Asm. Henry Perea

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 15 in the County of San Diego as the Tuskegee Airmen Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

(1) Existing law establishes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (commission) , to provide to specified entities, upon appropriation by the Legislature, grants, loans, loan guarantees, revolving loans, or other appropriate measures, for the development and deployment of innovative technologies that would transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state's climate change goals. Existing law specifies that only certain projects or programs are eligible for funding, including block grants administered by public entities or not-for-profit technology entities for multiple projects, education and program promotion within California, and development of alternative and renewable fuel and vehicle technology centers. Existing law require the commission to develop and adopt an investment plan to determine priorities and opportunities for the program. This bill would prohibit the State Air Resources Board (state board) from submitting, until a specified date, to the Office of Administrative Law specified amendments to the state board's clean fuels outlet regulation. The bill would require the state board to aggregate and make available to the public, no later than January 1, 2014, and every two years thereafter, the number of vehicles that automobile manufacturers project to be sold or leased, as reported to the state board. The bill would require the commission to allocate $20 million each fiscal year, as specified, and up to $20 million each fiscal year thereafter, as specified, for purposes of constructing and operating a hydrogen fueling network sufficient to provide convenient fueling to vehicle owners, and expand that network as necessary to support a growing market for vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel, until there are at least 100 publicly available hydrogen fueling stations. The bill, on or before December 31, 2015, and annually thereafter, would require the state board and the commission to jointly review and report on the progress toward establishing a hydrogen fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to design loan incentive programs, revolving loan programs, and other forms of financial assistance, as specified, for purposes of assisting in the implementation of these provisions. The bill, no later than July 1, 2013, would require the state board to convene working groups to evaluate the specified policies and goals of specified programs. (2) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (commission) , in partnership with the State Air Resources Board (state board) , to develop and adopt a state plan to increase the use of alternative transportation fuels. This bill would require the commission and the state board, among other things, to coordinate efforts to measure the progress of alternative fuels use. The bill would require the commission and the state board, on or before November 1, 2014, to update a specified economic analysis. The bill would require the commission and the state board to evaluate how the use of new and existing investment programs could be used to increase the state alternative transportation fuels use, and evaluate how the impact of federal fuel policies and existing state policies will help increase the use of alternative transportation fuels in the state. The bill would require the commission and the state board, on or before November 1, 2015, and every 2 years thereafter, to report in the integrated energy policy report, as specified, the status of the state alternative transportation fuels use, as specified, and make specified evaluations. The bill would require the state board to include a finding on the effect of proposed regulations on state alternative transportation fuels use. (3) Existing law, until January 1, 2016, establishes vehicle registration fees of $34, vessel registration fees of $20 and of $40, as applicable, and specified service fees for identification plates of $20. Existing law requires a portion of that revenue generated by those fees to be deposited in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, the Air Quality Improvement Fund, and the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount, as provided. Existing law, until January 1, 2016, imposes smog abatement fees of $20, and requires a specified amount of those fees be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund and in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund. This bill would extend those fees in the amounts required to make these deposits into the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, the Air Quality Improvement Fund, and the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount until January 1, 2023, at which time the fees would be reduced by those amounts. (4) Existing law establishes the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program (Carl Moyer program) , which is administered by the state board, to provide grants to offset the incremental cost of eligible projects that reduce emissions of air pollutants from sources in the state and for funding a fueling infrastructure demonstration program and technology development efforts. Existing law authorizes the district board of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District to adopt a surcharge on motor vehicle registration fees applicable to all motor vehicles registered in the counties within that district. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the amount of that surcharge to $6 for a motor vehicle whose registration expires on or after December 31, 1990, and requires that $2 of the surcharge be used to implement the Carl Moyer program, as specified. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the surcharge limit to its previous amount of $4. This bill would extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until December 31, 2023, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date. Existing law authorizes each air pollution control and air quality management district that has been designated a state nonattainment area by the state board for any motor vehicle air pollutant, except the Sacramento district, to levy a surcharge on the registration fees for every motor vehicle registered in that district, as specified by the governing body of the district. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to collect that surcharge if requested by a district, and requires the department, after deducting its administrative costs, to distribute the revenues to the districts. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the amount of that surcharge to $6 and requires that $2 of the surcharge be used to implement the Carl Moyer program, as specified. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the surcharge limit to its previous amount of $4. This bill would extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until December 31, 2023, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date. (5) Existing law imposes a California tire fee amount on every person who purchases a new tire, with the revenues generated to be allocated for prescribed purposes related to disposal and use of used tires. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the tire fee to $1.75 and requires that 75¢ per tire on which the fee is imposed, be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund for use by the state board and districts for specified purposes. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the tire fee limit to 75¢. This bill would extend the $1.50 limitation on the tire fee until December 31, 2023, with the limit returning to 75¢ on that date. (6) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax 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.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires the commission to designate a baseline quantity of electricity and gas necessary to supply a significant portion of the reasonable energy needs of the average residential customer and requires that electrical and gas corporations file rates and charges, to be approved by the commission, providing baseline rates. Existing law requires the commission, in establishing the baseline rates, to avoid excessive rate increases for residential customers. Existing law requires the commission to establish a program of assistance to specified low-income electric and gas customers, referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program. Existing law revises certain prohibitions upon raising residential electrical rates adopted during the energy crisis of 2000–01, to authorize the commission to increase the rates charged residential customers for electricity usage up to 130% of the baseline quantities by the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index from the prior year plus 1%, but not less than 3% and not more than 5% per year. Existing law additionally authorizes the commission to increase the rates in effect for CARE program participants for electricity usage up to 130% of baseline quantities by the annual percentage increase in benefits under the CalWORKs program, as defined, not to exceed 3%, and subject to the limitation that the CARE rates not exceed 80% of the corresponding rates charged to residential customers not participating in the CARE program. This bill would authorize the commission to approve a fixed per-customer charge not based upon usage that applies to all residential customers of an electrical corporation, including CARE program participants, to recover fixed costs of providing service, if the commission finds that the charge is just and reasonable. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that any fixed per-customer charge be used to decrease the rates paid by residential customers for usage in excess of 130% of baseline amounts. The bill would require the commission to ensure that electricity rates are affordable for qualified low-income ratepayers and would require electrical corporations to offer discounts or other ratepayer subsidies to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to these customers so that these customers are not at risk of service disconnections that would cause them to sacrifice electricity service. (2) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. (3) 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.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 1 in the County of Los Angeles as the Honorable Jenny Oropeza Memorial Overcrossing. This measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering those costs, to erect those signs.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include instruction in social sciences, and authorizes that instruction to include instruction on World War II and the roles of Americans and Filipinos in that war. This bill would authorize instruction in social sciences for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include instruction on the Bracero program, and would authorize that instruction to include a component drawn from personal testimony, as provided. The bill would specify that this instruction shall be carried out in a manner that does not result in new duties or programs being imposed on school districts.

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 (EIR) 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 requires the lead agencies to make specified findings in an EIR. Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) in the Governor's office. Existing law requires OPR to assist with, among other things, the orderly preparation of programs of transportation. Existing law authorizes a local agency that determines that a project is not subject to CEQA pursuant to certain exemptions and approves or determines to carry out that project, to file notice of the determination with the county clerk in the county in which the project is located. This bill, until January 1, 2018, would exempt from CEQA a bicycle transportation plan for an urbanized area, as specified, and would also require a local agency that determines that the bicycle transportation plan is exempt under this provision and approves or determines to carry out that project, to file notice of the determination with OPR and the county clerk. This bill would require OPR to post specified information on its Internet Web site, as prescribed.

Existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, establishes the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund program pursuant to which state and federal funds are continuously appropriated from the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund to the State Water Resources Control Board for loans and other financial assistance for the construction of publicly owned treatment works by a municipality, the implementation of a management program, the development and implementation of a conservation and management plan, and other related purposes in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act and the state act. Existing law authorizes the board, until 2014, to assess a specified annual charge in connection with any financial assistance made pursuant to the revolving fund program in lieu of interest that otherwise would be charged and requires the proceeds generated from the imposition of the annual charge in lieu of interest to be deposited in the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Small Community Grant Fund (grant fund) , along with any interest earned upon the moneys in the grant fund. Existing law provides that the annual charge in lieu of interest remain unchanged until 2014, at which time it will terminate and be replaced by an identical interest rate, and prohibits the deposit of more than $50,000,000 into the grant fund. Existing law authorizes the board to expend the moneys in the grant fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for grants for eligible projects under the revolving fund program that serve small communities, as defined. This bill would authorize the board to assess the charge in lieu of interest until 2019. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.