Existing law authorizes the Department of Human Resources to make awards to current or retired state employees for proposing procedures or ideas that are adopted and put into effect and result in eliminating or reducing state expenditures or improving operations, or for making exceptional contributions to the efficiency, economy, or other improvement in the operations of state government. This bill would require the Governor to designate 3 state agencies to participate in a pilot program in 2015 to award cash prizes to eligible participants in innovation contests. The bill would require each designated state agency to establish and administer an innovation contest, as prescribed, and, on or before January 1, 2016, award a prize of up to $25,000 to a participant the state agency determines to have submitted the entry that best addresses the subject of the contest, in accordance with standards established by the state agency, and has the highest likelihood of being adopted and placed in effect. The bill would appropriate $75,000 from the General Fund to the Governor for allocation to the designated state agencies for those awards. The bill would require, if the designated state agency deems that no participant has addressed the subject of the contest, or if it awards a prize of less than $25,000, that unawarded prize money revert to the General Fund.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities and provides for the enforcement of those standards by local health agencies and by the State Department of Public Health, as specified. The code requires farm stands, as defined, to comply with specified requirements governing food safety and sanitation. A violation of the code is a crime. This bill would authorize, except under a specified circumstance, a community food producer or a gleaner, as defined, to sell or provide whole uncut fruits or vegetables, or unrefrigerated shell eggs, directly to the public or to a permitted restaurant if the community food producer meets specified requirements, including that the produce is labeled with the name and address of the community food producer and that egg production is limited to 15 dozen eggs per month. The bill would authorize a city or county health enforcement office to require a community food producer or gleaner to register with the city or county and to provide specified information, including, but not limited to, the name, address, and telephone number of the community food producer or gleaner. The bill would also authorize an enforcement officer to enter into and inspect the operations of a community food producer or gleaner in response to a food safety recall or food safety complaint. The bill would authorize an enforcement officer to issue a cease and desist order for violations of these provisions, which would prohibit the community food producer or gleaner from further sales until the operations of the community food producer or gleaner are reinspected and cleared by the enforcement officer's agency. The bill would also authorize the enforcement officer to recover reasonable costs associated with an inspection from the community food producer or gleaner. Existing law makes it unlawful for an egg handler, as defined, to hold, store, transport, or display eggs that are packed or graded for human consumption unless the eggs are held, stored, transported, or displayed consistent with specified requirements. Existing law provides that certified farmers' markets, as defined, are not required to comply with that provision. This bill would instead provide that direct marketing activities, including certified farmers' markets, community food producers, community-supported agriculture, and farm stands, as each of those terms are defined, are not required to comply with the above-described provision relating to an egg handler. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code, proposed by SB 170 and SB 1235, that would become operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are chaptered and become effective January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. Because the bill would create new crimes and would impose additional duties on local food inspectors, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The California Building Standards Law provides for the adoption of building standards by state agencies by requiring all state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission for approval and adoption. In the absence of a designated state agency, the commission is required to adopt specific building standards, as prescribed. Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the California Building Standards Code in its entirety once every 3 years. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to propose the adoption, amendment, or repeal of building standards to the commission and to adopt, amend, and repeal other rules and regulations for the protection of the public health, safety, and general welfare of the occupants and the public involving buildings and building construction. This bill would require the department, in consultation with other designated entities, to conduct research to assist in the development of, and to submit for adoption by the commission of, mandatory building standards for the installation of recycled water systems for newly constructed single-family and multifamily residential buildings. The bill would authorize the department to expend funds from the existing Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund for this purpose, upon appropriation. The bill would require the department to limit the mandate to install recycled water systems within residential buildings and building site landscaped areas to areas within a local jurisdiction that meet specified conditions. The bill would require the department to develop the application provisions in consultation with specified entities. The bill would define the term "recycled water" for these purposes. This bill would require the commission to undertake identical research and activities with respect to development of, and would require the commission to adopt, mandatory green building standards for the installation of recycled water systems for newly constructed commercial and public buildings.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a program for the development, provision, and evaluation of genetic disease testing. Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Genetic Disease Testing Fund (GDTF) , consisting of fees paid for newborn screening tests and states the intent of the Legislature that all costs of the genetic disease testing program be fully supported by fees paid for newborn screening tests, which are deposited in the GDTF. Existing law also authorizes moneys in the GDTF to be used for the expansion of the Genetic Disease Branch Screening Information System to include cystic fibrosis, biotinidase, and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and exempts the expansion of contracts for this purpose from certain provisions of the Public Contract Code, the Government Code, and the State Administrative Manual, as specified. This bill would require the department to expand statewide screening of newborns to include screening for adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) as soon as ALD is adopted by the federal Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) . By expanding the purposes for which moneys from the fund may be expended, this bill would make an appropriation.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires the commission to adopt inspection, maintenance, repair, and replacement standards for the distribution systems of electrical corporations in order to provide high-quality, safe, and reliable service. Existing law requires the commission to conduct a review to determine whether the standards have been met and to perform the review after every major outage. This bill would require the commission, in a new proceeding, or new phase of an existing proceeding, to commence on or before July 1, 2015, to consider adopting rules to address physical security risks to the distribution systems of electrical corporations. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a 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.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, to be achieved by 2020, equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990. The state board is additionally required to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Pursuant to the act, the state board has adopted the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations. This bill would require the state board, in promulgating regulations or other policies for purposes of the carbon intensity of fuels, to consider specified sustainability factors and the state of the fuel market and technologies. The bill would require the state board, no later than December 2015, to include mechanisms and policies that favor low-carbon fuels with the highest possible sustainability based on specified factors and to provide incentives for sustainable fuels produced without food stock or the displacement of food crops.
Existing law, the Native American Historic Resource Protection Act, establishes a misdemeanor for unlawfully and maliciously excavating upon, removing, destroying, injuring, or defacing a Native American historic, cultural, or sacred site, that is listed or may be eligible for listing in the California Register of Historic Resources. The California Environmental Quality Act, referred to as 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. CEQA requires the lead agency to provide a responsible agency with specified notice and opportunities to comment on a proposed project. CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and develop, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt, guidelines for the implementation of CEQA that include, among other things, criteria for public agencies to following in determining whether or not a proposed project may have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would specify that a project with an effect that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a tribal cultural resource, as defined, is a project that may have a significant effect on the environment. The bill would require a lead agency to begin consultation with a California Native American tribe that is traditionally and culturally affiliated with the geographic area of the proposed project, if the tribe requested to the lead agency, in writing, to be informed by the lead agency of proposed projects in that geographic area and the tribe requests consultation, prior to determining whether a negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact report is required for a project. The bill would specify examples of mitigation measures that may be considered to avoid or minimize impacts on tribal cultural resources. The bill would make the above provisions applicable to projects that have a notice of preparation or a notice of negative declaration filed or mitigated negative declaration on or after July 1, 2015. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to revise on or before July 1, 2016, the guidelines to separate the consideration of tribal cultural resources from that for paleontological resources and add consideration of tribal cultural resources. By requiring the lead agency to consider these effects relative to tribal cultural resources and to conduct consultation with California Native American tribes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes the Native American Heritage Commission and vests the commission with specified powers and duties. This bill would additionally require the commission to provide each California Native American tribe, as defined, on or before July 1, 2016, with a list of all public agencies that may be a lead agency within the geographic area in which the tribe is traditionally and culturally affiliated, the contact information of those agencies, and information on how the tribe may request those public agencies to notify the tribe of projects within the jurisdiction of those public agencies for the purposes of requesting consultation. 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 requires the Office of Emergency Services to implement regulations establishing minimum standards for business plans and area plans relating to the handling and release or threatened release of hazardous materials. Existing law requires the establishment of a statewide environmental reporting system for these plans. This bill would require a rail carrier, as defined, to report specified information regarding the transportation of hazardous materials, beginning no later than January 31, 2015, to the office on a quarterly basis. The bill would require a rail carrier to prospectively estimate and submit to the office notification of the weekly movements of trains through a county, as specified. The bill would require a rail carrier to update that notification once every 6 months. The bill also would require a rail carrier to update and notify the office within 30 days of the rail carrier determining that there will be a material change in the estimated volume of Bakken oil, as defined, plus or minus 25% per week relative to the most recent estimate previously submitted to the office. The bill would require each rail carrier to maintain a response management communications center, as specified. The bill would require the office to disseminate information necessary for developing emergency response plans from the reports it receives pursuant to this act to each unified program agency, as defined, when the office determines a unified program agency area of responsibility may be impacted by a hazardous material or oil cargo spill. The bill would require each rail carrier to provide the office with a summary of the rail carrier's hazardous materials emergency response plan, as specified. The bill would require the office to provide a copy of each summary report of a rail carrier's hazardous materials emergency response plan to each unified program agency when the office determines a unified program agency area of responsibility may be impacted by a rail carrier spill of hazardous material or oil cargo, as specified. The bill would prohibit a recipient of the reports and hazardous materials emergency response plan from divulging or making known that information to unauthorized recipients, as specified.
(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA provides some exemptions from its requirements for specified projects, including for a project that consists of the inspection, maintenance, repair, restoration, reconditioning, relocation, replacement, or removal of an existing pipeline, as defined, if specified conditions are met. This bill would provide that, for purposes of that exemption, until January 1, 2018, "pipeline" also means a pipeline located in Fresno, Kern, Kings, or Tulare County, that is used to transport biogas, as the bill would define that term, and that meets the existing requirements for the exemption and all local, state, and federal laws. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of the exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, and Tulare. (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.
(1) Existing law defines "bikeway" for certain purposes to mean all facilities that provide primarily for bicycle travel. Existing law categorizes bikeways into 3 classes of facilities. This bill would additionally categorize cycle tracks or separated bikeways, as specified, as Class IV bikeways. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in cooperation with county and city governments, to establish and update minimum safety design criteria for the planning and construction of bikeways, and requires the department to establish uniform specifications and symbols regarding bicycle travel and bicycle traffic related matters. Existing law requires all city, county, regional, and other local agencies responsible for the development or operation of bikeways or roadways where bicycle travel is permitted to utilize all of those minimum safety design criteria and uniform specifications and symbols. This bill would revise these provisions to require the department, in cooperation with local agencies and in consultation with the existing advisory committee of the department dedicated to improve access for persons with disabilities, to establish minimum safety design criteria for each type of bikeway with consideration for the safety of vulnerable populations, as specified, and would require the department to publish the new criteria by January 1, 2016. The bill would authorize a local agency to utilize other minimum safety criteria that meet specified conditions if adopted by resolution at a public meeting, as specified. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to establish, by June 30, 2013, procedures for cities, counties, and local agencies to be granted exceptions from the requirement to use design criteria and uniform specifications for purposes of research, experimentation, testing, evaluation, or verification. Existing law requires the department, by November 1, 2014, to report to the transportation policy committees of both houses of the Legislature the steps that the department has taken to implement those requirements, including, but not limited to, information regarding requests received and granted by the department from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014, inclusive, for those exceptions, and the reasons the department rejected any requests for those exceptions. This bill would repeal those requirements.