Existing law generally requires a business that handles a hazardous material to establish and implement a business plan for emergency response to a release or threatened release of a hazardous material, with specified exceptions. Existing law specifies the contents of the business plan, including an inventory, and requires it to be submitted to the administering agency, as defined. This bill would exempt a business operating a farm for purposes of cultivating the soil or raising or harvesting an agricultural or horticultural commodity from establishing and implementing one of those business plans if the only hazardous materials that the farm has onsite are specified amounts of lubricating oils, fertilizers, or other hazardous materials that are onsite for less than 10 days at a time.
Sponsored bills
Existing law provides that campaign funds, including funds given for the purpose of promoting or defeating a ballot measure, are held in trust and may be used only for expenses associated with an election or associated with holding office. The act further specifies that the expenditure of campaign funds is within the lawful execution of the trust if the expenditure is reasonably related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose. Under the act, an expenditure of campaign funds for attorney's fees and other costs in connection with administrative, civil, or criminal litigation is deemed to be directly related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose if the litigation arises directly out of a candidate's or elected officer's activities, duties, or status as a candidate or elected officer. This bill would provide that the expenditure of campaign funds held by a ballot measure committee for a candidate's or elected officer's attorney's fees and other costs in connection with administrative, civil, or criminal litigation is not directly related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose and is not within the lawful execution of the trust in which those funds are held. Existing law makes a 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 creating additional crimes. 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 Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Existing law provides that every building or place used for the purpose of specified unlawful transactions involving controlled substances is a nuisance that is subject to abatement, and authorizes the court to assess civil penalties against a defendant who has caused that nuisance. This bill would enacted the Gang Nuisance and Abatement Act, establishing a cause of action against the owner of property used by a criminal street gang as a congregating point. The bill would authorize a district attorney or city attorney to bring an abatement action against the property owner and would authorize the imposition of a fine not to exceed $1,000 for the first violation and a fine not to exceed $2,500 for a 2nd violation. Upon a 3rd or subsequent violation, the district attorney or city attorney would be authorized to file a petition with the court for the seizure and forfeiture of the property in question, in accordance with certain procedures. The proceeds from fines and property forfeiture would be split between local law enforcement and the district attorney's office for the purpose of funding gang prevention activities, as specified.
(1) Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Electricity Oversight Board with jurisdiction related to energy matters. Existing law provides the Public Utilities Commission with jurisdiction over the certification of natural gas and electric facilities. Existing law also provides the Office of Planning and Research, the Department of General Services, and the Office of the State Architect with jurisdiction over certain energy-related matters. Existing law provides the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission with the jurisdiction over the certification of thermal powerplants. This bill would abolish the State Energy Resources and Conservation Commission and the Electricity Oversight Board. The bill would create the Department of Energy, headed by a Secretary of Energy, and would create the California Energy Board and the Office of Energy Market Oversight within the department. The bill would provide for the creation of various divisions and subdivisions as deemed necessary by the secretary. The secretary would be appointed by, and hold office at the pleasure of, the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The bill would require the Governor to appoint the initial secretary by January 31, 2011. The bill would authorize the Governor to appoint an Assistant Secretary of Energy who would serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The bill would require the department to create a legal subcommittee comprised of specified members to develop a single statewide position on litigation concerning energy matters. The bill would provide that the California Energy Board consists of the following members: the Secretary of Energy who would be the chair of the board, 4 members of the public with qualifications, as specified, appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, and the president of the California Public Utilities Commission. The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, and the president of the California Public Utilities Commission would serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the board. The bill would specify that the public members shall serve for a term of 4 years. The bill would require the board to nominate for appointment by the Governor a public adviser to the board who would serve for a 3-year term and may be removed upon the joint concurrence of 4 board members and the Governor. The bill would vest the Office of Energy Market Oversight with the powers, duties, responsibilities, obligations, liabilities, and jurisdiction of the Electricity Oversight Board and add to the functions of the office. The bill would vest the new department and the California Energy Board with the powers, duties, responsibilities, obligations, liabilities, jurisdiction, and rights and privileges of the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, as specified. The bill would transfer jurisdiction over the certification of thermal powerplants and grant jurisdiction over certification of specified solar nonthermal powerplants to the California Energy Board. The bill would also transfer jurisdiction of certain energy-related matters from the Office of Planning and Research, the Department of General Services, and the Office of the State Architect to the Department of Energy or the California Energy Commission, as specified. The bill would transfer all responsibilities with respect to the certification of certain electric transmission facilities from the Public Utilities Commission to the exclusive jurisdiction of the California Energy Board. The bill would require the Department of Energy, on or before January 1, 2012, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission and the Independent System Operator, to submit to the Governor and the Legislature a strategic plan identifying administrative and statutory measures that would improve the siting and licensing process for electric transmission lines. (2) Existing law requires a person proposing to construct a thermal powerplant or electric transmission line on a site to submit to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission a notice of intention to file an application for the certification of the site. This bill would repeal this requirement. (3) Existing law prohibits the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission from certifying a facility that adds generating capacity to a potential multiple facility site in excess of the maximum allowable capacity determined by the commission. This bill would repeal this prohibition. (4) Existing law requires the Department of Community Services and Development to administer federal funds for programs to provide energy assistance to qualified low-income households and to administer the community services block grant program. This bill would transfer the above-described duties and responsibilities of the Department of Community Services and Development, on and after January 1, 2013, to the Department of Energy. (5) Existing law established the Katz Safe Schoolbus Clean Fuel Efficiency Demonstration Program to assist local educational agencies in replacing older schoolbuses with schoolbuses meeting federal safety standards that operate with greater efficiency and fewer adverse air emissions. This bill would repeal this program. (6) Existing law establishes the Small Business Energy Efficient Refrigeration Program and the State Solar Medallion Passive Design Competition. This bill would repeal the program and competition. (7) The bill would make conforming changes in existing law. (8) The bill would provide that the provisions of the bill are severable.
Existing law permits the governing board of a high school district, as specified, the governing board of a joint powers regional occupational center or program, or the county superintendent of schools that conducts a county-operated regional occupational center or program to establish and maintain cooperative career technical education programs or community classrooms as part of a career technical education course. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to adopt rules and regulations relating to cooperative career technical education programs and community classrooms, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (the act) requires the State Air Resources Board (state board) to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of emissions of greenhouse gases and to monitor and enforce compliance with the reporting and verification program, and requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990 to be achieved by 2020. 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. The state board is required by January 1, 2011, to adopt greenhouse gas emissions limits and emission reduction measures by regulation to achieve the prescribed emission reductions. This bill would suspend the act until the state unemployment rate is 5.5% or lower for four consecutive calendar quarters. The bill would require the resuspension of the act whenever the state unemployment rate rises above 5.5% for four consecutive calendar quarters. The bill would prohibit the state board, and specified other state agencies, from proposing, promulgating, or adopting any regulation pursuant to the act during a period of suspension and would require that any such regulation adopted prior to January 1, 2011, be inoperative until the suspension is lifted. The bill would request local agencies to refrain from adopting rules, regulations, and policies that derive authority or responsibility from the act and to revise or repeal those rules, regulations, or policies adopted prior to January 1, 2011, until the suspension is lifted.
"?>The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also generally 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 provides some exemptions from its requirements. This bill would allow an applicant for a project and the lead agency, at the time of application, to opt to resolve all disputes arising out of a subsequent environmental impact report for that project before an arbitrator, in lieu of retaining the option to file an action or proceeding arising out of those disputes before a court. If an applicant and the lead agency opt to do so, the bill would require the applicant and the lead agency to agree to an arbitrator.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would allow for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2010, and before January 1, 2015, a deduction under that law for the qualified costs paid or incurred during the taxable year by a taxpayer for the adoption of pets from a qualified animal rescue organization, as defined. Existing law relating to the administration of personal income taxes authorizes individual taxpayers to contribute amounts in excess of their tax liability for the support of specified funds or accounts. This bill would allow individual taxpayers to designate on their tax returns, that a specified amount in excess of their tax liability be transferred to the Pet Adoption Cost Deduction Fund, which would be created by this bill. This bill would provide that all moneys contributed to the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for reimbursement of costs, as provided, to the Controller for reimbursement of the General Fund for revenue losses from providing the deduction for pet adoption costs, and to the Department of Food and Agriculture for purposes relating to abandoned and impounded animals. This bill would provide that these voluntary contribution provisions are repealed on either January 1 of the 5th taxable year following the taxable year the fund first appears on the personal income tax return or on January 1 of an earlier calendar year, if the Franchise Tax Board estimates that the annual contribution amount will be less than $250,000, or an adjusted amount, as specified, for subsequent taxable years.
Existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, on or before January 1, 2004, requires the State Water Resources Control Board, in consultation with others, to adopt regulations or standards for the permitting and operation of specified onsite sewage treatment systems. The act requires the board to apply those regulations or standards to those systems commencing 6 months after their adoption. This bill would repeal those provisions.
Existing law requires the Attorney General, upon receipt of a draft of a petition for a proposed initiative or referendum, to prepare a title and summary of the proposed measure. Under existing law, the Attorney General is required to determine the effect of a proposed initiative measure on revenues and expenditures of the state or local government. If the Attorney General determines that a proposed measure would affect state or local revenues or expenditures, he or she must include in the title either the estimate of the amount of change in state or local revenues or costs or an opinion as to whether a substantial net change in state or local finances would result if the proposed initiative is adopted. Existing law requires the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to prepare jointly the fiscal estimate that is included in the title. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst, instead of the Attorney General, to prepare the ballot title and summary for all measures submitted to the voters of the state and would require the Legislative Analyst, instead of the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, to prepare any fiscal estimate or opinion required by a proposed initiative measure. The bill would make its operation contingent upon the approval by the voters of ACA 20 of the 2009–10 Regular Session.