Bill Text: CA SB1443 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: School safety: the County of Riverside school metal detector pilot program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-08-16 - August 16 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1443 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SB1443-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  June 11, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1443

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Introduced by Senator Stone

February 16, 2018

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An act to amend Section 2699 of the Labor Code, relating to private employment. add and repeal Article 5 (commencing with Section 49350) of Chapter 8 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to school safety, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1443, as amended, Stone. Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004. School safety: the County of Riverside school metal detector pilot program.

Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature for all public schools teaching kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, operated by a school district, to develop, in cooperation with specified community partners, a comprehensive school safety plan, as defined. Existing law requires each school district and county office of education to be responsible for the overall development of all comprehensive school safety plans for its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

This bill would establish the County of Riverside school metal detector pilot program, and would authorize, as part of the pilot program, the Riverside County Office of Education to accept donations from private individuals and entities for the purpose of assisting public schools, as defined, located within the County of Riverside to purchase metal detectors through monetary grants. The bill would provide for the application for those grants by public schools located within the County of Riverside and the review of those applications and awarding of those grants to applicant public schools by the Riverside County Office of Education, as specified. If the amount donated under the pilot program reaches $900,000, the bill would appropriate $100,000 from the General Fund to the Riverside County Office of Education for the purpose of awarding those grants. The bill would require the State Department of Education to review the implementation of the pilot program and determine whether the pilot program was successful, and, if the department determines that the pilot program was successful, to submit a recommendation to the Legislature to enact legislation to expand the pilot program to other counties. The bill would repeal its provisions 6 years after the effective date of the bill.

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 make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Riverside.

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

Existing law, the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, authorizes an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action to recover specified civil penalties that would otherwise be assessed and collected by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency on behalf of the employee and other current or former employees for the violation of certain provisions affecting employees.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY2/3   Appropriation: NOYES   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Article 5 (commencing with Section 49350) is added to Chapter 8 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:

Article  5. School Metal Detectors

49350.

 (a) The County of Riverside school metal detector pilot program is hereby established.

(b) If the Riverside County Office of Education chooses to undertake the pilot program, all of the following shall apply:

(1) The Riverside County Office of Education may accept donations from private individuals and entities for the purpose of assisting public schools located within the County of Riverside to purchase metal detectors in accordance with this article.

(2) A public school located within the County of Riverside may apply to the Riverside County Office of Education for a grant to purchase metal detectors for the public school.

(3) The Riverside County Office of Education shall review applications submitted in accordance with paragraph (2), and award grants to applicant public schools with the moneys donated in accordance with paragraph (1) and appropriated pursuant to subdivision (c) based on criteria that it shall establish.

(c) (1) If the amount donated to the Riverside County Office of Education in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) reaches nine hundred thousand dollars ($900,000), then one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) shall be appropriated from the General Fund to the Riverside County Office of Education for the purpose of assisting public schools located within the County of Riverside purchase metal detectors in accordance with this article.

(2) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation made by paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the fiscal year in which it is appropriated, 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 fiscal year in which it is appropriated.

(d) On or before two years after the effective date of this section, the department shall do both of the following:

(1) Review the implementation of the pilot program and determine whether the pilot program was successful.

(2) If the department determines pursuant to paragraph (1) that the pilot program was successful, it shall submit a recommendation to the Legislature to enact legislation to expand the pilot program to other counties.

(e) (1) A recommendation to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this article is repealed six years after the effective date of this section.

(f) For purposes of this section, “public school” means a school of a school district, a school of a county office of education, and a charter school that operates kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique security needs of public schools in the County of Riverside.

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 ensure the safety of schoolchildren in the County of Riverside as soon as possible, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.

SECTION 1.Section 2699 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

2699.

(a)Notwithstanding any other law, any provision of this code that provides for a civil penalty to be assessed and collected by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency or any of its departments, divisions, commissions, boards, agencies, or employees, for a violation of this code, may, as an alternative, be recovered through a civil action brought by an aggrieved employee on behalf of himself or herself and other current or former employees pursuant to the procedures specified in Section 2699.3.

(b)For purposes of this part, “person” has the same meaning as defined in Section 18.

(c)For purposes of this part, “aggrieved employee” means any person who was employed by the alleged violator and against whom one or more of the alleged violations was committed.

(d)For purposes of this part, “cure” means that the employer abates each violation alleged by any aggrieved employee, the employer is in compliance with the underlying statutes as specified in the notice required by this part, and any aggrieved employee is made whole. A violation of paragraph (6) or (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 226 shall only be considered cured upon a showing that the employer has provided a fully compliant itemized wage statement to each aggrieved employee for each pay period for the three-year period before the date of the written notice sent pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 2699.3.

(e)(1)For purposes of this part, whenever the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, or any of its departments, divisions, commissions, boards, agencies, or employees, has discretion to assess a civil penalty, a court is authorized to exercise the same discretion, subject to the same limitations and conditions, to assess a civil penalty.

(2)In any action by an aggrieved employee seeking recovery of a civil penalty available under subdivision (a) or (f), a court may award a lesser amount than the maximum civil penalty amount specified by this part if, based on the facts and circumstances of the particular case, to do otherwise would result in an award that is unjust, arbitrary and oppressive, or confiscatory.

(f)For all provisions of this code, except those for which a civil penalty is specifically provided, there is established a civil penalty for a violation of these provisions, as follows:

(1)If, at the time of the alleged violation, the person does not employ one or more employees, the civil penalty is five hundred dollars ($500).

(2)If, at the time of the alleged violation, the person employs one or more employees, the civil penalty is one hundred dollars ($100) for each aggrieved employee per pay period for the initial violation and two hundred dollars ($200) for each aggrieved employee per pay period for each subsequent violation.

(3)If the alleged violation is a failure to act by the Labor and Workplace Development Agency, or any of its departments, divisions, commissions, boards, agencies, or employees, there shall be no civil penalty.

(g)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), an aggrieved employee may recover the civil penalty described in subdivision (f) in a civil action pursuant to the procedures specified in Section 2699.3 filed on behalf of himself or herself and other current or former employees against whom one or more of the alleged violations was committed. Any employee who prevails in any action shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including any filing fee paid pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 2699.3. This part shall not limit an employee’s right to pursue or recover other remedies available under state or federal law, either separately or concurrently with an action taken under this part.

(2)An action shall not be brought under this part for any violation of a posting, notice, agency reporting, or filing requirement of this code, except where the filing or reporting requirement involves mandatory payroll or workplace injury reporting.

(h)An action shall not be brought under this section by an aggrieved employee if the agency or any of its departments, divisions, commissions, boards, agencies, or employees, on the same facts and theories, cites a person within the timeframes set forth in Section 2699.3 for a violation of the same section or sections of the Labor Code under which the aggrieved employee is attempting to recover a civil penalty on behalf of himself or herself or others or initiates a proceeding pursuant to Section 98.3.

(i)Except as provided in subdivision (j), civil penalties recovered by aggrieved employees shall be distributed as follows:

(1)75 percent to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency for enforcement of labor laws, including the administration of this part, and for education of employers and employees about their rights and responsibilities under this code, to be continuously appropriated to supplement and not supplant the funding to the agency for those purposes.

(2)25 percent to the aggrieved employees.

(j)Civil penalties recovered under paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) shall be distributed to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency for enforcement of labor laws, including the administration of this part, and for education of employers and employees about their rights and responsibilities under this code, to be continuously appropriated to supplement and not supplant the funding to the agency for those purposes.

(k)This part is not intended to alter or otherwise affect the exclusive remedy provided by the workers’ compensation provisions of this code for liability against an employer for the compensation for any injury to or death of an employee arising out of and in the course of employment.

(l)(1)In a case that is filed on or after July 1, 2016, the aggrieved employee or representative shall, within 10 days following commencement of a civil action pursuant to this part, provide the Labor and Workforce Development Agency with a file-stamped copy of the complaint that includes the case number assigned by the court.

(2)The superior court shall review and approve any settlement of any civil action filed pursuant to this part. The proposed settlement shall be submitted to the agency at the same time that it is submitted to the court.

(3)A copy of the superior court’s judgment in any civil action filed pursuant to this part and any other order in that action that either provides for or denies an award of civil penalties under this code shall be submitted to the agency within 10 days after entry of the judgment or order.

(4)Items required to be submitted to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency under this subdivision or to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 2699.3, shall be transmitted online through the same system established for the filing of notices and requests under subdivisions (a) and (c) of Section 2699.3.

(m)This section does not apply to the recovery of administrative and civil penalties in connection with the workers’ compensation law as contained in Division 1 (commencing with Section 50) and Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200), including, but not limited to, Sections 129.5 and 132a.

(n)The agency or any of its departments, divisions, commissions, boards, or agencies may promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this part.