The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, generally regulates the disposal, management, and recycling of solid waste, including, among other solid waste, plastic packaging containers. This bill would require an e-commerce shipper, as defined, that ships purchased products in or into the state to reduce from its 2023 calendar year levels the total weight and number of units of single-use plastic shipping envelopes, cushioning, and void fill, and expanded and extruded polystyrene, it uses to ship or transport the products, by no less than unspecified percentages on or before January 1, 2030. The bill would establish exemptions from these prohibitions. The bill would make a violation of the foregoing requirements subject to civil penalties and would require penalties collected by the Attorney General to be deposited into the Plastic Packaging Reduction Penalty Account, which the bill would create, for expenditure by the Attorney General, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce those requirements.
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The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, is established to promote beverage container recycling, and provides for the payment, collection, and distribution of certain payments and fees based on minimum refund values established for beverage containers. The act requires the department to annually designate convenience zones statewide and requires at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone, as defined, that accepts all types of empty beverage containers and pays the refund value, if any, at one location. The act requires dealers within a convenience zone where no recycling location has been established, or within a convenience zone that is unserved for 60 days and not exempt from convenience zone requirements, to alternatively (1) submit an affidavit to the department stating that the dealer has met specified standards for empty beverage container redemption or (2) pay $100 per day to the department, for deposit into the continuously appropriated California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, until a recycling location is established or until the dealer meets the standards for redemption specified in the affidavit provisions. This bill would require the department to conduct a study inquiring whether the $100 per day payment to the department provides inducement for dealers to meet the standards for redemption. The bill would require the department to submit to the Legislature a report regarding the study by July 1, 2023.
Existing law authorizes state funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be distributed to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for distribution to certain local educational agencies for the purchase of low- or zero-emission schoolbuses that replace, or increase the number of, schoolbuses in the existing schoolbus fleet or for retrofitting existing schoolbuses to achieve reductions in emissions, as specified. This bill would require, commencing January 1, 2035, 100% of all newly purchased or contracted schoolbuses of a school district, county office of education, or charter school to be zero-emission vehicles, where feasible. The bill would, in order to comply with that requirement, authorize local educational agencies, as defined, to request a one-time extension for a term not to exceed 5 years if a local educational agency determines that the purchase or contracting of a zero-emission schoolbus is not feasible due to both terrain and route constraints, provided that certain conditions are met. To the extent this requirement imposes additional duties on local educational agencies in connection with federally required pupil transportation services that go beyond the requirements in federal law, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a continuing contract for pupil transportation services in school districts or schoolbus lease or rental to not exceed a 5-year term, or for a schoolbus lease or rental contract containing a purchase or cancel option, as specified, not to exceed a 10-year term. For the furnishing of transportation of pupils in school districts to and from school using schoolbuses that are zero-emission vehicles and for the lease or rental of schoolbuses that are zero-emission vehicles, the bill would extend the term limit to 15 years for a continuing contract and to 20 years for a schoolbus lease or rental contract containing a purchase or cancel option, as specified. The bill also would apply these contracting provisions to county offices of education and charter schools. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, as a local area planning agency and not as a part of the executive branch of the state government, to provide comprehensive regional transportation planning for the region comprised of the City and County of San Francisco and the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. This bill would require the commission to develop and adopt a Connected Network Plan, develop a comprehensive, standardized regional transit mapping and wayfinding system, develop an implementation and maintenance strategy and funding plan, and establish open data standards, as specified. The bill would require the region's transit agencies, as defined, to comply with those established regional transit mapping and wayfinding system, implementation and maintenance strategy and funding plan, and open data standards, as provided. This bill would require the transit agencies in the region to establish a regional transit coordinating council and would require the council to, among other things, develop and adopt an integrated transit fare structure. The bill would require the council to submit the integrated transit fare structure to the commission for approval and, after approval, would require each transit agency in the region to present the structure to its board for consideration. Under existing law, moneys in the Public Transportation Account are continuously appropriated to the Controller for allocation to transportation planning agencies, county transportation commissions, and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board for purposes of the State Transit Assistance Program. Existing law requires the Controller to allocate those moneys to those entities based on population and qualifying revenue, as specified. This bill would require the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to notify a transit agency if the commission determines that the transit agency is out of compliance with the integrated transit fare structure, regional transit mapping and wayfinding system, implementation and maintenance strategy and funding plan, or open data standards described above, and would require the commission to indicate what steps are needed to comply. If a transit agency does not comply with the compliance parameters set by the commission or if the commission rejects the transit agency's request for additional funding or for an exemption, the bill would make that transit agency ineligible to receive a portion of those moneys in an amount to be determined by the commission. The bill would require a transit agency to regain access to any withheld funds upon demonstration of compliance. To the extent that this bill would mandate that a transit agency establish a new program or provide a higher level of service as part of an existing program, and by imposing additional duties on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. Existing law also requires the DMV to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. This bill would require the State Department of Education to apply to the DMV to sponsor a mental health awareness license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue the license plates if the State Department of Education meets certain requirements. The bill would also establish the Mental Health Awareness Fund in the State Treasury and would require the revenue generated from the license plates to be deposited in the fund for use, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the State Department of Education, for mental health services in public schools.
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 ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years. The act requires the scoping plan to identify and make recommendations on direct emissions reduction measures, alternative compliance mechanisms, market-based compliance mechanisms, and potential monetary and nonmonetary incentives for sources and categories of sources that the state board finds are necessary or desirable to facilitate the achievement of the maximum feasible and cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, as provided. This bill would require, on or before March 1, 2023, and on or before March 1 of each year thereafter, each state agency, board, or department to post on its internet website a report regarding its compliance with and efforts to implement any goal or recommendation related to that state agency, board, or department, as defined, that is identified by the state board in the scoping plan, including any scoping plan updates. The bill would require a state agency, board, or department to include specified information in its report, including, but not limited to, identification of all scoping plan goals or recommendations that the state agency, board, or department is charged with or responsible, in whole or in part, for implementing, a description of the state agency's, board's, or department's, efforts to implement each scoping plan goal or recommendation, and whether the state agency, board, or department has fully implemented each scoping plan goal or recommendation. The bill would require, for each scoping plan goal or recommendation that is not fully implemented, a state agency, board, or department to describe in detail why the scoping plan goal or recommendation has not been fully implemented and the steps necessary for the state agency, board, or department to fully implement the goal or recommendation.
Existing law prescribes various civil causes of action and the measure of damages for those actions. Existing law requires any person who purchases or receives a firearm, as specified, to possess a firearm safety certificate. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to develop a written test required for the issuance of a firearm safety certificate. Existing law makes the violation of specified requirements with regard to firearms a misdemeanor or a felony, as specified. This bill would, commencing on January 1, 2024, make a person who owns a firearm strictly civilly liable for each incidence of property damage, bodily injury, or death resulting from the use of their firearm. This bill would provide that strict liability does not apply if the owner of the firearm has reported their firearm to local law enforcement as lost or stolen prior to the damage, injury, or death. The bill would additionally require a person who owns a firearm to obtain and continuously maintain in full force and effect a homeowner's, renter's, or gun liability insurance policy specifically covering losses or damages resulting from any negligent or accidental use of that firearm, including, but not limited to, death, injury, or property damage. This bill would require a person to keep written evidence of coverage in the place where a firearm is stored. By creating new requirements for firearm owners, violations of which would be punishable as misdemeanors, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the Insurance Commissioner to develop a standardized form of evidence of liability coverage. 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 establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, and the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes the California School Finance Authority, and authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds to finance projects for a single or several participating parties, defined to include a community college district that undertakes the financing or refinancing of a project. Existing law, the California Educational Facilities Authority Act, authorizes the California Educational Facilities Authority, among other things, to develop student housing on or near public institutions of higher education through the use of agreements with participating nonprofit entities. This bill would establish the California Student Housing Revolving Loan Fund Act of 2022 to provide zero-interest loans to qualifying applicants of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges for the purpose of constructing affordable student housing and affordable faculty and staff housing, as specified. The bill would establish the California Student Housing Revolving Fund as a continuously appropriated fund in the State Treasury, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to appropriate $5,000,000,000 for purposes of the housing loans. The bill would require the California School Finance Authority and the California Educational Facilities Authority to submit a report, by March 15, 2024, to the Department of Finance and the budget committees of the Assembly and Senate containing information on the act, as provided. The bill would apply certain provisions of the California Educational Facilities Authority Act to the University of California and the California State University for purposes of housing projects, as defined. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.