The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust, and requires the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. The California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 requires all agencies and museums, which is defined to include higher education institutions, that receive state funding and have possession or control over collections of California Native American human remains and associated funerary objects to inventory those remains and objects for repatriation to the appropriate California Indian tribes, as specified. As a condition for using state funds to handle and maintain Native American human remains and cultural items, this bill would require the office of the President of the University of California to comply with various requirements regarding repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items, as provided.
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Existing law requires a state agency that is required or requested by law to submit a report to the Members of either house of the Legislature generally to submit the report in a specified manner and to post the report on the state agency's internet website. This bill would additionally require a state agency to post on its internet website any report required or requested by law, or identified in the Legislative Analyst's Supplemental Report of the Budget Act, that the state agency submits to a committee of the Legislature or to the Members of either house of the Legislature. Existing law requires the Legislative Counsel to make various categories of legislative information available to the public in an electronic form. This bill would additionally require the Legislative Counsel to make available to the public a link to the list of state and local agency reports submitted by state and local agencies to a committee of the Legislature or to the Members of either house of the Legislature generally, as specified.
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 requires each state agency to establish, by resolution or order, time limits for completing the environmental review of a project where the state agency is the lead agency for the project, as specified. This bill, until January 1, 2031, would require a state agency, acting as the lead agency, to complete its environmental review for an electrical infrastructure project and to approve or deny the project within 2 years of the submission and acceptance of a complete application for the issuance of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use for electrical infrastructure to the state agency. If the state agency fails to meet this deadline, the bill would require the state agency to submit to the Legislature a report setting forth the reasons that the review could not be completed within the time period and identifying potential impacts to the electrical system that could result from the delay.
Existing law prohibits a person, a state or local governmental agency, or a public utility from substantially diverting or obstructing the natural flow of, or substantially changing or using any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake, or depositing or disposing of debris, waste, or other material containing crumbled, flaked, or ground pavement where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, unless prescribed requirements are met, including written notification to the Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding the activity. Existing law requires the department to determine whether the activity may substantially adversely affect an existing fish and wildlife resource and, if so, to provide a draft lake or streambed alteration agreement to the person, agency, or utility. Existing law prescribes various requirements for lake and streambed alteration agreements. Existing law also establishes various exemptions from these provisions, including exemptions for specified emergency work. This bill would additionally exempt from these provisions the temporary operation of existing infrastructure or temporary pumps being used to divert flood stage flows, as identified by the California Nevada River Forecast Center or the State Water Resources Control Board, or near-flood stage flows, as defined, to groundwater recharge as long as certain conditions are met. The bill would also make conforming changes.
This measure would declare that the Legislature should pass laws that halt the importation of cobalt or any product using cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor and encourage the production of cobalt and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.
This measure would recognize July 17, 2023, to July 23, 2023, as Outdoor Worker Appreciation Week.
This measure would declare the month of October 2023 as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month.
This measure would designate the month of November 2023 to be California's Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month. The measure would recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Sikh heritage to our state and would seek to afford all Californians the opportunity to better understand, recognize, and appreciate the rich history and shared principles of Sikh Americans. The measure would condemn all hate crimes and bias incidents against Sikh Americans and would encourage all Sikhs to practice their faith freely and fearlessly.
This measure would designate the month of October 2023 as California Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month. The measure would also recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Hindu heritage to the state and seek to increase awareness and understanding of the Hindu American community.