Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission is vested with regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law authorizes a local governmental entity, except a joint powers authority, to receive a bill credit to a designated benefiting account, for electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable generating facility and requires the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account. This bill would include as a local governmental entity for this purpose a joint powers authority, except as specified. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order or direction of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would require an order or other action of the commission to implement and a violation of that order or action would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new 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.
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Existing law provides for the licensing and administration by the Department of Motor Vehicles of traffic violator schools, operators, and instructors. Existing law authorizes the Director of Motor Vehicles to prescribe rules and regulations for traffic violator schools regarding the conduct of courses of education, including curriculum, facilities, and equipment. Existing law establishes a motorcyclist safety program, administered by the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to adopt standards for course content, contact hours, curriculum, instructor training and testing, and instructional quality control for a novice rider training course and a premier motorcyclist safety training program. This bill would authorize a motorcyclist safety training program that is licensed as a traffic violator school to administer a motorcyclist training course, and would authorize the course to include instruction specific to the safe and lawful operation of motorcycles in addition to the curriculum prescribed by the department for traffic violator schools.
Under existing law, a certified copy of a birth, death, marriage, or military service record may only be supplied by the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder to an authorized person, as defined, who submits a written, faxed, or digitized image request accompanied by a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury that the applicant is an authorized person. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, if the request for a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage record is made electronically, authorize the official to accept an electronic acknowledgment verifying the identity of the applicant using a multilayered remote identity proofing process. If an applicant's identity cannot be established electronically, the bill would require the applicant to include with his or her request a statement of identity notarized pursuant to existing law. The bill would require the verification to comply with specified provisions and protect the personal information of the applicant and guard against identity theft. The bill would require the State Registrar and any city or county that fulfills electronic requests without a notarized statement of identity to report to the Attorney General and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2019, regarding the number and types of requests and the availability of consumer protection mechanisms, as specified. This bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health to implement its procedures relating to electronic verification through an all-county letter or similar instruction from the State Registrar without taking regulatory action. The bill would specifically authorize the department to accept an electronic verification of identity accompanied by an electronic statement sworn under penalty of perjury for the above purposes. By expanding the crime of perjury, the 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, restricts the employment of physicians and surgeons or doctors of podiatric medicine by a corporation or other artificial legal entity to entities that do not charge for professional services rendered to patients and are approved by the Medical Board of California, subject to specified exemptions. Existing law establishes the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, which succeeds to and is vested with all the duties, powers, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the State Department of Public Health relating to health planning and research development. This bill, until January 1, 2024, would also authorize a federally certified critical access hospital to employ those medical professionals and charge for professional services rendered by those medical professionals if the medical staff concur by an affirmative vote that the professional's employment is in the best interest of the communities served by the hospital and the hospital does not direct or interfere with the professional judgment of a physician and surgeon, as specified. The bill would require the office, on or before July 1, 2023, to provide a report to the Legislature containing data on the impact of this authorization on federally certified critical access hospitals and their ability to recruit and retain physicians and surgeons, as specified. The bill would, on and after July 1, 2017, and until July 1, 2023, require a federally critical access hospital employing those medical professionals under this authorization to submit a report, on or before July 1 of each year, to the office as specified.
Existing law provides various public social services and requires that an applicant for, or recipient of, public social services be accorded an opportunity for a state hearing if, among other reasons, the applicant or recipient is dissatisfied with any action of the county department relating to his or her application for, or receipt of, public social services. Existing law requires, if regulations require a public or private agency to write a position statement concerning the issues in question in a fair hearing, or if the agency chooses to develop such a statement, the agency to make available to the applicant or recipient a copy of the agency's position statement at the county welfare department not less than two working days prior to the date of the hearing. Existing law excludes the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Public Health from that requirement. This bill would instead require the public or private agency to make the agency's position statement available to the applicant or recipient at the county welfare office or via United States mail, or, upon request, through electronic means, as specified. The bill would exempt, for a specified period, a public or private agency from complying with this requirement if it submits a specified report to the State Department of Social Services by December 31 of each year. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law establishes the Department of Parks and Recreation and vests the department with the control of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the Director of Parks and Recreation to negotiate or renegotiate a concession contract within state parks if specified conditions exist and generally requires that a concession contract within state parks for a period of more than 2 years be awarded to the best responsible bidder. This bill would enact the California Heritage Protection Act, which would make various changes to the process for negotiating or renegotiating state parks concession contracts. The bill would modify the definition of a best responsible bidder to include that the bidder, among other things, will operate the concession in a manner that protects the state's trademark and service mark interest in the names associated with a state park venue and its historical, cultural, and recreational resources. This bill would prohibit a concession contract from providing a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and would prohibit a concession contract from serving as the basis for any legal claim that the contracting party has that interest. The bill would declare that these provisions do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory of, existing law. The bill would prohibit a bidder who makes that legal claim or assertion, and a bidder who a court has determined has made that legal claim or assertion with respect to a state or federal park venue without reasonable cause and in bad faith, from being awarded a concession contract within state parks. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to provide a bidder who is denied a contract award based on these reasons with written notice and an opportunity to rebut the basis of the contract denial at a formal hearing. The bill would render a provision of a concession contract that, on and after January 1, 2017, provides a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, void and unenforceable. This bill would require a concession contract to contain provisions requiring the concessionaire to forfeit the right to bid on future state park concession contracts if the concessionaire makes the above-described legal claim or assertion and requiring a concessionaire to be responsible for the state's attorney fees, costs, and expenses if the concessionaire in bad faith files a federal or state trademark or service mark application for a trademark or service mark that incorporates or implies association with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and the state files a successful opposition or cancellation of the trademark or service mark application. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5080.18 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 1473 to be operative only if SB 1473 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to collect certain criminal justice data from specified persons and agencies, and to present an annual report to the Governor containing the criminal statistics of the preceding calendar year, in addition to other reports, as specified. Existing law requires the department to prepare and distribute to all those persons and agencies cards, forms, or electronic means used in reporting data to the department. This bill would instead require the department to make available to the public information relating to criminal statistics through the department's OpenJustice Web portal, to be updated at least once per year, without requiring an increase in the frequency of reporting by local agencies. The bill would require the department to evaluate, on an annual basis, the progress of the transition from summary crime reporting to incident-based crime reporting and to report its findings to the Legislature annually through 2019. The bill would also provide legislative findings and declarations relating to the OpenJustice Web portal. This bill would make conforming changes to related provisions concerning the interpretation and distribution of the criminal statistics, the maintenance of a specified data set, reports issued by the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board, and information about homicide, hate crimes, identity theft, stolen goods, and the juvenile justice system. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
The Personal Income Tax Law requires a partnership to file an informational return on the 15th day of the 4th month following the close of its taxable year, and a limited liability company classified as a partnership to file a return of the taxes due and payable on the 15th day of the 4th month following the close of its taxable year. The Corporation Tax Law requires a taxpayer subject to that law, including an "S corporation," to file a return on the 15th day of the 3rd month following the close of its taxable year. These tax return due dates conform to federal income tax return due dates for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2016. This bill would require, instead, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, a partnership and a limited liability company classified as a partnership to file a return on the 15th day of the 3rd month, and a taxpayer subject to the Corporation Tax Law, but not an "S corporation," to file a return on the 15th day of the 4th month, following the close of its taxable year. These tax return due dates would conform to federal income tax return due dates for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2016.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities and can establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to establish procedures to permit the submission of informal complaints through electronic means. This bill would require the commission to adopt procedures authorizing the submittal of electronic signatures and documents by all parties on contracts involving the commission.
The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, provides that children from infancy to 13 years of age are eligible, with certain requirements, for child care and development services. The act authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to enter into and execute local contractual agreements with any public or private entity or agency for the delivery of child care and development services. The act authorizes these contractors to maintain records electronically. This bill would authorize the contractors to use a digital signature, as provided, and would require that the use of a digital signature have the same force and effect as a manual signature if specified requirements are met. The bill would require the use of a digital signature to be in compliance with state and federal standards, as determined by the department.