(1) Existing law requires the state to have the primary financial responsibility for preventing and suppressing fires in areas that the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has determined are state responsibility areas. Existing law requires the board to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area. The board is required to adjust the fire prevention fee annually using prescribed methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed. Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to annually transmit to the State Board of Equalization the appropriate names and addresses of persons who are liable for the fire prevention fee and the amount of the fire prevention fee to be assessed by the State Board of Equalization. Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and requires the fire prevention fees collected, except that portion retained by the State Board of Equalization, to be deposited into the fund and to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified fire prevention activities, which would benefit the owners of structures in state responsibility areas who are subject to the fire prevention fee, including, but not limited to, covering startup costs, and for the costs of administration, as specified. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to retain and expend, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the funds necessary to pay refunds and for its expenses incurred in collection. Existing law permits a person from whom a fire prevention fee is determined to be due to use an appeals process and, if applicable, a refund process. This bill would repeal the above provisions. (2) The bill would provide that its provisions take effect only upon the enactment of AB 1500 of the 2011–12 Regular Session. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Provisions of law that became inoperative on July 1, 2003, and that were repealed on January 1, 2004, established the Governor's Scholarship Programs under the administration of the Scholarshare Investment Board. Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature to provide explicit authority to the board to continue to administer accounts for, and to make awards to, persons who qualified for awards under the provisions of the Governor's Scholarship Programs as those provisions existed on January 1, 2003, and to provide for the management and disbursement of funds previously set aside for the Governor's Scholarship Programs. Existing law provides that the amount remaining in the Golden State Scholarshare Trust following a specified transfer is available as a reserve for funding claims for awards. Existing law additionally states the intent of the Legislature to provide a guarantee should additional funds be needed to cover awards authorized and made pursuant to the program. Existing law also requires the board to negotiate with the current manager of the program to execute an amended or new management and funding agreement, which would be required to include specified terms, including, but not limited to, terms that provide for the return to the General Fund of specified moneys appropriated to the Governor's Scholarship Programs. Of those funds transferred to the General Fund, this bill would appropriate $5,000,000 to the Chancellor of the California State University, without regard to fiscal years, to fund specified purposes relating to open education resources pursuant to legislation enacted in the 2011—12 Regular Session of the Legislature. The bill would prohibit all, or a portion, of that $5,000,000 from being encumbered unless at least 100% of that amount encumbered is matched by private funds, and would require the amount of the $5,000,000 that is not matched by private funds to revert to the Golden State Scholarshare Trust for purposes of the Governor's Scholarship Programs. (2) Existing law makes the vote by mail ballot available to any registered voter. Existing law requires that those vote by mail ballots be received by the elections officials from whom they were obtained or by the precinct boards before the polls close on election day in order to be counted. Existing law authorizes certain local, special, or consolidated elections to be conducted wholly by mail, so long as specified conditions are satisfied. Existing law requires ballots cast in these vote by mail elections to be returned to the elections official from whom they were obtained no later than 8 p.m. on election day. This bill would, notwithstanding the above provisions, provide that any vote by mail ballot is timely cast if it is received by the voter's elections official no later than 3 days after election day, and either the ballot is postmarked on or before election day or the voter has executed a declaration under penalty of perjury stating that the ballot was voted and mailed prior to 8 p.m. on election day. Because the bill would expand the duties of local elections officials, it would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the elections official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 28 days of the election, except for specified elections. This bill would instead require the elections official to submit the certified statement of the results of the election to the governing body within 31 days of the election. (4) 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
The Budget Act of 2012 made appropriations for the support of state government for the 2012–13 fiscal year. This bill would amend the Budget Act of 2012 by revising an item of appropriation relating to the California State Library. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a Budget Bill.
Existing law, the Contractors' State License Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of contractors by the Contractors' State License Board. Under existing law, the installation of a fire protection system is required to be performed by a contractor holding a fire protection contractor classification or by a specified owner-builder if certain requirements are met. This bill would authorize the installation of a residential fire protection system for new construction of single-family or 2-family dwellings to be performed by a contractor holding a fire protection contractor classification, a general building contractor, or a plumbing contractor. Existing law requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to be administered by the State Fire Marshal. Existing law authorizes the State Fire Marshal to adopt regulations in specified circumstances and requires the State Fire Marshal to aid in the enforcement of building standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal and published in the State Building Standards Code relating to fires or to fire prevention and protection. This bill would provide the State Fire Marshal with the authority to adopt and administer the regulations and building standards, for all occupancy buildings, that he or she deems necessary in order to ensure fire safety in buildings and structures and would specify that those building standards are subject to certain requirements.
Existing law establishes the Seismic Safety Commission to perform specified duties relating to earthquake hazard reduction and other seismic safety issues. Existing law also provides for the Seismic Safety Account within the Insurance Fund. Money in the account may be appropriated by the Legislature to fund the Seismic Safety Commission and certain administrative costs incurred by the Department of Insurance. Existing law provides for assessments levied against certain insurers to be deposited in the Seismic Safety Account. Under existing law, the provisions establishing the Seismic Safety Account and authorizing these assessments expire on July 1, 2012. This bill would require the department, instead, to calculate an annual assessment to be charged to each commercial and residential property exposure in an amount set annually by the department based on specified factors, including the amount required for the support of the Seismic Safety Commission and the collection and administrative costs of the department, not to exceed $0.15 per property exposure. The bill would require the insurer to collect the assessment and remit it to the department unless the insurer elects to pay the assessment on the insured's behalf. The bill would extend the operation of these provisions indefinitely. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Game to enter into contracts for fish and wildlife habitat preservation, restoration, and enhancement with public and private entities whenever the department finds that the contracts will assist in meeting the department's duty to preserve, protect, and restore fish and wildlife. Former law, repealed by its own provisions on January 1, 2011, adopted and authorized a fisheries management program described in the Kings River Fisheries Management Program Framework Agreement. That former law authorized the department to contribute up to 50% of any capital costs incurred by local agencies for the recreation and fish and wildlife features of the program. This bill would reenact those provisions, to be operative indefinitely, and would require that expenditures made pursuant to those provisions only be funded, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from moneys that are not from a General Fund or general obligation bond source.
Under the Public Utilities Act (the act) , the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The act requires the commission to review and adopt a procurement plan for each electrical corporation in accordance with specified elements, incentive mechanisms, and objectives. The act requires that an electrical corporation's proposed procurement plan include certain elements, including a showing that the electrical corporation will first meet its unmet needs through all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to identify all potentially achievable cost‑effective electricity efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would require an electrical corporation, as defined, as part of the above-described energy efficiency targets, to replace with high-efficiency light bulbs up to 100 low-efficiency light bulbs in any street light poles, as defined, that the electrical corporation owns, at the same rate as the city, county, or city and county in which any of the electrical corporation's street light poles are located. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that this program be funded through existing collection mechanisms, and that the implementation of this program not result in an increase in any amount collected. This bill would also require an electrical corporation, for purposes of the state's investment in cost-effective energy efficiency programs and energy efficiency targets, to post on its Internet Web site specified information related to the electrical corporation's energy efficiency programs, including a description of the programs and their costs and benefits, the sources of funding, expenditures and investments, and eligibility information. By placing new requirements on electrical corporations, this bill would expand the definition of a crime and therefore create 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 provides that the county boards of supervisors may establish and maintain, within their respective counties, county free libraries pursuant to specified provisions of law. Existing law provides that the board of trustees, common council, or other legislative body of any city or the board of trustees of any library district may, on or before January 1 of any year, notify the county board of supervisors that the city or library district no longer desires to be a part of the county free library system, as specified. Existing law imposes specified requirements on the board of trustees, common council, or other legislative body of a city or the board of trustees of a library district that intends to withdraw from the county free library system and operate the city's or library district's library or libraries with a private contractor that will employ library staff to achieve cost savings, subject to specified exceptions. These requirements, until January 1, 2019, include, but are not limited to, clearly demonstrating that the contract will result in actual overall cost savings to the city or library district for the duration of the entire contract, and prohibiting the contract from causing existing city or library district employees to incur a loss of employment or specified benefits or an involuntary transfer. This bill would instead provide, until January 1, 2019, that a board of trustees, common council, or other legislative body of a city or the board of trustees of a library district in which a withdrawal from the county free library system becomes effective on or after January 1, 2012, shall comply with the above-described requirements before entering into a contract to operate the city's or library district's library or libraries with a private contractor that will employ library staff to achieve cost savings. The bill would make conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2014, implement various provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) (Public Law 111-148) , as amended, by, among other things, modifying provisions relating to determining eligibility for certain eligibility groups. The bill would, in this regard, extend Medi-Cal eligibility to specified adults and would require that income eligibility be determined based on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) , as prescribed. The bill would prohibit the use of an asset or resources test for individuals whose financial eligibility for Medi-Cal is determined based on the application of MAGI. The bill would also add, commencing January 1, 2014, benefits, services, and coverage included in the essential health benefits package, as adopted by the state and approved by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the schedule of Medi-Cal benefits. Because counties are required to make Medi-Cal eligibility determinations and this bill would expand Medi-Cal eligibility, the 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Existing law prohibits state and local agencies from negotiating life and disability insurance or requiring the placing of that insurance through particular agents, brokers, or companies, except to the extent that the state has a direct financial interest in the subject of the insurance, as specified. Existing law excepts from these provisions a tax-sheltered annuity under an annuity plan that meets the requirements of Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code to be placed or purchased for an employee, as specified. Existing law requires an annuity contract and custodial account as described in Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code to be offered to all employees of any state agency who are members of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, any employee of a local public agency or political subdivision of the state that employs persons to perform creditable service subject to coverage by the plan, and eligible state employees of a state employer under the uniform state payroll system, excluding the California State University System. The Teachers' Retirement Law provides a registration process for information relating to tax-deferred retirement investment products. This bill, until January 1, 2018, would authorize a pilot project that would allow the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles Community College District to select specific 403(b) products offered by 4 or more vendors of tax-deferred retirement investment products described in Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code or establish a list of preferred vendors that are recommended to employees, through a due diligence and competitive review process, as specified. The bill would make a related statement of legislative intent.
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. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. One of the methods by which these services are provided is pursuant to contracts with various types of managed care health plans, including through a county organized health system. Existing law authorizes the Director of Health Care Services to enter into contracts with one or more managed health care plans to provide a comprehensive program of managed health care services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries residing in specified counties. This bill would require specified counties to be annexed to the closest, contiguous county organized health system, upon approval of the county and the county organized health system.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to prepare and adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan, and requires the general plan to include specified, mandatory elements, including a housing element. That law requires the housing element, in turn, to contain, among other items, an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. This bill would revise references to redevelopment agencies within these provisions to instead be to successor housing agencies.
