Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to adopt new, or expand existing, fixed charges, as defined, for the purpose of collecting a reasonable portion of the fixed costs of providing electrical service to residential customers. Existing law requires the commission to continue a program of assistance to low-income electrical and gas customers with annual household incomes that are no greater than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, as specified, which is referred to as the California Alternative Rates for Energy (CARE) program. Under existing law, the commission may authorize fixed charges for any rate schedule applicable to a residential customer account for the purpose described above and for the CARE program. Existing law requires the commission, no later than July 1, 2024, to authorize a fixed charge for default residential rates. Existing law requires these fixed charges to be established on an income-graduated basis, with no fewer than 3 income thresholds, so that low-income ratepayers in each baseline territory would realize a lower average monthly bill without making any changes in usage. This bill would repeal the provisions described in the preceding paragraph.
Existing law establishes the Educational Innovation and Planning Commission to assist the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education in the planning, development, and improvement of educational programs, to evaluate all programs and projects assisted by federal funds provided pursuant to a repealed federal program, and to advise the department on the state plan for the use of those unavailable federal funds, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to submit projects it recommends to the state board for approval and the state board is required to allocate and reserve those unavailable federal funds for various educational projects, as specified. This bill would repeal those provisions and thereby eliminate the commission.
Existing law establishes procedures for the Secretary of State to certify and conditionally approve voting systems. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to make available to the public a full and complete copy of the certification report and all documentation, as specified, within 10 days after issuing and filing a certification decision and associated testing reports. This bill would require the Secretary of State, as part of its duty to make this information available to the public, to post the certification report and associated documentation on the Secretary of State's website.
Existing law requires the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to develop and implement an International Trade and Investment Program and authorizes the director of GO-Biz to establish international trade and investment offices, as specified. Existing law authorizes GO-Biz to accept nonstate moneys for the purposes of operating an international trade and investment office, as specified. Existing law requires GO-Biz to post a report on its internet website for each donation that it receives to fund an international trade and investment office that is funded in whole or in part by nonstate funds, as specified, or operated under a contract with a nonprofit entity, as specified, and for each donation that it receives for the purposes of promoting international trade and investment events, as specified, within 30 days of receiving those donations. This bill would instead require GO-Biz to post the above-described reports on its internet website from within 15 days of GO-Biz receiving those donations. Existing law authorizes GO-Biz to contract with a nonprofit entity to operate an international trade and investment office. Existing law requires a contract for that purpose to, among other things, require the nonprofit entity to provide GO-Biz with specified information sufficient to satisfy the internet website posting requirement described above within 30 days of the receipt by the nonprofit of each donation used to fund an international trade and investment office. This bill would instead require the contract to require the nonprofit entity to provide GO-Biz with the specified information sufficient to satisfy the internet posting requirement within 15 days of the nonprofit receiving those donations.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to implement a comprehensive short-lived climate pollutant strategy to achieve a reduction in statewide emissions of methane by 40% by 2030. Existing law requires the methane emissions reduction goals to include a 75% reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2025. Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in consultation with the state board, to adopt regulations to achieve these organic waste reduction goals that include, among other things, requirements intended to meet the goal that not less than 20% of edible food that is currently disposed of be recovered for human consumption by 2025 and that may include penalties to be imposed by the department for noncompliance, as provided. This bill would exempt from the above-referenced organic waste reduction goal requirements and regulations, food processing establishments, as defined, that do not divert organic waste to landfills.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law requires the state board to approve and begin implementing the comprehensive short-lived climate pollutant strategy, as specified, to achieve a reduction in the statewide emissions of methane by 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would reduce upstream methane from the oil and gas sector by examining the practices of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0.
Existing law prohibits the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought. Under existing law, killing under certain circumstances including premeditation, lying in wait, by poison or torture, or during the commission of specified dangerous felonies, is classified as murder in the first degree. Murder in the first degree is punishable by death, imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole, or imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 25 years to life. If certain special circumstances are found to be true, including that the victim was a peace officer, firefighter, prosecutor, judge, witness, or elected official, that the defendant murdered more than one person, or the murder was committed for financial gain, the penalty is death or imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, with regard to zoning regulations, requires every city, county, and city and county to administratively approve an application to install electric vehicle charging stations and, until January 1, 2030, hydrogen-fueling stations that meet certain requirements, through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit, as prescribed. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
The Consumer Affairs Act requires the Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs to administer and enforce that act to protect and promote the interests of consumers regarding the purchase of goods or services. The director, upon receipt of a consumer complaint relating to specified violations, is required to transmit any valid complaint to the local, state, or federal agency whose authority provides the most effective means to secure the relief. The act requires the director to advise the consumer of the action taken on the complaint, as appropriate, and of any other means that may be available to the consumer to secure relief. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those consumer complaint provisions.
Existing law, the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, governs mass layoffs, relocations, and terminations. Existing law prohibits an employer, with certain exceptions, from ordering a mass layoff, relocation, or termination at a covered establishment without giving prescribed written notice to the affected employees, the Employment Development Department, the local workforce investment board, and specified local officials. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to require a chain employer to provide each covered worker and their exclusive representative, if any, a displacement notice.
Existing law provides for the direct marketing of agricultural products, including through certified farmers' markets. Existing law generally provides that everyone is responsible, not only for the result of their willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by that person's want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person, except as specified. This bill would enact the California Agritourism Promotion Act and would define "agritourism activity" as an activity carried out on a farm, ranch, or other rural land whose primary business activity is agriculture or ranching and that allows members of the general public to view, enjoy, and participate in rural activities, as provided. The bill would require an agritourism professional to include a warning notice on signs at the agritourism location and in certain contracts, as specified. The bill would exempt an agritourism professional from civil liability for injury, loss, damage, or death of a participant of an agritourism activity resulting exclusively from an inherent risk of agritourism activity, as defined, unless the agritourism professional fails to include the warning notice in the above-mentioned signs or contracts, commits an act or omission that is grossly negligent or constitutes willful or wanton disregard for the safety of a participant, has actual knowledge or reasonably should have known of an existing dangerous condition on the land, facilities, or equipment and does not make the danger known to a participant, or knowingly permits participants to use facilities or engage in agritourism activities while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The bill would require the agritourism professional to plead the affirmative defense of assumption of the risk of agritourism activity in order to invoke this privilege of immunity.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to adopt new, or expand existing, fixed charges, as defined, for the purpose of collecting a reasonable portion of the fixed costs of providing electrical service to residential customers. Under existing law, the commission may authorize fixed charges for any rate schedule applicable to a residential customer account. Existing law requires the commission, no later than July 1, 2024, to authorize a fixed charge for default residential rates on an income-graduated basis, as provided. Existing law requires increases to electrical rates and charges in rate design proceedings to be reasonable and subject to a reasonable phase-in schedule relative to the rates and charges in effect before January 1, 2014. This bill would repeal those provisions relating to fixed charges and rate increases. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
