SB 16

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law requires the Controller to draw warrants on the State Treasury in favor of the county treasurer of each county in each month of each year in prescribed amounts and in a prescribed manner. This bill would revise the schedule pursuant to which the Controller draws these warrants and the amount of the warrants. (2) Existing law, the California Prompt Payment Act, requires a state agency that acquires property or services pursuant to a contract with a business to make payment to the person or business on the date required by the contract, or be subject to a late payment penalty. The act provides that the maximum time from state agency receipt of an undisputed invoice to issuance of a warrant for payment is 45 calendar days. The act requires the payment of specified penalties to the claimant if the state agency fails to submit a correct claim schedule to the Controller by the required payment approval date, or if the Controller fails to make a payment within 15 calendar days of receipt of the claim schedule from the state agency, as specified. This bill would require late payment penalties to be paid to the claimant if payment is not issued within 45 calendar days from state agency receipt of an undisputed invoice, but would require the state agency and Controller to pay those penalties only when a payment is not issued within 45 calendar days from state agency receipt of the undisputed invoice, and the state agency fails to submit a correct claim schedule by the required payment approval date, or the Controller fails to make a payment within 15 calendar days of receipt of the claim schedule from the state agency. The bill would define "payment" for purposes of these provisions. (3) The California Lottery Act establishes the State Lottery Fund. The act, an initiative measure, provides that certain provisions may be changed by a bill that furthers the purposes of the act and is passed by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and signed by the Governor. The act, until September 30, 2009, authorizes the Controller to loan moneys in the State Lottery Fund to the General Fund and requires the payment of interest at a specified rate on all moneys loaned to the General Fund. This bill would delete the September 30, 2009, repeal date for those provisions authorizing the loan of moneys from the State Lottery Fund, thereby extending their operation indefinitely. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the California State Lottery Act. (4) Existing law authorizes the Director of Finance, to defer payment of General Fund moneys, in a cumulative amount not to exceed $500,000 annually, appropriated to the University of California in the annual Budget Act, as specified. This bill would additionally authorize the Director of Finance to defer payments of General Fund moneys in July through September of 2009 in an amount not to exceed $750,000,000, appropriated to the University of California in the Budget Act of 2009, as specified. The bill would specify the schedule of payments for the amount deferred, as specified. The bill would also authorize the Director of Finance to defer payments of General Fund moneys in July 2009 in an amount not to exceed $290,000,000, appropriated to the California State University in the Budget Act of 2009, as specified. That deferred payment would be made in October 2009. (5) Existing law releases a person from a debt owed to the Franchise Tax Board, under specified conditions, including that the Franchise Tax Board is discharged from collecting the debt which is less than $250. This bill would increase the amount of the debt that the Franchise Tax Board is discharged from collecting to less than $500. (6) Existing law requires state excise fuel tax revenues to be deposited in various accounts and to be allocated, in part, for various purposes, including the cost of collection and authorized refunds. Existing law requires the balance of these funds remaining after authorized deductions to be transferred to, and deposited monthly in, the Highway Users Tax Account in the Transportation Tax Fund. Existing law provides for annual and monthly apportionment by the Controller of specified revenues in the Highway Users Tax Account to cities, counties, and cities and counties for the transportation purposes authorized by Article XIX of the California Constitution. This bill would require transfers of those revenues from the Highway Users Tax Account to counties or cities that would otherwise be made during certain months of 2009, to instead be deferred and made after January 1, 2010. (7) Existing law does not require a state agency to collect a tax, license, fee, or money owed to the state, under specified conditions, including that the amount to be collected is $250 or less. This bill would increase that amount to $500 or less. (8) Existing law, the Accounts Receivable Management Act, requires each state agency, department, and office to allocate collection resources by giving highest priority to accounts with the highest expected return. This bill would authorize these state entities to impose a reasonable fee for the actual costs of its collection of past due accounts, and require them to submit an annual report to the Controller of its accounts receivables and discharged accounts. (9) Existing law, pursuant to Article XIXB of the California Constitution, creates the Transportation Investment Fund, which receives a portion of gasoline sales tax revenues that are deposited in the General Fund. Moneys in the Transportation Investment Fund are allocated to various transportation purposes, including the state transportation improvement program, local streets and roads, and mass transportation. Existing law requires the Controller to transfer and apportion these funds on a quarterly basis. This bill would suspend and defer, until May 31, 2010, the quarterly apportionments from the Transportation Investment Fund for local streets and roads that are scheduled to be made in October 2009 and January 2010. The bill would authorize a city or county to temporarily make use of any cash balance in its city or county road fund, including certain transportation bond act funds, for local street and road maintenance, provided that the cash is replaced once the payments from the Transportation Investment Fund are received. (10) Existing law appropriates $540,000,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges for apportionments to community college districts for expenditure during the 2009–10 fiscal year and defers the disbursal of those funds until July of the 2009–10 fiscal year. Existing law makes an identical appropriation for expenditure during the 2010–11 fiscal year and defers the disbursal of those funds until July of the 2010–11 fiscal year. This bill would increase those appropriations and deferments to $703,000,000 with $81,500,000 of those appropriations and deferments representing the April apportionment and $81,500,000 representing the May apportionment. (11) Existing law defers to July the payment of $115,000,000 of the apportionments to community college districts for each of the months of January and February and $55,000,000 of the apportionments to community college districts for each of the months of March and April. This bill, in addition, would defer to July the payment of $81,500,000 of the apportionments to community college districts for each of the months of April and May. (12) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on July 1, 2009. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on July 1, 2009, pursuant to the California Constitution. (13) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.