The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, with jurisdiction over all public utilities. The California Constitution grants the commission certain general powers over all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature, and, among other things, authorizes the Legislature, unlimited by the other provisions of the Constitution, to confer additional authority and jurisdiction upon the commission that is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities, to establish the manner and scope of review of commission action in a court of record, and to enable the commission to fix just compensation for utility property taken by eminent domain. The Public Utilities Act and other provisions of the Public Utilities Code set forth the structure, funding, and responsibilities of the commission. This measure would authorize the Legislature to reallocate or reassign all or a portion of the functions of the commission to other state agencies, departments, boards, or other entities, consistent with specified purposes. The measure would direct the Legislature to adopt appropriate structures to provide greater accountability for the public utilities of the state and provide the necessary guidance to the commission to focus its regulatory efforts on safety, reliability, and ratesetting and to implement statutorily authorized programs for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. This measure would repeal the provisions of the California Constitution pertaining to the commission effective January 1, 2019, while specifying that a statute that was valid at the time the statute was enacted is not invalid by virtue of the repeal of those constitutional provisions.
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The California Building Standards Law provides for the adoption of building standards by state agencies by requiring all state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission for approval and adoption. Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the California Building Standards Code in its entirety once every 3 years. Existing law requires the California Building Standards Commission to, among other things, research and assist in the development of mandatory green building standards for the installation of recycled water systems for newly constructed commercial and public buildings, as specified. This bill would require the California Building Standards Commission to develop regulations and mandatory building standards for the installation of water conserving plumbing fixtures, as defined, in existing nonresidential and public buildings, including installation in all nonresidential buildings by January 1, 2022.
Existing law, the Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947, establishes the Wildlife Conservation Board in the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Under existing law, the board consists of the president of the Fish and Game Commission, the Director of Fish and Wildlife, and the Director of Finance. Existing law prescribes the board's duties with regard to, among other things, real property acquisitions for property used for wildlife preservation and conservation purposes. This bill would establish the Inner Coast Range Program with specified goal areas and authorization related to the Inner Coast Range Region, as defined. This bill would require the board to establish an advisory board for the program consisting of one representative of each of the counties within the region and would authorize the board to invite certain legislators and representatives of state and federal agencies to participate as members on the advisory board. The bill would create the Inner Coast Range Program Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation, for the purposes of the program. The bill would require the board to make a biannual report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency regarding expenditures, land, management costs, and administrative costs for the purposes of the program. The bill, by January 1, 2027, would require the board, in consultation with the advisory board, to review the program and issue a report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature about the possible creation of a state conservancy for the Inner Coast Range Region.
Existing law prohibits a person from being tried, adjudged to punishment, or having his or her probation, mandatory supervision, postrelease community supervision, or parole revoked while that person is mentally incompetent. Existing law establishes a process by which a defendant's mental competency is evaluated and by which the defendant receives treatment, including, if applicable, antipsychotic medication, with the goal of returning the defendant to competency. Existing law credits time spent by a defendant in a state hospital or other facility as a result of commitment during the process toward the term of any imprisonment for which the defendant is sentenced. This bill, until January 1, 2021, for the Counties of Los Angeles and Santa Clara, would authorize a defendant who is or has been eligible for public mental health services due to a serious mental illness or who is eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits due to a diagnosed mental illness to petition the court, after the defendant's plea or conviction but prior to sentencing, for a sentence that includes mental health treatment. The bill would authorize a court, if it finds that the defendant has shown that he or she meets the criteria by a preponderance of the evidence, to order the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the county authority to provide specified mental health service, including placement in a residential mental health treatment facility instead of state prison or county jail, placement in a mental health program within the state prison or county jail, or preparation of a postrelease mental health treatment plan. The bill would authorize the court, upon petition of the defendant or the prosecution, to recall a sentence that includes a mental health order and resentence the defendant to other mental health treatment or resentence the defendant without mental health treatment. The bill would provide that the defendant has the right to counsel for these proceedings. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor, as specified. By imposing additional duties upon county jail authorities, this bill would create 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 legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Los Angeles and Santa Clara.
Existing law establishes and funds various research centers and programs in conjunction with the University of California. This bill would enact the California Firearm Violence Research Act. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the Regents of the University of California establish the California Firearm Violence Research Center to research firearm-related violence. The bill would declare legislative intent regarding the principles by which the university would administer the center and award research funds, as prescribed. The bill would require the university to report, on or before December 31, 2017, and every 5 years thereafter, specified information regarding the activities of the center and information pertaining to research grants. The bill would require the center and the grant recipients to provide copies of their research publications to the Legislature and specified agencies. The bill would specify that its provisions would apply to the university only to the extent that the regents, by resolution, make any of the provisions of the bill applicable to the university.
This act would declare June 10, 2016, as Portugal Day to celebrate Portuguese national heritage.
This measure would recognize May 24, 2016, as Slavic Heritage Day.
This measure would proclaim that Monday, January 18, 2016, be observed as the official memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and his work in the Civil Rights Movement.