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 requires the lead agencies to make specified findings in an EIR. Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) in the Governor's office. Existing law requires OPR to assist with, among other things, the orderly preparation of programs of transportation. Existing law authorizes a local agency that determines that a project is not subject to CEQA pursuant to certain exemptions and approves or determines to carry out that project, to file notice of the determination with the county clerk in the county in which the project is located. This bill, until January 1, 2018, would exempt from CEQA a bicycle transportation plan for an urbanized area, as specified, and would also require a local agency that determines that the bicycle transportation plan is exempt under this provision and approves or determines to carry out that project, to file notice of the determination with OPR and the county clerk. This bill would require OPR to post specified information on its Internet Web site, as prescribed.
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This measure would express the Legislature's support of the use of a portion of federally generated seafood product import revenues for the domestic marketing and promotion of California fish and seafood.
(1) Existing law requires the state to have the primary financial responsibility for preventing and suppressing fires in areas that the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has determined are state responsibility areas. Existing law requires the board to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area. The board is required to adjust the fire prevention fee annually using prescribed methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed. Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to annually transmit to the State Board of Equalization the appropriate names and addresses of persons who are liable for the fire prevention fee and the amount of the fire prevention fee to be assessed by the State Board of Equalization. Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and requires the fire prevention fees collected, except that portion retained by the State Board of Equalization, to be deposited into the fund and to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified fire prevention activities, which would benefit the owners of structures in state responsibility areas who are subject to the fire prevention fee, including, but not limited to, covering startup costs, and for the costs of administration, as specified. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to retain and expend, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the funds necessary to pay refunds and for its expenses incurred in collection. Existing law permits a person from whom a fire prevention fee is determined to be due to use an appeals process and, if applicable, a refund process. This bill would repeal the above provisions. (2) The bill would provide that its provisions take effect only upon the enactment of AB 1500 of the 2011–12 Regular Session. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. One of the methods by which these services are provided is pursuant to contracts with various types of managed care health plans, including through a county organized health system. Existing law authorizes the Director of Health Care Services to enter into contracts with one or more managed health care plans to provide a comprehensive program of managed health care services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries residing in specified counties. This bill would require specified counties to be annexed to the closest, contiguous county organized health system, upon approval of the county and the county organized health system.
(1) Existing law, the Physical Therapy Practice Act, creates the Physical Therapy Board of California and makes it responsible for the licensure and regulation of physical therapists. The act defines the term "physical therapy" for its purposes and makes it a crime to violate any of its provisions. This bill would specify that patients may access physical therapy treatment directly, and would, in those circumstances, require a physical therapist to refer his or her patient to another specified healing arts practitioner if the physical therapist has reason to believe the patient has a condition requiring treatment or services beyond that scope of practice, and, with the patient's written authorization, to notify the patient's primary physician and surgeon, if any, that the physical therapist is treating the patient. The bill would prohibit a physical therapist from treating a patient beyond 30 business days or 12 visits, whichever occurs first, unless the physical therapist receives a specified authorization or medical diagnosis from a person with a physician and surgeon's certificate or from a person with a podiatric medicine certificate and acting within his or her scope of practice. The bill would require a physical therapist, prior to the initiation of treatment services, to provide a patient with a specified notice concerning the limitations on the direct treatment services. (2) Existing law regulating professional corporations provides that certain healing arts practitioners may be shareholders, officers, directors, or professional employees of a medical corporation, a podiatric medical corporation, or a chiropractic corporation, subject to certain limitations. This bill would add licensed physical therapists and licensed occupational therapists to the list of healing arts practitioners who may be shareholders, officers, directors, or professional employees of those corporations. The bill would also provide that specified healing arts licensees may be shareholders, officers, directors, or professional employees of a physical therapy corporation. The bill would require, except as specified, that a medical corporation, podiatry corporation, chiropractic corporation, and physical therapy corporation provide patients with a specified disclosure notifying them that they may seek physical therapy treatment services from any physical therapy provider. The bill would also make conforming changes to related provisions. Because the bill would specify additional requirements under the Physical Therapy Practice Act, the violation of which would be a crime, it 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.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program. Existing law also requires local jurisdictions to implement a commercial solid waste recycling program designed to divert commercial solid waste from businesses that generate 4 cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week or is a multifamily residential dwelling of 5 units or more. Existing law requires a commercial waste generator to take one of specified actions that include, among other things, subscribing to a recycling service that may include mixed waste processing that yields diversion results comparable to source separation. This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2018, to adopt specified regulations to require a large-quantity commercial organics generator to arrange for separate organics collection and recycling services that may include, but are not limited to, self-hauling, consistent with state or local laws or requirements, as specified. The bill would authorize the department, on a case-by-case basis, to delay the recycling of organics in rural areas if it determines that the infrastructure to provide these services does not exist and are not reasonably available from a local service provider. The bill would redefine "commercial solid waste" for these purposes and define "large-quantity commercial organics generator."
This measure would commemorate and honor the service and sacrifice of the members of the United States Armed Forces who supported the operations in Iraq, and their families, as the official combat mission in Iraq draws to a close. This measure would encourage mayors and communities across the State of California to honor veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan on November 11, 2012, in Veterans Day parades, ceremonies, and other displays of our state's gratitude for their service and sacrifice. This measure would also request that the Department of General Services work with appropriate 3rd parties to advise and oversee the creation of a memorial for the California veterans who fought and served in Iraq and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering the design, construction, and maintenance costs and ensuring that the memorial is in the best interest of the State Capitol Park, erect that memorial, in accordance with California law, in the State Capitol Park. This measure would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation authorizing the creation of a larger memorial commemorating and thanking those who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
This measure would designate the week of September 8 through September 15, 2012, and the 2nd week of September every year thereafter as California Coastal Protection Week and would urge all Californians to observe that week as California Costal Protection Week.