The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions to ensure that the statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years. This bill would require the state board to include greenhouse gas emissions from wildlands and forest fires in the scoping plan.
Existing law provides for the licensing of certain health facilities, including clinics, and prescribes certain requirements for applicants seeking to obtain a license for such a facility. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, requires all public water systems, as defined, with 10,000 or more service connections to review and revise their disaster preparedness plans in conjunction with related agencies, including, but not limited to, local fire departments and the Office of Emergency Services to ensure that the plans are sufficient to address possible disaster scenarios. Existing law requires these public water systems to, following a declared state of emergency, furnish an assessment of their emergency response and recommendations to the Legislature within 6 months after each disaster, and to implement the recommendations in a timely manner. Existing law requires the office to establish emergency response and recovery plans in coordination with these public water systems. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Existing law requires the governing entity of the school district or charter school that elects to offer any interscholastic athletic program to ensure that there is a written emergency action plan in place that describes the location of emergency medical equipment and procedures to be followed in the event of sudden cardiac arrest and other medical emergencies, including concussion and heat illness, related to the athletic program's activities or events, as specified. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Existing law requires specified boards, including the Board of Registered Nursing and the Respiratory Care Board of California, to collect certain workforce data from their respective licensees and registrants for future workforce planning at least biennially. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Existing law classifies the parties to crimes as principals and accessories. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.
Existing law creates within the Ocean Protection Council the California Sea Level Rise State and Regional Support Collaborative to provide state and regional information to the public and support to local, regional, and other state agencies for the identification, assessment, planning, and, where feasible, the mitigation of the adverse environmental, social, and economic effects of sea level rise within the coastal zone, as provided. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to this provision.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes them to provide instruction at the campuses they operate and maintain. Existing law requires the governing board of a community college district, before establishing a vocational or occupational training program, to conduct a job market study of the labor market area, as specified. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in the latter provision.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards and other entities within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law establishes procedures for removing from office a member of a board or other licensing entity in the department based on certain conduct by that member. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Existing law, the Teachers' Retirement Law, establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the provision naming that law.
Former law, until July 1, 2023, established the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, with a Special Consideration for African Americans Who are Descendants of Persons Enslaved in the United States. Former law required the task force to, among other things, identify, compile, and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery that existed within the United States and the colonies, as specified, and to recommend the form of compensation that should be awarded, the instrumentalities through which it should be awarded, and who should be eligible for this compensation. This bill would establish the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency as an agency within state government, to be headed by a secretary who is appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation, and would make conforming changes. The bill would specify that the purpose of the agency is to verify a resident's status as an American Freedman, as defined, and create and maintain an accurate database registry of American Freedmen residents. This bill would require the agency to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, implement the provisions of this bill, including establishing, by July 1, 2027, the American Freedmen Genealogy Office within the agency to verify a resident's status as an American Freedmen and establishing the Office of Freedmen Legal Affairs to conduct and manage its legal affairs. The bill would require the secretary, with the assistance of agency staff, to, among other things, develop a mission statement and strategic plan for the agency, and a matrix and metrics of success for the offices of the agency. The bill would require the secretary, commencing on January 1, 2029, to report to the Legislature on a triennial basis on successes and challenges in meeting its goals. This bill would require the Senate and Assembly to annually conduct hearings to review agency performance, investigate issues, and ensure agency accountability. The bill would require the secretary to appear at those hearings. The bill would require, commencing January 1, 2028, and every 3 years thereafter, the agency to submit a report to the Legislature on its activities and performance. The bill would also require, commencing January 1, 2029, and every 5 years thereafter, through the California State Auditor, the Legislature to request performance and financial audits of the agency and make recommendations for improvement or corrective legislation. This bill would prohibit personal information of American Freedmen residents obtained under this act from being shared outside the agency, except as necessary to fulfill the agency's purpose. The bill would also require interagency sharing of personal information about American Freedmen residents to be limited to demographics only, except as necessary to fulfill the agency's purposes. The bill would prohibit the agency from using any agency resources, including, but not limited to, agency funds, personnel, and infrastructure, to directly or indirectly participate or assist in law enforcement activity. Existing law prohibits a state agency, with certain exceptions, from employing any in-house counsel to act on behalf of the state agency or its employees in any judicial or administrative adjudicative proceeding in which the agency is interested, or is a party as a result of office or official duties, or contracting with outside counsel for any purpose. This bill would exempt the agency from those prohibitions. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law establishes the Department of Consumer Affairs within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
