Existing law, the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act, requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters. This bill would enact, until January 1, 2045, the Offshore Wind Workforce Safety Training Facility Development Act. The bill would require the commission to oversee the allocation and use of funds allocated for the development of offshore wind workforce safety training facilities, as defined, and to develop standardized training curricula tailored to the specific workforce safety needs of the offshore wind industry, as specified. The bill would require the commission to annually submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature summarizing the progress made in establishing and operating those training facilities, as provided.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to impose a registration fee for vehicles registered for use in California. Existing law imposes penalties for the failure of a person to pay the registration fee. Existing law permits the department to suspend, cancel, or revoke the registration of a vehicle when the department determines that the required fee has not been paid. Existing law requires, prior to the expiration of the registration of a vehicle, if that registration is not to be renewed prior to its expiration, the owner of the vehicle to file a specified certification that the vehicle will not be operated, moved, or left standing upon a highway without first making an application for registration of the vehicle, including full payment of all fees, except as specified. Existing law authorizes certifications to be filed after the expiration of the registration, but not later than 90 days after the expiration date, subject to the payment of specified filing fees and delinquency penalties. This bill would, notwithstanding any law, prohibit a person who is subject to these delinquency penalties and has been determined to have a current income level that meets the eligibility requirements for specified public social services programs, including, among others, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, from being required to pay the delinquency penalty in order to renew the registration of their vehicle. The bill would instead authorize the person to delay payment of their penalty until after the vehicle is registered, but by no later than the expiration date of the vehicle's registration. If the delayed penalty payment is not received by the expiration date of the vehicle's registration, the bill would prohibit the person from renewing their registration the following year until the penalty is paid.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a program for the development, provision, and evaluation of genetic disease testing. Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Genetic Disease Testing Fund (GDTF) , consisting of fees paid for newborn screening tests, and states the intent of the Legislature that all costs of the genetic disease testing program be fully supported by fees paid for newborn screening tests, which are deposited in the GDTF. Existing law also authorizes moneys in the GDTF to be used for the expansion of the Genetic Disease Branch Screening Information System to include cystic fibrosis, biotinidase, severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) , and adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and exempts the expansion of contracts for this purpose from certain provisions of the Public Contract Code, the Government Code, and the State Administrative Manual, as specified. This bill would require the department to expand statewide screening of newborns to include screening for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. By expanding the purposes for which moneys from the fund may be expended, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law establishes the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) for the purpose of benefiting children residing in foster homes by providing the stability and security of permanent homes. Under existing law, a child is eligible for AAP benefits if they meet, among other requirements, an age requirement wherein the child is (1) under 18 years of age, (2) under 21 years of age with a mental or physical handicap, or (3) under 21 years of age, has attained 16 years of age before the adoption assistance agreement became effective, and one or more of specified conditions are met. This bill would expand that 3rd category of the age requirement for AAP benefits by removing the requirement that the child has attained 16 years of age before the adoption assistance agreement became effective, and by increasing the eligible age to under 26 years of age. The bill would also require a county to include an application for extension of benefits when notifying adoptive parents of a child under 21 years of age of the expiration of benefits due to age. By expanding eligibility of a county-administered program, thereby imposing duties on counties, 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.
Existing law generally provides for the compensation of victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes by the California Victim Compensation Board from the Restitution Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the board. Existing law authorizes the board to grant for pecuniary loss, when the board determines that it will best aid the person seeking compensation, as specified. Existing law authorizes the board to reimburse, among other things, the expense of installing or increasing residential security, as specified. This bill would also authorize the board to reimburse the expense of enrollment and participation in self-defense courses offered, provided, or operated by a nonprofit organization, university, or law enforcement agency, in an amount not to exceed $1000. By expanding the authorizations for use of moneys in the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law authorizes a county to develop an emergency medical services (EMS) program, and requires a county developing that program to designate a local EMS agency. Existing law authorizes a local EMS agency to develop a community paramedicine or triage to alternate destination program that, among other things, selects providers to triage individuals to mental health facilities and sobering centers as alternates to emergency departments. Existing law requires the Emergency Medical Services Authority to develop and, after approval by the Commission on Emergency Medical Services, adopt regulations and establish minimum standards for the development of those programs. This bill would require the state to survey and analyze the facilities in each county that can serve as an alternate destination facility. The bill would require a local emergency medical services agency to annually report to the Emergency Medical Services Authority regarding the development of triage to alternate destination programs in its jurisdiction, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency, composed of departments, boards, conservancies, and commissions responsible for the restoration, protection, and management of the state's natural and cultural resources. This bill would establish in the agency the California Trails Conservancy Program. The bill would require the program to have specified purposes, including promoting enhanced and expanded environmentally sound greenways and trail networks. If the agency determines that it would benefit these purposes, the bill would authorize the agency to establish an ad hoc working group with specified members, including a representative from the Department of Parks and Recreation. This bill would also make its provisions operative contingent on Section 2 of Assembly Bill 1567 of the 2023–24 Regular Session taking effect on or before January 1, 2025.
Existing law, as amended by the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes it a crime to buy, receive, conceal, sell, or withhold any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing that the property has been so obtained. Under existing law, this offense is punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony, unless the value of the property does not exceed $950, in which case an offense is punishable as a misdemeanor. Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California's adult and juvenile criminal justice system, as specified. Under existing law, the board administers several grant programs, including a mentally ill offender crime reduction grant program, a medication-assisted treatment grant program, and a violence intervention and prevention grant program. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, create the Identifying, Apprehending, and Prosecuting Resale of Stolen Property Grant Program to be administered by the board. The bill would require the board to award grants, on a competitive basis, to county district attorneys' offices and law enforcement agencies, acting jointly to investigate and prosecute receiving stolen goods crimes and criminal profiteering. The bill would require the board to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature, as specified, regarding the impact of the grant program. The bill's provisions would be operative only to the extent that funding is provided, by express reference, in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
Existing law, upon appropriation by the Legislature, establishes the position of Deputy Secretary for Climate within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, to be appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, for the purpose of assisting in the oversight of California's workforce transition to a sustainable and equitable carbon-neutral economy. Existing law requires the deputy secretary to perform specified duties, including creating or coordinating programs with other state agencies to retrain and upskill workers for, among other jobs, clean energy jobs, as specified. On or before January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, existing law requires the deputy secretary to submit a report to the Legislature on key findings and recommendations regarding the development and implementation of the workforce transition to a sustainable and equitable clean energy economy. This bill would also require the deputy secretary to create and maintain a green jobs website that serves as the central hub for employment opportunities related to the transition to carbon-neutral jobs. The bill would delay the operation of the reporting requirement to January 1, 2026, and would make that reporting requirement inoperative on January 1, 2030.
Existing law defines "disabled veteran" for purposes of the Vehicle Code as, among other things, a person who, as a result of injury or disease suffered while on active service with the Armed Forces of the United States, has a disability that has been rated at 100% by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Existing law also defines a "disabled veteran" as a veteran who is unable to move without the aid of an assistant device. This bill would instead define a disabled veteran as a veteran who cannot walk without the use of an assistant device. The bill would expand the definition of "disabled veteran" to include a veteran who cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest, a veteran who is severely limited in the ability to walk because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition, or a veteran who has visual acuity of 20/200 or less, among other conditions, as specified.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the Governor's office under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services and makes the office responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services. The office serves as the State Disaster Council for the purposes of the California Disaster and Civil Defense Master Mutual Aid Agreement. Existing law authorizes state agencies to provide mutual aid, including personnel, equipment, and other available resources, to assist political subdivisions during a local emergency or in accordance with mutual aid agreements or at the direction of the Governor. This bill would require the office to prepare a gap analysis of the state's mutual aid systems on a biennial basis, beginning on January 1, 2025, as prescribed. The bill would require the office to prepare and submit to specified legislative committees a report on a gap analysis in accordance with the bill no later than February 1, 2025, and biennially thereafter by February 1 of subsequent odd-numbered years. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species, which currently includes wolverines, and to add or remove species from either list if it finds, upon the receipt of sufficient scientific information, as specified, that the action is warranted. The act prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except in certain situations, including, if specified conditions are met, through the issuance of a permit commonly known as an incidental take permit. Existing law enumerates fully protected mammals, including wolverines, and prohibits the take or possession of these mammals except under limited circumstances. Existing law, until December 31, 2033, authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue a permit under CESA that would authorize the take of a fully protected species resulting from impacts attributable to the implementation of specified projects if certain conditions are satisfied, including, among others, the conditions required for the issuance of an incidental take permit. Existing law requires the department to develop a plan on or before July 1, 2024, to assess the population status of each fully protected species. This bill would require the department, in any status assessment for wolverines prepared pursuant to the plan described above, to assess the feasibility of a population reintroduction or supplementation program with the goal of restoring a viable population of wolverines to the state.
