Existing law specifies the duties of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and county agricultural commissioners with respect to the sale and control of nursery stock, as defined. Existing law requires a person to hold a valid license in order to sell nursery stock and makes a violation of these provisions a crime. Under existing law, the secretary is prohibited from refunding more than 12 of the minimum license fee to any person who applies for a license to sell nursery stock and who later decides not to do so. This bill would prohibit the secretary from returning more than 25% of the minimum license fee. Existing law requires the secretary, by regulation, to provide for periodic inspections of nurseries and authorizes the secretary to prescribe standards of cleanliness for nursery stock. Existing law sets forth suggestions for the standards of cleanliness. This bill would make specified standards of cleanliness, including, but not limited to, being free of pests and isolation of infested or infected plants, mandatory. The bill would also authorize the secretary to, by regulation, develop and implement an audit-based certification system for certification of nursery stock shipments. Under existing law, it is unlawful to move nursery stock without a valid nursery certificate unless the person has forwarded to the county agricultural commissioner, at or prior to the time of shipment, a manifest stating prescribed information. Under existing law, it is also unlawful to ship, or cause to be shipped, nursery stock from one county to another without a nursery stock certificate or shipping permit. Existing law authorizes the county agricultural commissioner to revoke or suspend the right to use a nursery stock certificate or shipping permit if the person fails to comply with the statutory provisions applicable to nursery stock. This bill would require the person to forward the manifest to the county agricultural commissioner prior to shipment. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the nursery stock provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, this 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 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 the owner or operator of a well to keep, or cause to be kept, a careful and accurate log, core record, and history of the drilling of the well. Within 60 days after the date of cessation of drilling, rework, or abandonment operations, the owner or operator is required to file with the district deputy certain information, including the history of work performed. This bill would define "hydraulic fracturing" and require a person carrying out hydraulic fracturing on behalf of an owner or operator at a well to provide to the owner or operator a list of the chemical constituents used in the hydraulic fracturing fluid and the amount of water and hydraulic fracturing fluid recovered from the well. The bill would additionally require the history of the drilling of the well to include certain information regarding the amount and source of water used in the exploration or production from the well and the radiological components or tracers injected into the well. The bill would also require the history to include, if hydraulic fracturing was used at the well, a complete list of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing and the amount and disposition of water and hydraulic fracturing fluid recovered from the well. The bill would require the owner or operator to submit to the supervisor information regarding the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, who would be required to add this information to existing Internet maps on the division's Internet Web site and to make this information available to the public. This bill would require the State Oil and Gas Supervisor on or before January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, to prepare and transmit to the Legislature a comprehensive report on hydraulic fracturing in the exploration and production of oil and gas resources in California.
The Personal Income Tax Law provides for various exclusions from gross income. This bill would also exclude from gross income the value of any specified prize or award won by a taxpayer in the Olympic Games. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law authorizes school district governing boards to establish cafeterias, which are defined as synonymous with food services. This bill would require a school district governing board, county superintendent of schools, or governing body of a charter school that contracts for the acquisition of food services using state or federal funds to develop and adopt policies and procedures for the acquisition of food services to ensure that a food service management company fully discloses to the local educational agency all discounts, rebates, as defined, allowances, and incentives received by the company from its suppliers, as specified, and to disclose and pay to the local educational agency the full amount of the discount, rebate, or applicable credit, as specified. The bill would require these discounts, rebates, allowances, and incentives to be paid as agreed, and a record of these transactions to be available for review as part of any audit conducted pursuant to statute. The bill would require any necessary changes to the policies and procedures for the acquisition of services to be implemented upon the renewal, extension, or amendment of an existing agreement or as part of a new service agreement.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to administer the Renewable Energy Resources Program, which provides financial assistance for the development of renewable electricity generation facilities, including facilities that use biomass. This bill would enact the Salton Sea Stabilization and Agricultural Cultivation Act, which would authorize the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to establish an Algae Production Program in the Imperial Valley to meet high-priority economic and environmental goals, expedite regulatory application and review processes, and provide grants to facilitate research and the commercial development of algae for fuels, foods, medicines, and clean water within the state. The bill would further authorize the secretary to provide grants to eligible research institutions and commercial enterprises for research and demonstration projects leading to the commercial development of algae. The bill would require a commercial enterprise for a demonstration project, to be eligible for a grant, to agree to a royalty or other revenue arrangement. The bill would require royalties and revenues received to be deposited into the Algae Production Program Fund, which is created by this bill. The bill would require the secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing, the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, the Chairman of the State Air Resources Board, and the Governor's Tribal Advisor, if an algae production program is established pursuant to the bill, to publish a report, no later than July 1, 2013, that enumerates the environmental and economic benefits of the algae industry, and contains specified recommendations. The bill would also require the secretary by July 1, 2013, to initiate the rulemaking process for the Algae Production Program and a process for the application, review, and issuance of grants, and, no later than July 1, 2014, to publish a final rule to implement recommendations contained in the above-described report.
Existing law requires the administrator for oil spill response to charge a nontank vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each application to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in an amount based on the administrator's costs related to regulating nontank vessels. Existing law authorizes the use of revenue derived from the fee for specified purposes relating to oil spill prevention. This bill would, until January 1, 2018, limit the fee to an amount not to exceed $3,500 per nontank vessel, but would allow the administrator to annually adjust the maximum fee based on the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index. The bill would authorize the administrator, on and after January 1, 2018, to charge the fee in amount based on the administrator's costs related to regulating nontank vessels. The bill would allow the revenue derived from the fees to be spent for those specified purposes related to oil spill prevention.
Existing law authorizes the retail sale of safe and sane fireworks from June 28 to July 6, annually, pursuant to a license issued by the State Fire Marshal, unless otherwise prohibited or regulated by law or ordinance. This bill would express the Legislature's intent, for purposes of determining whether the Legislature should continue to allow safe and sane fireworks for the period immediately before each New Year's Eve, to conduct an enhanced fireworks data collection study in a limited number of jurisdictions. The bill would further declare the Legislature's intent that the cost of the Fireworks Special Data Collection Program be totally funded by voluntary contributions, as specified. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before December 1 in 2013 and 2014, in consultation with the State Fire Marshal's General Fireworks Advisory Committee, to determine an appropriate sum that does not exceed the amount reasonably necessary for Fireworks Special Data Collection Program activities for targeted jurisdictions and the state for the following year. The bill would require the funding for these activities, from voluntary contributions from the fireworks industry or from federal or private grants, to be collected by the State Fire Marshal for deposit in the Fireworks Special Data Collection Fund, which the bill would create as a continuously appropriated special fund in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund would be available for actual reasonable costs incurred by the State Fire Marshal and local, participating jurisdictions to develop, implement, analyze, and report the results of the Fireworks Special Data Collection Program and for administrative expenses. By creating a new continuously appropriated special fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would further authorize, in 2014 and 2015, the sale of certified safe and sane fireworks from 9 a.m. on December 26 to 11:59 p.m. on January 1 of the following year pursuant to a license issued by the State Fire Marshal, if authorized by a charter city, city, county, fire protection district, or city and county ordinance or resolution that may also restrict the hours of use of those fireworks. Since a violation of this provision or other existing related provisions in connection with the sale of those fireworks would be a misdemeanor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating new crimes. The bill would also authorize a charter city, city, county, fire protection district, or city and county that adopts an ordinance or resolution authorizing the sale of safe and sane fireworks to require each applicant receiving a permit to pay a fee to the charter city, city, county, fire protection district, or city and county of a pro rata portion of the actual and reasonable costs incurred, on or before January 2, 2016, by the charter city, city, county, fire protection district, or city and county for, among other things, processing and issuing fireworks permits, inspection of fireworks stands, public awareness and education campaigns regarding the safe and responsible use of safe and sane fireworks, and related fire operation and suppression efforts, as specified. The bill would specify that the pro rata portion of those costs shall be based on a percentage of the permittee's sales and use tax return for the applicable permit period, not to exceed 7% of the gross sales of the fireworks sold in the charter city, city, county, fire protection district, or city and county, except that a cost recovery ordinance or resolution in effect on or before June 30, 2012, would be authorized to supersede that provision. 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 requires the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing to develop and report to the Governor on legislative, budgetary, and administrative programs to accomplish comprehensive, long-range, coordinated planning and policy formulation in the matters of public interest related to the agency. This bill would place the Military Advisor Council and the position of the Governor's Advisor on Military Affairs under the direction of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, and set forth that position's duties and authority with respect to state and local defense retention and conversion. It would provide that the Governor's Office of Planning and Research would be in the charge of the advisor who would be appointed by the Governor. The bill would authorize the office to establish a Military Advisory Committee with a specified membership.
Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act (the act) , provides for the licensure and regulation of community care and residential facilities by the State Department of Social Services. Under existing law, a violation of any of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would define "private nontraditional alternative treatment facility for youth," for purposes of the act. The bill would prohibit a person, firm, partnership, association organization, or corporation from operating, establishing, managing, conducting, or maintaining these type of treatment facilities unless licensing provisions are met and components of the program are accredited by an approved organization, as specified. The bill would prohibit a private nontraditional alternative treatment facility for youth from using corporal punishment, as defined. By adding private nontraditional alternative treatment facilities for youth to the act, this bill would create a new crime and 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, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, requires every local public agency to establish within its jurisdiction a basic emergency telephone system, and directs the Public Safety Communications Division within the California Technology Agency to coordinate and assist a local public agency to establish that system. This bill would require the California 911 Emergency Communications Office to develop and implement a public education campaign to instruct the public on appropriate and inappropriate uses of the 911 emergency telephone number system.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to implement various programs to provide financial assistance to specified entities for energy efficiency improvements. This bill would require the commission, in collaboration with specified entities, and in consultation with other stakeholders, including investor-owned utilities, to review emerging technology financing models used in other states to finance energy efficiency technology deployments and services that maximize private sector investment in California. The bill would also authorize the commission to establish and consult with an investment advisory group consisting of private and public investors.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as a segment of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law, notwithstanding open course provisions in statute or regulations of the board of governors, authorizes the governing board of a community college district that provides classes for inmates of certain facilities, including a federal correctional facility, to include the units of full-time equivalent students generated in those classes for purposes of state apportionments. This bill would instead require the open course provisions in statute or regulations of the board of governors to be waived for a governing board of a community college district that provides those classes for inmates, including inmates of state correctional facilities, and would authorize the board of governors to include the units of full-time equivalent students generated in those classes for purposes of state apportionments, subject to specified limitations. (2) Existing law provides for the method of computing apportionments for purposes of these inmate education programs. This bill would make revisions to that method of computation. The bill would prohibit a community college district from claiming, under the bill, for purposes of apportionments, a class for which a district receives full compensation for its direct education costs for the conduct of the class from a public or private agency, individual, or group of individuals, and a class offered pursuant to a contract or instructional agreement entered into between the district and a public or private agency, individual, or group of individuals that has received from another source full compensation for the costs the district incurs under that contract or instructional agreement, as prescribed.
