Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to implement a program to provide financial assistance for energy efficiency projects. This bill would enact the Nonresidential Building Energy Retrofit Financing Act of 2012 and would require the commission to establish the Nonresidential Building Energy Retrofit Financing Program and to hire a third-party administrator by July 1, 2013, to develop and operate the program to provide financial assistance, through authorizing the issuance of, among other things, revenue bonds, to owners of eligible nonresidential buildings for implementing energy improvements for their properties. The bill would provide that the bonds are secured by the recording of an energy remittance repayment agreement, as defined, on the deed of the property for which the improvements are performed. The bill would require the State Board of Equalization to collect installment payments from owners of eligible properties whose applications have been approved by the commission. This bill would require the commission to meet for the purpose of approving applicants to participate in the program. The bill would authorize the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, on behalf of the commission, to issue and renew the negotiable revenue bonds to generate moneys to finance energy improvements for approved applicants. This bill would establish the Nonresidential Building Energy Retrofit Debt Servicing Fund, the Loan Loss Reserve Account, and the Administration Account within the fund. The bill would require the State Board of Equalization to deposit the installment payment received from the owners of eligible buildings into the fund and the fees collected into the specified accounts. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund and the accounts to repay the principal and interest on the bonds, and to cover the administrative costs incurred by the authority, the commission, and the State Board of Equalization, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the Director of Finance to transfer, as a loan, up to $1,000,000, to the authority, and up to $7,000,000, to the commission, from the General Fund for the purposes of implementing the program. The bill would require the loans to be repaid on or before January 1, 2023. Existing law establishes incentives in the form of grants and loans to low-income residents, small businesses, and residential property owners for constructing and retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient. The bill would also require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to analyze and evaluate standards for nonresidential energy building.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to maintain a dental program that includes, but is not limited to, development of comprehensive dental health plans within the framework of a specified state plan. This bill would make these provisions inoperative for a specified period of time upon the creation of a Statewide Office of Oral Health within the State Department of Public Health with a licensed dentist who serves as the dental director. The bill would provide that the office would be established only upon receipt of sufficient funds, as specified, for the purposes of performing various duties relating to the oversight of dental care in California. This bill would prohibit General Fund moneys from being used to implement the provisions creating the office. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2017, the dental director or, in the absence of a dental director, the Secretary of California Health and Human Services or his or her designee to provide administrative oversight with respect to a specified study conducted under described circumstances.
Existing law requires the Department of General Services to make available a report on state agency contracting activity containing certain information. This bill would require the Department of General Services, beginning in the year 2013, to include in that report the list of activities that each state agency used to inform small businesses of each of the existing preferences available under state law, and the total number of preferences used in bidding packages by each state agency for the year.
The Charter Schools Act of 1992 permits teachers and parents to petition the governing board of a school district to approve a charter school to operate independently from the existing school district structure as a method of accomplishing, among other things, improved pupil learning. Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from denying a petition for the establishment of a charter school unless the governing board finds that the petition does not contain specified information, including, among other information, the qualifications to be met by individuals to be employed by the school and a declaration whether or not the charter school will be deemed the exclusive public school employer of the employees of the charter school for purposes of laws governing collective bargaining. This bill would require a petition for the establishment of a charter school, except specified charter schools, to include a description of the personnel policies and procedures of the charter school, including, but not limited to, those related to jury duty, vacations, holidays, employee discipline, and leave for pregnancy, bereavement, and illness.
Existing law requires a state agency to meet certain requirements with respect to purchasing recycled products, as specified. Existing law requires a local public entity, if fitness and quality are equal, to purchase recycled products instead of nonrecycled products whenever recycled products are available, as specified, and authorizes a local public entity to give preference to suppliers of recycled products. The Target Area Contract Preference Act requires the state, when preparing a solicitation for a contract for goods or services in excess of $100,000, to award a preference to a California-based company that meet specified requirements, and the act also limits the maximum preference for a bidder under that act and all laws to a cumulative 15% or $100,000, as provided. This bill would require a state agency that accepts bids or proposals for a contract for electronic goods to provide a preference of 5%, as specified, to a company that offers to fulfill the contract only with refurbished electronics, as defined. This bill would also specify that the maximum preference under this bill and all laws is a cumulative 15% or $100,000, as provided.
(1) The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act (act) establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and requires the commission to prepare a biennial integrated energy policy report containing specified information related to major energy trends and issues facing the state, as well as a biennial energy policy review. This bill would require the Energy Commission, beginning on January 1, 2013, as a component of the integrated energy policy report, to conduct a study of the effect of liquefied natural gas imports and exports on the state's energy demand. The bill would require the Energy Commission to create and maintain a matrix of information regarding liquefied natural gas terminal projects. The bill would also require a liquefied natural gas terminal project applicant to include in the application evidence that it has consulted with the United States Department of Defense and its impacted service components. For a project involving the construction or operation of a liquefied natural gas terminal for which an application submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or the United States Maritime Administration has not been deemed data adequate on or before January 1, 2013, and the application is being processed for further action by the FERC or the United States Maritime Administration, an environmental impact report prepared for that project by a lead agency would be required to contain specified information. By requiring a local agency to prepare an environmental impact report that contains specified information, the bill would increase the level of service provided by a local agency, thereby imposing 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt regulations that establish minimum standards regarding the percentage of hours of credit instruction that full-time instructors are required to teach. This bill would prohibit a full-time faculty member, as defined, for a community college district from being assigned a workload that includes overload or extra assignments if the overload or extra assignments exceed 50% of a full-time workload in a semester or quarter that commences on or after January 1, 2013. The bill would provide that this prohibition shall not apply to a summer or intersession term, and not supersede the pertinent requirements of a collective bargaining agreement containing restrictions regarding limitations on overload or extra assignments that are more stringent than the limitations imposed by the bill. With respect to a community college district with a collective bargaining agreement that, as of January 1, 2013, prohibits a full-time faculty member from being assigned a workload that includes overload or extra assignments if the overload or extra assignments exceed 50% of a full-time workload, the prohibition in the bill would become operative on January 1, 2014. The prohibition in the bill would also apply to the workload of supervisory or managerial personnel of a community college district who are performing faculty work that is allowed under an applicable collective bargaining agreement. To the extent that this bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute 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.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. This bill would require health care service plans and health insurers to annually, commencing on the date specified health plans are required to report certain information under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, provide specified information regarding their plan contracts or policies to the Department of Managed Health Care or the Department of Insurance, as applicable, including claims payment policies and practices, periodic financial disclosures, and data on enrollment and disenrollment, as specified. The bill would authorize the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care and the Insurance Commissioner to adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement these provisions, as specified. The bill would also require the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance to work with stakeholders to determine the form and manner of reporting the data according to these provisions and to avoid redundant reporting, and would authorize these departments to waive specified reporting requirements or modify the timeframe of existing reporting requirements, as specified. Because a willful violation of this reporting requirement by a health care service plan would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law authorizes an applicant for, or recipient of, public social services who is dissatisfied with certain actions of the county welfare department to request a hearing from the state department administering the social services. Existing law requires the hearing to be conducted by an administrative law judge, with an exception, and authorizes the administrative law judge, under certain circumstances, to render and adopt final decisions, with which decision the county director is required to comply and execute. This bill would require the county appeals representative to review all evidence in the county's possession prior to the hearing and, if the representative finds prescribed occurrences, to offer the claimant a conditional withdrawal or notice of action, as specified. This bill would require the conditional withdrawal to list the agreed-upon conditions that the claimant is required to meet, and require the county to issue any benefits for which the claimant is eligible following the claimant's meeting of those conditions. This bill would authorize a claimant to file for and reopen a state hearing under certain circumstances, at which the administrative law judge may render a decision. This bill would authorize a claimant to request a hearing conducted by telephone, or other electronic means, or at his or her home. This bill would require that certain notices relating to the hearing contain prescribed information. This bill would require the state department administering the social services to determine the format of the hearing if the county and the claimant disagree on its format. Existing law requires, if regulations require an agency to write a position statement concerning the issues in question in a fair hearing or if the agency chooses to develop such a statement, that not less than 2 working days prior to the date of the hearing the agency make available to the applicant for, or recipient of, public social services a copy of the agency's position statement, with an exception. This bill would require the county representative to prepare and transmit to a claimant who is scheduled for specified types of hearings and his or her representative the position statement so that it is received at least 2 working days prior to the hearing. This bill would require the administrative law judge to determine whether the county has met its burden of proof of establishing a prima facie case, with exceptions. This bill would require the administrative law judge to grant the claim if the judge finds that the county has not met its burden. By imposing a higher level of service on county appeals representatives, 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, 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. This bill would make its provisions operative upon the State Department of Social Services making a specified finding on its Internet Web site relating to the modification of court orders regarding penalties payable to claimants, as agreed to by the parties, in 2 specified cases.
(1) Existing law requires the department to charge traffic violator school owners, operators, and instructors fees for certain activities related to traffic violator school programs, including the issuance of a branch or classroom location license. These fees are required to be set to defray the actual cost to the department to administer the traffic violator school program, except for the costs for routine monitoring of instruction. This bill, until January 1, 2015, would revise the activities for which the department is authorized to impose certain of these fees and would authorize the department to charge fees instead for an approval for a branch office or a classroom location or the renewal of an approved branch office or current classroom location. The bill would require all of these fees to be equal to the fees charged for the 2011–12 fiscal year, except the fee for the renewal of an approved current classroom location would be required to be set at $50 per year per location. The bill would, as of January 1, 2015, delete those proposed revisions and would reestablish the fee requirements imposed under existing law. (2) Existing law requires the court to collect a single administrative fee that is assessed against a driver traffic violator who attends traffic violator school, and requires the fee to include the cost of routine monitoring of traffic violator school instruction. This bill, until January 1, 2015, would instead require the amount of the administrative fee assessed and collected by the court to be set by the department at an amount sufficient to defray the actual costs to the department to administer the provisions regulating the traffic school violator program, except for the costs defrayed by the fees authorized for specific department activities described in (1) above. The bill would, as of January 1, 2015, delete that proposed change and would reestablish the fee amount required under existing law.
The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 authorizes counties and districts to establish retirement systems pursuant to its provisions in order to provide pension benefits to employees. The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 authorizes the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo to provide any retirement benefits pursuant to that formula for some, but not all, general members or safety members of the county. Existing law further authorizes that county, by resolution, to require safety members to pay all or part of the contributions by a member or employer, or both, subject to certain limitations and conditions. This bill would authorize the Board of Supervisors of Marin County to provide a service retirement formula known as 3% at age 55 for safety members hired on or after January 1, 2013, as specified. The bill would authorize different retirement benefits pursuant to that formula for different bargaining units of safety members and the unrepresented groups of safety employees in similar job classifications and the supervisors and managers of those employees. The bill would also permit an ordinance or resolution adopted by the board to require safety members to pay part of the contributions by a member or employer, or both. The bill would require that the payment by a safety member become part of the accumulated contributions of the safety member. The bill would authorize the board, by means of a resolution, ordinance, contract, or contract amendment, to make the above-described provisions applicable to safety members in Marin County who are first hired on or after January 1, 2013.
Existing law authorizing contracting between state agencies and private contractors sets forth requirements for the procurement of goods and services by state agencies. The Corporation Tax Law imposes taxes measured by income and, in the case of a business with income derived from or attributable to sources both within and without this state, apportions the business income between this state and other states and foreign countries in accordance with a 4-factor formula based on the property, payroll, and double-weighted sales within and without this state, except that in the case of an apportioning trade or business that derives more than 50% of its gross business receipts from conducting one or more qualified business activities, as defined, business income is apportioned in accordance with a specified 3-factor formula. That law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, allows a taxpayer to elect to apportion its business income in accordance with a single sales factor formula, except as provided, pursuant to an irrevocable annual election, as specified. This bill would, except as specified, prohibit a state agency from entering into a contract for goods and services with a person or entity that apportions its business income in accordance with the 4-factor formula.
