Asm. Felipe Fuentes

This measure would designate May 2012 as Lupus Awareness Month.

This measure would recognize May 2012 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.

This measure would declare the Legislature's recognition of the importance of access to local parks, trails, open space, and facilities for the health and development of all Californians. This measure would also declare July 2012 as "Parks Make Life Better!®" Month.

This measure would designate the month of April 2012 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, would recognize April 25, 2012, as Denim Day California, and would encourage everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the message that there is no excuse for, and never an invitation to commit, rape.

This measure would declare May 23, 2012, as the 24th Annual State Scientist Day, as a tribute to the dedication and professionalism of the state scientists who work on behalf of all the residents of California.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of emissions of greenhouse gases and to monitor and enforce compliance with the reporting and verification program, and requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020. The act requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions and authorizes the state board to use market-based compliance mechanisms to achieve these ends. The act authorizes the state board to adopt a schedule of fees to be paid by the sources of greenhouse gas emissions regulated pursuant to the act, and requires the revenues collected pursuant to that fee to be deposited into the Air Pollution Control Fund and be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of carrying out the act. This bill would create the Local Emission Reduction Program and would permit specified moneys collected pursuant to market-based compliance mechanisms to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of carrying out the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The bill would require the state board, in coordination with the Strategic Growth Council and other state entities, as appropriate, to provide local assistance grants to eligible recipients for the purposes of developing and implementing multibenefit greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in this state. The bill would authorize the Strategic Growth Council to award moneys under the program to a county, or counties, that adopts a local greenhouse gas emission reduction program, as certified by the state board, that achieves specified purposes.

This measure would designate May 2012 as Foster Care Month in California.

This measure would designate the week of April 15 to 21, 2012, as "National Multicultural Cancer Awareness Week," and would encourage the promotion of policies and programs that seek to reduce cancer disparities and improve cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and followup care for all Californians.

(1) Existing law vests the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission with the exclusive jurisdiction to certify thermal powerplants. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) , the certification of a thermal powerplant is a certified regulatory program and is therefore exempt from certain requirements of CEQA. A thermal powerplant does not include a solar photovoltaic electrical generating facility. However, existing law provides that the thermal powerplant certification process applies to owners of specified proposed solar thermal powerplants who are proposing to convert the proposed facility from solar thermal technology to solar photovoltaic technology if the proposed solar thermal powerplant project has been certified by the commission. Existing law provides that the thermal powerplant certification process does not apply to the proposed conversion if the certification of the proposed solar thermal powerplant was timely challenged. This bill would provide that the thermal powerplant certification process would apply to a proposed conversion of a solar thermal powerplant that was timely challenged if the challenge was subsequently dismissed by the California Supreme Court. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would designate the second full week in April as California Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.