Asm. Wesley Chesbro

This measure would endorse efforts to raise awareness of global climate change and energy efficiency and would declare the hour of 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of March to be "Earth Hour" throughout the state. The measure would encourage city, county, and state employees, and businesses to turn off nonessential lights in government buildings, public schools, public landmarks, and other buildings for that hour on March 27, 2010.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in modified conformity to federal income tax laws, allow a charitable contribution deduction in computing tax liability. This bill would, for a cash contribution made after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, for the relief of victims in areas affected by the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, authorize taxpayers to treat that contribution as if it were made on December 31, 2009, and not in 2010. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law imposes various taxes, including taxes on the privilege of engaging in certain activities. The Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges. This bill would impose a tax on and after January 1, 2011, upon any producer for the privilege of severing oil from the earth or water in this state for sale, transport, consumption, storage, profit, or use, as provided, at the rate of 10% of the gross value of each barrel of oil severed. The tax would be administered by the State Board of Equalization and would be collected pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Fee Collection Procedures Law. The bill would require the board to deposit all revenues, less refunds, collected pursuant to these provisions into the General Fund. Because this bill would expand the scope of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is 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 Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on January 8, 2010. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 8, 2010, pursuant to the California Constitution. This bill would result in a change in state taxes for the purpose of increasing state revenues within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This measure would recognize the month of February 2010 as American Heart Month in California, would recognize February 4, 2010, as Wear Red Day in California, and would urge public support for Go Red for Women events.

This measure would proclaim January 13, 2010, as Korean-American Day.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including ambulance transportation services. Existing law and regulations prescribe various requirements governing payment policies and reimbursement rates for these services. This bill would enact the Ambulance Payment Reform Act of 2009, which would, notwithstanding any other provision of law, provide that emergency basic life support and advanced life support services are covered under the Medi-Cal program when, as determined by the department, a patient could reasonably expect that an absence of immediate medical attention would result in significant adverse health effects, as provided. The bill would require the department to develop rates for specified emergency and nonemergency ambulance transportation services, but would prohibit these rates from exceeding the amount charged for these services to the general public. The bill would also require the department to adjust the rates each year in accordance with the California Consumer Price Index.

Existing law requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store. Existing law imposes various requirements on at-store recycling programs, including requiring a store to maintain records describing the collection, transport, and recycling of plastic carryout bags collected by the store. Under existing law, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (department) administers laws related to waste management. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2011, prohibit a store, as defined, from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer unless the store charges a fee of not less than $0.25 per bag at the point of sale. The bill would exempt certain customers from paying the fee. The bill would establish the Bag Pollution Fund in the State Treasury and would require a store to remit the single-use carryout bag fees, less a specified amount, to the State Board of Equalization for deposit in that fund. The bill would prohibit a store from distributing a single-use carryout bag that is not a plastic or compostable carryout bag that meets specific requirements. The bill would require the department to administer and enforce the single-use carryout bag provisions and would require the State Board of Equalization to administer the collection of the fees imposed on those bags. The moneys in the fund would be required to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, in a specified order of priority, by the department for grants to cities and counties for programs related to single-use carryout bags and reusable bag giveaway programs, by the State Board of Equalization to reimburse its costs associated with collecting the fees, by the department for purposes of implementing the above provisions, and by the department, in consultation with specified state agencies, to develop and implement specified programs related to single-use carryout bags. The bill would expressly prohibit the expenditure of revenues from the fund for activities unrelated to the prevention or reduction of single-use bag pollution. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2014, to submit to the Legislature a report regarding the effectiveness of the above provisions and recommendations to further encourage the use of reusable bags.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Knox-Keene Act) , provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of that act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Under existing law, health care service plans and health insurers are required to offer specified types of coverage as part of their group plan contracts or group policies. This bill would require a health care service plan and a health insurer to provide coverage for durable medical equipment, as defined, as part of their plan contracts or health insurance policies. Because this bill would specify additional requirements under the Knox-Keene Act, the willful 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.

Existing law requires, until January 1, 2013, an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store. Existing law imposes various requirements on at-store recycling programs, including requiring a store to maintain records describing the collection, transport, and recycling of plastic carryout bags collected by the store. Existing law also requires, until January 1, 2013, the manufacturer of plastic carryout bags to develop educational materials to encourage the reducing, reusing, and recycling of plastic bags and make those materials available to stores required to comply with the program. This bill would instead prohibit, on and after July 1, 2010, a store, as defined, from providing a single-use carryout bag, including a green carryout bag, to a customer unless the store charges a fee of not less than $0.25 per bag at the point of sale. The bill would exempt certain customers from paying the fee. The bill would establish the Bag Pollution Fund in the State Treasury and, by January 31, 2011, would require a store that collects the single-use carryout bag fees to remit the fees, less a specified amount to be used as required, to the State Board of Equalization for deposit in that fund, and do so on a quarterly basis thereafter. This bill would instead require the manufacturer of a single-use carryout bag to develop educational materials to encourage the reducing, reusing, and recycling of single-use bags and make those materials available to stores required to comply with the program. The bill would require moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the Integrated Waste Management Board (board) as specified, including, but not limited to, for administrative costs, developing and implementing programs to encourage and support mitigating the environmental effects of single-use carryout bags, and payments to cities and counties for activities to reduce and prevent single-use carryout bag litter and the environmental impacts of single-use carryout bags. The bill would require the board to administer and enforce the single-use carryout bag provisions and would require the State Board of Equalization to administer and collect the fees imposed on those bags. The bill would require the board to submit a biennial report to the Legislature, in coordination with other state agencies and stakeholders, on the effectiveness of the program and recommendations to further encourage the use of reusable bags.

Existing law provides for the licensure, certification, and regulation of alcoholism or drug use recovery or treatment facilities serving adults, administered by the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. These facilities are defined to mean any premises, place, or building that provides 24-hour residential nonmedical services to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse or abuse, and who need alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug recovery treatment or detoxification services. This bill would revise the above-described definition to also include any premises, place, or building that provides24-hour services that do not require a health facility license to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse or abuse and who need alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug recovery treatment or detoxification services, and which may include, at the sole discretion of the facility, detoxification services assisted by licensed physicians. Existing law requires the department to establish a program for the operation and regulation of office-based narcotic treatment programs in which interested and knowledgeable physicians provide addiction treatment services, and in which community pharmacies supply necessary medication both to these physicians for distribution to patients and through direct administration and specified dispensing services. This bill would provide that the above-described program requirements are not intended to restrict the scope of practice of a physician that meets the criteria described in the federal Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 to engage in office-based treatment of opioid dependence, provided that the physician is not affiliated or associated with a licensed narcotic treatment program.