(1) The Child Care and Development Services Act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child care and development programs that provide a full range of services for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age. Existing law requires a child care resource and referral program, as defined, to publicize its services through all available media sources, agencies, and other appropriate methods. This bill would require a child care resource and referral program to include in the publicity a statement regarding the state's special interest in enrolling children placed by a child welfare agency with a relative or foster parent, children served by a child welfare agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child protective services court case, and children who are dependents of a parent with an open dependency court case, in programs that are operated by licensed child care providers or local educational agencies. (2) Existing law requires an applicant or contracting agency, as defined, of a California state preschool program to give priority to children who meet certain criteria, including children who are recipients of child protective services. This bill would require an applicant or contracting agency to also give first priority enrollment to children placed by a child welfare agency with a relative or foster parent, children served by a child welfare agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child protective services court case, and children who are dependents of a parent with an open dependency court case. The bill would require these priority enrollments to be considered along with the first priority and other priority enrollments for federal and state subsidized child development services administered by the Superintendent, as specified. This bill would require general child care and development programs to include priority enrollment, when slots become available in programs operated by licensed child care providers or local educational agencies, for children from birth to 5 years of age who are supervised by the child welfare system, have an open dependency or voluntary child protective services court case, or are dependents of a parent with an open dependency court case. The bill would require these priority enrollments to be considered along with the first priority and other priority enrollments for federal and state subsidized child development services administered by the Superintendent, as specified. This bill would revise eligibility requirements for federal and state subsidized child development services administered by the Superintendent to include children placed by a child welfare agency with a relative or foster parent, children served by a child welfare agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child protective services court case, and children who are dependents of a parent with an open dependency court case. The bill would require, among other things, that first priority enrollment for these services be given to neglected or abused children from birth to 5 years of age who are recipients of child protective services, or who are at risk of being neglected, abused, or exploited, upon written referral from a legal, medical, or social services agency who meet specified criteria. (3) Existing law requires a local planning council to annually submit local priorities that reflect child care needs in the county to the State Department of Education, and requires a local planning council to conduct an assessment of the child care needs that includes specified factors. This bill would include among those factors the child care needs of children placed by a child welfare agency with a relative or foster parent, children served by a child welfare agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child protective services court case, and children who are dependents of a parent with an open dependency court case. (4) This bill would also express the Legislature's intent that the highest priority for enrollment in child care and development programs be given to children with the greatest need to benefit from those programs. (5) Existing law defines certain terms for purposes of the Child Care and Development Services Act, including the term "underserved area," to mean specified areas where the ratio of publicly subsidized child care and development program services to the need for these services is low, as determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. This bill would revise the term "underserved area" to also include the specified areas where the overall number of eligible children without access to publicly subsidized child care and development program services is high, as determined by the Superintendent. (6) This bill would appropriate $1,000 to the State Department of Education for allocation for purposes of the above provisions. (7) To the extent that the funds appropriated by this bill are allocated to a school district or a community college district, those funds would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
The Toxics in Packaging Prevention Act generally prohibits a manufacturer or supplier from offering for sale or for promotional purposes in this state a package or packaging component that includes intentionally introduced lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium in the package or in a packaging component. The act exempted from this prohibition, until January 1, 2010, a package or a packaging component if the manufacturer or supplier complied with specific documentation requirements and the package or packaging component did not contain any intentionally introduced lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium, but exceeded a specific maximum concentration level because of the addition of a recycled material. This bill would provide a similar exemption, until January 1, 2019, for a glass beverage, food, or drink container. The bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to evaluate the packaging of glass beverage, food, and drink containers, as specified, to determine if lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium is present in glass beverage, food, or drink containers sold in California. If the department determines that these metals are present, the bill would require the department to also evaluate whether and under what circumstances those metals can leach from the glass containers into the food or beverage and whether the presence of the metals in the glass containers presents a risk to human health and the environment. The bill would authorize the department to request any information and collect any samples necessary for the evaluations from glass manufacturers or feedstock or raw material suppliers in the state that are subject to the act, and would require the department to provide the results of the evaluations to the Legislature by January 1, 2018. The bill would authorize the department to adopt regulations, pursuant to existing authority, based on these evaluations. The bill would authorize the department to seek reimbursement from the glass manufacturers and feedstock and raw material suppliers to cover the reasonable costs directly related to collecting glass samples, reviewing and processing those samples, analyzing the samples, disseminating certain information, and implementing any regulations that are developed as a result of the evaluations. The bill would delete obsolete provisions and would make conforming changes.
(1) Existing law enumerates the officers of a county, including the office of the auditor, prescribes their duties, and permits a county board of supervisors to consolidate, separate, and reconsolidate their duties, as specified. Existing law requires the board of supervisors, at least biennially, to audit county financial accounts and records of all county officers responsible for the care, management, collection, or disbursement of county money, as specified. Existing law requires the board of supervisors to supervise the official conduct of all county officers, particularly with regard to the functions and duties of these county officers as they relate to the assessing, collecting, safekeeping, management, or disbursement of public funds. This bill would require, in any county with both an elected auditor-controller and a population exceeding 3,000,000 people, that the auditor-controller, and not the board of supervisors, examine and audit, or cause to be audited, the financial accounts and records of all officers having responsibility for the care, management, collection, or disbursement of county money, as described above. The bill would require this audit to be filed with the board of supervisors. The bill would require, in any county with both an elected auditor-controller and a population exceeding 3,000,000 people, that the authority of the board of supervisors to supervise the official conduct of county officers not be construed to affect the independent auditing and accounting functions of the auditor-controller. By increasing the duties of local officials in a county with the above-described characteristics, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law generally prescribes the duties of the county auditor. Existing law requires the county auditor or auditor-controller, as specified, to be the chief accounting officer of the county. Upon order of the board of supervisors, existing law requires the auditor or auditor-controller to prescribe the accounting forms and methods of all offices under the control of the board of supervisors and to supervise generally practices in those offices, which includes the ability to review departmental and countywide internal controls. This bill would require a county auditor or auditor-controller also to be the chief auditor of the county. The bill would grant the auditor or auditor-controller, as part of its supervisory powers, the authority to audit, rather than review, departmental and countywide internal controls. The bill would require, in reference to the duties of auditors, that the term "county auditor" include certain county offices that have been consolidated. The bill would prescribe requirements for the head of a county auditing unit. The bill would prohibit a board of supervisors from creating or operating a separate auditing unit outside of the county auditor, except if the separate auditing unit was established before 1981, and would prohibit the board from transferring any auditing unit away from the county auditor. By increasing the duties of local officials in a county with the above-described characteristics, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law authorizes a county auditor or controller to establish and maintain a whistleblower hotline for receiving information regarding fraud, waste, or abuse by local government employees, subject to certain requirements. This bill would require, in a county with an elected auditor-controller and a population exceeding 3,000,000, that the county auditor-controller be the sole county officer with the authority to maintain a whistleblower hotline, as described above. By increasing the duties of local officials in a county with the above-described characteristics, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes tax-defaulted property to be redeemed until the right of redemption terminates. Existing law requires the audit of a tax collector's records and accounts related to redemption of tax-defaulted property at least once every 3 years. This bill would require, in a county with an elected auditor-controller and a population exceeding 3,000,000 people, that the auditor-controller either conduct the audit described above or retain the services of an independent certified public accountant or licensed public accountant to perform the audit, in accordance with specified standards. By increasing the duties of local officials in a county with the above-described characteristics, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) 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.
(1) Existing law requires the operator of a disposal facility to pay to the State Board of Equalization a fee based on the amount of all solid waste disposed of at each disposal site. The act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to establish the amount of the fee, as specified, and limits the fee to a maximum of $1.40 per ton. Existing law requires the moneys collected from the fee to be deposited in the Integrated Waste Management Account and to be used by the department, upon appropriation, for specified purposes. This bill would raise the fee imposed on an operator of a disposal facility to $4 per ton commencing January 1, 2017. The bill would require a minimum of $1.50 per ton of the fee collected from each operator, until January 1, 2022, and would authorize some or all of the fee collected thereafter, to be allocated to activities that promote recycling and the highest and best use of materials, as specified. This bill additionally would require the department, commencing January 1, 2019, to establish, as provided, and impose a charge on all solid waste generators to be collected by a city, county, or city and county and remitted to the state board, as specified. The bill would, until January 1, 2022, authorize the department to allocate a portion of the moneys collected to fund activities that promote recycling and the highest and best use of materials, as specified. By adding to the duties of local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law required the State Board of Education to adopt statewide academic content standards in the core curriculum areas of reading, writing, and mathematics, and requires the Academic Content Standards Commission to develop academic content standards in language arts and mathematics. Existing law also authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to recommend, and for the state board to approve, modifications to the common core academic content standards in mathematics, as specified. This bill would require the Superintendent, by January 1, 2017, to recommend to the state board a schedule for the regular update of academic content standards in all subjects for which standards have been adopted by the state board in accordance with specified procedures, including the establishment of academic content standards advisory committees for those purposes and the recommendation of proposed updates by those committees to the state board.
Existing law establishes the California Earthquake Authority, which is authorized to transact insurance in the state as necessary to sell policies of basic residential earthquake insurance, as provided. Existing law provides that a public purpose will be served by a voluntary contractual assessment program that provides the legislative body of a public agency with the authority to finance the installation of seismic strengthening improvements that are permanently fixed to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, or other real property. For purposes of financing the installation of seismic strengthening improvements, "public agency" means a city, county, or city and county. This bill would include the California Earthquake Authority as part of the definition of "public agency" for this purpose. The Improvement Bond Act of 1915 provides authority for the legislative body of any city to determine that bonds may be issued to pay for specified works of improvement. This bill would include the California Earthquake Authority as part of the definition of "city" or "municipality" for purposes of this act. Existing law authorizes the Earthquake Loss Mitigation Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, to be applied to supply grants and loans or loan guarantees to dwelling owners who wish to retrofit their homes to protect against earthquake damage. This bill would also authorize the money in the fund to be used to fund seismic strengthening improvements permanently fixed to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, or other real property and an account for related loan losses, and to acquire debt obligations issued to fund these seismic strengthening improvements, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the California Earthquake Authority to establish a loan loss reserve account in the fund for the deposit of moneys to be expended for loan losses incurred in connection with financing seismic strengthening improvements. This bill would (1) revise or waive certain notice and reporting requirements generally applicable to contractual assessments for contractual assessments that finance seismic strengthening improvements, (2) absent specified conditions, presume statewide scope of any California Earthquake Authority programs of contractual assessments for seismic strengthening improvements, and (3) provide for payment of assessments pursuant to the contractual payment schedule for any California Earthquake Authority program, notwithstanding any bonds secured by those assessments. The bill would require the California Earthquake Authority, prior to entering into a voluntary contractual assessment with a property owner to finance seismic strengthening improvements, to disclose the terms and conditions of the voluntary contractual assessment, and to notify the property owner, in writing, that he or she may be required to pay the remaining principal balance of the voluntary contractual assessment when he or she refinances or sells the property. The bill would specify that the California Earthquake Authority shall require each property owner to sign a document acknowledging his or her receipt of this written disclosure. The bill would also require that seismic strengthening improvements that are permanently fixed to real property and that are financed pursuant to the program comply with all applicable state and local building standards.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The existing definition of an electrical corporation excludes from that definition a corporation or person employing landfill gas technology or digester gas technology for the generation of electricity for (1) its own use or the use of not more than 2 of its tenants located on the real property on which the electricity is generated, (2) the use of or sale to not more than 2 other corporations or persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity is generated, or (3) the sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or local public agency, if the sale or transmission of the electricity service to a retail customer is provided through the transmission system of the existing local publicly owned electric utility or electrical corporation of that retail customer. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, at specified percentages of the total kilowatthours sold to their retail end-customers during specified compliance periods. The program additionally requires each local publicly owned electric utility, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the targets established by the program. The program, consistent with the goals of procuring the least-cost and best-fit eligible renewable energy resources that meet project viability principles, requires that all retail sellers procure a balanced portfolio of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as specified, referred to as the portfolio content requirements. Existing law requires every electrical corporation to file with the commission a standard tariff for electricity generated by an electric generation facility, as defined, that qualifies for the tariff, is owned and operated by a retail customer of the electrical corporation, and is located within the service territory of, and developed to sell electricity to, the electrical corporation. This tariff requirement is known as the renewable feed-in tariff program. The program additionally requires the commission, by June 1, 2013, to direct the electrical corporations to collectively procure at least 250 megawatts of cumulative rated generating capacity from developers of bioenergy projects that commence operation on or after June 1, 2013. Pursuant to this requirement, the commission has established the small-scale bioenergy feed-in tariff program. This bill would provide that renewable energy credits may be used to meet the first category of the portfolio content requirements if (1) the credits are earned by electricity that is generated by an entity that, if it were a person or corporation, would be excluded from the definition of an electrical corporation by operation of the exclusions for a corporation or person employing landfill gas technology or digester gas technology, (2) the entity employing the landfill gas technology or digester gas technology has a first point of interconnection with a California balancing authority, a first point of interconnection with distribution facilities used to serve end users within a California balancing authority area, or is scheduled from the eligible renewable energy resource into a California balancing authority without substituting electricity from another source, (3) where the electricity generated that earned the credit is used at a wastewater treatment facility that is owned by a public entity, (4) the generating capability, as specified, of the wastewater treatment facility that earned the renewable energy credit is first put into service on or after January 1, 2016, and (5) the wastewater treatment facility does not participate in the small-scale bioenergy feed-in tariff program. The bill would prohibit a public entity, selling renewable energy that is eligible to meet the first category of the portfolio content requirements pursuant to the bill's provisions, from making any marketing or advertising claims regarding the renewable attributes of the electricity that earned the renewable energy credit. The bill would require that the electricity generated that earned the renewable energy credit that is sold by the public entity be added to the total retail sales of the retail seller or local publicly owned electric utility purchasing the renewable energy credit for purposes of determining their renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements.
Existing law grants to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board the authority to carry out various flood control activities, including the authority to construct, maintain, and operate ditches, canals, pumping plants, and other drainage works. Existing law requires revenues, rents, and proceeds from sale of crops from lands under the control of the board be paid into the State Treasury, as specified, with the balance of the revenues, rents, and proceeds going to the credit of the General Fund. Existing law establishes the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District under the management and control of the board for the purposes of carrying out specified flood management activities within the boundaries of the district. Existing law authorizes the district to acquire, own, hold, use, and enjoy any and all properties necessary for the purposes of the district. Existing law requires all moneys collected upon sales or otherwise be deposited in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District Fund, as specified. Existing law requires moneys in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District Fund be paid out upon warrants of the Controller and requires the Controller to issue warrants upon the funds whenever drafts of the board are presented. This bill would additionally authorize the district to sell, lease, rent, or otherwise dispose of a right-of-way, easement, or property, as specified, and to take, receive, and apply for purposes of flood control the income, profit, and revenue received from the lease or rental of the property. By adding a new source of revenue to a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District.
Read. Adopted. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 2470.).
The Gambling Control Act provides for the licensure of certain individuals and establishments involved in various gambling activities, and for the regulation of those activities, by the California Gambling Control Commission. Existing law prohibits a person under 21 years of age from being eligible for a work permit in a gambling establishment. Existing law also prohibits a person under 21 years of age from entering the premises of a licensed gambling establishment, except as provided. This bill would permit a person between 18 and 21 years of age to work in a gambling establishment in a classification that entails providing services on and off the gaming floor that are not involved in play of any controlled game, as specified.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Consumer Affairs to enter into a contract with a vendor for the licensing and enforcement of the BreEZe system, which is a specified integrated, enterprisewide enforcement case management and licensing system, no sooner than 30 days after written notification to certain committees of the Legislature. Existing law requires the amount of contract funds for the system to be consistent with costs approved by the office of the State Chief Information Officer, based on information provided by the department in a specified manner. This bill would, on or before March 1, 2016, or thereafter when available, require the department to submit an annual report to the Legislature and the Department of Finance that includes, among other things, the department's plans for implementing the BreEZe system at specified regulatory entities included in the department's's 3rd phase of the BreEZe implementation project, when available, including, but not limited to, a timeline for the implementation. The bill would also require the department to post on its Internet Web site the name of each regulatory entity that is utilizing the BreEZe system once the regulatory entity begins using the BreEZe system. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Read. Adopted. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 2021.)
