(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including transportation companies. Under existing law, the Household Goods Carriers Act, household goods carriers, as defined, are subject to the jurisdiction and control of the commission. The act prohibits a household goods carrier from engaging, or attempting to engage, in the business of the transportation of used household goods and personal effects, by motor vehicle over any public highway in the state, including advertising, soliciting, offering, or entering into an agreement, without a permit issued by the commission authorizing transportation entirely within the state, or a valid operating authority issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, for interstate transportation. The act declares that it is not to be construed as a regulation of interstate or foreign commerce, except as permitted under the United States Constitution and the acts of Congress. This bill would expand the definition of a household goods carrier to include a household goods carrier that engages in the permitted or unpermitted transportation for compensation or hire as a business by means of a motor vehicle or motor vehicles being used in the transportation of used household goods and personal effects over any public highway in this state. The bill would require a broker, as defined, to be considered a household goods carrier. The bill would additionally prohibit a household goods carrier from arranging, by any means or media, as a broker for the transportation of used household goods and personal effects. The bill would require the commission to establish rules permitting electronic transactions, as specified and would authorize specified documents to be in electronic form, if agreed upon by the carrier and the customer. The bill would require a household goods carrier to add a prominent link to the carrier's Internet Web site that directs consumers to an Internet Web site hosted by the commission that promotes consumer rights and protection. (2) Existing law requires telephone companies and related entities, as specified, upon demand and the order of a magistrate, to provide the commission, or an authorized official of the commission, access to the name and address of the subscriber to a telephone number being used by an unlicensed household goods carrier. Existing law prescribes the circumstances under which telephone corporations may release information regarding residential subscribers without their written consent. This bill would require telephone companies, as prescribed, to provide this access to the commission as specified above, without the written consent of the subscriber. (3) Under the act, every household goods carrier and every officer, director, agent, or employee of any household goods carrier who violates or who fails to comply with, or who procures, aids, or abets any violation by any household goods carrier of the act, or who fails to obey, observe, or comply with any order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, or of any operating permit issued to any household goods carrier, or who procures, aids, or abets any household goods carrier in its failure to obey, observe, or comply with any such order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, requirement, or operating permit, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and if the violation is not willful, is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment in the county jail, as prescribed, or both. This bill would provide that the fine for this misdemeanor is instead not more than $2,500. The bill would also provide that a fine shall be not less than $1,000 for a violation involving operating or holding one's self as a household goods carrier without a permit. This bill also would provide that a household goods carrier that falsifies permit status, membership in an association, or location is liable for a civil penalty of not more than $2,500 per day of violation. Because a violation of the act or an order of the commission is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the scope of a crime. (4) 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.
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Existing law requires, if a person is granted probation for a domestic violence crime, that the terms of the probation include a minimum period of probation of 36 months, a criminal court protective order protecting the victim from further acts of violence or harassment, and a minimum payment by the defendant of $400 for state and local domestic violence programs, among other things. Existing law specifies that the court may reduce or waive the $400 fee if, after a hearing, the court finds that the defendant does not have the ability to pay. This bill would increase the fee from $400 to $500. The bill would, if the court finds that the defendant does not have the ability to pay, require the court to state on the record the reason for reducing or waiving the fee. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 1203.097 of the Penal Code, proposed by AB 1165, to be operative only if AB 1165 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2013, and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law provides for the diversion of specified criminal offenders in alternate sentencing and treatment programs. Existing law authorizes a court to order a defendant who is a member of the United States military who may be suffering from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of that service into a local, state, federal, or private nonprofit treatment program for a period not to exceed that which the defendant would have served in state prison or county jail, provided the defendant agrees to participate in the program and the court determines that an appropriate treatment program exists. This bill would authorize superior courts to develop and implement veterans treatment courts for eligible veterans of the United States military with the objective of, among other things, creation of a dedicated calendar or a locally developed, collaborative, court-supervised veterans' mental health program or system that leads to the placement of as many mentally ill offenders who are veterans of the United States military, including those with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, substance abuse, or any mental health problem stemming from military service, in community treatment as is feasible and consistent with public safety. The bill would provide that county participation is voluntary. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that, where there are statutory requirements for certain education or counseling programs to be included in the terms of probation, the components of those counseling terms be incorporated into the treatment programs that are designed to treat the underlying psychological disorders rather than requiring them in lieu of the psychological treatments. The bill would require, to the maximum extent possible, that veterans who are participating in a veterans treatment court or who are eligible for diversion, as specified, be referred to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of obtaining federal benefits. The bill would encourage veterans treatment courts to maintain information and statistics on the success rate of their court for use by the Legislature and the Judicial Council of California, and would authorize all superior courts to apply for federal grants to establish new veterans treatment courts.
Existing law requires specified information to be provided to patients regarding their health care. Existing federal law requires a written report of the results of each mammography examination and requires a summary of that report to be sent to the patient within a specified time period. This bill, from April 1, 2013, until January 1, 2019, would require, under specified circumstances, a health facility at which a mammography examination is performed to include in the summary of the written report that is sent to the patient a prescribed notice on breast density.
Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, authorizes a registered nurse to dispense drugs or devices upon an order by a licensed physician and surgeon if the nurse is functioning within a specified clinic. This bill would, in addition, authorize a registered nurse to dispense specified drugs or devices upon an order issued by a certified nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant if the nurse is functioning within a specified clinic. The bill would also authorize a registered nurse to dispense or administer hormonal contraceptives in strict adherence to specified standardized procedures.
Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research as a coordinating agency in state government for environmental justice programs. This bill would require the office to serve as the state's liaison to the United States Department of Defense in order to facilitate coordination regarding issues that are of significant interest to the state and department, as provided.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. Existing law also authorizes each county board of supervisors to appoint a county veterans service officer to perform specified veterans-related services, including assisting veterans in pursuing claims for federal or state veterans' benefits. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop guidance policies to assist veterans who are inmates in pursuing claims for federal veterans' benefits, or in establishing rights to any other privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided under federal or state law because of honorable service in the military. The bill would authorize the department to coordinate with the Department of Veterans Affairs and county veterans service officers or veterans service organizations in developing the policies.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law provides for the issuance of reciprocal licenses in certain fields where the applicant, among other requirements, has a license to practice within that field in another jurisdiction, as specified. Existing law authorizes a licensee to reinstate an expired license without examination or penalty if, among other requirements, the license expired while the licensee was on active duty as a member of the California National Guard or the United States Armed Forces. This bill would require a board within the department to expedite the licensure process for an applicant who holds a license in the same profession or vocation in another jurisdiction and is married to, or in a legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in California under official active duty military orders.
Existing law requires a court, in the case of any person convicted of a criminal offense who could otherwise be sentenced to county jail or state prison and who alleges that he or she committed the offense as a result of sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems stemming from service in the United States military to make a determination, prior to sentencing, as to whether the defendant was, or currently is, a member of the United States military and whether the defendant may be suffering from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of that service. If the court concludes that a defendant convicted of a criminal offense is such a person, and if the defendant is otherwise eligible for probation and the court places the defendant on probation, existing law authorizes the court to order the defendant into a local, state, federal, or private nonprofit treatment program for a period not to exceed that which the defendant would have served in state prison or county jail, provided the defendant agrees to participate in the program and the court determines that an appropriate treatment program exists. This bill would authorize a court to grant restorative relief to a criminal defendant who comes within the description set forth above if the court finds, at a public hearing held after not less then 15 days' notice to the prosecution, the defense, and any victim of the offense, that the defendant meets specified criteria, including that he or she does not represent a danger to the health and safety of others. The bill would authorize the court to take any of specified actions, including deeming all conditions of probation, except victim restitution, to be satisfied, including fines, fees, assessments, and programs, and terminating probation prior to the expiration of the term of probation, reducing a felony to a misdemeanor, as specified, setting aside the conviction and dismissing the action, or providing other specified relief. The bill would provide that a dismissal of the action pursuant to these provisions releases the defendant from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense of which the defendant has been convicted in the dismissed action, except as specified.
This measure would memorialize the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation that would add comprehensive, preventative dental care coverage to Medicare benefits.