Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations to adopt occupational health and safety standards to protect the welfare of employees. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health enforces occupational safety and health standards and orders. Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, within the California Health and Human Services Agency, and vests the department with certain duties, powers, functions, jurisdiction, and responsibilities over specified public health programs. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs, among other things, the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations, including emergency regulations, by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. This bill would require the Division of Occupational Safety and Health or the State Department of Public Health, within 14 calendar days of the release of a federal recommendation that conflicts with an emergency regulation related to COVID-19 issued by the division or the department, to review the conflicting emergency regulation and make a determination to either amend the regulation or submit a report to the Legislature on the decision not to amend the regulation, as specified. The bill would require the division or department, before determining whether to amend the emergency regulation, to provide public notice and an opportunity for public comment. The bill would repeal these provisions 90 days after the termination of the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic declared by the Governor. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that the lead agency proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA. Under existing law, a lead agency's decision to adopt a negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration is reviewed by the courts under the fair argument standard while the lead agency's decision to certify an EIR is reviewed under the substantial evidence standard. This bill would authorize the Governor to certify a new hospital project or hospital expansion or modernization project as an environmental leadership hospital project if the project meets certain requirements. The bill would require the project applicant to certify compliance with certain labor standards in regards to the implementation of the project. The bill would require the lead agency to concurrently prepare the record of proceedings for a project certified by the Governor, as applicable. By requiring the concurrent preparation of the record of proceedings, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would specify that the review of a lead agency's decision to adopt or certify an environmental review document, as defined, for a certified project is the substantial evidence standard. The bill would provide that, if the lead agency fails to adopt or certify an environmental review document on or before June 1, 2028, for a certified project, the provisions of the bill do not apply to that project. The provisions of the bill would be repealed by their own terms on January 1, 2029. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including clinical laboratory or laboratory services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law requires the department to develop, subject to federal approval, reimbursement rates for clinical or laboratory services according to specified standards, such as requiring that reimbursement to providers for those services not exceed the lowest of enumerated criteria, including 80% of the lowest maximum allowance established by the federal Medicare Program for the same or similar services. This bill would delete provisions relating to the above-specified 80% standard and would make conforming changes.
Existing law authorizes the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to establish a hospital authority for the purpose of effecting a transfer of the management, administration, and control of the Alameda Health System. A hospital authority established pursuant to this authorization is a legal entity separate and apart from the county. Existing law specifies that a hospital authority established pursuant to these provisions, but that does not obtain the administration, management, and control of the medical center or has those duties and responsibilities revoked by the board of supervisors, is not empowered with the powers provided to an independent hospital authority, as specified. This bill would prohibit the existence of up to 3 county employees who were appointed by the board of supervisors simultaneously serving on the governing board of the hospital authority from being a basis to determine that the hospital authority is not an independent entity or that the hospital authority has not obtained the administration, management, and control of the medical center. The bill would also make technical changes to these provisions.
Under existing law, the California Horse Racing Board has all powers necessary to carry out the purposes of the Horse Racing Law, such as adopting rules and regulations to protect the public, allocating dates for, and controlling, horse racing and parimutuel wagering, and enforcing all rules and regulations. Existing law requires that, whenever a fair conducts a program of horse races on which there is parimutuel wagering, the fair, so far as practicable, provide a program of racing that includes thoroughbred racing, quarter horse racing, Arabian racing, and Appaloosa racing, if sufficient number of horses are available to provide competition in one or more races. Under existing law, parimutuel wagering may be conducted on barrel races, show jumping races, and steeplechase races at any public or private facility that has been approved and licensed by the board. This bill would require that, whenever a fair conducts a program of horse races on which there is parimutuel wagering, the fair, so far as practicable, provide a program of racing that includes, in addition to the types of racing included under existing law, steeplechase racing, barrel racing, and show jumping racing.
The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Bagley-Keene Act) , requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body, as defined, be open and public, and all persons be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body, except as provided. The Bagley-Keene Act, among other things, requires a state body that elects to conduct a meeting or proceeding by teleconference to post agendas at all teleconference locations, to identify each teleconference location in the notice and agenda, and to make each teleconference location accessible to the public. The Bagley-Keene Act requires the agenda to provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the state body directly at each teleconference location, as specified. The Bagley-Keene Act requires at least one member of the state body to be physically present at the location specified in the notice of the meeting. This bill, whenever a state educational entity holds a meeting involving stakeholder input on educational matters in the state, would require the state educational entity, in addition to any applicable requirement under the Bagley-Keene Act, to make the meeting accessible electronically online to all members of the public seeking to attend, ensure the opportunity for the members of the public participating electronically to comment on agenda items in the same manner as a person attending the meeting in person, provide online access to the agenda and any resource materials that are being provided to the members of the state educational entity for the meeting, and provide a listing of the scheduled meetings on the state educational entity's internet website with links to access the meeting and to the agenda and resource materials for the meeting. The bill would define "state educational entity" for these purposes to mean the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or a state advisory board, committee, commission, or task force established under certain statutory provisions.
Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency, in collaboration with the Ocean Protection Council, to create, and update biannually, a Planning for Sea Level Rise Database describing steps being taken throughout the state to prepare for, and adapt to, sea level rise. This bill would establish the Climate Adaptation Center and Regional Support Network in the Ocean Protection Council to provide local governments facing sea level rise challenges with information and scientific expertise necessary to proceed with sea level rise mitigation.
Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes, including an exemption for the sale of, or the storage, use, or consumption of, any container used to collect or store human whole blood, plasma, blood products, or blood derivatives. This bill, on and after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2028, would exempt the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, any reagents or chemicals, and lab equipment and supplies, used by a licensed nonhospital blood bank to perform blood screening tests on donated human blood. Existing law requires a bill that would authorize a new tax expenditure under the Sales and Use Tax Law to identify specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, and detailed performance indicators and data collection requirements for determining whether the tax expenditure achieves these goals, purposes, and objectives. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law defines the crime of burglary to include entering a vehicle when the doors are locked with the intent to commit grand or petit larceny or a felony. Existing law makes the burglary of a vehicle punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. This bill would make forcibly entering a vehicle, as defined, with the intent to commit a theft therein a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year or imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires that all meetings of a state body, as defined, be open and public, and that all persons be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body, except as otherwise provided in that act. Existing law requires the state body to provide notice of its meeting, including specified information and a specific agenda of the meeting, as provided, to any person who requests that notice in writing and to make that notice available on the internet at least 10 days in advance of the meeting. This bill would require that notice to include all writings or materials provided for the noticed meeting to a member of the state body by the staff of a state agency, board, or commission, or another member of the state body that are in connection with a matter subject to discussion or consideration at the meeting. The bill would require those writings or materials to be made available on the state body's internet website, and to any person who requests the writings or materials in writing, on the same day as the dissemination of the writings and materials to members of the state body or at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting, whichever is earlier. The bill would prohibit a state body from discussing those writings or materials, or from taking action on an item to which those writings or materials pertain, at a meeting of the state body unless the state body has complied with these provisions.
Existing law specifies the requirements for actions for construction defects. Existing law includes a statute of limitations that, except as specified, prohibits an action from being brought to recover under these provisions more than 10 years after substantial completion of the improvement but no later than the date the notice of completion is recorded. This bill, notwithstanding that 10-year limitation period, would shorten the timeframe in which specified actions against a nonprofit housing corporation, as defined, may be brought for underlying construction projects, as defined, using a certified skilled and trained workforce, as defined, to no more than 5 years after substantial completion of the improvement but no later than the date the notice of completion is recorded.
Existing law requires that all license fees from satellite wagering that are deposited in the Fair and Exposition Fund be deposited in a separate account in the fund for specified purposes, including for health and safety repair projects at fairs, which includes fire and life safety improvement projects, California Code of Regulations compliance projects, and long-term deferred maintenance projects. Under existing law, all revenues transferred to this account are continuously appropriated from that account to the Department of Food and Agriculture, for allocation by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, at the secretary's discretion, for those specified purposes. This bill would instead require that funds appropriated or designated for California fairs and expositions be first deposited in a separate account in the Fair and Exposition Fund designated by the bill as the Special Trust Account for the Rebuilding and Renewal of Fairs, and continuously appropriated from that account to the Department of Food and Agriculture, for allocation by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. The bill would delete a provision requiring certain allocations from the fund be made with the concurrence of the Joint Committee on Fairs Allocation and Classification. The bill would specify that, with the concurrence of the Director of Finance, moneys from the fund could be additionally used for constructing or acquiring capital improvements at fairgrounds and for emergency services projects. The bill would also specify that these moneys could be used for expenses incurred in developing and operating revenue generating projects at fairgrounds, as specified. The bill would provide for the allocation of funds in excess of $11,000,000 that are deposited in the separate account in any fiscal year. Because the bill would add a new source of funds to a continuously appropriated fund, as well as add to the purposes for which moneys deposited in that fund may be expended, the bill would make an appropriation.
