Asm. Adrin Nazarian

Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission in the Natural Resources Agency, and specifies the powers and duties of the commission with respect to energy resources in the state. Under existing law, various provisions regulate petroleum supply and pricing. Existing law requires the commission to obtain and analyze monthly production reports prepared by the State Oil and Gas Supervisor under a specific provision. Existing law authorizes the State Lands Commission to enter into oil and gas leases for the extraction and removal of oil and gas deposits on state lands. Existing law requires the leases to include a royalty provision. This bill would, until January 1, 2018, require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, or the commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature of moneys generated by the collection of royalty payments from the oil and gas leases, to identify data currently collected or developed by the commission and to establish a methodology to analyze whether fuel price manipulation has occurred or is occurring. The bill would require the commission to establish a Motor Vehicle Fuel Market Advisory Committee, as specified, to review specific data and provide ongoing comments, insight, and recommendations about fuel market behavior and transactions related to potential market manipulation and methods to deter those activities. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board and other relevant state agencies, to include in its integrated energy policy report a one-time report on further legislative recommendations to limit the amount of price volatility and comparative price increase in the California fuel market.

Existing law establishes the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee to provide advice to the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Education with respect to policy development, integration, and evaluation of tobacco education programs. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to allocate funds to county offices of education for tobacco use prevention, intervention, and cessation activities. Existing law also requires that all school districts and county offices of education that receive funding, as specified, adopt and enforce a tobacco-free campus policy, no later than July of each fiscal year, prohibiting the use of tobacco products, any time, in district-owned or leased buildings, on district property and in district vehicles. This bill would expand eligibility for funding for the tobacco use prevention program to include charter schools. The bill would require the State Department of Education to require that all school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education receiving funding under the program adopt and enforce a tobacco-free campus policy prohibiting the use of products containing tobacco and nicotine, as specified, in and on the properties described above and would, in addition, prohibit the use of tobacco and nicotine products in a county office of education, charter school or school district-owned or leased building, on school or district property, and in school or district vehicles without regard to whether those entities receive funding. The bill would also require school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to prominently display signs at all entrances to school property stating "Tobacco use is prohibited." The bill would make other technical and clarifying changes. By imposing new duties on school districts and county offices of education, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

(1) 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 obtain approval from the supervisor or a district deputy. Violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. This bill would define "hydraulic fracturing" in oil and gas operations and would prohibit hydraulic fracturing, as well as the use of clean freshwater for purposes of hydraulic fracturing, on any oil or gas well, if the well is located within 4,000 feet from a home, public building, school, surface waters, underground source of drinking water, or any other sensitive human or environmental resource in the state from an aquifer, until the completion of a report, as specified, and a determination is made that hydraulic fracturing can be conducted without a risk to the public health, welfare, environment, or the economy of the state. The bill would also express the intent of the Legislature to, among other things, protect the public health and welfare, natural and environmental resources and economic interest of the state. (2) Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency consisting of various entities, departments, and boards. Existing law also establishes the California Environmental Protection Agency consisting of various entities, departments, and boards. This bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and the Secretary for Environmental Protection to (A) convene an advisory committee, by July 1, 2014, to develop a report relating to hydraulic fracturing, as specified; (B) to complete the report on or before January 1, 2018, and provide a copy to the Governor and the Legislature on or before that date; and (C) to make a determination, as specified, not later than January 1, 2019, as to whether and under what conditions hydraulic fracturing is permitted within the state. This bill would prohibit hydraulic fracturing in certain wells, as well as the use of freshwater for hydraulic fracturing purposes in those wells, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, 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 regulates the ownership and possession of various weapons, including destructive devices, as defined. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Existing law establishes the Arts Council composed of 11 members, with the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Committee on Rules each appointing one member and the Governor appointing 9 members who are subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Arts Council is authorized to award grants, as specified. This bill would continuously appropriate $75,000,000 annually from the General Fund to the Arts Council to be used for grants as currently authorized by law, thereby making an appropriation. This bill would also provide legislative findings and declarations regarding publicly funded art.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in an amount equal to a specified percentage of the qualified expenditures, as defined, attributable to the production of a qualified motion picture in California, or, where the qualified motion picture has relocated to California or is an independent film, as provided. Existing law imposes specified duties on the California Film Commission related to the administration of the credits, including a requirement to allocate the tax credits until July 1, 2017, and limits the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated to qualified motion pictures in any fiscal year to $100,000,000, through the 2016–17 fiscal year. This bill, under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, would extend the requirement to allocate the tax credits 5 additional years, until July 1, 2022. This bill would also extend and increase the limit on the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated through the 2021–22 fiscal year. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to develop a coordinated state strategy for addressing the health-related needs of women, including implementation of goals and objectives for women's health. Existing law establishes the Office of Health Equity within the department to, among other things, communicate and disseminate information within the department and with other state departments to assist in developing strategies to improve the health and mental health status of specified persons, including women. Existing law requires the department to include prescribed information in any literature that it produces regarding breast cancer. This bill would delete an obsolete reference from that provision.