30-day period, the amount determined to be due becomes final at the expiration of the 30-day period.

53011.

A petition for redetermination of the application of this part shall be in writing and be sent to the department or its designee. The petition shall state the specific grounds upon which the petition is founded and include supporting documentation. The petition may be amended to state additional grounds or provide additional documentation at any time prior to the date that the department issues its order or decision with regard to the petition for redetermination.

53012.

If a petition for redetermination of the application of this part is filed within the 30-day period, the department shall reconsider whether the tax is due and make its decision in writing. The department may eliminate the imposition of the tax based on its determination that this part does not apply to the vendor that filed the petition.

53013.

If a timely petition for redetermination has been filed pursuant to Section 53010, all action to collect the tax shall be stayed pending the final decision of the department pursuant to Section 53015.

53014.

Notice of the decision of a department pursuant to Section 53012 shall be served on the same date to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the vendor that filed the petition.

53015.

The order or decision of a department upon a petition for redetermination of the tax shall become final 30 days after service upon the petitioner of notice of its decision.

53016.

The tax determined to be due by a department pursuant to this article is due and payable at the time the notice pursuant to Section 53014 becomes final, and if it is not paid when due, the penalty imposed pursuant to Section 55086 shall be applied.

53017.

Written notice required by this article shall be served as follows:

(a)The notice shall be placed in a sealed envelope, with postage paid, addressed to the petitioner at his or her address as it appears in the records of the department. The giving of notice shall be deemed complete at the time of the deposit of the notice in a United States Post Office, or a mailbox, sub-post office, substation, mail chute, or other facility regularly maintained or provided by the United States Postal Service without extension of time for any reason.

(b)In lieu of mailing, a notice may be served personally by delivering it to the vendor to be served and service shall be deemed complete at the time of delivery. Personal service to a vendor may be made by delivery of a notice to any person designated in the Code of Civil Procedure to be served for the vendor with summons and complaint in a civil action.

53018.

A dispute regarding the tax imposed by this part shall be resolved pursuant to this article only.

53019.

If a department determines that a vendor is entitled to a refund of all or part of the tax paid pursuant to this part, the vendor shall make a claim to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 55221).

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SECTION 1.

 Section 44415.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:

44415.5.

 (a) For the 2019–20 fiscal year, the sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the commission to establish the Computer Science Teacher Grant Program.

(b) (1) Under the grant program, the commission shall competitively select a county office of education to administer the grant program and provide grant funds of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), minus grant program administrative costs, to each student enrolled on or after January 1, 2019, in a teacher preparation program leading to a preliminary teaching credential, approved by the commission, if the student commits to teaching computer science, at a school district, county office of education, or charter school, for four years after he or she receives the preliminary teaching credential.

(2) The administrator of the grant program shall not use more than 5 percent of each grant award for grant program administration costs. The administrator of the grant program shall provide grant funds of five thousand dollars ($5,000), minus grant program administrative costs, after the grant recipient completes two years of employment as a computer science teacher and five thousand dollars ($5,000), minus grant program administrative costs, after the grant recipient completes four years of employment as a computer science teacher, within the obligation period.

(c) (1) A grant recipient shall agree to teach computer science for four years and shall have five years, upon completion of his or her teacher preparation program, to meet that obligation. To maintain eligibility for the grants available after the second year of employment and after the fourth year of employment, described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), the grant recipient shall do all of the following:

(A) Have successfully completed a teacher preparation program approved by the commission.

(B) While enrolled in the teacher preparation program, maintain good academic standing.

(C) Upon completion of the teacher preparation program, satisfy the state basic skills proficiency test requirement pursuant to Sections 44252 and 44252.5.

(D) Complete the required teaching service following completion of his or her teacher preparation program.

(2) Nonperformance of the commitment to teach computer science for four years shall be certified by the department to the administrator of the grant program.

(3) Nonperformance of the commitment to earn a preliminary teaching credential shall be certified by the commission to the administrator of the grant program.

(d) For purposes of the grant program pursuant to this section, the commission shall require the administrator of the grant program to annually report the status and progress of the grant program to the commission and to submit a final implementation report, within six years of being selected as the administrator, that describes the outcomes and effectiveness of the grant program.

(e) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation made by subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2019–20 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2019–20 fiscal year.

SEC. 2.

 (a) For the 2019–20 fiscal year, the sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Education to apportion funds on a one-time basis to all local educational agencies, on the basis of average daily attendance, for the purpose of purchasing instructional materials that are aligned to the forthcoming computer science content standards to be adopted, pursuant to Section 60605.4 of the Education Code, for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

(b) Funds apportioned to local educational agencies pursuant to this section shall be used for the purchase of California computer science standard-aligned instructional materials adopted by the State Board of Education, pursuant to Section 60605.4 of the Education Code, for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the funds apportioned pursuant to this section will address the urgent needs of schools to purchase California computer science standard-aligned instructional materials by supplementing, and not supplanting in whole, the allocation of other local educational agency funds to the purchase of California computer science standard-aligned instructional materials.

(d) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a county office of education, school district, or charter school.

(e) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation made by subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the 2019–20 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the 2019–20 fiscal year.

SEC. 3.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to begin generating funds for early education programs that will prevent incarceration, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.