Asm. Das Williams

Existing law establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Industrial Relations to enforce employment safety laws. Existing law authorizes the division to conduct hearings, inspections, and investigations regarding alleged violations of employment safety laws and to issue a citation or notice to employers. Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board in the department, and prescribes procedures for the appeals board to hear and decide employer appeals of a citation or notice. This bill would provide that an appeal of a citation or notice, as specified, that is classified and cited as a serious violation, repeat serious violation, willful serious violation, or failure to abate shall not stay abatement dates and requirements. The bill would require the division to stay the abatement for a serious violation, repeat serious violation, willful serious violation, or failure to abate, if it makes a specified determination. The bill would authorize the division to stay an abatement requirement while a motion to stay an abatement is pending. The bill would authorize an employer to request an expedited appeal from the appeals board and would require the appeals board to conduct an expedited hearing in accordance with specified regulations.

The Trial Court Employment Protection and Governance Act establishes a trial court employee personnel system that provides authority to hire trial court personnel, regulates the classification and compensation of trial court employees, labor relations, and personnel files, and requires each trial court to establish a system of employment selection and advancement and an employment protection system. Existing law authorizes state agencies to use personal services contracts to achieve cost savings if specified standards are satisfied, including, among other things, the contract does not cause the displacement of civil service employees and the contract is awarded through a publicized, competitive bidding process. The State Personnel Board is required to review a proposed contract upon the request of an employee organization for compliance with those standards. This bill, until January 1, 2020, would establish specified standards if a trial court intends to enter into a new contract, or renew or extend an existing contract, for any services that are currently or customarily performed by that trial court's employees. Among other things, the bill would require the trial court to clearly demonstrate that the contract will result in actual overall cost savings to the trial court for the duration of the entire contract as compared with the trial court's actual costs of providing the same services. The bill would require a contract for services in excess of $100,000 annually to include specific, measurable performance standards and provisions for audits on performance and cost savings, as specified. This bill would provide that these standards apply to any contract entered into, renewed, or extended after the effective date of this measure. The bill would provide that its provisions do not apply to a contract under specified circumstances, including when services are incidental to a contract for the purchase or lease of real or personal property. This bill would require each trial court to provide a report by February 1, 2014, to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Judiciary Committee if the trial court entered into a contract between July 1, 2013, and the effective date of this measure for services that were provided or are customarily provided by its trial court employees if the contract has a term extending beyond March 31, 2014. This report would be required to include specified information relating to these contracts, including an analysis of whether the contract resulted in the displacement of trial court employees. The bill would provide that its provisions are severable.

Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. The State Oil and Gas Supervisor, referred to as the supervisor, supervises the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field regarding safety and environmental damage. Existing law requires an operator of a well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, to provide notice to, and obtain approval from, the supervisor or district deputy. This bill would define "hydraulic fracturing." The bill would also require any notice of intent to drill, rework, or deepen a well where hydraulic fracturing will occur to include a groundwater monitoring plan for review and approval by the appropriate regional water quality control board, which would contain specific information relating to groundwater, water quality, and the monitoring of wells and water quality. The bill would further require any notice of intent to provide specific information regarding the amount and source of the water used during hydraulic fracturing operations.

Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, in consultation and collaboration with others, as specified, to develop a training curriculum for in-home support services providers that addresses issues of consistency, accountability, and increased quality of care for in-home supportive services recipients. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services and State Department of Public Health, in consultation and collaboration with others, as specified, to develop a training curriculum for health and home care workers that addresses the above-mentioned issues for health and home care recipients.

Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon proper application, to issue driver's licenses and identification cards. The federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative facilitates travel within the western hemisphere by authorizing the use of enhanced driver's licenses and identification cards meeting specified requirements as travel documents. This bill would authorize the Department of Motor Vehicles to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a federal agency for the purpose of facilitating travels within the western hemisphere pursuant to the federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative through the issuance of an enhanced driver's license, instruction permit, provisional license, or identification card. The bill would authorize the department to issue or renew, upon request, an enhanced driver's license, instruction permit, provisional license, or identification card for specified persons. The bill would require a person applying for the initial issuance or renewal of an enhanced driver's license, instruction permit, provisional license, or identification card to submit, under the penalty of perjury, additional proof of identity, residency, and citizenship that satisfies the requirements of the federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. Because the knowledge of the submission of fraudulent information is a crime, the bill would create a new crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would, except as specified, prohibit the disclosure of information submitted to the department. Because a violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to apply for, or use, an enhanced driver's license or identification card as a condition of employment or to discriminate or otherwise retaliate against an employee who refuses to apply for, or use, an enhanced driver's license or identification card. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the department to submit an annual report to specified committees of the Legislature on the implementation of the enhanced driver's license and identification card. The bill would require a person applying for an enhanced driver's license, instruction permit, provisional license, or identification card to submit an additional application fee of $75. The bill would establish the Enhanced Driver's License and Identification Card Subaccount in the Motor Vehicle Account and would require the additional fee to be deposited into the subaccount. The bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the moneys in the subaccount to be expended by the department in implementing the above provisions. 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.

(1) The existing California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program. Existing law requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan. The act requires the source reduction and recycling element to divert from disposal 50% of all solid waste subject to the element through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities, with specified exceptions. Under the act, the use of solid waste for beneficial reuse in the construction and operation of a solid waste landfill, including the use of alternative daily cover, constitutes diversion through recycling and is not considered disposal. This bill would require the department to adopt regulations to provide that, no later than January 1, 2020, the use of green material as alternative daily cover or alternative intermediate cover does not constitute diversion through recycling and would be considered disposal for purposes of the act. The bill would authorize the department to delay the effective date of this requirement, as specified. The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties upon local agencies with regard to the diversion of solid waste. This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2015, to conduct an analysis of the use of residual fines from material recovery facilities and materials left over from the composting process for use as alternative daily cover and other forms of beneficial use in the design and operation of a solid waste landfill. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations, by July 1, 2015, based on this analysis, if the department makes a specified determination that residual fines from material recovery facilities and materials left over from the composting process would serve as adequate daily cover. (2) The act requires a business, which is defined as a commercial or public entity, that generates more than 4 cubic yards of commercial solid waste per week or is a multifamily residential dwelling of 5 units or more, to arrange for recycling services. Existing law also requires jurisdictions to implement a commercial solid waste recycling program meeting specified elements. Existing law defines the term "commercial solid waste" by reference to a specified regulation. This bill would instead define commercial solid waste in statute to include all types of solid waste generated by a store, office, or other commercial or public entity source, including a business or a multifamily dwelling of 5 or more units. The bill would also require the department to adopt, by January 1, 2017, regulations to require a large-quantity commercial organics generator, as defined, to arrange for separate organics collection and recycling services, except as specified. The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties upon local agencies with regard to the commercial solid waste program required to be implemented by local agencies. (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.