Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in consultation with transportation planning agencies, county transportation commissions, counties, and cities, to carry out long-term state highway planning. Existing law authorizes the department, to the extent that it does not jeopardize the delivery of projects in the adopted state transportation improvement program, to prepare a project studies report for capacity-increasing state highway projects. Existing law requires the department to review and approve project studies reports performed by an entity other than the department. Existing law authorizes a local entity to request the department to prepare a project studies report for a capacity-increasing state highway project that is being proposed for inclusion in a future state transportation improvement program. If the department determines that it cannot complete the report in a timely fashion, existing law authorizes the requesting entity to prepare the report. Existing law makes specified guidelines adopted by the California Transportation Commission applicable to project studies reports commenced after October 1, 1991. This bill would revise these provisions to authorize the department to prepare project study reports or equivalent planning documents for any projects on the state highway system, limited by the resources available to the department. The bill would require the department to pay for the costs of its review and approval of project study reports or equivalent planning documents that are prepared by other entities for projects that are in an adopted regional transportation plan, a voter-approved county sales tax measure expenditure plan, or other voter-approved transportation program. In other cases, the bill would require the cost of the department's review and approval to be paid by the entity preparing the project study report or equivalent planning document. The bill would delete the provisions relating to the guidelines adopted by the California Transportation Commission and would instead require open and continuous communications between the parties during the development of project study reports or equivalent planning documents. The bill would make other related changes.
Under existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, the Emergency Medical Services Authority is responsible for establishing minimum standards and promulgating regulations for the training and scope of practice for an emergency medical technicians-paramedic (EMT-P) who is licensed under the act. Existing law provides that the Emergency Medical Services Authority may deny, suspend, or revoke licenses issued under these provisions, or may place a licenseholder on probation, upon the occurrence of any of specified events. Existing law also authorizes the director of the authority and the medical director of a local emergency medical service (EMS) agency to temporarily suspend a license upon a determination that specified conditions have been met. This bill would revise the procedures and requirements for discipline of an EMT-P to require, among other things, certain determinations by the authority or an investigation by the EMT-P employer, as specified, and a determination of disciplinary cause, before the authority may deny, suspend, or revoke a license. This bill would permit only an employer with physician oversight, including by contract, to conduct an investigation. The bill would authorize the medical director of a local EMS agency to refer information regarding conduct that appears to constitute disciplinary cause to the authority and the EMT-P's employer, as specified. The bill would further require, in specified instances, if an EMT-P is unemployed, that the authority conduct an investigation and take disciplinary action, as necessary. By imposing new duties upon local officials, this bill would 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, 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 requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Under existing law, with certain exceptions, every individual, as a condition of eligibility for aid under the CalWORKs program, is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Under existing law, the activities in which a recipient may engage include various education and vocational training activities, as described, including English as a second language education. Certain of these activities are defined as core welfare-to-work activities, in which an adult recipient is required to participate for at least 20 hours each week. This bill would include as a core welfare-to-work activity English as a second language education, as specified.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2016, would allow a credit equal to a certain percentage of a contribution to the Higher Education Investment Tax Credit Program Special Fund, established by this bill, for the General Fund and specified education purposes, as provided. This bill would specify that the aggregate amount of credit that may be allocated under both laws shall not exceed $100,000,000 for each calendar year, and would require the California Educational Facilities Authority to perform certain duties with regard to allocating and certifying the tax credits allowed under these provisions. This bill would become operative only if SB 1466 of the 2011–12 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2013.
Existing law, until January 1, 2013, requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store and prohibits a city, county, or other local public agency from taking specified regulatory actions with regard to the recycling of plastic carryout bags. With specified exceptions, the bill would, as of January 1, 2014, prohibit stores that have a specified amount of dollar sales or retail floor space from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer. The bill would require these stores to meet other specified requirements regarding providing recycled paper bags, compostable bags, or reusable bags to customers. The bill would also require these stores, on and after January 1, 2013, to provide a plastic bag collection bin for their customers, for the purpose of collecting and recycling single-use plastic bags and reusable bags. The bill would, on and after July 1, 2015, additionally impose these prohibitions and requirements on convenience food stores, foodmarts, and certain other specified stores, except for the requirement to provide plastic bag collection bins. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2015, require a reusable grocery bag producer to submit to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery a biennial certification, including a certification fee established by the department, that certifies that each type of reusable grocery bag that is imported, manufactured, sold, or distributed in the state and provided to a store for sale or distribution meets specified requirements. The bill would require the department to deposit the certification fees into the Reusable Bag Account, which would be established by the bill in the Integrated Waste Management Fund. The bill would require that moneys in the account be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement the certification requirements. A violation of these certification requirements would be subject to an administrative civil penalty assessed by the department. The department would be required to deposit these penalties into the Penalty Subaccount, which the bill would create in the Reusable Bag Account, for expenditure by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement the certification requirements. The bill would require the department, by January 1, 2016, to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the implementation of the bill's provisions. The bill would repeal this report requirement on January 1, 2017. The bill would allow a city, county, or city and county, or the state to impose civil penalties for a violation of the bill's requirements, except for the certification requirements. The bill would require these civil penalties to be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought the action, and would allow the penalties collected by the Attorney General to be expended by the Attorney General, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the bill's provisions.
Existing law, the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) , under the administration of the State Department of Public Health, provides for the issuance of nutrition coupons, as defined, to certain low-income women, infants, and children who have been determined to be at nutritional risk. Existing law authorizes the department to design, implement, and fund an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for WIC. Existing law requires the department to develop a plan to determine the feasibility of implementing an EBT system for WIC by January 1, 2003, and to report its findings to the Legislature by July 1, 2003. This bill would require the department to provide to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst's Office, and the office of the State Chief Information Officer, 2 briefings per year, provided within 30 days of the close of the first and third quarter of each year and with the first quarter commencing on January 1, 2013, on the development of the EBT system, until the system is fully operational. This bill would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2023.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law provides that the willful violation of provisions regulating health care service plans is a crime. Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of health insurers by the Insurance Commissioner. Existing law requires health care service plans and health insurers to provide certain benefits, but generally does not require plans and insurers to cover prescription drugs. Existing law imposes various requirements on plans and insurers if they offer coverage for prescription drugs. Existing law, with respect to health care service plans, authorizes a plan to file information with the department to seek the approval of, among other things, a copayment, deductible, or exclusion to a plan's prescription drug benefit and specifies that an approved exclusion shall not be subject to review through the independent medical review process on the grounds of medical necessity. Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commencing January 1, 2014, imposes an annual limitation on cost sharing incurred under a health plan that shall not exceed a specified amount. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2014, require a health care service plan contract and a health insurance policy, except for a specialized plan or policy, to provide for a limit on annual out-of-pocket expenses for certain covered benefits, except as specified, and would provide that this limit shall not exceed that federal limit. The bill would also provide, commencing January 1, 2014, that these provisions shall not be construed to affect the reduction in cost sharing for eligible insureds described in federal law. Existing law provides that the obligation of a plan to comply with specified standards is not waived when the plan delegates any services that it is required to perform to its medical groups, independent practice associations, or other contracting entities. This bill would apply those provisions regarding waiver to the obligation of a plan to comply with the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, rather than to the obligation of the plan to comply with specified standards. Because this bill would impose new requirements on health care service plans, the willful violation of which would be a crime, it would thereby 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 establishes the Department of Personnel Administration for purposes of managing the nonmerit aspects of the state's personnel system. Existing law also requires the Department of Personnel Administration to establish and adjust salary ranges for each class of position in the state civil service, subject to specified merit limits and except as specified. Existing law requires the salary range to be based on the principle that like salaries shall be paid for comparable duties and responsibilities. The 2011 Governor's Reorganization Plan for state human resources functions abolishes the Department of Personnel Administration, and transfers the functions and duties performed by the Department of Personnel Administration to the Department of Human Resources. This bill would require the Department of Human Resources to address salary compaction and parity concerns. The bill would also require, when it is determined that revenues do not allow the department to implement a salary determination to increase any excluded and exempt employee salaries in a given year, the department to provide to the Legislature existing data on the salary determination, including all salary compaction and parity determinations for supervisory and managerial employees.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to implement a program to provide financial assistance for energy efficiency projects. This bill would enact the Nonresidential Building Energy Retrofit Financing Act of 2012 and would require the commission to establish the Nonresidential Building Energy Retrofit Financing Program and to hire a third-party administrator by July 1, 2013, to develop and operate the program to provide financial assistance, through authorizing the issuance of, among other things, revenue bonds, to owners of eligible nonresidential buildings for implementing energy improvements for their properties. The bill would provide that the bonds are secured by the recording of an energy remittance repayment agreement, as defined, on the deed of the property for which the improvements are performed. The bill would require the State Board of Equalization to collect installment payments from owners of eligible properties whose applications have been approved by the commission. This bill would require the commission to meet for the purpose of approving applicants to participate in the program. The bill would authorize the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, on behalf of the commission, to issue and renew the negotiable revenue bonds to generate moneys to finance energy improvements for approved applicants. This bill would establish the Nonresidential Building Energy Retrofit Debt Servicing Fund, the Loan Loss Reserve Account, and the Administration Account within the fund. The bill would require the State Board of Equalization to deposit the installment payment received from the owners of eligible buildings into the fund and the fees collected into the specified accounts. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund and the accounts to repay the principal and interest on the bonds, and to cover the administrative costs incurred by the authority, the commission, and the State Board of Equalization, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the Director of Finance to transfer, as a loan, up to $1,000,000, to the authority, and up to $7,000,000, to the commission, from the General Fund for the purposes of implementing the program. The bill would require the loans to be repaid on or before January 1, 2023. Existing law establishes incentives in the form of grants and loans to low-income residents, small businesses, and residential property owners for constructing and retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient. The bill would also require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to analyze and evaluate standards for nonresidential energy building.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to maintain a dental program that includes, but is not limited to, development of comprehensive dental health plans within the framework of a specified state plan. This bill would make these provisions inoperative for a specified period of time upon the creation of a Statewide Office of Oral Health within the State Department of Public Health with a licensed dentist who serves as the dental director. The bill would provide that the office would be established only upon receipt of sufficient funds, as specified, for the purposes of performing various duties relating to the oversight of dental care in California. This bill would prohibit General Fund moneys from being used to implement the provisions creating the office. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2017, the dental director or, in the absence of a dental director, the Secretary of California Health and Human Services or his or her designee to provide administrative oversight with respect to a specified study conducted under described circumstances.
Existing law requires the Department of General Services to make available a report on state agency contracting activity containing certain information. This bill would require the Department of General Services, beginning in the year 2013, to include in that report the list of activities that each state agency used to inform small businesses of each of the existing preferences available under state law, and the total number of preferences used in bidding packages by each state agency for the year.
The Charter Schools Act of 1992 permits teachers and parents to petition the governing board of a school district to approve a charter school to operate independently from the existing school district structure as a method of accomplishing, among other things, improved pupil learning. Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from denying a petition for the establishment of a charter school unless the governing board finds that the petition does not contain specified information, including, among other information, the qualifications to be met by individuals to be employed by the school and a declaration whether or not the charter school will be deemed the exclusive public school employer of the employees of the charter school for purposes of laws governing collective bargaining. This bill would require a petition for the establishment of a charter school, except specified charter schools, to include a description of the personnel policies and procedures of the charter school, including, but not limited to, those related to jury duty, vacations, holidays, employee discipline, and leave for pregnancy, bereavement, and illness.
