Existing law establishes the California Coastal Commission in the Natural Resources Agency and designates the commission as the state coastal zone planning and management agency for all purposes. Existing law prohibits a commission member or an interested person, as defined, from conducting an ex parte communication unless the commission member fully discloses and makes public that communication within 7 days after the communication or, if the communication occurs within 7 days of the next commission hearing, to the commission on the record of the proceeding at that hearing. This bill would require a commission member to fully disclose in writing 24 hours before a commission hearing any ex parte communication conducted within 7 days of the commission hearing relating to a matter that will be discussed at the hearing, and would prohibit a commission member or an interested person from conducting such an ex parte communication within 24 hours before the commission hearing. The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the regulation of the lobbying industry, including defining the term "lobbyist" and regulating the conduct of lobbyists. Among its provisions, the act prohibits lobbyists from engaging in certain activities, including accepting or agreeing to accept any payment in any way contingent upon the defeat, enactment, or outcome of any proposed legislative or administrative action. Under the act, a lobbyist is, among others, an individual whose principal duties as an employee are to communicate with, among others, any agency official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action. For these purposes, "administrative action" is defined as the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat by a state agency of any rule, regulation, or other action in any ratemaking or quasi-legislative proceeding and "agency official" is defined as any member, officer, employee, or consultant of any state agency who participates in any administrative action in other than a ministerial capacity. This bill would revise the definition of "administrative action" to include, with regard to proceedings before the California Coastal Commission, specified actions relating to the review, approval, and appeal of certain permit actions and coastal plans and programs. The bill would, however, exclude from these provisions relating to lobbyists an employee of a local government agency seeking, within the scope of his or her employment, to influence quasi-judicial decisions of the commission. The bill would also, for purposes of those matters before the California Coastal Commission, limit the definition of "agency official" to a member of the commission. Existing law makes a knowing and willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding those crimes. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes with a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. 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.
Sponsored bills
This measure would recognize and commend the Maritime Museum of San Diego for its continuing dedication to preserving, interpreting, and teaching the rich maritime history of California while upholding a worldwide reputation for excellence with regard to the restoration, maintenance, and operation of historic vessels, particularly the San Salvador replica.
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, on or before July 1 of each year, to hold a hearing on, and adopt a budget for, the subsequent fiscal year. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district that proposes to adopt a budget that includes a combined assigned and unassigned ending fund balance in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the State Board of Education to provide specified information for public review and discussion. This bill would instead require the governing board of a school district that proposes to adopt a budget that includes unassigned ending balances in the school district's general fund and special reserve fund for other than capital outlay projects in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties to provide specified information for public review and discussion. The bill would also require the governing board of a school district to adopt a policy establishing procedures for reporting the fund balances as reflected in the school district's governmental fund financial statements, as specified. By imposing additional duties on school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law limits the amount of the combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance contained in a school district's annual budget in any fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made into the Public School System Stabilization Account. Existing law establishes formulas for calculating the maximum amount allowable for school districts with less than 400,000 units of average daily attendance and for school districts with more than 400,000 units of average daily attendance, as specified. Existing law authorizes the county superintendent of schools to grant an exemption from those requirements if the school district provides documentation indicating extraordinary fiscal circumstances substantiate the need for a combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance that is in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties, as specified. This bill would instead provide that the school district's budget shall not contain unassigned ending balances in the school district's general fund and special reserve fund for other than capital outlay projects in excess of 15% of those funds, and would require a county superintendent of schools to grant a school district an exemption if the school district provides documentation indicating extraordinary fiscal circumstances substantiate the need for those fund balances, as specified. The bill would require the governing board of a school district to report in a public meeting its assigned and unassigned fund balances in the school district's general fund and special reserve fund for other than capital outlay projects, as specified. Because the bill would impose additional duties on school districts and county superintendents of schools, 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.
The State Bar Act provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation governed by a board of trustees. That act requires 6 members of the 19-member board to be attorneys elected from State Bar Districts. That act requires protection of the public to be the highest priority for the State Bar and the board of trustees in exercising their licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions and requires protection of the public to be paramount whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent with any other interest sought to be promoted. That act prohibits the State Bar from awarding a contract for goods, services, or both, for an aggregate amount in excess of $50,000, or for information technology goods, services, or both, for an aggregate amount in excess of $100,000, except pursuant to specified public contracting provisions. That act provides that the State Bar is subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the California Public Records Act, as specified. That act, until January 1, 2017, requires the board to charge an annual membership fee for active members of up to $315 for 2016. The act requires the board of trustees to elect or select the president, vice president, and treasurer of the State Bar, as specified. Existing law prohibits the Legislature, when the board of trustees places a charge upon or otherwise makes available all or any portion of the income or revenue from membership fees for the payment of security of an obligation of the State Bar and so long as any obligation remains unpaid, from reducing the maximum membership fee below the maximum in effect at the time the obligation is created or incurred and provides that this provision constitutes a covenant to the holder of such an obligation. The act requires the board of trustees to contract with the California State Auditor's Office to conduct a performance audit of the State Bar's operations, as specified. That act establishes the State Bar Court to act in the place of the board of trustees in the determination of disciplinary proceedings, as specified. That act authorizes the State Bar to raise additional revenue by any lawful means, including, but not limited to, the creation of foundations or not-for-profit corporations. That act requires the board to establish and administer a Client Security Fund to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by dishonest conduct of active members of the State Bar, as specified. This bill would provide that the board of trustees consists of no more than 19 members and no fewer than 13 members and would require the board to transition to a 13-member board, as specified. The bill would remove from the board attorney members elected from State Bar Districts and would make conforming changes. The bill would require each appointing authority, when making appointments to the board after December 31, 2016, to consider appointing members who have demonstrated education or experience, or both, in one of 6 specified areas, including public finance. The bill would require that a minimum of 7 members of the board be public members, as appointed by specified entities, and would require members of the board to serve a term of 4 years. The bill would require the California Supreme Court to review the substance of any anticompetitive decision made by the board and specifies that California Supreme Court has the power to veto, modify, or take other appropriate actions over those decisions. The bill would require the California Supreme Court to select from the members of the board a chair and vice chair of the State Bar and would require the chair's term to be 2 years. This bill would require protection of the public as the highest priority for the State Bar and set the priority of the regulatory functions of the State Bar, as specified. This bill would require the Attorney General to appoint a State Bar enforcement program monitor prior to March 31, 2017, and would require the enforcement program monitor to evaluate the disciplinary system and procedures of the State Bar, as specified. The bill would require the enforcement program monitor to submit an initial report no later than October 1, 2019, and to issue a final report before March 31, 2020. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on March 31, 2020, and would repeal the provisions as of January 1, 2021. This bill would require the board of trustees to engage the services of an independent national or regional public accounting firm with at least 5 years of experience in governmental auditing for an audit of its revenues, expenditures, reserves, and its financial statements for each fiscal year and would require the California State Auditor, for the performance audit due in January 2017, to review all of the State Bar's expenses, including, but not limited to, executive salaries, and would require that audit to also include a recommendation by the California State Auditor of the appropriate methodology for the State Bar to calculate the portion of administrative costs that are appropriately allocated to the sections of the State Bar. The bill would also require the California State Auditor to conduct a performance audit evaluating the State Bar's progress in certain areas, including correcting any issues raised in prior California State Auditor audits, and would require the California State Auditor to report its findings and recommendations, as specified. This bill would provide that access to records of the State Bar Court is subject to the rules and laws applicable to the judiciary instead of the California Public Records Act and would exempt the State Bar Court from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. This bill would allow, beginning on and after January 1, 2016, the disclosure of specified information submitted by an applicant to the State Bar for admission and license to practice. This bill, until January 1, 2018, would require the board to charge an annual membership fee in a specified amount for 2017. The bill would repeal the provision prohibiting the Legislature from reducing the maximum membership fee and would prohibit the State Bar from creating any foundation or nonprofit corporations, as specified. The bill would require the State Bar to conduct a thorough analysis of the Client Security Fund and to submit a report to the Legislature on its analysis of that fund by March 15, 2017, as specified. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
(1) Existing law generally prohibits the possession or transfer of assault weapons, except for the sale, purchase, importation, or possession of assault weapons by specified individuals, including law enforcement officers. Under existing law, "assault weapon" means, among other things, a semiautomatic centerfire rifle or a semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and has any one of specified attributes, including, for rifles, a thumbhole stock, and for pistols, a 2nd handgrip. This bill would revise this definition of "assault weapon" to mean a semiautomatic centerfire rifle or a semiautomatic pistol that does not have a fixed magazine but has any one of those specified attributes. The bill would also define "fixed magazine" to mean an ammunition feeding device contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm in such a manner that the device cannot be removed without disassembly of the firearm action. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law makes any person who, within this state, possesses an assault weapon, except as otherwise provided, guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony. This bill would exempt from punishment under that prohibition a person who possessed an assault weapon prior to January 1, 2017, if specified requirements are met. (3) Existing law requires that, with specified exceptions, any person who, prior to January 1, 2001, lawfully possessed an assault weapon prior to the date it was defined as an assault weapon, and which was not specified as an assault weapon at the time of lawful possession, register the firearm with the Department of Justice. Existing law permits the Department of Justice to charge a fee for registration of up to $20 per person but not to exceed the actual processing costs of the department. Existing law, after the department establishes fees sufficient to reimburse the department for processing costs, requires fees charged to increase at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved annual cost-of-living adjustment for the department's budget or as otherwise increased through the Budget Act. Existing law requires those fees to be deposited into the Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, establishes the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. This bill would require that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, register the firearm with the Department of Justice before January 1, 2018, but not before the effective date of specified regulations. The bill would permit the department to increase the $20 registration fee as long as it does not exceed the reasonable processing costs of the department. The bill would also require registrations to be submitted electronically via the Internet utilizing a public-facing application made available by the department. The bill would require the registration to contain specified information, including, but not limited to, a description of the firearm that identifies it uniquely and specified information about the registrant. The bill would permit the department to charge a fee of up to $15 per person for registration through the Internet, not to exceed the reasonable processing costs of the department to be paid and deposited, as specified, for purposes of the registration program. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for the purpose of implementing those provisions and would exempt those regulations from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would also make technical and conforming changes. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (5) This bill would become operative only if SB 880 of the 2015–16 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2017.
This measure would urge the United States Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and the Office of Management and Budget to expedite the rulemaking and implementation processes for federal safety regulations governing the transport by rail of flammable and combustible liquids, including crude oil, and would also urge the President and the Congress of the United States to pass specified federal legislation mandating public safety measures regulating the transport by rail of those liquids.
Existing law provides for the Department of Motor Vehicles to register vehicles used on the public streets and highways and to verify insurance coverage. Existing law provides for the Public Utilities Commission to regulate certain classes of passenger carriers, including charter-party carriers of passengers and passenger stage corporations, and to issue certificates or permits in that regard. Existing law requires the Department of the California Highway Patrol to regulate the safe operation of certain classes of vehicles, including buses and modified limousines. Existing law requires charter-party carriers of passengers and passenger stage corporations to report the vehicles they use in their operations to the commission. A violation of provisions governing charter-party carriers of passengers and passenger stage corporations is a crime. This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles, in issuing or renewing a commercial vehicle registration, to require the owner of a bus, limousine, or modified limousine used by a charter-party carrier of passengers or a passenger stage corporation to disclose the name of the carrier or corporation that will be using the vehicle in its operations. The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Motor Vehicles, to annually verify that the buses, limousines, and modified limousines used by a carrier or corporation have been reported to the commission by the carrier or corporation, would require the carriers and corporations to provide the commission with vehicle registration information for each vehicle, and would prohibit the commission from issuing or renewing a noncompliant carrier's or corporation's permit, certificate, or authority. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to notify the Public Utilities Commission when a charter-party carrier of passengers or a passenger stage corporation first registers a bus, limousine, or modified limousine with the department, and to provide information to the commission that will allow the commission to identify the vehicle. The bill would require the commission, with respect to those newly registered buses, limousines, or modified limousines, to ensure that the vehicles meet all statutory and regulatory requirements for safe operation. The bill, upon the commission becoming aware of a bus, limousine, or modified limousine of a charter-party carrier of passengers or a passenger stage corporation that has not been reported to the commission by the carrier or corporation, would require the commission to immediately take steps to require the carrier or corporation to update its reporting of vehicles to the commission and to request the Department of the California Highway Patrol to conduct a safety inspection of the vehicle. All of these provisions of the bill would become operative on January 1, 2018. Because a violation of certain provisions of the bill would be a crime, 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.
This measure would proclaim April 12, 2016, as Equal Pay Day in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all.
Under existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control through the Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a special on-sale general license to the operator of any for-profit theater located within the City and County of San Francisco, as specified. Existing law prohibits that special on-sale general license from being issued until any existing licenses issued by the department to the operator for the premises of the for-profit theater are canceled. This bill would delete that prohibition. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would encourage teaching sun safety practices to children to enable them to identify the importance of sun safety, practice strategies to protect against the harmful effects of the sun, and understand why and how to stay safe from overexposure to the sun.