The Vehicle License Fee Law, in lieu of any ad valorem property tax upon vehicles, imposes an annual license fee for any vehicle subject to registration in this state in the amount of 1% of the market value of that vehicle, as provided, for a specified amount of time. Existing law also, until July 1, 2011, imposes an additional tax equal to 0.15% of the market value of specified vehicles, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to the vehicle license fee, to be deposited in the General Fund and transferred to the Local Safety and Protection Account, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law provides that money in the account shall be allocated for various public safety programs, as provided. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2011, and each July 1 thereafter for a transfer $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the account total of 5 years, as provided. By transferring funds to a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to update every 5 years the plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state, which is known as the California Water Plan. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that requirement.
Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law requires the Department of Finance to adopt and update, as necessary, instructions for inclusion in the State Administrative Manual that prescribe the methods that any agency shall use in making certain determinations relating to the impact of proposed regulations. Existing law also authorizes the department to review any estimate prepared pursuant to these provisions for content. This bill would additionally require the department to adopt and update instructions for inclusion in the State Administrative Manual that prescribe the methods that any agency shall use in making certain determinations, estimates, statements, and findings relating to the economic and cost impacts of a regulation on businesses and private individuals. The bill would require, instead of authorize, the department to review these determinations, estimates, statements, and findings for content. This bill would require the department, if it determines that an agency's determinations, estimates, statements, or findings are erroneous or otherwise inconsistent with the prescribed guidelines, criteria, or formats, to submit its determinations to the agency in the form of public comment to be considered by the agency, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. This bill would appropriate the sum of $7,300,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for specified veterans' services.
The Vehicle License Fee Law, in lieu of any ad valorem property tax upon vehicles, imposes an annual license fee for any vehicle subject to registration in this state in the amount of 1% of the market value of that vehicle, as provided, for a specified amount of time. Existing law, operative until June 30, 2011, also imposes an additional tax to the vehicle license fee equal to 0.15% of the market value of specified vehicles, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to be deposited in the General Fund and transferred to the Local Safety and Protection Account, a continuously appropriated fund. This bill would appropriate $506,400,000 from the General Fund to be deposited in the Local Safety and Protection Account, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
The Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative bond act approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, and resource protection program. Existing law appropriates $180,000,000 of that bond money for grants for small community drinking water system infrastructure improvements and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to develop guidelines in collaboration with the State Water Resources Control Board to fund projects for disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged communities and to govern the selection of projects that considered demonstrated prevention of illness and adverse public health effects in a community. The bill would also require the department to provide guidelines for improving replacement drinking water systems in areas with contaminated groundwater that may not be economically remediated for drinking water purposes and the acquisition of public water systems by local agencies as part of a project to provide clean and safe water for small communities.
The Joint Exercise of Powers Act authorizes two or more public agencies, if each is authorized by their respective legislative bodies, to enter into an agreement to jointly exercise any power common to those two agencies. The Ralph M. Brown Act requires that meetings of the legislative body of a local agency, including a joint powers authority, be open and public, with specified exceptions authorizing closed sessions for specified purposes. Existing law permits a joint powers agency to include in its joint powers agreement provisions authorizing (1) any member of the legislative body of a member local agency to disclose information obtained during a closed session of the joint powers agency that has direct financial or liability implications for that member local agency to that agency's legal counsel or to other members of that agency's legislative body, as specified, or (2) any designated alternate member of the legislative body of the joint powers agency that is also a member of the legislative body of a member local agency, who is attending in lieu of that agency's regularly appointed member, to attend closed sessions of the joint powers agency, as specified. This bill would repeal and recast those provisions to additionally authorize a joint powers agency to include in its joint powers agreement provisions authorizing (1) any designated alternate member who is attending in lieu of the appointed member to attend closed sessions of the joint powers authority, or (2) any appointed or designated alternate member of the local agency to disclose information obtained during a closed session of the joint powers authority that has direct financial or liability implications for that member local agency to that agency's legal counsel, or to those persons who are present in a closed session of that member local agency. This bill would also make various, nonsubstantive, conforming changes.
Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law, pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related purposes. Under federal law, funding is made available for allocation nationally to high-speed rail and other related projects. This bill would provide that no funds from Proposition 1A shall be available to the High-Speed Rail Authority for construction of the high-speed train system until adequate environmental studies are completed based on a new ridership study that uses an acceptable ridership evaluation methodology. The bill would require the authority to contract with the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Berkeley to complete a revised ridership study, using the ridership methodology of the institute. The bill would require the authority to use that ridership study as the basis for subsequent environmental studies. The bill would also require the authority to reconsider its adoption of the optimal high-speed rail route based both on the new ridership study and the ridership methodology.
Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture and requires the department to promote and protect the agricultural industry of this state. Existing law authorizes the secretary of the department to establish, maintain, and enforce quarantine regulations as he or she deems necessary to protect the agricultural industry of this state from pests. Existing law provides that the regulations may establish a quarantine at the boundaries of this state or elsewhere within the state. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the department to conduct a study regarding the necessary changes in law needed to effect solutions to problems discovered as a result of the fight against the Asian citrus psyllid insect.
Existing law provides that no handgun ammunition vendor, as defined, shall sell, offer for sale, or display for sale, any handgun ammunition in a manner that allows that ammunition to be accessible to a purchaser without the assistance of the vendor or employee thereof. Existing law requires, subject to exceptions, commencing February 1, 2011, that handgun ammunition vendors obtain a thumbprint and other information from ammunition purchasers, as specified. Existing law provides, subject to exceptions, that commencing February 1, 2011, the delivery or transfer of ownership of handgun ammunition may only occur in a face-to-face transaction, with the deliverer or transferor being provided bona fide evidence of identity of the purchaser or other transferee. Violations of any of the above provisions are misdemeanors, some with specified penalties. This bill would repeal these provisions and make related conforming and technical changes.