Existing law vests with the Department of Parks and Recreation control of the state park system. Existing law requires the department to achieve any required budget reductions, as defined, by closing, partially closing, and reducing services at selected units of the state park system, based on specified factors. This bill would instead declare that it is the intent of the Legislature that the department should achieve any required budget reductions by implementing efficiencies and increasing revenue collection, or reducing services at selected units of the state park system, as prescribed. The bill would revise the factors the department is required to use as a basis for selecting which units of the state park system are to be closed, and would, for any parks proposed or designated for closure on or after January 1, 2013, require the department to document and publicly disclose the methodology, rationale, and scoring system used to evaluate and select parks designated for closure. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into agreements between the department and the federal and local governments and other public agencies for the care, maintenance, administration, and control of lands under the jurisdiction of any party to this agreement for the purpose of the state park system, as prescribed. This bill would require the department to conduct a review of the parks that are proposed, as of July 1, 2012, or thereafter, for future closure. The bill would require the review process required to be conducted pursuant to those provisions to include an examination of proposed park closures recommended by the department, based on specified criteria. The bill would require the department, no later than July 1, 2013, with respect to any park that is closed on or after July 1, 2012, to prepare a plan for the reopening of that unit of the state park system, within one year from the date of a unit being closed to public access or the ending of all department support, including specified information. The bill would require the department to annually update any plan prepared pursuant to those provisions, if needed, or if there are any additional park closures on or after July 1, 2013, and to post a copy of the plan on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the department, no later than January 1, 2014, and by January 1 of each year thereafter so long as any unit of the state park system remains closed or is designated for closure due to budgetary restrictions, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a master parks reopening plan, which shall be compiled from park reopening plans or updated park reopening plans required to be prepared pursuant to provisions of the bill, and that sets out priority actions and determines a process for reopening any park that has been temporarily closed, to the extent that circumstances permit, as prescribed.
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. Existing law requires reimbursement to Medi-Cal pharmacy providers for drugs, as prescribed, and authorizes the department to establish a new reimbursement methodology based on average acquisition cost, as defined. This bill would modify requirements relating to the establishment of the average acquisition cost methodology and would make other related changes.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts, administered by a governing board, throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained by the districts. This bill would require the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish a voluntary pilot program, until January 1, 2018, to identify, explore, and develop best practices for statewide policy on credit for experiential learning for veterans for career technical education course credit, certificates, and associate degrees. The bill would require the chancellor to consider specified information to select no more than 3 to 5 applicant campuses to participate in the pilot program. The bill would require participating community college districts to report specified information to the Office of the Chancellor, which would be required to provide that information to the Legislative Analyst's Office by July 1, 2017. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to use this information to provide a report to the Legislature that assesses the pilot program's effect on student veterans' success in reaching their educational goals, as specified, by December 1, 2017.
Existing law provides that all employees of a charter school who perform creditable service are entitled to have that service covered under the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, if the charter school elects to make that plan available. Existing law further requires a charter school that elects to make that or another plan available to inform all applicants for employment of the retirement options for employees of the charter school, as specified. This bill would require charter schools to make the State Teachers' Retirement Plan and the Public Employees' Retirement Plan available to its employees, as specified, and would make corresponding changes to the information charter schools are required to provide regarding retirement options. The bill would provide that these provisions shall not apply to the extent they would cause the State Teachers' Retirement System or the Public Employees' Retirement System or their members to incur adverse tax consequences under federal law. Existing law requires every county superintendent of schools to enter into a contract with the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System for inclusion of the school district's classified employees in the system. Existing law further provides that, if a charter school chooses to participate in the system, its qualified employees shall be covered under the system in the same manner as the employees of the school district that granted the charter. This bill would provide that all qualified employees of a charter school shall be covered under the system in the same manner as the employees of the school district that granted the charter, except as specified. The bill would require the county superintendent of schools to notify the board before a charter school or its employees may be enrolled for membership in the system.
Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of the state highway system. Existing law creates the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority with various transportation responsibilities in the County of Santa Clara. This bill would, by July 1, 2013, require the department and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to enter into a memorandum of understanding to implement the Innovative Delivery Team Demonstration Program, which would, until January 1, 2020, provide a different business model for the application of advanced technologies with the goal of delivering transportation projects and services in the County of Santa Clara in a more responsive, cost-effective, and efficient manner. The bill would require the demonstration program to serve as a mechanism for testing innovative approaches for improving project delivery and local assistance. The bill would require the department to assign specified personnel to the demonstration program. The bill would also require the authority to provide space, equipment, and other resources, as specified, to the demonstration program. The bill would require the authority to carry out, for purposes of implementing the demonstration program, specified responsibilities for state highway projects in the County of Santa Clara. The bill would require the authority to manage the local assistance process, for purposes of implementing the demonstration program, in the County of Santa Clara. The bill would require the demonstration program to adhere to all applicable federal rules and regulations, as specified. The bill would require the authority, in consultation with the department, to evaluate the effectiveness of the demonstration program and to report to the Legislature by July 1, 2015, and by July 1, 2018, on specified matters. By requiring the authority to participate in this demonstration program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also declare the intent of the Legislature in this regard. 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 provides for protection, care, and assistance for people of the state, and the promotion of the welfare and happiness of all people in the state by providing appropriate aid and services to the needy and distressed. Programs established for this purpose include CalWORKs, which provides cash assistance and other social services to needy families, using federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds, and CalFresh, whereby nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Counties administer the CalWORKs and CalFresh programs. This bill, the Social Services Modernization Act of 2012, would require a final operational state plan submitted by any department administered by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services state agency to a federal agency in the context of providing public social services to be electronically available on the relevant department's Internet Web site, as specified. This bill would, pending approval of any necessary federal waivers, require the State Department of Social Services to promulgate regulations to authorize applicants for and recipients of aid to electronically access notices and communications pertaining to eligibility and benefit issuance, as specified. The bill would authorize applicants and recipients to opt out of receiving electronic notice, and would provide for the confidentiality of an applicant's or recipient's electronic information, as specified. This bill would prohibit a county from requiring an applicant or recipient for public benefits to verify information provided to the county, except when the verification is required by federal law, or is necessary to determine eligibility for aid or to compute the amount of aid. If the verification is inconsistent with other verified information, this bill would require a county eligibility worker to provide to the applicant or recipient a notice of action specifying the type of verification required to verify eligibility, as specified. This bill would require county human services departments to maximize use of electronic means of verifying applicant and recipient information, and would require the state to work with counties to develop a protocol enabling statewide use by applicants and recipients of public social services programs of a specified electronic database developed to verify eligibility information for the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This bill would provide that the identity of, or certain information relating to, an applicant or recipient shall be considered to be verified under prescribed circumstances. This bill would revise procedures relating to public social services application and recertification interviews to require these interviews to be conducted in person, by telephone, or by other electronic means, to promote administrative efficiency and reduce costs to applicants and recipients. Existing law, with certain exceptions, requires every individual, as a condition of eligibility for aid under the CalWORKs program, to participate in welfare-to-work activities. This bill would deem an adult CalWORKs recipient to be in compliance with existing welfare-to-work requirements if he or she meets the minimum federal welfare-to-work requirements. The bill would provide that a person satisfying these requirements would be eligible for specified support services, and would not be subject to sanction for failure or refusal to comply with program requirements, as specified. Existing law prohibits an applicant from being granted public assistance, as specified, until he or she is personally interviewed by the county welfare department or state hospital staff. This bill would no longer require these interviews to be conducted personally, and would require the county to conduct the interview on the same day of the initial application, to the extent it is cost effective and administratively possible for the department. This bill would apply these provisions to applicants for CalFresh benefits. Existing law requires a county welfare department, to the extent provided by federal law, to provide CalFresh benefits on an expedited basis to certain households. This bill would require the department, to the extent allowed by federal law and any federal waivers secured by the department, to postpone expedited service interviews that have been attempted and require that the interviews be conducted at the same time as the interview for issuance of regular CalFresh benefits, as specified, and to issue expedited service to any applicant who meets expedited service eligibility requirements and whose identity has been verified, as specified. Existing law requires county welfare departments to provide transitional CalFresh benefits to households terminating their participation in the CalWORKs program, to the maximum extent allowable by federal law. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to implement the above requirement so as to maximize continued enrollment of eligible recipients, pursuant to a specified federal regulation. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement the bill by means of all-county letters or similar instructions, by January 1, 2013. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would declare that no appropriation would be made for purposes of implementing the bill. Because this bill would increase duties of counties administering public social services programs, 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 requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development within the California Health and Human Services Agency to, among other things, (1) develop a Health Manpower Plan for California that consists of, among other things, appropriate standards for determining the adequacy of supply of specified health personnel, (2) maintain a Health Professions Career Opportunity Program that includes supporting and encouraging minority health professionals in training to practice in health professional shortage areas, and (3) establish a health care workforce clearinghouse to serve as the central source of health care workforce and educational data in the state. Existing law, the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act, creates the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission to, among other things, identify specific areas of the state where unmet priority needs for primary care family physicians and registered nurses exist. Existing law establishes the California Workforce Investment Board within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to assist the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system. This bill would require, until January 1, 2019, the California Workforce Investment Board to establish the Health Workforce Development Council to help expand California's health workforce in order to provide access to quality health care for all Californians. The bill would require the council to perform certain duties, including seeking expertise from multisector representatives to enhance the understanding of the issues and policies needed to ensure that California has the necessary workforce to provide access to quality, and culturally and linguistically appropriate, health care, as specified. The bill would require the council to inform the Legislature of its health initiatives and progress, as specified. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of persons who engage in clinical laboratory practice, conduct radiologic technology, and perform nuclear medicine technology, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health, and makes a violation of those provisions a crime. This bill would require every person described above to report to the department, upon issuance and renewal of his or her license, certificate, or permit, his or her practice status, as specified, and, unless the licensee declines to state them, his or her cultural background and foreign language proficiency. This bill would exempt the failure to report this information from those criminal provisions. This bill would require the department to collect the information as provided under those provisions, and authorize the department to aggregate and post this information on the department's Internet Web site.
(1) The California Constitution prohibits various gaming activities within the state, including casino-style gaming, but authorizes the Governor, subject to ratification by the Legislature, to negotiate and conclude compacts for the operation of slot machines and the conduct of lottery games and banking and percentage card games by federally recognized Indian tribes on Indian lands in California in accordance with federal law. The California Constitution also authorizes the Legislature to provide for the regulation of horse racing, charitable bingo games, the California State Lottery, and charitable raffles. Existing law prohibits a person, whether or not for gain, hire, or reward, from making a betting pool or placing a bet or wager on the result of any contest or event, including a sporting event, as specified. The Gambling Control Act provides for the licensure of certain individuals and establishments that conduct controlled games, as defined, and for the regulation of these gambling activities by the California Gambling Control Commission. Existing law provides for the enforcement of those regulations by the Department of Justice. Any violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor, as specified. The Horse Racing Law provides for the licensure of every person who participates in, or has anything to do with, the racing of horses, and every employee of a parimutuel department by the California Horse Racing Board. The board is responsible for adopting rules and regulations for the protection of the public, the control of horse racing, and parimutuel wagering, as well as enforcing all laws, rules, and regulations dealing with horse racing and parimutuel wagering. The law permits the board to authorize an association licensed to conduct a racing meeting to also operate a satellite wagering facility at its racetrack inclosure, and for fairs to locate a satellite wagering facility at their fairgrounds, under specified conditions. Any violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would authorize the owner or operator of a gambling establishment, or the owner or operator of a horse racing track, including a horse racing association, or of a satellite wagering facility, with a current license, to conduct wagering on professional and collegiate sports or athletic events, other than on collegiate sports or athletic events that take place in California or in which any California college team participates, by applying to the California Gambling Control Commission or the California Horse Racing Board, as specified, for authorization to conduct sports wagering, and by paying an annual licensing fee, as specified. The bill would require the commission and the board to adopt regulations to implement these provisions. The bill would authorize the commission and the board to adopt regulations establishing fees in a reasonable amount to recover their costs relating to the administration of these provisions. The bill would authorize the department to adopt regulations establishing fees in the reasonable amount necessary to recover costs incurred relating to the enforcement of these provisions. The bill would require the department to, among other things, investigate any request made by the board or the commission in connection with an application for authorization, and to investigate alleged violations of the above provisions. The bill would authorize the board, commission, and department to regulate sports wagering to the same extent these entities currently regulate other legal gambling in this state, including the ability to audit the books and records of a licensed entity, as defined. The bill would also prohibit a licensed operator from, among other things, accepting a wager from any person who is under 21 years of age or whose name appears on a self-exclusion list. Any violation of these provisions would be punishable as a crime. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments of tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes. This bill would provide that a federally recognized Indian tribe may conduct sports wagering on Indian lands consistent with the requirements of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, and under terms no more stringent than those applicable to any other owner or operator in the state. (3) 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.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, as defined. The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to investigate the cause of all accidents occurring upon the property of any public utility or directly or indirectly arising from or connected with its maintenance or operation, resulting in loss of life or injury to person or property and requiring, in the judgment of the commission, investigation by it, and authorizes the commission to make any order or recommendation with respect to the investigation that it determines to be just and reasonable. The act provides that any public utility that violates any provision of the California Constitution or the act, or that fails or neglects to comply with any order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, where a penalty has not otherwise been provided, is subject to a penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $50,000 for each offense. Existing law requires that any fine or penalty imposed by the commission and collected from a public utility be paid to the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund. The act includes provisions that are specific to gas corporations that involve safety standards for pipeline facilities or the transportation of gas in the state. This bill would revise the provisions that are specific to gas corporations that involve safety standards for pipeline facilities or the transportation of gas in the state, to authorize the commission to order that all or a portion of a fine or penalty levied against a gas corporation in three specified proceedings be held in a separate account by the gas corporation to offset investments for pipeline replacement to be undertaken within the service territory of the corporation that would otherwise be recovered from the corporation's ratepayers. The bill would require that moneys ordered by the commission to be held in a separate account be used only for the purpose of offsetting investments by the gas corporation for pipeline replacement to be undertaken within the service territory of the corporation, and only if the investments would otherwise be recovered in rates from the utility's ratepayers. The bill would require that any moneys not used for these purposes be paid to the General Fund 5 years after the date of their deposit into the trust account. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires that persons released from prison after serving a prison term for a felony, with exceptions, be released into postrelease community supervision for a period not exceeding 3 years. Existing law provides for immediate, structured, and intermediate sanctions to punish violations of an offender's conditions of postrelease supervision. Existing law allows the revocation of postrelease supervision by a revocation hearing officer appointed by the court upon a finding that the person has violated the conditions of postrelease supervision. This bill would allow a person on postrelease supervision who has a revocation petition filed against him or her to file an application for bail with the superior court. The bill would provide that bail pending revocation of postrelease community supervision is a matter within the sole discretion of the court. The bill would require a bail application made pursuant to these provisions to be governed by the procedures set forth in existing law for the taking of bail and would state that nothing in its provisions would prohibit a court from making any order authorized by those provisions.
Existing law, the Electronic and Appliance Repair Dealer Registration Law, regulates service contracts, as defined, relating to maintenance or repair of, among other things, specified sets and appliances, and makes it unlawful for any person to act as a service contract administrator or a service contract seller without first registering with the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home furnishings, and thermal Insulation. A violation of these provisions is deemed to be unlawfully transacting the business of insurance, and therefor subject to specified criminal penalties. This bill would include in the definition of service contract a written contract for the performance of services relating to the maintenance, replacement, or repair of optical products, thereby making administrators and sellers of those contracts subject to registration with the bureau and other requirements of the act. By expanding the definition of service contract, the bill would expand the scope of a crime and, thus, 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.
Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. The State Oil and Gas Supervisor supervises the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field regarding safety and environmental damage. Existing law requires an operator of a well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, to obtain approval from the State Oil and Gas Supervisor or a district deputy. This bill would, until regulations governing hydraulic fracturing have been adopted, prohibit the supervisor and the district deputy from approving the drilling of a well in which hydraulic fracturing, as defined, is used or is proposed to be used in the production of oil and gas. This bill would define, among others, the terms hydraulic fracturing fluid and proppants.
