Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to contract with Amtrak for intercity rail passenger services and provides funding for these services from the Public Transportation Account. Existing law, until December 31, 1996, authorized the department, subject to approval of the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing, to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for administering the state-funded intercity rail service in a particular corridor. Existing law, with respect to a transferred corridor, requires the board to demonstrate the ability to meet performance standards established by the secretary. This bill would authorize the department, with approval of the secretary, to enter into interagency transfer agreements for additional intercity rail corridors, to be entered into between June 30, 2014, and June 30, 2015. The bill would require the agreements to cover the initial 3-year period after the transfer, and would authorize subsequent extensions by mutual agreement. If agreements are not entered into by that the expiration of that period, the bill would require the secretary to report to the Governor and the Legislature by June 30, 2016, as specified. This bill would specifically authorize an additional interagency transfer agreement to be entered into with respect to the San Joaquin Corridor, as defined, if a joint powers authority and governing board are created and organized. In that regard, the bill would provide for the creation of the San Joaquin Corridor Joint Powers Authority, to be governed by a board of not more than 11 members. The bill would provide that the board shall be organized when at least 6 of the 11 agencies elect to appoint members. The bill would provide for the authority to be created when the member agencies enter into a joint powers agreement, as specified. The bill would provide for future appointments of additional members if the service boundaries of the San Joaquin Corridor are expanded. Existing law requires the level of service to be funded by the state pursuant to a transfer agreement to not be less than the current number of intercity round trips operated in a corridor and serving the same endpoints. This bill would require the level of service funded by the state to remain the same during the first 3 years following the effective date of the transfer agreement, and would require the entity assuming responsibility for a corridor to provide that level of service. The bill would prohibit termination of feeder bus services except for specified reasons. Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds by the secretary to a joint powers board under an interagency transfer agreement based on the annual business plan for the intercity rail corridor and subsequent appropriation of state funds. Existing law states that the interagency transfer agreement may provide that any additional funds required to operate the intercity rail service during a fiscal year shall be provided by a joint powers board from jurisdictions that receive service. This bill, if local resources are made available for operating the intercity rail service, would require a vote of the local agency providing the resources, and would require the concurrence of the joint powers board in that regard. This bill would authorize the secretary to adopt new performance standards for intercity rail services. The bill would require the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority to protect existing services and facilities and seek to expand service, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department and any entity that assumes administrative responsibility for passenger rail services through an interagency transfer agreement to contract with specified entities for the use of tracks and other facilities and for the provision of passenger rail services. This bill would require a contractor under an agreement described above to agree that its labor relations shall be governed by a specified federal act relating to labor relations on railroads.
Sponsored bills
Under existing law, the Department of General Services exercises oversight of the acquisition and replacement of motor vehicles by state agencies. As of July 1, 2012, "state agencies" are defined for these purposes to include each campus of the California State University. This bill would delete the reference to each campus of the California State University from the definition of state agencies under these provisions. Existing law required, until July 1, 2012, the Trustees of the California State University to report to the Legislature on their motor vehicle procurement, to include specified information, on or before June 30 of each year. This bill would require the trustees to make an interim report to the Governor and the Legislature on January 1, 2014, and a final report on January 1, 2015, on their motor vehicle procurement, as provided. The bill would also require the trustees, to the greatest extent feasible, to purchase vehicles using statewide commodity contracts. This bill would repeal these provisions on July 1, 2015. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides for the conduct of elections generally. Existing law prohibits the use of a voting system for an election unless it has been approved as meeting specified criteria by the Secretary of State prior to the election. Existing law defines a voting system as any mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software, or any combination of these used to cast or tabulate votes, or both. This bill would exempt from the definition of a "voting system" a ballot marking system. The bill would define a ballot marking system to mean a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software that is used for the sole purpose of marking a ballot for a special absentee voter and that is not connected to a voting system at any time. The bill would require the Secretary of State to study and adopt regulations governing the use of ballot marking systems. The bill would establish procedures to govern the approval of ballot marking systems by the Secretary of State. The bill would prohibit the use of a ballot marking system at an election until it has been approved by the Secretary of State as meeting prescribed criteria. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law prescribes various duties for the Department of General Services in connection with development and maintenance of the park around the State Capitol Building. This bill would authorize the American Portuguese Club Incorporated, in consultation with the department and a specifically created committee, to construct and maintain a memorial in the existing All Veterans Memorial to honor California American Portuguese veterans. It would require that the planning, construction, and maintenance of the memorial be funded with private donations through the American Portuguese Club Incorporated. It would prohibit construction of the memorial until the master plan of the State Capitol Park is approved and adopted by the Joint Committee on Rules and the Joint Committee on Rules, and the Department of Finance have determined that sufficient private funding is available to construct and maintain the memorial. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law prescribes various duties for the Department of General Services in connection with development and maintenance of the park around the State Capitol Building. This bill would authorize the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation, in consultation with the Department of General Services, to plan a statue of Ronald Reagan in the State Capitol Building Annex. The bill would require the Department of General Services and the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation to approve the design and any other aspect of the statue. The bill would require that the planning, construction, and maintenance of the statue be funded with private donations through the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation. The bill would prohibit construction of the statue until the Joint Committee on Rules has approved and adopted the plan for the statue, and the Joint Committee on Rules and the Department of Finance have determined that sufficient private funding is available to construct and maintain the statue.
Existing law, the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, establishes a program of cooperative federalism for the regulation of telecommunications to attain the goal of local competition, while implementing specific, predictable, and sufficient federal and state mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service, consistent with certain universal service principles. The universal service principles include the principle that consumers in all regions of the nation, including low-income consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost areas, should have access to telecommunications and information services, including interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and information services, that are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in urban areas. Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to supervise and regulate every public utility in the state, including telephone corporations, and to fix just and reasonable rates and charges for the public utility. Existing law establishes the state's universal service funds, including the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund (CHCF-A) and the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund (CHCF-B) , in the State Treasury, and provides that moneys in each of the state's universal service funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service. Moneys in the funds may only be expended to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, requires the commission to develop, implement, and maintain a suitable program to establish a fair and equitable local rate structure aided by universal service rate support to small independent telephone corporations that serve rural areas and are subject to rate-of-return regulation by the commission (the CHCF-A program) . This bill would revise the CHCF-A program to instead require the commission, until January 1, 2015, to exercise its regulatory authority to maintain the CHCF-A program to provide universal rate support to small independent telephone corporations in amounts sufficient to meet the revenue requirements established by the commission through rate-of-return regulation in furtherance of the state's universal service commitment to the continued affordability and widespread availability of safe, reliable, high-quality communications services in rural areas of the state. The bill would specify eligibility requirements for small independent telephone corporations to participate in the CHCF-A program and requirements for the commission in maintaining the program. This bill would require a small independent telephone corporation that receives support from the CHCF-A program to provide information regarding revenues derived from the provision of unregulated internet access service upon request from the commission and would require the commission to treat this information as confidential. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a failure by a small independent telephone corporation that receives support from the CHCF-A program to provide information regarding revenues derived from unregulated internet access service when requested by the commission would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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 a county treasurer, whether elected or appointed, to complete a valid continuing course of study, on or before June 30 of each 2-year period, and to provide certification of completion of that course to the Controller. The continuing education program is required to consist of, at a minimum, 24 hours or an equivalent amount of continuing education units within the discipline of treasury management, public finance, public administration, governmental accounting, or directly related subjects, as specified. This bill would additionally require the continuing education course to include tax collection in the continuing education disciplines described above.
Existing law regulates the placement of collection boxes and requires specified information, including the name, address, and telephone number of the collection box owner and operator, to be displayed on the front of each collection box. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to declare a collection box in violation of these provisions a public nuisance. This bill, effective March 1, 2013, would require the written consent of a property owner or the property owner's authorized agent before a collection box may be placed on the property owner's property. If the property owner or property owner's authorized agent rescinds his or her consent, this bill would require the property owner or property owner's authorized agent to provide written notice of the rescission to the collection box owner or operator. This bill would shield an owner of private property or his or her authorized agent, who acts reasonably, from civil liability to a collection box owner or operator for the removal of an unauthorized collection box. This bill would require a property owner or property owner's authorized agent who causes the removal of a collection box to provide written notice of removal to the address displayed on the front of the collection box, unless no address is displayed. This bill would also shield a tow truck operator, who acts reasonably, from civil liability to a collection box owner or operator for the removal of an unauthorized collection box. The bill would provide that a property owner, property owner's authorized agent, or person in lawful possession of private property who causes the removal of a collection box, or otherwise disposes of it, despite valid written consent from the property owner or property owner's authorized agent at the time of removal, is civilly liable to the owner or operator of the collection box for 4 times the amount of the towing and storage charges, or $1,000, whichever is more. This bill would shield a person from civil liability for the removal of a collection box where removal is necessary to comply with local zoning ordinances.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires community college district governing boards to charge students an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year. Existing law also authorizes the board of governors to waive this fee under certain circumstances related to the income status of the student. This bill would require that a student qualifying for a fee waiver meet minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, and would provide detailed requirements regarding the content, adoption, and application of those standards. (2) Existing law, known as the Seymour-Campbell Matriculation Act of 1986, defines "matriculation" as a process that brings a college and a student who enrolls for credit into an agreement for the purpose of realizing the student's educational objectives. The act specifies the matriculation services that community colleges are required to provide, including the processing of the application for admission, orientation and preorientation services, assessment and counseling upon enrollment, and postenrollment evaluation of a student's progress. This bill would revise and recast the act, and rename it the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012. The act would state its purpose as increasing California community college access and success by providing effective core matriculation services of orientation, assessment and placement, counseling, and other education planning services, and academic interventions. The bill would specify the responsibilities of students and institutions in entering into the matriculation process. The bill would require the board of governors to develop a formula for allocating funding for the Student Success and Support Program that would be implemented under the act. The bill would specify that, in the 2012–13 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, the act would be operative only if funds are specifically appropriated for its purposes. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (3) The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to review and report specified information regarding the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012 to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by July 1, 2014, and by July 1 of every even-numbered year thereafter, as specified. (4) 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 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts from its requirements specified projects or activities. This bill would, until January 1, 2016, exempt a project or an activity to repair, maintain, or make minor alterations to an existing roadway, as defined, if the project or activity is carried by a city or county to improve public safety meeting specified requirements. CEQA authorizes a local agency, whenever it determines that a project is not subject to CEQA pursuant to designated provisions and the local agency approves or determines to carry out the project, to file a specified notice of that approval or determination with the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located. This bill would require a local agency that makes such a determination and approves and determines to carry out that project, to file a specified notice with the Office of Planning and Research, and with the county clerk in the county in which the project will be located.