Asm. Tom Lackey

Existing law establishes the Veterans' Home of California, under the administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including homes in Yountville and Barstow. Existing law also authorizes the Department of General Services, on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to acquire, design, equip, construct, and establish additional veterans' homes in other locations, including Fresno. This bill would rename the veterans' home in the County of Fresno as the Dr. Charlie Waters Memorial Veterans' Home and would make specified findings of the Legislature regarding Dr. Waters' life.

Under existing law, a dwelling is deemed untenantable, as specified, if it substantially lacks certain affirmative standard characteristics including floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair. Existing law authorizes a landlord, after giving a tenant reasonable written notice, to enter a dwelling for certain purposes, including to make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements. This bill would also authorize a landlord to enter a dwelling to comply with the obligation that the dwelling have certain affirmative standard characteristics, as described above, necessary for the dwelling to be deemed tenantable. Existing law provides that a tenant of real property for a term less than life, or the executor of his or her estate, is guilty of unlawful detainer if, among other things, he or she continues in possession, in person or by subtenant, of the property or any part of the property, after the expiration of the term for which it is let to him or her, except as specified. Existing law requires a complaint filed in an unlawful detainer proceeding to include certain information and requires a defendant to answer the complaint, as specified, within 5 days of being served with a summons and the complaint, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause shown. This bill would require a defendant in an unlawful detainer action, if he or she asserts an affirmative defense of breach of the implied warranty of habitability, to indicate on the appropriate Judicial Council answer form if he or she has lodged a complaint or complaints regarding the uninhabitability of the premises before the filing of the action, and would require the defendant to include information about who the complaint or complaints were lodged with. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2017, to revise the appropriate answer form to include spaces to input the information, as described above. Existing law provides that the proper location for the trial of an unlawful detainer action is the location of the court in which unlawful detainer actions are tried that is nearest or most accessible to where the real property that is the subject of the action is situated. This bill would prohibit a plaintiff or defendant in an unlawful detainer action from requesting a change in court location if the court location for trial of the action is the nearest to where the real property that is the subject of the action is situated. The bill would provide that this prohibition only applies if that court location has been designated as a proper court location for the trial and allows for a jury trial.

Existing law provides that, if a person is convicted of a felony and is eligible for probation, the court is required to refer the matter to a probation officer to create a probation sentencing report containing specified information that may be considered either in aggravation or mitigation of the punishment before judgment is pronounced. Existing law requires the probation sentencing report to be provided to the court and to the parties at least 5 days, or upon request of the defendant or prosecuting attorney, 9 days, before the sentencing hearing unless the deadline is waived by the parties, as specified. Existing law provides that generally, a person seeking to continue a hearing in a criminal proceeding is required to file and serve a written notice to all parties at least 2 court days before the hearing that is to be continued. This bill would authorize a court to grant the defendant's request for continuance when the probation department fails to provide the report by the 5-day or 9-day deadline only if the court finds good cause to grant the continuance.

Existing law designates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as the regional transportation planning agency for the San Francisco Bay area. Existing law creates the Bay Area Toll Authority, governed by the same board as the commission, with specified powers and duties relative to the administration of toll revenues from state-owned toll bridges within the geographic jurisdiction of the commission. Existing law authorizes the authority to make direct contributions to the commission in furtherance of the exercise of the authority's powers, including contributions in the form of personnel services, office space, overhead, and other funding necessary to carry out the function of the authority, with those contributions not to exceed 1% of the gross annual bridge revenues. This bill would require this limitation to apply to any revenues derived from bridge tolls, fees, or taxes, regardless of classification.

Existing law requires every manufacturer, distributor, transporter, and dealer of motor vehicles to obtain a license or temporary permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles before engaging in business. Under existing law, each person who applies for a dealer's license for the purpose of transacting sales of used vehicles is required to successfully complete a written examination before a license may be issued. Existing law also requires each applicant to successfully complete a preliminary educational program of not less than 4 hours before taking the examination. Existing law further requires a licenseholder to complete an educational program of not less than 4 hours every 2 years after issuance of the license. Existing law also requires every vehicle salesperson to obtain a license or temporary permit before engaging in vehicle sales, and provides that the license is valid for 3 years from the date of issuance. This bill would require an applicant for a vehicle salesperson's license or renewal of a salesperson's license who is employed by a dealer that sells only used vehicles for retail sale to complete the above-described educational programs applicable to vehicle dealers, unless the dealer owns a minimum of 10 branches of the business within the state and provides a minimum of 10 hours of educational training per year to its salespersons. The bill would require the dealer to maintain a copy of the salesperson's evidence of completion of the educational requirements at the location where the salesperson is employed, subject to inspection by the department.

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. This bill would exempt from the provisions of CEQA a project, or the issuance of a permit for a project, that consists of the inspection, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or removal of, or the addition of an auxiliary lane or bikeway to, existing transportation infrastructure and that meets certain requirements. The bill would require the public agency carrying out the project to take certain actions.

Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board as a state agency with authority over matters relating to water quality. Existing law requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policy for water quality control. . This bill would require the state board to establish a grant program to award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water. The bill would specify various types of projects for which these grants could be awarded. The bill would require the state board to give priority to applicant public elementary and secondary schools that serve a disadvantaged community, as defined. The bill would require the state board to develop procedures for the submission of applications for grants by local educational agencies and criteria for the evaluation of these applications. The bill would appropriate $10,000,000, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the state board for allocation to local educational agencies as grants made pursuant to the bill. The bill would provide that funds allocated to local educational agencies pursuant to this bill would supplement, and not supplant, the other state funds apportioned to these local educational agencies for their support. To the extent that the funds appropriated by this bill are allocated to school districts, the amount of these funds would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. Under existing law, the department is authorized to assist every veteran of the United States in establishing the veteran's right to any privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided for by the laws of the United States or of the state. This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, specifically authorize the department to refer a veteran to a drug and alcohol treatment program for veterans that is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill would also authorize the department to, by regulation, create a form for the purpose of making these referrals. Existing law authorizes each county board of supervisors to appoint a county veterans service officer to perform specified veterans-related services. Under existing law, the county veterans service officer is required to assist every veteran of the United States in establishing the veteran's right to any privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided for by the laws of the United States or of the state. This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, specifically authorize a county veterans service officer to refer a veteran to a drug and alcohol treatment program for veterans that is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill would authorize a county veterans service officer to use the form described above for the purpose of making these referrals.