Existing law designates the Secretary of State as the chief elections officer of the state and requires him or her to study and adopt regulations governing the use of voting machines, voting devices, vote tabulating devices, and ballot marking systems. This bill would require the Secretary of State, by December 31, 2014, to establish, in consultation with county elections officials, procedures and guidelines for voting in the event of a natural disaster or other state of emergency. The bill would require the Secretary of State to publish those procedures and guidelines on his or her Internet Web site. The bill would also require the Secretary of State to report to the Legislature, by December 31, 2014, on the readiness of the state to hold elections during or following a natural disaster or other state of emergency, as specified.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to administer the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program. Under the program, moneys from the continuously appropriated Emergency Housing and Assistance Fund are available for the purposes of providing shelter, as specified, to homeless persons at as low a cost and as quickly as possible, without compromising the health and safety of shelter occupants, to encourage the move of homeless persons from shelters to a self-supporting environment as soon as possible, to encourage provision of services for as many persons at risk of homelessness as possible, to encourage compatible and effective funding of homeless services, and to encourage coordination among public agencies that fund or provide services to homeless individuals, as well as agencies that discharge people from their institutions. Existing law requires the department to distribute funds appropriated for activities providing for capital development programs, including acquisition, leasing, construction, and rehabilitation of sites for emergency shelter and transitional housing for homeless persons, as grants in the form of forgivable deferred loans, as prescribed. Existing law requires the department to terminate the grant and require the repayment of the deferred loan in full, if a transfer or conveyance of the project property that results in the property no longer being used as an emergency shelter or transitional housing occurs before the term of the loan expires. This bill would provide that when property is transitioned from an emergency shelter or transitional housing to permanent supportive housing and serves people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, an existing loan may be deferred and forgiven, as if the property had remained an emergency shelter or transitional housing. Prior to a transition, the bill would require a project to obtain department approval to transition and would require the department to consider specified factors in determining whether to approve a transition. The bill would require a project transitioned to permanent supportive housing to have a loan term of 20 years. The bill would require the department to terminate the loan and would require repayment of the deferred loan in full if the project property is no longer used as permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. By authorizing the use of continuously appropriated funds for a new purpose, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would also incorporate changes in Section 50802 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 873, that would become operative on the date this bill becomes operative only if AB 873 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2014, and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, requires certain new school facilities construction projects that require the approval of the Department of General Services, as specified, to include an automatic fire detection, alarm, and sprinkler system. Existing law requires an owner of a dwelling unit intended for human occupancy to install a carbon monoxide device, as specified, in each existing dwelling unit having a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage. Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, requires the California Building Standards Commission to approve or adopt proposed building standards that are submitted by state agencies during an 18-month code adoption cycle. This bill would require, by July 1, 2015, the State Fire Marshal to propose for adoption by the commission, appropriate standards for the installation of carbon monoxide devices in public and private school buildings that meet specified criteria.
Existing law, the California Finance Lenders Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders and brokers by the Commissioner of Corporations and makes a willful violation of its provisions a crime. Existing law regulates the charges a licensee may impose or receive on loans it makes, and authorizes a licensee to contract for and receive specified alternative charges and administrative and delinquency fees. Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2015, the Pilot Program for Affordable Credit-Building Opportunities for the purpose of increasing the availability of credit-building opportunities to underbanked individuals seeking low-dollar-value loans. Under the program, licensees must file an application with, and pay a fee to, the Commissioner of Corporations to participate in the program. Existing law authorizes a licensee approved by the commissioner to participate in the program to impose specified alternative interest rates and charges, including an administrative fee and delinquency fees, on loans of at least $250 and less than $2,500, subject to certain requirements. Existing law also authorizes licensees in the program to use the services of finders, defined as entities who, at the finder's physical location for business, bring licensees and prospective borrowers together for the purpose of negotiating loan contracts at the finder's location, subject to a written agreement meeting specified requirements. The Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 2 of the 2011–12 Regular Session provides that, on and after July 1, 2013, certain responsibilities of the Department of Corporations and the Commissioner of Corporations will be transferred to the Department of Business Oversight and the Commissioner of Business Oversight will be the head of the Department of Business Oversight. This bill would abolish the Pilot Program for Affordable Credit-Building Opportunities. The bill would, until January 1, 2018, establish the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans for the purpose of allowing greater access for responsible installment loans in principal amounts of at least $300 and less than $2,500. The bill would require licensees and other entities to file an application and pay a specified fee to the Commissioner of Business Oversight to participate in the program. The bill would authorize a licensee approved by the commissioner to participate in the program to impose specified alternative interest rates and charges, including an administrative fee and delinquency fees, on loans of at least $300 and less than $2,500, subject to certain requirements. This bill would also authorize a licensee in the program to use the services of finders, defined as entities who, at the finder's physical location for business, bring licensees and prospective borrowers together for the purpose of negotiating loan contracts, subject to a written agreement meeting specified requirements. The bill would establish the services a finder is authorized and required to perform, and would require a finder to comply with the laws applicable to the licensee relative to information security. The bill would require a licensee to notify the commissioner within 15 days of entering into a contract with a finder, would require a licensee to pay an annual finder registration fee to the commissioner, and would require a licensee to submit an annual report to the commissioner on the licensee's relationship and business arrangements with a finder, as specified. The bill would authorize the commissioner to examine the operations of a licensee and a finder to ensure that the activities of the licensee and the finder are in compliance with these provisions. The bill would make a licensee that uses a finder responsible for a violation of these provisions by a finder or a finder's employee, and would authorize the commissioner to impose administrative penalties against a finder for a violation of these provisions. The bill would authorize the commissioner, upon a violation of these provisions, to disqualify a finder from performing services, bar a finder from performing services at one or more specific locations of the finder, terminate a written agreement between a licensee and a finder, and, under specified circumstances, prohibit the use of the finder by all licensees. The bill would authorize a licensee participating in the program to appoint one or more branch managers with responsibility for multiple branch locations, subject to approval by the commissioner. This bill would require the commissioner to examine the performance of each licensee in the program at least once every 24 months, and would require the costs of examination to be paid by the licensee to the commissioner, as specified. The bill would also require the commissioner to conduct a random sample survey of borrowers under the program. The bill would require the commissioner to post a report on the commissioner's Internet Web site by July 1, 2015, and once again by January 1, 2017, summarizing utilization of the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans, as specified. This bill would make licensees of the abolished Pilot Program for Affordable Credit-Building Opportunities subject to the newly established Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans. The bill would continue in existence any outstanding loans made under the abolished pilot program and the loans would remain subject to the terms and conditions that existed at the time the loan was made. Because a willful violation of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also make a clarifying change to the California Finance Lenders Law. 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 establishes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to provide to specified entities, upon appropriation by the Legislature, grants, loans, loan guarantees, revolving loans, or other appropriate measures, for the development and deployment of innovative technologies that would transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state's climate change goals. Existing law specifies that only certain projects or programs are eligible for funding, including block grants administered by public entities or not-for-profit technology entities for multiple projects, education and program promotion within California, and development of alternative and renewable fuel and vehicle technology centers. Existing law requires the commission to develop and adopt an investment plan to determine priorities and opportunities for the program. Existing law also creates the Air Quality Improvement Program, administered by the State Air Resources Board, to fund air quality improvement projects related to fuel and vehicle technologies. This bill would provide that the state board has no authority to enforce any element of its existing clean fuels outlet regulation or other regulation that requires or has the effect of requiring any supplier, as defined, to construct, operate, or provide funding for the construction or operation of any publicly available hydrogen-fueling station. The bill would require the state board to aggregate and make available to the public, no later than June 30, 2014, and every year thereafter, the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles that motor vehicle manufacturers project to be sold or leased over the next 3 years, as reported to the state board, and the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles through April 30. The bill would require the commission to allocate $20 million annually, as specified, until there are at least 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations in California. The bill, on or before December 31, 2015, and annually thereafter, would require the commission and the state board to jointly review and report on the progress toward establishing a hydrogen-fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to design grants, loan incentive programs, revolving loan programs, and other forms of financial assistance, as specified, for purposes of assisting in the implementation of these provisions. The bill would repeal the above provisions on January 1, 2024. The bill, no later than July 1, 2014, would require the state board, in consultation with air pollution control and air quality management districts, to convene working groups to evaluate the specified policies and goals of specified programs. The bill would add intelligent transportation systems as a category of projects eligible for funding under the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. The bill would require the commission and the state board, in making awards under both the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program, to provide a preference to projects with higher benefit-cost scores, as defined. (2) Existing law creates the enhanced fleet modernization program to provide compensation for the retirement of passenger vehicles, and light-duty and medium-duty trucks that are high polluters. Existing law provides that under this program compensation for retired vehicles for a low-income motor vehicle owner, as defined, is $1,500, and for all other motor vehicle owners, it is $1,000. Existing law authorizes this compensation to be increased by the department based on various factors, including the emissions benefits of the vehicle's retirement. This bill would establish compensation for replacement vehicles for low-income vehicle owners at not less than $2,500, would make this compensation available to an owner in addition to the compensation for a retired vehicle, and would prohibit compensation for all other motor vehicle owners from exceeding the compensation for low-income motor vehicle owners. The bill would instead authorize an increase in the compensation under these programs for either retired or replacement vehicles only for low-income motor vehicle owners as necessary to balance maximizing air quality benefits of the program while ensuring participation by low-income motor vehicle owners, as specified. (3) Existing law, until January 1, 2016, increases vehicle registration fees, vessel registration fees, and specified service fees for identification plates by a specified amount. Existing law requires the revenue generated by the increase in those fees to be deposited in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund and either the Air Quality Improvement Fund or the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount, as provided. Existing law, until January 1, 2016, imposes on certain vehicles a smog abatement fee of $20, and requires a specified amount of this fee to be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund and in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund. This bill would extend those fees in the amounts required to make these deposits into the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, the Air Quality Improvement Fund, and the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount until January 1, 2024, at which time the fees would be reduced by those amounts. (4) Existing law establishes the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, which is administered by the state board, to provide grants to offset the incremental cost of eligible projects that reduce emissions of air pollutants from sources in the state and for funding a fueling infrastructure demonstration program and technology development efforts. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2015, limits the Carl Moyer program to funding projects that reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) . This bill would extend the current authorization for the Carl Moyer program to fund a broader range of projects that reduce emissions until January 1, 2024, and would make other conforming changes in that regard. The bill also would delete obsolete references and make conforming changes to the Carl Moyer program. (5) Existing law authorizes the district board of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District to adopt a surcharge on motor vehicle registration fees applicable to all motor vehicles registered in the counties within that district. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the amount of that surcharge from $4 to $6 for a motor vehicle whose registration expires on or after December 31, 1990, and requires that $2 of the surcharge be used to implement the Carl Moyer program, as specified. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the surcharge limit to its previous amount of $4. This bill would extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until January 1, 2024, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date. (6) Existing law authorizes each air district that has been designated a state nonattainment area by the state board for any motor vehicle air pollutant, except the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, to levy a surcharge on the registration fees for every motor vehicle registered in that air district, as specified by the governing body of the air district. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to collect that surcharge if requested by an air district, and requires the department, after deducting its administrative costs, to distribute the revenues to the air districts. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the amount of that surcharge from $4 to $6 and requires that $2 of the surcharge be used to implement the Carl Moyer program, as specified. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the surcharge limit to its previous amount of $4. This bill would extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until January 1, 2024, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date. (7) Existing law imposes, until January 1, 2015, a California tire fee of $1.75 per tire on every person who purchases a new tire, with the revenues generated to be allocated for prescribed purposes related to disposal and use of used tires. Existing law requires that $0.75 per tire on which the fee is imposed be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund with these moneys to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for use by the state board and air districts for specified purposes. Existing law reduces the tire fee to $0.75 per tire on and after January 1, 2015. This bill would instead set the tire fee at $1.75 per tire until January 1, 2024, and reduce the tire fee to $0.75 per tire on and after January 1, 2024. (8) Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from fees and taxes imposed by the state on vehicles to specified purposes, subject to certain exceptions. This bill would require the commission and the state board to ensure that revenues from specified fees imposed on vehicles that are used for purposes of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program are expended in compliance with Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution. (9) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would honor the California Council on Science and Technology for 25 years of service and unbiased advice to the State of California.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to enact President Barack Obama's budget proposal to increase funding for preschool and early learning. This measure would also urge the Superintendent of Public Instruction to prepare a plan for making California competitive for future increases in federal funding to preschool and early learning programs.
This measure would designate December 4, 2013, as Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court Day.
This measure would proclaim October 5, 2013, as California Firefighters Memorial Day.
This measure would recognize September 2013 as Hmong History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of the Hmong people during Hmong History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents, achievements, and contributions that the Hmong people make to their communities.