(1) Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that budget and policy decisions regarding postsecondary education generally adhere to 3 specified goals and that appropriate metrics be identified, defined, and formally adopted to monitor progress toward the achievement of the goals. Existing law establishes the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) as the statewide postsecondary education coordinating and planning agency, and provides for its functions and responsibilities. Existing law also provides for the composition of CPEC's membership. The annual state Budget Acts from the 2011–12 fiscal year to the 2016–17 fiscal year, inclusive, have provided no funding for CPEC. This bill would establish the Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability as the statewide postsecondary education coordination and planning entity. The bill would provide for the appointment by the Governor, subject to confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate, of an executive director of the office. The bill would establish an 8-member advisory board for the purpose of examining, and making recommendations to, the office regarding the functions and operations of the office and reviewing and commenting on any recommendations made by the office to the Governor and the Legislature, among other specified duties. The bill would specify the functions and responsibilities of the office, which would include, among other things, participation, as specified, in the identification and periodic revision of state goals and priorities for higher education, reviewing and making recommendations regarding cross-segmental and interagency initiatives and programs, advising the Legislature and the Governor regarding the need for, and the location of, new institutions and campuses of public higher education, acting as a clearinghouse for postsecondary education information and as a primary source of information for the Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies, and reviewing all proposals for changes in eligibility pools for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary education. The bill would authorize the office to require the governing boards and institutions of public postsecondary education to submit data to the office on plans and programs, costs, selection and retention of students, enrollments, plant capacities, and other matters pertinent to effective planning, policy development, and articulation and coordination. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the office to report to the Legislature and the Governor on or before December 31 of each year regarding its progress in achieving specified objectives and responsibilities. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2022. 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.
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(1) Existing law provides various sources of funding for transportation purposes, including funding for the state highway system and the local street and road system. These funding sources include, among others, fuel excise taxes, commercial vehicle weight fees, local transactions and use taxes, and federal funds. Existing law imposes certain registration fees on vehicles, with revenues from these fees deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account and used to fund the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol. Existing law provides for the monthly transfer of excess balances in the Motor Vehicle Account to the State Highway Account. This bill would create the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and the local street and road system. The bill would require the California Transportation Commission to adopt performance criteria, consistent with a specified asset management plan, to ensure efficient use of certain funds available for the program. The bill would provide for the deposit of various funds for the program in the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account, which the bill would create in the State Transportation Fund, including revenues attributable to a $0.012 per gallon increase in the motor vehicle fuel (gasoline) tax imposed by the bill with an inflation adjustment, as provided, an increase of $38 in the annual vehicle registration fee with an inflation adjustment, as provided, a new $165 annual vehicle registration fee with an inflation adjustment, as provided, applicable to zero-emission motor vehicles, as defined, and certain miscellaneous revenues described in (7) below that are not restricted as to expenditure by Article XIX of the California Constitution. This bill would annually set aside $200,000,000 of the funds available for the program to fund road maintenance and rehabilitation purposes in counties that have sought and received voter approval of taxes or that have imposed fees, including uniform developer fees, as defined, which taxes or fees are dedicated solely to transportation improvements. These funds would be continuously appropriated for allocation pursuant to guidelines to be developed by the California Transportation Commission in consultation with local agencies. The bill would require $80,000,000 of the funds available for the program to be annually transferred to the State Highway Account for expenditure on the Active Transportation Program. The bill would require $30,000,000 of the funds available for the program in each of 4 fiscal years beginning in 2017–18 to be transferred to the Advance Mitigation Fund created by the bill pursuant to (12) below. The bill would continuously appropriate $2,000,000 annually of the funds available for the program to the California State University for the purpose of conducting transportation research and transportation-related workforce education, training, and development, and $3,000,000 annually to the institutes for transportation studies at the University of California. The bill would require the remaining funds available for the program to be allocated 50% for maintenance of the state highway system or to the state highway operation and protection program and 50% to cities and counties pursuant to a specified formula. The bill would impose various requirements on the department and agencies receiving these funds. The bill would authorize a city or county to spend its apportionment of funds under the program on transportation priorities other than those allowable pursuant to the program if the city's or county's average Pavement Condition Index meets or exceeds 80. The bill would also require the department to annually identify savings achieved through efficiencies implemented at the department and to propose, from the identified savings, an appropriation to be included in the annual Budget Act of up to $70,000,000 from the State Highway Account for expenditure on the Active Transportation Program. (2) Existing law establishes in state government the Transportation Agency, which includes various departments and state entities, including the California Transportation Commission. Existing law vests the California Transportation Commission with specified powers, duties, and functions relative to transportation matters. Existing law requires the commission to retain independent authority to perform the duties and functions prescribed to it under any provision of law. This bill would exclude the California Transportation Commission from the Transportation Agency, establish it as an entity in state government, and require it to act in an independent oversight role. The bill would also make conforming changes. (3) Existing law creates various state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the High-Speed Rail Authority, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the State Air Resources Board, with specified powers and duties. Existing law provides for the allocation of state transportation funds to various transportation purposes. This bill would create the Office of the Transportation Inspector General in state government, as an independent office that would not be a subdivision of any other government entity, to ensure that all of the above-referenced state agencies and all other state agencies expending state transportation funds are operating efficiently, effectively, and in compliance with federal and state laws. The bill would provide for the Governor to appoint the Transportation Inspector General for a 6-year term, subject to confirmation by the Senate, and would provide that the Transportation Inspector General may not be removed from office during the term except for good cause. The bill would specify the duties and responsibilities of the Transportation Inspector General and would require an annual report to the Legislature and Governor. This bill would require the department to update the Highway Design Manual to incorporate the "complete streets" design concept by July 1, 2017. (4) Existing law provides for loans of revenues from various transportation funds and accounts to the General Fund, with various repayment dates specified. This bill would require the Department of Finance, on or before January 1, 2017, to compute the amount of outstanding loans made from specified transportation funds. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to prepare a loan repayment schedule and would require the outstanding loans to be repaid pursuant to that schedule, as prescribed. The bill would appropriate funds for that purpose from the Budget Stabilization Account. The bill would require the repaid funds to be transferred, pursuant to a specified formula, to cities and counties and to the department for maintenance of the state highway system and for purposes of the state highway operation and protection program. (5) The Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1B) created the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund and provided for allocation by the California Transportation Commission of $2 billion in bond funds for infrastructure improvements on highway and rail corridors that have a high volume of freight movement and for specified categories of projects eligible to receive these funds. Existing law continues the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund in existence in order to receive revenues from sources other than the bond act for these purposes. This bill would deposit the revenues attributable to a $0.20 per gallon increase in the diesel fuel excise tax imposed by the bill into the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund. The bill would require revenues apportioned to the state from the national highway freight program established by the federal Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act to be allocated for trade corridor improvement projects approved pursuant to these provisions. Existing law requires the commission, in determining projects eligible for funding, to consult various state freight and regional infrastructure and goods movement plans and the statewide port master plan. This bill would revise the list of plans to be consulted by the commission when determining eligible projects for funding. The bill would also expand eligible projects to include, among others, rail landside access improvements, landside freight access improvements to airports, and certain capital and operational improvements. (6) Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Existing law continuously appropriates 10% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and 5% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program. This bill would, beginning in the 2017–18 fiscal year, instead continuously appropriate 20% of those annual proceeds to the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and 10% of those annual proceeds to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, thereby making an appropriation. (7) Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from taxes imposed by the state on fuels used in motor vehicles upon public streets and highways to street and highway and certain mass transit purposes. Existing law requires certain miscellaneous revenues deposited in the State Highway Account that are not restricted as to expenditure by Article XIX of the California Constitution to be transferred to the Transportation Debt Service Fund in the State Transportation Fund, as specified, and requires the Controller to transfer from the fund to the General Fund an amount of those revenues necessary to offset the current year debt service made from the General Fund on general obligation transportation bonds issued pursuant to Proposition 116 of 1990. This bill would delete the transfer of these miscellaneous revenues to the Transportation Debt Service Fund, thereby eliminating the offsetting transfer to the General Fund for debt service on general obligation transportation bonds issued pursuant to Proposition 116 of 1990. The bill, subject to a specified exception, would instead require the miscellaneous revenues to be retained in the State Highway Account and to be deposited in the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account. (8) Article XIX of the California Constitution requires gasoline excise tax revenues from motor vehicles traveling upon public streets and highways to be deposited in the Highway Users Tax Account, for allocation to city, county, and state transportation purposes. Existing law generally provides for statutory allocation of gasoline excise tax revenues attributable to other modes of transportation, including aviation, boats, agricultural vehicles, and off-highway vehicles, to particular accounts and funds for expenditure on purposes associated with those other modes, except that a specified portion of these gasoline excise tax revenues is deposited in the General Fund. Expenditure of the gasoline excise tax revenues attributable to those other modes is not restricted by Article XIX of the California Constitution. This bill, commencing July 1, 2017, would instead transfer to the Highway Users Tax Account for allocation to state and local transportation purposes under a specified formula the portion of gasoline excise tax revenues currently being deposited in the General Fund that are attributable to boats, agricultural vehicles, and off-highway vehicles. Because that account is continuously appropriated, the bill would make an appropriation. (9) Existing law, as of July 1, 2011, increases the sales and use tax on diesel and decreases the excise tax, as provided. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to annually modify both the gasoline and diesel excise tax rates on a going-forward basis so that the various changes in the taxes imposed on gasoline and diesel are revenue neutral. This bill would eliminate the annual rate adjustment to maintain revenue neutrality for the gasoline and diesel excise tax rates and would reimpose the higher gasoline excise tax rate that was in effect on July 1, 2010, in addition to the increase in the rate described in (1) above. Existing law, beyond the sales and use tax rate generally applicable, imposes an additional sales and use tax on diesel fuel at the rate of 1.75%, subject to certain exemptions, and provides for the net revenues collected from the additional tax to be transferred to the Public Transportation Account. Existing law continuously appropriates these revenues to the Controller for allocation by formula to transportation agencies for public transit purposes under the State Transit Assistance Program. This bill would increase the additional sales and use tax on diesel fuel by an additional 3.5%. By increasing the revenues deposited in the Public Transportation Account that are continuously appropriated, the bill would thereby make an appropriation. The bill would restrict expenditures of revenues from this increase in the sales and use tax on diesel fuel to transit capital purposes and certain transit services and would require a recipient transit agency to comply with certain requirements, including submitting a list of proposed projects to the Department of Transportation, as a condition of receiving a portion of these funds. The bill would require the Controller to compute and publish quarterly proposed allocations for each eligible recipient agency under the State Transit Assistance Program. The bill would require an existing required audit of transit operator finances to verify that these new revenues have been expended in conformance with these specific restrictions and all other generally applicable requirements. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2019, and every 3rd year thereafter, require the State Board of Equalization to recompute the gasoline and diesel excise tax rates and the additional sales and use tax rate on diesel fuel based upon the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index transmitted to the board by the Department of Finance, as prescribed. (10) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to prepare a state highway operation and protection program every other year for the expenditure of transportation capital improvement funds for projects that are necessary to preserve and protect the state highway system, excluding projects that add new traffic lanes. The program is required to be based on an asset management plan, as specified. Existing law requires the department to specify, for each project in the program the capital and support budget and projected delivery date for various components of the project. Existing law provides for the California Transportation Commission to review and adopt the program, and authorizes the commission to decline and adopt the program if it determines that the program is not sufficiently consistent with the asset management plan. The bill would require the commission, as part of its review of the program, to hold at least one hearing in northern California and one hearing in southern California regarding the proposed program. The bill would require the department to submit any change to a programmed project as an amendment to the commission for its approval. This bill, on and after August 1, 2017, would also require the commission to make an allocation of all capital and support costs for each project in the program, and would require the department to submit a supplemental project allocation request to the commission for each project that experiences cost increases above the amounts in its allocation. The bill would require the commission to establish guidelines to provide exceptions to the requirement for a supplemental project allocation requirement that the commission determines are necessary to ensure that projects are not unnecessarily delayed. (11) Existing law imposes weight fees on the registration of commercial motor vehicles and provides for the deposit of net weight fee revenues into the State Highway Account. Existing law provides for the transfer of certain weight fee revenues from the State Highway Account to the Transportation Debt Service Fund to reimburse the General Fund for payment of debt service on general obligation bonds issued for transportation purposes. Existing law also provides for the transfer of certain weight fee revenues to the Transportation Bond Direct Payment Account for direct payment of debt service on designated bonds, which are defined to be certain transportation general obligation bonds issued pursuant to Proposition 1B of 2006. Existing law also provides for loans of weight fee revenues to the General Fund to the extent the revenues are not needed for bond debt service purposes, with the loans to be repaid when the revenues are later needed for those purposes, as specified. This bill, notwithstanding these provisions or any other law, would only authorize specified amounts of weight fee revenues to be transferred from the State Highway Account to the Transportation Debt Service Fund, the Transportation Bond Direct Payment Account, or any other fund or account for the purpose of payment of the debt service on transportation general obligation bonds in accordance with a prescribed schedule, with no more than $500,000,000 to be transferred in the 2021– 22 and subsequent fiscal years. The bill would also prohibit loans of weight fee revenues to the General Fund. (12) 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 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, until January 1, 2020, exempts a project or an activity to repair, maintain, or make minor alterations to an existing roadway, as defined, other than a state roadway, if the project or activity is carried out by a city or county with a population of less than 100,000 persons to improve public safety and meets other specified requirements. This bill would extend the above-referenced exemption indefinitely and delete the limitation of the exemption to projects or activities in cities and counties with a population of less than 100,000 persons. The bill would also expand the exemption to include state roadways. This bill would also establish the Advance Mitigation Program in the Department of Transportation. The bill would authorize the department to undertake mitigation measures in advance of construction of a planned transportation project. The bill would require the department to establish a steering committee to advise the department on advance mitigation measures and related matters. The bill would create the Advance Mitigation Fund as a continuously appropriated revolving fund, to be funded initially from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program pursuant to (1) above. The bill would provide for reimbursement of the revolving fund at the time a planned transportation project benefiting from advance mitigation is constructed. (13) Existing federal law requires the United States Secretary of Transportation to carry out a surface transportation project delivery program, under which the participating states assume certain responsibilities for environmental review and clearance of transportation projects that would otherwise be the responsibility of the federal government. Existing law, until January 1, 2017, when these provisions are repealed, provides that the State of California consents to the jurisdiction of the federal courts with regard to the compliance, discharge, or enforcement of the responsibilities the Department of Transportation assumed as a participant in this program. This bill would reenact these provisions. (14) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to develop, and for the State Board of Education to adopt, modify, or revise, a model curriculum in ethnic studies. This bill would require the commission to develop, and the state board to adopt, reject, or modify, a model curriculum for pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in service learning, as defined, for voluntary use by educators. The bill would require the model curriculum to incorporate evidence-based and applied instructional practices for developing service learning skills, and to identify the ways in which the model curriculum aligns with, and is supportive of, the common core state standards. The bill, if the state board adopts the model curriculum through prescribed procedures conducted in accordance with a specified timeline, would then require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post the model curriculum on its Internet Web site for use on a voluntary basis by educators. The bill, beginning in the school year immediately following adoption of the model curriculum by the state board, would encourage local educational agencies and charter schools to use the model curriculum to provide instruction in service learning. The bill would specify that these provisions would become operative only if an appropriation of sufficient funds for its purposes is enacted in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law establishes a specified energy metering program that is available to an eligible fuel cell customer-generator, as defined. A fuel cell electrical generating facility is eligible for the program if it has a capacity of not more than 5 megawatts. Existing law requires that an electrical corporation file with the commission a standard tariff providing for this energy metering for eligible fuel cell customer-generators and make the tariff available to eligible fuel cell customer-generators upon request, on a first-come-first-served basis, until the total cumulative rated generating capacity of the eligible fuel cell electrical generating facilities receiving service pursuant to the tariff reaches a specified level. Existing law provides that a fuel cell electrical generating facility is not eligible for the tariff unless it commences operation on or before December 31, 2021. This bill would change "eligible fuel cell electrical generating facility" to "eligible electrical generating facility" and would additionally make eligible a facility that electromechanically converts fuel to electricity for purposes of the above-described energy metering program. The bill would make conforming and nonsubstantive changes. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the program that is expanded under the provisions of this bill would be implemented through a decision or order of the commission, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the application of a crime. 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 permits a person, corporation, or public agency to apply to the Secretary of State for certification or conditional approval of a remote accessible vote by mail system. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to examine and certify remote accessible vote by mail systems, as specified. Existing law permits a voter, including a voter with a disability or a military or overseas voter, to apply for and receive a vote by mail ballot from his or her county elections official. Existing law also authorizes specified counties to conduct an election as an all-mailed ballot election if specified requirements are satisfied, including requirements relating to accessibility by voters with disabilities. This bill, beginning January 1, 2020, would require a county elections official to permit a voter with a disability, or a military or overseas voter, to cast his or her ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system. This requirement would not apply to a county when conducting an all-mailed ballot election, as specified. By imposing additional duties on local elections officials, this 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.
This measure would recognize August 6, 2017, as the 52nd anniversary of the signing of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This measure would proclaim the period of October 23, 2017, to October 31, 2017, inclusive, as Red Ribbon Week and would encourage all Californians to help build drug-free communities and to participate in drug prevention activities.
Existing law requires a voter to disclose a preference for a political party in order to participate in the political party's primary election. Existing law permits a voter who has declined to disclose a political party preference to request the ballot of a political party at a partisan primary election if the political party, by party rule duly noticed to the Secretary of State, authorizes a voter who has declined to disclose a political party preference to vote the ballot of the political party at that election. Existing law requires the voter registration card, the vote by mail application, and the state voter information guide to notify voters that a voter is not entitled to vote the ballot of a political party at a partisan primary election unless he or she has disclosed a preference for the political party or he or she has declined to disclose a political party preference and the political party has authorized a voter who has declined to disclose a preference to vote its ballot. Existing law generally requires the Secretary of State to prepare certain election materials. Existing law requires an elections official to furnish the precinct officers with specified supplies for an election. This bill would require the Secretary of State, a county elections official, and the members of a precinct board to provide information to voters, as specified, relating to the ability of a voter who has declined to disclose a political party preference to vote a political party's ballot at a partisan primary election. The bill would require the Secretary of State and a county elections official to prepare and print specified notices and other materials. By imposing additional duties on local elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 14105 of the Elections Code proposed by SB 286 to be operative only if this bill and SB 286 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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 provides specified requirements in awarding certain public contracts. This bill would authorize the Governor to execute games support contracts, not to exceed a specified amount, in connection with the site selection process for the City of Los Angeles to become the host for the 2028 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, that accept financial liability to provide the state security for amounts owed by the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) , as specified, and for any financial deficit accruing to the OCOG as a result of the hosting of the games by the endorsing municipality, as defined. The bill would establish the Olympic Games Trust Fund in the State Treasury and would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, make the money in the fund available for these purposes, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations that, among other things, the endorsing municipality has developed a self-sufficient bid for financing the games.