Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted by Proposition 47, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, among other things, established the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, which is funded by savings that accrue to the state from the implementation of the act. The act provides that, among other purposes, 25% of the funds shall be disbursed to the State Department of Education to administer a grant program to public agencies aimed at improving outcomes for public school pupils by reducing truancy and supporting pupils who are at risk of dropping out of school or are victims of crime. This bill would establish the Learning Communities for School Success Program for the purpose of implementing that grant program, subject to an appropriation to the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund in the annual Budget Act or another statute for the purposes of the bill. The bill would specify the administrative duties and responsibilities of the department with respect to the program, including administering grants and coordinating assistance to local educational agencies, as defined. The bill would set forth criteria to guide the department in awarding grants under the program, and would specify the purposes for which grant funds may be used. The bill would require the department to submit a final evaluation of the program to the Legislature on or before January 31, 2020. These provisions would become operative only if SB 527 of the 2015–16 Regular Session is chaptered and becomes operative on or before January 1, 2017.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the state agency primarily responsible for the administration and coordination of student financial aid programs at California postsecondary educational institutions. Existing federal law establishes the Chafee Educational and Training Voucher program for the purposes of providing financial aid to current and former foster youth who are attending qualifying postsecondary educational institutions. This bill, commencing with the 2017–18 academic year, would make a new Chafee grant award to a student only if the student attends a qualifying institution that is eligible for participation in the Cal Grant Program pursuant to a specified provision of the Cal Grant Program enabling act or if the student attends an institution that is not located in California that satisfies a specified provision of the Cal Grant Program enabling act.
Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. Existing law establishes within the department the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, which is vested with the general duty of enforcing labor laws, including those relating to wage claims and employer retaliation. This bill would require every employer subject to its provisions to keep accurate records of specific information regarding employees for 3 years. The bill would require the division to enforce its provisions and would authorize the Labor Commissioner, who is the chief of the division, to adopt any regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of the bill. The bill would require every employer, effective July 1, 2018, to register annually with the Labor Commissioner in accordance with prescribed procedures. The bill would prohibit an employer from conducting any business without registration as required by the bill and would authorize the commissioner to revoke a registration under certain circumstances. The bill would set application and renewal fees for registration. The bill would require an employer to include specific information in the registration application. The bill would prohibit the division from granting registration under specific circumstances. The bill would require the commissioner to maintain on the department's Internet Web site a public database of registered property service employers. The bill would require the division, by January 1, 2019, to establish a biennial in-person sexual violence and harassment prevention training requirement for employees and employers with the assistance of a prescribed advisory committee to be convened by the director. The bill would require employers, as of July 1, 2018, and until the division establishes that training requirement, to provide employees with a pamphlet of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing on sexual harassment. The bill would establish civil fines for specific violations of its provisions and vest in the commission the exclusive authority to enforce the civil fine provisions. The bill would require the deposit of registration fees and civil fines in the Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund and would direct that the moneys in the fund from those fees and fines be used only for the reasonable costs of administering the registration of janitorial contractors and the costs and obligations associated with the administration and enforcement of the bill by the division.
Existing law sets wage, hour, meal break requirements, and other working conditions for employees and requires an employer to pay overtime wages as specified to an employee who works in excess of a workday or workweek, as defined, and imposes criminal penalties for the violation of these requirements. Existing law exempts agricultural employees from these requirements. Under existing law, the function of the Department of Industrial Relations is to, among other things, foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. This bill would remove the exemption for agricultural employees regarding hours, meal breaks, and other working conditions, including specified wage requirements, and would create a schedule that would phase in overtime requirements for agricultural workers, as defined, over the course of 4 years, from 2019 to 2022, inclusive. Beginning January 1, 2022, the bill would require any work performed by a person, employed in an agricultural occupation, in excess of 12 hours in one day to be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the employee's regular rate of pay. The bill would provide employers who employ 25 or fewer employees an additional 3 years to comply with the phasing in of these overtime requirements. The bill would authorize the Governor to delay the implementation of these overtime pay provisions if the Governor also suspends the implementation of a scheduled state minimum wage increase, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations to update a specified wage order for consistency with these provisions, as specified. The bill would create a state-mandated local program by including agricultural employees as a class of employees protected by criminal penalties under existing law. 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.
This measure would urge the federal government to ensure that immigrant children are afforded due process under the law in removal proceedings by providing government-funded attorneys, trained in immigration law, to all indigent children seeking an immigration remedy. The measure would urge the federal government to first hear cases involving children that have legal counsel and to immediately halt cases brought against unrepresented immigrant children until lawyers are made available to represent them.
This measure would designate the interchange at Interstate 10 and Interstate 710 in the County of Los Angeles as the Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Thomas H. Pohlman Memorial Interchange. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, erect those signs.
(1) Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. Existing law requires the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field, so as to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources, as provided; to permit owners and operators of wells to utilize all known methods and practices to increase the ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons; and to perform the supervisor's duties in a manner that encourages the wise development of oil and gas resources to best meet oil and gas needs in this state. Existing law defines, among other things, "active observation well," "idle well," and "long-term idle well" for the purposes of these provisions. Existing law provides that an active observation well is not an idle well. This bill would limit the definition of "active observation well," and would expand the definitions of "idle well" and "long-term idle well" by no longer excluding active observation wells from their definitions. The bill would provide that the abandoned underground personal property, including a well, of an operator becomes the property of the mineral interest owner when the operator loses the right to remove the personal property under common law or under a lease or any other agreement that initially gave the operator the right to drill, operate, maintain, or control the well. (2) Existing law establishes the Hazardous and Idle-Deserted Well Abatement Fund in the State Treasury. Existing law directs fee moneys collected from operators of idle wells to be deposited in the fund. The moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the department for expenditure without regard to fiscal year, to mitigate a hazardous or potentially hazardous condition by well plugging and abandonment. This bill would instead provide that the moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the department for expenditure without regard to fiscal year to mitigate a hazardous or potentially hazardous condition, by well plugging and abandonment, decommissioning attendant production facilities, or both, at a well of a feepaying operator. Because the bill would provide for the deposit of additional moneys in a continuously appropriated fund by expanding the definition of an "idle well," described above, and would change the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be used, it would make an appropriation. (3) Existing law requires the operator of any idle well not covered by an individual or blanket indemnity bond, as specified to either file with the supervisor a specified annual fee for each idle well, provide an escrow account for each idle well, provide an indemnity bond in a specified amount for each idle well, or, on or before July 1, 1999, file a plan with the supervisor to provide for the management and elimination of all long-term idle wells not covered by a fee, escrow account, or indemnity bond. Existing law requires that these plans cover a time period of no more than 10 years and may be renewed annually thereafter, subject to approval by the supervisor. Existing law exempts an operator who complies with the plan from any increased idle well bond or fee requirements. This bill instead would, until January 1, 2018, remove the requirement that the plans be filed on or before July 1, 1999, require that the plan cover a time period of no more than one year, revise the requirements of the plan, and remove the exemption for operators who comply with the plan from any increased idle well bond or fee requirements. (4) Existing law provides that a well is properly abandoned when it has been shown, to the satisfaction of the supervisor, that all proper steps have been taken to isolate all oil-bearing or gas-bearing strata encountered in the well, and to protect underground or surface water suitable for irrigation or farm or domestic purposes from the infiltration or addition of any detrimental substance and to prevent subsequent damage to life, health, property, and other resources. This bill would provide that proper steps include the plugging of the well, decommissioning the attendant production facilities of the well, or both, if determined necessary by the supervisor. (5) Existing law authorizes the supervisor or district deputy to order the reabandonment of any previously abandoned well if the supervisor or the district deputy has reason to question the integrity of the previous abandonment. Existing law prescribes the circumstances in which the operator responsible for plugging and abandoning a deserted well is not responsible for the reabandonment of the well. Under existing law, a person who fails to comply with an order issued under these provisions and other requirements relating to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill instead would authorize the supervisor or district deputy to order, or permit, the reabandonment of any previously abandoned well if the supervisor or the district deputy has reason to question the integrity of the previous abandonment, or if the well is not accessible or visible. The bill would revise the circumstances in which the operator responsible for plugging and abandoning a deserted well is not responsible for the reabandonment of the well, and would provide that being responsible for the reabandonment means that the responsible party or parties shall complete the reabandonment and be subject to certain requirements applicable to an operator of a well. Because a violation of an order issued under these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law authorizes the supervisor to order certain operations to be carried out on any property in the vicinity of which, or on which, is located any well that the supervisor determines to be either a hazardous or idle-deserted well, as specified. This bill would authorize a party to plug and abandon a well that the supervisor has determined to be either a hazardous or idle-deserted well by obtaining all necessary rights to the well, and would require that party to be subject to certain requirements applicable to an operator of a well, file with the supervisor the appropriate bond or deposit, and complete the abandonment, as specified. Because a violation of an order issued under these provisions or of certain requirements related to the regulation of oil and gas would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (7) Existing law prescribes requirements related to acquiring the right to operate a well or production facility, filing with the supervisor an individual indemnity bond for each well drilled, redrilled, deepened, or permanently altered, filing with the supervisor a blanket indemnity bond in lieu of individual indemnity bonds, operators of idle wells not covered under certain indemnity bonds, and the cancellation of an individual or blanket indemnity bond. Existing law directs fee moneys collected from operators of idle wells to be deposited in the Hazardous and Idle-Deserted Well Abatement Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. Commencing January 1, 2018, this bill would revise and recast these provisions to, among other things, increase the amounts of the required blanket indemnity bonds, require a person acquiring the right to operate a well or production facility to file a specified individual or blanket indemnity bond for each well, increase the fees required to be filed for each idle well if the operator does not file a plan with the supervisor to provide for the management and elimination of all its long-term idle wells, eliminate the authorization for an operator to provide an escrow account or indemnity bond for each idle well in lieu of paying a fee or filing a plan, and revise the conditions for the cancellation of an individual or blanket indemnity bond. Because the bill would provide for the deposit of additional moneys in a continuously appropriated fund by increasing the amount of fees required to be filed for each idle well, it would make an appropriation. Because a violation of an order issued under these provisions or of certain requirements related to the regulation of oil and gas would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (8) This bill would require the division, by June 1, 2018, to review, evaluate, and update its regulations, including testing and management requirements, pertaining to idle wells, as specified. This bill would also require the supervisor, on or before July 1, 2019, and annually thereafter until July 1, 2026, to prepare and transmit to the Legislature a comprehensive report containing specified information on the status of idle and long-term idle wells for the preceding calendar year. The bill would require the report to be made publicly available and an electronic version to be available on the division's Internet Web site. After July 1, 2026, the bill would require the division to continue to regularly provide updated information describing idle and long-term idle wells on the division's Internet Web site. (9) 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.
This measure would recognize the week of October 16, 2016, to October 22, 2016, inclusive, as Digital Citizenship Week.
(1) Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. Existing law provides that a person who violates certain requirements related to the regulation of oil and gas is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for each violation. Existing law requires the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to consider specified circumstances when establishing the amount of the civil penalty. This bill would require the supervisor to consider specified additional circumstances when establishing the amount of the civil penalty. The bill would set ranges of civil penalty amounts depending on whether the violation is a well stimulation violation, a major violation, or a minor violation, as defined. The bill would authorize the supervisor, in his or her discretion, to treat each day a major or minor violation continues or is not cured as a separate violation. The bill would authorize the supervisor to allow a supplemental environmental project, as defined, in lieu of a portion of the civil penalty amount, not to exceed 50% of the civil penalty amount, as specified. The bill would, until January 1, 2021, require that the civil penalties assessed under these provisions be deposited in the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account. The bill would, until January 1, 2021, establish that account in the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund to be administered and managed by the division, and would require that the moneys in the account be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to plug and abandon oil and gas wells, decommission attendant facilities, or otherwise remediate sites that the supervisor determines could pose a danger to life, health, water quality, wildlife, or natural resources if there is no operator determined by the supervisor to be responsible for remediation or who is able to respond. The bill would authorize the division to adopt regulations to implement these provisions, and would repeal obsolete provisions related to the Acute Orphan Well Account. (2) Existing law establishes procedures for an operator of a well or production facility to appeal to the Director of Conservation from an order of the supervisor or a district deputy. Existing law requires a notice of appeal to be filed with supervisor or with the district deputy who issued the order. This bill would make numerous changes to the appeal process and procedures. The bill would, among other things, require the notice of appeal to be filed with the director, revise exceptions for when the notice of appeal operates as a stay of the order, revise what costs will be refunded if an emergency order is set aside or modified on appeal, and revise the circumstances in which appeals are to be heard in a formal hearing process before an administrative law judge, instead of in an informal hearing before the director. This bill would make numerous changes to the process and procedures for an informal hearing before the director. The bill would, among other things, authorize the director to extend the date of the hearing for good cause upon his or her own motion, revise the authorization for the hearing to be electronically recorded by either party, revise the timeline in which the director is required to grant or deny a petition to order the testimony of a witness at the hearing, and provide that obtaining subpoenas may be considered good cause to extend the date of the hearing. (3) Existing law sets forth numerous provisions governing discovery in the context of an informal hearing before the director. Existing law authorizes the supervisor or the director, upon application to a judge of the superior court of the county within which the proceeding or investigation is pending, to obtain a subpoena compelling the attendance of witnesses and the production of records, surveys, documents, books, or accounts at such places as the judge may designate within the limits prescribed in these provisions. This bill would make numerous changes to these discovery provisions. The bill would, among other things, require a judge of the superior court, upon application by the supervisor or director, to assign a case number for the proceeding or investigation, to issue an order prescribing the nature and scope of the proceeding or investigation, and to retain jurisdiction for the limited purpose of enforcing subpoenas issued in the proceeding or investigation; authorize the attorney of record for the supervisor or director, upon the assigning of a case number, to issue subpoenas compelling the attendance of witnesses and the production of records, surveys, documents, books, or accounts for certain pending proceedings or investigations in the manner specified; authorize the supervisor or director, or his or her inspector, to inspect the well site or production facilities of any owner or operator to ascertain whether the owner or operator is complying with the certain requirements; authorize the supervisor or director to require any owner or operator to furnish, under penalty of perjury, technical or monitoring reports that the supervisor or director require; and prohibit the division and the department from making available to the public for inspection portions of a report that might disclose trade secrets, well data granted confidential status, or other confidential or privileged information, when requested by the owner or operator furnishing the report. Because the bill would expand the crime of perjury, it would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law provides, if the operator does not appeal an order, seek judicial review of a decision affirming or modifying an order within the time provided in law, or if the court has affirmed the decision, then any charge, including penalty and interest, that the decision permits the supervisor to impose constitutes a state tax lien against the real and personal property of the operator. This bill additionally would include any civil penalties imposed by the supervisor for violations of certain requirements related to the regulation of oil and gas in these provisions. The bill would authorize the supervisor to apply to the appropriate superior court for a clerk's judgment, in addition to the state tax lien, and would provide provisions related to obtaining the clerk's judgment. (5) 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.
(1) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. This bill would require the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. (2) This bill would become operative only if AB 197 of the 2015–16 Regular Session is enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2017.