To quote the State of California:

You are required to file a 1099-MISC form for the services performed by the independent contractor, and
You pay the independent contractor $600 or more OR enter into a contract for $600 or more, and
The independent contractor is an individual or sole proprietorship.

This information is to be reported to the State of California within 20 days of reaching the $600 threshold.

More information on the State of California's requirements is available at: http://www.edd.ca.gov/txicr.htm.

XO Consulting has written a set of NPR Reports to meet the State of California's reporting requirements.  It is a free download available to you: de-542.zip.

This 'zipped' file contains:

de-542.npr (the NPR report programs: vendor check, 'red' form, Internet form and magnetic media)
de-542.txt (a text file explaining the report programs and how to use them)
de-542.pdf (the State of California's PDF (Internet) version of their DE-542 form)