California Bills

Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (state act) . The state act imposes various penalties for a violation of its requirements. The state act requires specified penalties be deposited into the Waste Discharge Permit Fund and separately accounted. The state act requires moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the state board to assist regional boards and prescribed other public agencies in cleaning up or abating the effects of waste on waters of the state or to assist a regional board attempting to remedy a significant unforeseen water pollution problem. This bill would appropriate $2,000,000 to the state board for use by the Greater Monterey County Regional Water Management Group (management group) to develop an integrated plan to address the drinking water and wastewater needs of disadvantaged communities in the Salinas Valley whose waters have been affected by waste discharges, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the management group to consult with specified entities and to submit to the Legislature by January 1, 2016, the plan developed by the group. The bill would make specified findings and declarations that the special legislation contained in the act is necessarily applicable only to Monterey County. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the Horse Racing Law, governs, among other types of horse races, harness horse racing, in which horses that meet specified criteria are harnessed to a sulky or similar vehicle and raced at either the trotting or pacing gait. Existing law vests jurisdiction and supervision over all horse racing meetings, including harness races, in this state in the California Horse Racing Board. Existing law requires, until January 1, 2014, the harness racing association and the organization representing harness horsemen and horsewomen to form an organization to which certain funds, that may be deducted from the total amount handled in conventional parimutuel pools of harness races, are distributed for purposes of reducing the workers' compensation insurance costs for trainers who are racing horses at the applicable harness racing association meet, as specified. This bill would additionally require that organization to account to the California Horse Racing Board on or before August 1 of each year with respect to the distribution of funds received pursuant to those provisions during the immediately preceding fiscal year and to obtain an independent audit of those distributions. The bill would also require that a copy of the completed audit be forwarded to the board within 45 days of its receipt by the organization.

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, as administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store and to make reusable bags, as defined, available to customers. Existing law prohibits a city, county, or other local public agency from taking specified regulatory actions with regard to plastic carryout bags. A violation of these requirements is subject to civil liability penalties imposed by a local agency or the state. These requirements and prohibitions are repealed on January 1, 2013. This bill would revise the definition of the term "reusable bag" to require the bag to meet specified requirements concerning lifetime use, volume, contest, labeling, and washability, and would require the operator of a store to make these reusable bags available to customers after July 1, 2013. The bill also would delete the prohibition on a city, county, or other local public agency from taking specified regulatory actions with regard to plastic carryout bags. The bill would only become operative only if SB 1219 of the 2011–12 Regular Session is enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2013, and amends Section 42257 of the Public Resources Code to extend the date on which the provisions establishing the at-store recycling program are repealed.

(1) Existing law requires a notice of sale to be posted before any power of sale can be exercised under the power of sale contained in any deed of trust or mortgage. Existing law, until January 1, 2013, requires a resident of property upon which a notice of sale has been posted to be provided a specified notice advising the resident that, among other things, if the person is renting the property, the new property owner may either give the tenant a new lease or rental agreement, or provide the tenant with a 60-day eviction notice, and that other laws may prohibit the eviction or provide the tenant with a longer notice before eviction. Existing law makes it an infraction to tear down the notice within 72 hours of posting. Existing law requires a state government entity to make translations of the notice available in 5 specified languages, for use by a mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent, in order to satisfy the notice requirements. This bill would revise certain portions of the notice to instead require a resident of property upon which a notice of sale has been posted to be advised that if the person is renting the property, the new property owner may either give the tenant a new lease or rental agreement, or provide the tenant with a 90-day eviction notice. The bill would require the notice to advise a tenant who has a lease that the new property owner is required to honor the lease unless the new owner will occupy the property as a primary residence or under other limited circumstances. The bill would require the Department of Consumer Affairs to make translations of the notice available, as described above. The bill would provide that these changes to the notice would become operative on March 1, 2013, or 60 days following the issuance of an amended notice translation by the Department of Consumer Affairs Internet Web site, whichever date is later. The bill would extend the operation of these provisions until December 31, 2019. By extending the operation of provisions establishing a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law provides that, in an unlawful detainer action, if an owner or owner's agent has obtained service of a prejudgment claim of right to possession, as specified, no occupant of the premises, whether or not that occupant is named in the judgment for possession, may object to the enforcement of the judgment, as specified. This bill would provide that in any action for unlawful detainer resulting from a foreclosure sale of a rental housing unit pursuant to specified provisions, the above provisions regarding objection to the enforcement of a judgment do not limit the right of a tenant or subtenant to file a prejudgment claim of right of possession or to object to enforcement of a judgment for possession, regardless of whether the tenant or subtenant was served with a prejudgment claim of right to possession, as specified. (3) Existing law, until January 1, 2013, requires a tenant or subtenant in possession of a rental housing unit at the time that property is sold in foreclosure to be provided 60 days' written notice to quit before the tenant or subtenant may be removed from the property, as specified. This bill would instead require a tenant or subtenant in possession of a rental housing unit under a month-to-month lease or periodic tenancy at the time that property is sold in foreclosure to be provided 90 days' written notice to quit before the tenant or subtenant may be removed from the property. The bill would provide tenants or subtenants holding possession of a rental housing unit under a fixed-term residential lease entered into before transfer of title at the foreclosure sale the right to possession until the end of the lease term, except in specified circumstances. The bill would also extend the operation of these provisions until December 31, 2019. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(1) Existing law, the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, sets forth the procedures for incorporations and changes of organizations of cities, including procedures for disincorporation. This bill would authorize the board of supervisors of a county in which a city that will be disincorporated pursuant to statute is located to vote to continue that city if, after receipt of an audit conducted by the State Auditor, the board of supervisors determines that the territory to be disincorporated is not expected to generate revenues sufficient to provide public services and facilities, maintain a reasonable reserve, and pay its obligations during the 5 years following disincorporation. The bill would require a city that is audited pursuant to these provisions to reimburse the State Auditor for the costs incurred to perform the audit, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. (2) The Community Services District Law authorizes the organization and powers of a community services district, as specified, to provide for, among other things, the supply of water for any beneficial uses, fire protection services, police and law enforcement services, the financing of an area planning commission, the financing of a municipal advisory commission, and the acquisition, construction, improvement, and maintenance of streets or roads. This bill would create a community services district in the unincorporated area of a county if that unincorporated area of the county was previously a city that was disincorporated by statute and had, immediately prior to disincorporation, provided fire protection, water, telecommunications, gas, or electric utility services, or maintained streets or roads. The district would continue to provide those services within the territory in which the disincorporated city provided those services, and would be a successor in interest as to any contract entered into by the disincorporated city with respect to the provision of those services. The bill would, for a one-year period, limit the authority of the community services district to increase gas or electric utility rates within that territory. The bill would direct that the community services district would become the employer of nonmanagerial employees who were employed by the disincorporated city to provide any of the services described above, in accordance with any existing memorandum of understanding or other labor relations agreement, and would protect those employees from discharge absent a showing of just cause for termination, except as specified. The bill would specify that the board of supervisors for the county in which the disincorporated city was located would serve as the board of directors of the community services district. The bill would require the district or the county, as specified, to become the custodian of records of the disincorporated city, and would prohibit any officer or employee of a city, or a consultant under contract to a city, that is subject to being disincorporated from destroying those records or causing their destruction. The bill would provide that legislative acts of the board of directors of the district are not subject to initiative or referendum, and the board of directors of the district is not subject to recall. (3) The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of each city and county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the city or county, as specified. This bill would provide that, as of the effective date of the disincorporation of a city pursuant to statute, the general plan of the disincorporated city constitutes the community plan of the county for the territory of the disincorporated city, and that the zoning ordinances in effect immediately prior to the disincorporation of the city, together with any conditional use permits or any approved legal conforming uses, likewise apply, as specified. The bill would also provide that any use of land authorized under the general plan and zoning ordinances immediately preceding the effective date of the city's disincorporation would continue to be authorized for a period of not less than 10 years, as specified. (4) Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of any county to establish, by resolution, a municipal advisory council for any unincorporated area in the county to advise the board on matters that relate to the unincorporated area, as specified. This bill would require the board of supervisors of the county in which a city that has been disincorporated by statute was located, within 45 days following the effective date of the disincorporation, to establish a municipal advisory council to operate within the territory of the disincorporated city, as specified. The bill would require the district to finance the operation of the municipal advisory council. By increasing the duties of local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law authorizes the legislative body of any city or county to adopt an ordinance that, among other things, regulates the use of buildings, structures, and land, and to regulate the location, height, bulk, number of stories, the size of buildings and structures, and the size and use of lots, yards, courts, and other open spaces. This bill would require the board of supervisors in a county in which a city that has been disincorporated by statute was located, within 90 days of the effective date of the disincorporation, to form an expedited permit process for permits related to business, development, and health and safety that is comparable to the permit process previously in place for the territory of the disincorporated city. By increasing the duties of local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of any county to license, for revenue and regulation and to fix the license tax upon every kind of lawful business transacted in the unincorporated area of the county, as specified. This bill would require the board of supervisors of a county in which a city that has been disincorporated pursuant to statute was located to maintain, at the then-existing rates, any business license tax or business license fee of the disincorporated city that was in effect at the time of the disincorporation for a period of at least 5 years, as specified. The bill would authorize the board of supervisors to levy any additional business license tax or business license fee on the territory of the disincorporated city during the 5-year period following the effective date of the disincorporation, if an audit conducted by a 3rd-party auditor finds that additional revenues are needed in order to maintain needed services to the territory of the disincorporated city or to make required payments toward debt incurred by the city prior to disincorporation. (7) Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of any county to levy a utility user tax on the consumption of electricity, gas, water, sewer, telephone, telegraph, and cable television services in the unincorporated area of the county. This bill would, upon the effective date of the disincorporation of a city pursuant to statute, exempt utility users within the territory of the disincorporated city from any existing county utility user tax, and would prohibit the board from levying a utility user tax on utility users within that territory for a period of 5 years following the effective date of the disincorporation. Following this 5-year period, the bill would prohibit the board from levying this tax unless the voters of the unincorporated area of the county vote to apply the utility user tax to utility users within the territory of the disincorporated city on the same basis as it is then applied throughout the unincorporated area of the county. The bill would also authorize the board of supervisors to levy a utility user tax during the 5-year period following the effective date of the disincorporation, if an audit conducted by a 3rd-party auditor finds that additional revenues are needed in order to maintain needed services to the territory of the disincorporated city or to make required payments toward debt incurred by the city prior to disincorporation. (8) Existing law governs the procedures and requirements for retention and destruction of specified records of a city. This bill would prohibit any officer or employee of a city disincorporated by statute from destroying or authorizing the destruction of any record of the city. (9) Existing law, the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, requires the local agency formation commission to oversee the terms and conditions of the disincorporation of a city pursuant to that act. This bill would authorize the local agency formation commission to commence oversight of the terms and conditions of the disincorporation of a city pursuant to statute upon receipt of specified notice from the board of supervisors of the county in which a city disincorporated by statute is located. The bill would authorize the commission, upon request by the legislative body of the city, any resident of the city, an owner of property within the city, or any affected local agency, to adopt additional terms and conditions relating to the disincorporation of the city or the creation of the community services district. (10) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. (11) The bill would become operative only if AB 46 of the 2011–12 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect.

Existing unemployment insurance law requires the Employment Development Department to submit to the Legislature in May and October of each year a report on the status of the Unemployment Fund and the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, containing actual and forecasted information on each fund, as specified. This bill would additionally require the department, whenever the Unemployment Fund indicates a negative balance, to include in the status report on the Unemployment Fund the estimated impact on employers from the changes in a specified federal tax credit and the estimated amount the state is expected to pay in interest charges on any outstanding loan to the federal government.