Existing law sets forth various personal rights and provides that all persons within California have the right to be free from violence, or intimidation by the threat of violence, because of, among other characteristics, their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, or sex. Existing law further permits an individual whose exercise or enjoyment of specified personal rights has been interfered with to bring a civil action for damages, including actual damages, exemplary damages, attorney's fees, injunctive relief, and other appropriate relief. Existing law requires the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to receive, investigate, and conciliate complaints that an individual's personal rights have been violated. This bill would specify that homeless persons, as defined, are entitled to the personal rights set forth under existing law, and would provide that a homeless person has the right to be free from violence or intimidation by threat of violence directed against that person on the basis of that person's status as a homeless person. The bill would also provide that these provisions shall not be construed to enlarge or diminish an existing duty, if any, by an owner of residential rental or commercial property to protect a homeless person who is present on the property from violence or intimidation by threats of violence. The bill would provide that these provisions are not to be construed to prohibit or restrict a public agency from the lawful enforcement of any law, and a public agency would not be subject to civil liability for that lawful enforcement.
Sponsored bills
Existing law authorizes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to engage in the management, protection, and reforestation of state forests and requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to have control of the state park system. This bill would authorize the Director of General Services, subject to the approval of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to grant an option to the City of Fort Bragg and the County of Mendocino for either entity to acquire title to certain property for the purpose of developing a solid waste transfer station. The bill would require, if this option is exercised, that the entity acquiring title to the property execute and record in favor of the Department of Parks and Recreation a covenant restricting the uses and activities at a specified Caspar Landfill property and an option to purchase a specified portion of the Caspar Landfill property. The bill would authorize the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Department of Parks and Recreation to be compensated for the loss of certain property, as provided. The bill would also authorize the Department of Parks and Recreation, with the approval of the Director of General Services, to transfer a certain portion of Russian Gulch State Park to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to be included as a part of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, if the City of Fort Bragg or the County of Mendocino exercises that option. The bill would provide that if successful development and operation of a solid waste transfer station does not occur 10 years from the date of recordation of the transfer document, the title to the property would revert back to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the entity acquiring title would be required to reimburse the state for the administrative costs incurred by the state to process the reversionary documents. The bill would also require the city or county to indemnify the state against liability that arises from any injury caused by, or any remediation required by, any contamination on the landfill. The bill would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to authorize access to the landfill property to the county in order for the county to perform monitoring, as specified.
(1) Existing law exempts, until January 1, 2012, licensed carriers of livestock from certain limitations of access when those carriers are directly en route to or from a point of loading or unloading of livestock on specified portions of State Highway Route 101 located in the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino from its junction with State Highway Route 1 near Leggett north to the Oregon border, if the travel is necessary, incidental to the shipment of the livestock, and certain conditions are met. This bill would extend this exemption until January 1, 2015, and would also delete obsolete requirements from these provisions. (2) Existing law requires the Director of Transportation to notify the Secretary of State if, prior to January 1, 2012, the director determines that certain safety improvements to a portion of State Highway Route 101 have resulted in the reclassification of the entire segment as a terminal access route pursuant to specified provisions of the Vehicle Code and repeals the exemption described in (1) above on the date the secretary receives this notice. This bill would extend this date to January 1, 2015.
(1) Existing law requires the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to establish a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Reserve program to assist local jurisdictions in financing the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy or water efficiency improvements meeting specified requirements that are permanently affixed on real property through the use of a voluntary contractual assessment. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, appropriates up to $50,000,000 from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund to the authority for the purposes of the PACE Reserve program and authorizes the authority to expend up to $300,000 of that appropriation for initial administrative costs in implementing the PACE Reserve program. This bill would additionally require the authority to administer a Clean Energy Upgrade Program that would be developed by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the authority to reduce the costs to property owners of a loan provided by a financial institution that has a loan program that satisfies the specified requirements. Because this bill would authorize the use of the money appropriated for the PACE Reserve program for the Clean Energy Upgrade Program, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require the authority to report annually specified information regarding the program. The bill would increase the amount of the appropriation that may be expended for initial administrative costs to $550,000, thereby making an appropriation. (2) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. Governor Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 6, 2010. Governor Brown issued a proclamation on January 20, 2011, declaring and reaffirming that a fiscal emergency exists and stating that his proclamation supersedes the earlier proclamation for purposes of that constitutional provision. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared and reaffirmed by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 20, 2011, pursuant to the California Constitution.
The California Retail Food Code provides for the regulation of health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities, including mobile food facilities and satellite food service, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health. Under existing law, local health agencies are primarily responsible for enforcing this code. A violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. The code exempts from its provisions premises set aside for wine tasting, if specified conditions are met. This bill would additionally exempt from its provisions, if specified conditions are met, premises set aside for beer tasting by a beer manufacturer, as defined to include any holder of a beer manufacturer's license, any holder of an out-of-state beer manufacturer's certificate, or any holder of a beer and wine importer's general license.
This measure would memorialize the Legislature's support for the school-based health center program authorized by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, an appropriation by the United States Congress to fund this program, policies that include school-based health centers as a partner in creating a medical home for all children, and the inclusion of school-based health centers in the reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
(1) Existing law regulates the operation of firefighting equipment, as defined, and permits certain persons employed as a firefighter or registered as a volunteer firefighter to operate firefighting equipment only if the person holds a class A, class B, or class C license, with certain exceptions, and a firefighter endorsement issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, after providing to the department proof of current employment or registration as a volunteer firefighter with a fire department and evidence of fire equipment operation training, passing the written firefighter examination developed by the department with the cooperation of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and submitting a report of medical examination on a department-approved form. Existing law authorizes the department to issue restricted class A licenses or noncommercial class B licenses under specified conditions. This bill would instead authorize the operation of firefighting equipment by either a person with a firefighter endorsement who holds a class C license, a restricted class A license, or a noncommercial class B driver's license, or by a person holding a class A or B license, as appropriate for that equipment. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would proclaim the month of June to be June Dairy Month in California, in honor of the work of dairy producers in California, and would encourage all Californians to continue to support the American dairy industry by including dairy products as part of a healthy diet.
This measure would urge Congress to defeat H.R. 1161 in order to protect and preserve the ability of California wineries, and all wineries in the United States, to ship wine directly to consumers without discrimination or unnecessary limitation between in-state and out-of-state wine producers.
Existing law, the Williamson Act, authorizes a city or county to enter into 10-year contracts with owners of land devoted to agricultural use, whereby the owners agree to continue using the property for that purpose, and the city or county agrees to value the land accordingly for purposes of property taxation. Existing law sets forth procedures for reimbursing cities and counties for property tax revenues not received as a result of these contracts. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2011, and until January 1, 2016, authorize a county, in any fiscal year in which payments authorized for reimbursement to a county for lost revenue are less than12 of the participating county's actual foregone general fund property tax revenue, to revise the term for newly renewed and new contracts and require the assessor to value the property, as specified, based on the revised contract term. The bill would provide that a landowner may choose to nonrenew and begin the cancellation process. The bill would also provide that any increased revenues generated by properties under a new contract shall be paid to the county. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.