Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

Existing law, the Water Rights Permitting Reform Act of 1988, authorizes a person to obtain a right to appropriate water for a small domestic use, small irrigation use, or livestock stockpond use upon first registering the use, as those uses are defined by the act, with the State Water Resources Control Board and thereafter applying the water to reasonable and beneficial use with due diligence. The act requires the registration of water use to be made upon a form prescribed by the board that requires, among other things, a certification that the registrant has contacted a representative of the Department of Fish and Wildlife and has agreed to comply with conditions set forth by the department. The act requires the board to establish reasonable general conditions to which all appropriations made pursuant to the act are required to be subject, including, among other things, that all conditions lawfully required by the department are conditions upon the appropriations. The act provides that the board is not required to adopt general conditions for small irrigation use until the board determines that funds are available for that purpose, and that a registration for small irrigation use pursuant to the act is not authorized until the board establishes general conditions for small irrigation use to protect instream beneficial uses, as specified. This bill would require the board to give priority to adopting, on or before June 30, 2021, except as provided, general conditions that permit a registrant to store water for small irrigation use during times of high streamflow in exchange for the registrant reducing diversions during periods of low streamflow, as specified. The bill would require that the actions of the board under these provisions be deemed an action taken for the protection of the environment for purposes of specified California Environmental Quality Act guidelines, if those actions do not result in the relaxation of streamflow standards. Existing law exempts certain stream segments subject to certain minimum streamflow requirements from the provisions of the act upon proper registration. This bill, if the Director of Fish and Wildlife establishes proposed streamflow requirements for a stream segment, as specified, would instead prohibit the authorization of a registration for that stream segment until the board establishes instream flow requirements as a part of the general conditions applicable to that stream segment. The bill would require that the establishment of those instream flow requirements be done after the board considers the proposed streamflow requirements, if proposed by the director. Existing law prohibits an entity 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 from depositing certain material where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, without first notifying the department of that activity and entering into a lake or streambed alteration agreement, if required by the department to protect fish and wildlife resources. Existing law exempts certain routine maintenance and operation activities from those requirements after the initial notification and agreement, certain emergency activities from those notification and agreement requirements and certain activities authorized by a license or renewed license issued for cannabis cultivation from those agreement requirements. Existing law authorizes the department to establish a graduated schedule of fees to be charged to any entity subject to the notification and agreement provisions and requires any fees received to be deposited into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. This bill would exempt an entity from the requirement to enter into a lake or streambed alteration agreement with the department if the entity submits a board-approved registration or renewed or amended registration for water use to the department and the department determines certain requirements are met, including, the payment of a fee required for a lake or streambed alteration agreement and the submission of a copy of any department conditions imposed for the registration for water use. With respect to the submission of a renewed or amended registration, the bill would require the department to modify the existing conditions, or add new conditions, which would become part of the renewed or amended registration, if the department determines the conditions for the use will not protect fish and wildlife resources that may be substantially adversely affected by the activity authorized by the renewed or amended registration. If the department determines that an entity has failed to comply with these conditions, the exemption, upon written notice by the department, would no longer apply and the entity would be required to comply with the regular notice and agreement requirements.

The California Disaster Assistance Act provides that the state share for disaster project allocations to local agencies is no more than 75% of total state eligible costs, except for specified events for which the state share is up to 100% of state eligible costs. This bill would provide that the state share for the removal of dead and dying trees in connection with the Governor's Proclamation of a State of Emergency issued on October 30, 2015, is no more than 90% of total state eligible costs.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. The Public Utilities Act requires the PUC to review and accept, modify, or reject a procurement plan for each electrical corporation and requires the procurement plan to include specified elements, among them a showing that it will achieve certain objectives. Existing law requires the PUC to identify a diverse and balanced portfolio of resources needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply that provides optimal integration of renewable energy in a cost-effective manner, and specifies the respective roles of electrical corporations and community choice aggregators in satisfying the portfolio needs for renewable integration. This bill would specify that a "diverse and balanced portfolio of resources" includes an appropriate mix of renewable capacity, including peaking, dispatchable, baseload, firm, and as-available capacity. The bill would additionally require the PUC to assess the need for, and benefits of, existing and future renewable baseload generation, and determine whether a procurement requirement for renewable baseload generation is necessary to meet the portfolio needs for renewable integration. Existing law requires the PUC to adopt a process for each load-serving entity, defined as including electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators, to file an integrated resource plan and a schedule for periodic updates to the plan to ensure that load-serving entities accomplish specified objectives. Existing law requires each load-serving entity to prepare and file an integrated resource plan consistent with those objectives on a time schedule directed by the PUC and subject to PUC review. This bill would require that an integrated resource plan ensure that the load-serving entity procures a balanced resource portfolio with an appropriate mix of renewable capacity, including peaking, dispatchable, baseload, firm, and as-available capacity. Existing law requires that the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility with an annual electrical demand exceeding 700 gigawatthours adopt an integrated resource plan and a process for updating the plan at least once every 5 years to ensure the utility achieves specified objectives. Existing law requires that the integrated resource plan and any updates be filed with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , requires the Energy Commission to review the plans and plan updates, and, if the Energy Commission determines a plan or plan update is deficient, to provide recommendations to correct the deficiencies. This bill would require the governing board, when reviewing the local publicly owned electric utility's integrated resource plan, to evaluate the mix of resources in the utility's total resource and renewable resource portfolios to ensure balanced portfolios with an appropriate mix of renewable capacity, including peaking, dispatchable, baseload, firm, and as-available capacity. The bill would require the governing board to assess the need for, and benefits of, existing and new renewable baseload generation and consider whether to procure renewable baseload generation for the utility. By placing additional requirements upon local publicly owned electric utilities, 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 prohibits a person from operating a commercial motor vehicle unless the person has passed a written and driving test for the operation of a commercial motor vehicle that complies with specified federal standards and any other requirements imposed by the Vehicle Code. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to implement these provisions, as specified. This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish performance goals to decrease the wait time to obtain an appointment to take the driving skills test to operate a commercial motor vehicle. The bill would require the department to convene a stakeholder group to make recommendations to the department on meeting these performance goals. The bill would require the department to submit a report to the relevant budget and policy committees of the Legislature detailing the recommendations of the stakeholder group, the recommendations that the department has adopted, the recommendations that were not adopted with an explanation of why they were not adopted, and how the department intends to implement these recommendations. The bill would additionally require the department to submit a subsequent report to these committees describing the department's performance in implementing the recommendations it has adopted and achieving the performance goals.

Existing law establishes the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and provides that the agency consists of, among other entities, the California Workforce Development Board, the Employment Development Department, and the Employment Training Panel. Existing law establishes within state government a Department of Veterans Affairs and a Department of Food and Agriculture. Existing law provides for a variety of state benefits to veterans, including those relating to educational assistance and farm and home purchases, as specified. This bill would, by July 1, 2018, require the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the California Department of Veterans Affairs, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Farm Service Agency, and other federal agencies as needed, to identify and post specified information to assist veterans in entering farming or ranching careers.

This measure would designate a specified portion of Interstate 680 in the City of San Ramon in the County of Contra Costa as the Detective Sergeant Thomas A. Smith, Jr. Memorial Highway. The measure would also request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, erect those signs.

This measure would urge the United States Congress to propose and send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to abolish the electoral college and provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President of the United States by the popular vote of all eligible citizens of the United States.