Existing law prohibits, except in specified circumstances, a state agency, political subdivision, municipal corporation, district, or public officer responsible for letting a public works contract from drafting bid specifications for that contract in a manner that limits the bidding to any one concern or product, unless the specification is followed by the words "or equal." Existing law requires that these bid specifications provide a period of time prior to or after, or prior to and after, the award of the contract to allow the contractor to submit data that demonstrates that a concern or product to be provided under the contract is equal to the concern or product identified in the bid specification. This bill would instead require these bid specifications to provide a period of time after the award of the contract for the submission of data substantiating a request for a substitution of "an equal" item, but would allow a solicitation for bids to require the submission of data substantiating a request for substitution of an equal item prior to the bid submission deadline only if the solicitation establishes a procedure for submission, evaluation, and determination, as provided. This bill would require the proponent of a proposed equal item submitted under that procedure to bear the burden of proof that the proposed item is equal to what is required by the bid specifications.
Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services to dispose of state surplus property, subject to specified conditions, including authorization by the Legislature. This bill would authorize the director to enter into an agreement with the City of Carlsbad for the exchange of specified parcels of real property subject to certain conditions.
(1) Existing law provides for licensing and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. A willful violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Insurance Commissioner. Existing law requires health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of severe mental illnesses, including pervasive developmental disorder or autism, under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions, as specified. Commencing July 1, 2012, and until July 1, 2014, existing law requires health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies to provide coverage for behavioral health treatment, as defined, for pervasive developmental disorder or autism. This bill would require health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies to provide coverage for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment, other than behavioral health treatment, of pervasive developmental disorder or autism. The bill would, however, provide that no benefits are required to be provided that exceed the essential health benefits that will be required under specified federal law. The bill would prohibit health care service plans and health insurers from denying, terminating, or refusing to renew coverage solely because the individual is diagnosed with or has received treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism. Because the bill would change the definition of a crime with respect to health care service plans, it would thereby 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law imposes requirements on the Department of Water Resources in connection with the preparation of a Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) . The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009 requires the Delta Stewardship Council to consider the BDCP for inclusion in a specified Delta Plan, and requires the incorporation of the BDCP into the Delta Plan if the BDCP meets certain requirements, including a requirement that the BDCP include a comprehensive review and analysis of a range of Delta conveyance alternatives, including through-Delta, dual conveyance, and isolated conveyance alternatives and capacity and design options of specified canals and pipelines. This bill would require that the department's development of certain Delta conveyance facilities be completed on or before February 15, 2013, and would require that the construction of those facilities be completed by December 31, 2025.
Existing law, the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975, prohibits, with certain exceptions, a person from conducting a surface mining operation unless, among other things, a reclamation plan has been submitted to and approved by the lead agency, as defined, for the operation. The act requires the owner or operator of a mining operation to submit an annual report containing information regarding the operation. For purposes of compliance with specified provisions of the Public Contract Code, the act requires the Department of Conservation to, at a minimum, quarterly publish in the California Regulatory Notice Register, or otherwise make available, upon request, to the Department of General Services or any other state or local agency, a list identifying surface mining operations that have submitted the annual report and it indicates compliance with specified standards, guidelines, and requirements or that there is a pending appeal. This bill would require the department to give notice by personal service or certified mail to a surface mining operation that it determines shall not be included in the above-described list or shall be removed from the above-described list. The bill would specify that the surface mining operation shall have 30 days from the date of receipt of service within which to file an appeal of the department's determination with the State Board of Mining and Geology. The bill would require that an appeal be scheduled and heard at a public hearing within 60 days from the date the appeal is filed, or a longer time if mutually agreed upon by the board and the appellant. The bill would require that when a timely appeal is filed on behalf of a surface mining operation pursuant to the provisions of the bill, the operation shall remain on the list pending the final outcome of the appeal, if the appeal has not been pending for more than 180 days. The bill would require the board to deny a request for an appeal of a notice issued pursuant to those provisions if either (1) the notice alleges one or more violations of the act that the board determines to be ministerial in nature and not constituting a substantial violation, in which case the appellant would have 30 days to correct the violation and achieve compliance, or (2) the specific claims asserted in the notice have been adjudicated, or are pending adjudication before the board or a lead agency in a separate action authorized by the act. The bill would prescribe requirements for the review of information and evidence pertaining to the appeal, as specified. The bill would authorize the board, by regulation, to establish procedures for declining to hear appeals that it determines raise only ministerial issues.
Existing law authorizes a superior court judge to designate the jail of a contiguous county for the confinement of a prisoner of his or her county when there is no jail in the county or when a county jail becomes unfit or unsafe for the confinement of prisoners. This bill would authorize a local law enforcement agency within the County of Fresno to transfer (1) prior to booking, a person who is under arrest and in the custody of that agency, or (2) upon a person's scheduled release from the Fresno County Jail due to overcrowding, he or she has been identified by the arresting agency as being at a high risk to reoffend, and he or she is the subject of a formal request from the arresting agency for notification prior to release. The bill would require, prior to any transfer, the governing bodies of the local law enforcement agency seeking the transfer and the receiving jail facility to enter into a written agreement governing the terms of the booking, housing, and transportation of transferees. The bill would provide that the County of Fresno, including its officers and employees, shall not be responsible for any costs, claims, or liability of any kind associated with or resulting from carrying out these provisions at the time of transfer, unless the Fresno County Sheriff's Office is the transferring agency and that all costs, claims, and liability would be the responsibility of the transferring. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Fresno.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act prohibits any electrical corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the CPUC a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction (certificate of public convenience and necessity) . The existing California renewables portfolio standard program (RPS program) establishes requirements for retail sellers, as defined, and local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, to procure minimum quantities of eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, for various compliance periods. This bill would require the Independent System Operator (ISO) and the CPUC to jointly evaluate all electrical transmission facilities that have been identified in the ISO's most recently approved transmission plan and determine which of those transmission facilities are necessary or useful to interconnect eligible renewable energy resources to facilitate achievement of the procurement requirements established for retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities pursuant to the RPS program. The bill would require the CPUC and ISO, by March 31, 2012, to publish a report that includes a time frame for obtaining all governmental approvals for, construction of, and placement into service of, each of the transmission facilities determined to be necessary or useful to interconnect eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to the bill's requirements. The bill would require the CPUC and the ISO to coordinate the ISO's transmission planning process and identification of needed transmission facilities with the CPUC's issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity for transmission facilities.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. This bill would require investor-owned electric utilities to post on their Internet Web sites any report required by a revision to the commission's Electric Rule 21, if that revision is adopted after January 1, 2012. The bill would prohibit a report posted on Internet Web sites from including information proprietary to a developer applying for interconnection.
Existing law requires each person employed by a school district in a position requiring certification qualifications, except a person employed in a position requiring administrative or supervisory credentials, to be classified on the salary schedule on the basis of uniform allowance for years of training and years of experience, except as specified. This bill would, for a teacher who holds a 5-year clear designated subjects career technical education teaching credential, require that the 3 years of work experience, as specified, be deemed to be the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree, and would require that the holder of a 5-year clear designated subjects career technical education teaching credential be placed on and advance along the salary schedule of the school district in the same manner as a teacher with a baccalaureate degree.
The Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994 and the Multifamily Improvement District Law both require a management district plan for an improvement district proposed under either law to include specified information. Both laws require a city council to contract with a nonprofit corporation if the management district plan designates the nonprofit corporation to provide services to the improvement district. The Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 sets forth the procedures for establishing an assessment district under the act, including the preparation of reports by an engineer. This bill would prohibit the city council, the owners' association, and the nonprofit corporation, if one is designated, in the case of a district formed pursuant to the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994 or the Multifamily Improvement District Law, from contracting for services relating to the management or operation of the district with any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, or other organization that was previously contracted with for services relating to the formation of the district. The bill would also prohibit a local agency, in the case of an assessment district formed pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, from contracting for services relating to the management or operation of the district with any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, or other organization that was previously contracted with for services relating to the formation of the district.
Existing law provides for creation of airport districts. Existing law provides for transfer of the San Diego International Airport from the San Diego Unified Port District to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. This bill would establish the Ontario International Airport Authority as a local entity of regional government. The bill would establish the membership of the board of directors of the authority and set forth the powers of the authority. The bill would authorize the authority to enter into an agreement with the City of Los Angeles to facilitate the sale of, or the transfer of management and operational control of, the Ontario International Airport to the authority. The bill would require the authority, in cooperation with the City of Los Angeles and the City of Ontario, to develop a transition plan to facilitate the sale of, or the transfer of management and operational control of, the Ontario International Airport to the authority. The bill would also require the authority, the City of Los Angeles, the City of Ontario, the County of San Bernardino, other local and regional agencies, and the Department of Transportation to cooperate to develop effective surface transportation access to the Ontario International Airport. To the extent these provisions would impose additional duties on entities of local government, 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.
The Budget Bill, enacted as the Budget Act of 2012, would make appropriations for the support of state government for the 2012–13 fiscal year. This bill would amend the Budget Act of 2012 by revising items of appropriation and making other changes in the Budget Act of 2012. This bill would become operative only if AB 1464 or SB 1004 is enacted as the Budget Act of 2012. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a Budget Bill.
