Existing law, the Automotive Repair Act, establishes the Bureau of Automotive Repair under the supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Existing law provides that a person who fails to comply with the act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment not exceeding 6 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment, except as defined. Existing law prohibits an insurer from requiring the use of nonoriginal equipment or aftermarket replacement parts for repairs on an insured's automobile unless the insured has been given advance notice of the use of these parts in the repair estimate as well as information on the warranty applicable to these replacement parts. This bill would require an automotive repair dealer or insurer who uses or directs the use of replacement crash parts, as defined, to follow specified procedures when using replacement crash parts, to expressly notify the automobile owner regarding the use of specific categories of crash parts in making the repairs, and to provide disclosures as to the warranty for those parts, as specified. Because this bill would create a new crime, the bill would create 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.
Sponsored bills
This measure would call upon all Californians to observe César Chávez's birthday, March 31, as a day of public service, to recognize the hard work and self-sacrifice that farmworkers go through to feed all the families in our state, and to learn from César Chávez's life and his mission of nonviolence, social justice, and selfless service to others.
(1) Existing law establishes a voluntary statewide registration program for persons who operate portable equipment that may cause the issuance of air contaminants. Existing law requires an owner or operator of portable equipment who elects to not voluntarily register his or her portable equipment through the statewide registration program to obtain a permit from the applicable air pollution control district or air quality management district. Existing law requires an engine that remains at a fixed location for more than 12 consecutive months to be excluded from the definition of portable equipment for these purposes. Existing law, for purposes of portable internal combustion engines, defines "fixed location" to mean any single site at a building, structure, facility, or installation. This bill, for purposes of registration programs for persons who operate portable equipment that may cause the issuance of air contaminants, instead would define "fixed location" to mean any single point within a building, structure, facility, or installation, to the extent allowed by federal law. The bill would prohibit districts from requiring a permit for the construction or operation of portable equipment whether or not that portable equipment replaces or supplements an ongoing primary activity at a facility or installation, provided the replacement or supplemental portable equipment meets the emission limits, as specified. By imposing new duties on air pollution control districts and air quality management districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, as defined. The Public Utilities Act authorizes public utilities that are under the regulatory authority of the commission to condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of utility services by the utility. This bill would authorize an owner of property to seek compensation for any substantial reduction in the value of the property proximately resulting from the building, expansion, or operation of a plant, line, pipeline, or other facility by a public utility. The bill would provide that the evidentiary rules and rules of civil procedures applicable to inverse condemnation actions would apply to such an action.
Existing law authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to petition the superior court of the county in which an insurer has its principal office for an order vesting title of all assets of that insurer in the commissioner, in his or her official capacity, under specified circumstances. Upon taking possession of the property and business, the commissioner is authorized to act, except as specified, as either conservator or liquidator. Existing law provides that there is associated with the Department of Insurance a Conservation and Liquidation Office with certain duties and obligations. This bill would require the Insurance Commissioner, through the Conservation and Liquidation Office, to develop a report of allowed claims for corporations, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, and partnerships. The bill would require the office to contact the claimants whose claims have been allowed, as provided. The bill would require the receiver, the Insurance Commissioner, or the Conservation and Liquidation Office, as applicable, upon receipt of notice that an allowed claim has been assigned to another party, to take specified actions within 30 days, including changing the payee designation to reflect the claim purchaser. The bill would prohibit the office from accepting a claim assignment request 30 days or less before distribution of the claim or 60 days after the claim distribution has been made, and would allow the office to charge a fee to the party requesting the reassignment of the claim to cover the reasonable costs of administering the reassignment, not to exceed $250. The bill would also provide that the office be held harmless from and indemnified against any harm or economic loss suffered by the claim purchaser due to misrepresentation by the assignor.
This measure would designate the month of November 2012 as California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month and would recognize the need for individuals, schools, communities, businesses, local governments, and the state to take action on behalf of runaway and homeless youth in California.
This measure would proclaim California as a Purple Heart State, honoring the service and sacrifices of our nation's men and women in uniform wounded or killed by the enemy while serving to protect the freedoms enjoyed by all Americans.
Existing law provides for unemployment compensation benefits to eligible persons who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Existing law also provides that, insofar as federal law requires that state unemployment insurance law contains such a provision of certification, the amount of unemployment compensation benefits, extended duration benefits, and federal-state extended benefits payable to an individual in a period with respect to which that individual is receiving a governmental or other pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity, or any other similar periodic payment shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of the pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity, or other payment reasonably attributable to that week, as specified. This bill would provide that the amount of unemployment compensation benefits, extended duration benefits, and federal-state extended benefits payable to an individual for any week which begins after January 1, 2013, in a period with respect to which that individual is receiving a governmental pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity, or any other similar periodic payment, and which is based on the previous work of the individual, shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of the pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity, or other payment, which is reasonably attributable to that week, without a requirement from federal law, as specified.
This measure would proclaim April 15 through April 22, 2012, as California Holocaust Memorial Week and would urge Californians to observe these days of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.