The Vehicle License Fee Law, in lieu of any ad valorem property tax upon vehicles, imposes an annual license fee for any vehicle subject to registration in this state in the amount of 1% of the market value of that vehicle, as provided, for a specified amount of time. Existing law also, until July 1, 2011, imposes an additional tax equal to 0.15% of the market value of specified vehicles, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to the vehicle license fee, to be deposited in the General Fund and transferred to the Local Safety and Protection Account, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law provides that money in the account shall be allocated for various public safety programs, as provided. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2011, and each July 1 thereafter for a transfer $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the account total of 5 years, as provided. By transferring funds to a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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Existing law regulates fireworks and pyrotechnic displays and requires that a permit be obtained from the State Fire Marshal in certain instances. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared by contract, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, 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. The California Coastal Act of 1976 provides for the planning and regulation of development, under a coastal development permit process, within the coastal zone. Existing law defines development for these purposes. This bill would exempt a municipal fireworks display, as defined, from the provisions of CEQA. Because a lead agency would have to determine the applicability of the exemption and to take certain specified action upon a determination of exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that a coastal development permit is not required for a municipal fireworks display and would specify that "development" does not include a municipal fireworks display. 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 requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to regulate various laws regulating agriculture and farmland in the state. Existing law provides that the department is under the control of a civil executive officer known as the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and authorizes the department to provide for the issuance and renewal on a 2-year basis of licenses, certificates of registration, or other indicia of authority issued by the department or any agency in the department. This bill would designate the secretary as the ombudsman for all state agriculture regulations and would require the ombudsman to provide assistance in understanding the process for obtaining permits, assistance in the expeditious completion of the process for obtaining permits, and agriculture-related information and education to assist policy development regarding agricultural issues. The bill would make the ombudsman responsible for reviewing and identifying agriculture regulations that exist within the state and that may have a negative impact on the agricultural industry, and make recommendations regarding changes necessary to alleviate those negative impacts. The bill would also require the ombudsman to report these recommendations to the President pro Tempore of the Senate and to the Speaker of the Assembly on an annual basis, as specified. Existing law sets forth procedures for the adoption of administrative regulations. Among other requirements, these provisions require that every agency submit an initial statement of reasons for proposing the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, including facts, evidence, documents, testimony, or other evidence on which the agency relies to support an initial determination that the action will not have a significant adverse economic impact on business. This bill would repeal the requirement that every agency include in the initial statement facts, evidence, documents, testimony, or other evidence on which the agency relies to support an initial determination that the action will not have a significant adverse economic impact on business. Existing law requires that the notice of proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation include specified information, including, if the agency makes an initial determination that the action will not have a significant statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting business, a declaration to that effect. Existing law also requires every agency to prepare and submit with an adopted regulation a final statement of reasons that includes, among other things, an explanation setting forth the reasons for rejecting any proposed alternatives that would lessen the adverse economic impact on small businesses. Existing law also requires state agencies proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal any administrative regulation to assess the potential for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals, as specified. The bill would also revise these requirements with respect to the final statement to require that it include an explanation setting forth the reasons for rejecting any proposed alternatives that would lessen the adverse economic impact on any business, rather than small businesses. The bill would also require an agency to provide in the notice of proposed action documentation of the assessment described above to include cumulative adverse economic impacts, as defined, in addition to other adverse impacts, on California business.
The California Constitution establishes the Fish and Game Commission and provides for the delegation to the commission of powers relating to the protection and propagation of fish and game. Existing statutory law delegates to the commission the power to regulate the taking or possession of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, and reptiles in accordance with prescribed laws. Existing law excepts from that statutory delegation the power to regulate the taking, possessing, processing, or use of fish, amphibia, kelp, or other aquatic plants for commercial purposes. This bill would also except from that statutory delegation the power to impose an absolute, statewide, and permanent prohibition on hunting or taking game. The bill would not prohibit the commission, in accordance with the California Constitution, from imposing conditions necessary for the protection and propagation of game. Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Game in the Natural Resources Agency, and generally charges the department with the administration and enforcement of the Fish and Game Code. Existing law requires the commission to formulate general policies for the conduct of the department. Existing law requires the Director of Fish and Game to be guided by those policies and requires the director to be responsible to the commission for the administration of the department in accordance with those policies. This bill would prohibit the policies of the department from including an absolute, statewide, and permanent prohibition on hunting or taking game.
Existing law relating to groundwater management declares the intent of the Legislature to encourage local agencies to work cooperatively to manage groundwater resources within their jurisdictions, and makes related legislative findings and declarations. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those legislative findings and declarations.
Existing property tax law requires the county auditor, in each fiscal year, to allocate property tax revenues to local jurisdictions in accordance with specified formulas and procedures, and generally requires that each jurisdiction be allocated an amount equal to the total of the amount of revenue allocated to that jurisdiction in the prior fiscal year, subject to certain modifications, and that jurisdiction's portion of the annual tax increment, as defined. Existing law requires, for purposes of property tax revenue allocations for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 fiscal years, the county auditor for a county for which a negative sum was calculated pursuant to a specified former statute, in reducing the amount of property tax revenue otherwise allocated to the county by an amount attributable to that negative sum, to apply a reduction amount equal to the reduction amount determined for specified fiscal years. This bill would instead require, for the 2010–11 fiscal year, the county auditor for a county for which a negative sum was calculated as described above, to increase the total amount of ad valorem property tax revenues deemed allocated to the county in the immediately preceding fiscal year by an amount equal to the absolute value of the negative sum calculated for the county, and the proportional share of any growth in assessed valuations of property attributable to that negative sum through the 2009–10 fiscal year. This bill would also require, for the 2011–12 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, the amount of property tax revenue deemed allocated to a county in the immediately preceding fiscal year include the full amount of any increase implemented by the auditor, as so described, in that fiscal year, and would require that amount to be reduced from the total amount of ad valorem property tax revenue deemed allocated to the county's Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund. By imposing new duties in the annual allocation of ad valorem property tax revenues, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires members of the public to obtain license, permits, or to register with state agencies prior to undertaking certain types of tasks. This bill would require the Governor to establish a Internet Web site, known as the California Licensing and Permit Center (CLPC) , to assist the public with licensing, permitting, and registration requirements of state agencies. This bill would require the Governor to operate, via both e-mail and telephone methods, a help center to assist applicants with licensing, permitting, and registration requirements. This bill would require state agencies that the Governor determines has licensing authority to cooperate with this program by providing accurate updated information about their licensing requirements. This bill would create the California License and Permit Fund in the State Treasury, and require state agencies that are required to participate in the CLPC to reallocate a portion of their operating budget, as specified, to pay for the operating cost of the CLPC. This bill would state that upon appropriation by the Legislature, revenues from the fund will be used only for purposes of the bill. This bill would require the CLPC to be provided to the public free of charge.
Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of all state highways. Existing law describes the authorized routes in the state highway system. Existing law authorizes the California Transportation Commission to select, adopt, and determine the location for state highways on routes authorized by law, as specified. Existing law provides that State Highway Route 59 is from Route 152 northerly to Route 99 near Merced and from Route 99 near Merced to Snelling. This bill would provide that Route 59 also includes the segment of roadway from Route 132 to Route 108/120.
The Vehicle License Fee Law, in lieu of any ad valorem property tax upon vehicles, imposes an annual license fee for any vehicle subject to registration in this state in the amount of 1% of the market value of that vehicle, as provided, for a specified amount of time. Existing law, operative until June 30, 2011, also imposes an additional tax to the vehicle license fee equal to 0.15% of the market value of specified vehicles, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to be deposited in the General Fund and transferred to the Local Safety and Protection Account, a continuously appropriated fund. This bill would appropriate $506,400,000 from the General Fund to be deposited in the Local Safety and Protection Account, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
Existing law requires each local government, as defined, to review the housing element of the local government's general plan as frequently as appropriate, generally every 5 years, except as specified. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2012, until January 1, 2017, authorize a local government that has received a confirmation of compliance from the Department of Housing and Community Development, and that updates its housing element not more than every 5 years, to delay until the next scheduled revision date a revision to that local government's housing element, as specified.