Existing law governs the hiring of real property based on the terms of the agreement, or on the behavior of the parties. Under existing law, a tenant may notify the landlord in writing that he or she, or a household member, was a victim of an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and intends to terminate the tenancy. The tenant is released from any rent payment obligation 30 days following the giving of the notice, or as specified. Existing law establishes the criteria for determining when a tenant is guilty of unlawful detainer of a premises, and includes committing nuisance in this regard. Existing law provides, until January 1, 2012, for the purposes of the law of unlawful detainer, that if a person commits any specified act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking against another tenant or subtenant on the premises, there is a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof that the person has committed a nuisance on the premises if the victim or a member of the victim's household has not vacated the premises. This bill would, except as specified, prohibit a landlord from terminating a tenancy or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking against a protected tenant, as defined, or a protected tenant's household member when that act is documented, as specified, and the person who is restrained from contact with the protected tenant under a court order, as defined, or is named in a police report of that act is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit. The bill would require the landlord to change the locks, as defined, within 24 hours of a written request, as specified, when the restrained person is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit. The bill would also require, under specified circumstances, the landlord to change the locks when the restrained person is a tenant of the same dwelling unit. The bill would declare the landlord not liable to a restrained person who is excluded from the dwelling unit if the locks are changed pursuant to that provision. The bill would state that a restrained person who has been excluded from a dwelling unit under that provision remains liable under the lease with all other tenants of the dwelling unit for rent as provided in the lease. The bill would authorize a protected tenant to change the locks without the landlord's permission, as specified, notwithstanding any provision in the lease to the contrary, if the landlord does not change the locks within 24 hours, as specified, with regard to leases executed on or after the date the bill would take effect. The bill would also specify the manner in which a protected tenant is required to change the locks if the protected tenant changes the locks without the permission of the landlord. The bill would also require the Judicial Council, on or before January 1, 2012, to develop a new form or revise an existing form that may be used by a party to assert in the responsive pleading the grounds set forth in this section as an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law, pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related purposes. The federal Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) and the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provide funding for allocation nationally to high-speed rail projects. This bill would require federal high-speed rail funds received on a reimbursement basis from ARRA to be deposited in the federal trust fund. The bill would require certain ARRA funds to be used for planning and engineering, and for capital costs, for the high-speed train system consistent with federal law and regulations and specified provisions of SB 965 of the 2009–10 Regular Session. The bill would identify the corridors eligible for federal PRIIA funds. The above provisions would become operative only if SB 965 is also enacted and becomes operative. Existing law provides for appointment of an executive director by the authority, who is exempt from civil service and serves at the pleasure of the authority. Under existing law, the salary of the executive director is established by the authority and approved by the Department of Personnel Administration. This bill, for purposes of managing and administering the ongoing work of the authority in implementing the high-speed rail project, would authorize the Governor, upon recommendation of the executive director and subject to an appropriation, to appoint up to 6 additional executive staff exempt from civil service who would serve in specified positions at the pleasure of the executive director. The bill would require the authority to cause a salary survey to be conducted to determine the compensation for the executive director and additional exempt staff, and would require the salaries to be approved by the Department of Personnel Administration. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to approve additional positions at the authority for purposes of creating an Office for Project Controls and Risk Management in the authority.
Existing law, the Every Woman Counts program, requires the State Department of Public Health to provide breast cancer and cervical cancer screening services to eligible low-income individuals under a federal grant made under the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breast and cervical cancer early detection program. Funding for these services is provided by a combination of federal and state moneys. Existing law requires these services to be provided at the level of funding budgeted from state and other resources during the fiscal year in which the Legislature has appropriated funds to the department for this purpose. The bill would require the department, 90 days prior to making policy changes, to send written notice outlining the proposed changes to contractors providing services pursuant to this program and to notify the Legislature, in writing, if the changes would restrict access or reduce services offered. Existing law establishes the Breast Cancer Fund, which funds various programs through the Breast Cancer Control Program for the detection, treatment, and cure of breast and cervical cancer, as specified. Entities funded by the Breast Cancer Control Program are required to submit a specified report annually to the Legislature. This bill would require that the report be submitted on or before February 1 of each year and would add specified information to that report.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Knox-Keene Act) , provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of its provisions a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law prohibits a health care service plan or a health insurer from changing its premium rates or applicable copayments or coinsurances or deductibles for group health care service plan contracts or group health insurance policies during specified time periods; however, changes to the premium rates or applicable copayments or coinsurances or deductibles are allowed when, among other things, the change is authorized or required in the group contract. This bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer that includes a provision in a group contract or policy that authorizes or requires a change in premium rates, copayments, coinsurances, or deductibles, to provide an additional disclosure that describes the circumstances under which a change may occur and that provides defined terms and examples of those circumstances, to be signed by the group contractholder or group policyholder and provided to the subscribers or insureds, as specified. Because a willful violation of those provisions would be a crime under the Knox-Keene Act, 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 requires the State Department of Public Health to establish, by January 1, 2010, and until January 1, 2015, the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program for the purpose of increasing the amount of umbilical cord blood that is donated in the state and that will be added to the national inventory. Existing law authorizes the department, to the extent private or public funds are identified for this purpose, to contract with blood banks that are licensed or accredited to provide umbilical cord blood banking storage services, for the purpose of collecting and storing umbilical cord blood. This bill would, instead, request the University of California to establish and administer the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program on or before July 1, 2011, to conclude no later than January 1, 2018, for the purpose of collecting units of umbilical cord blood for public use, as defined, for transplantation and for providing nonclinical units for specified research. Existing law provides that any funds made available for purposes of the program shall be deposited into the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program Fund. Existing law provides that moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. Existing law provides that the fund shall include any federal, state, and private funds made available for purposes of the program. Existing law requires the collection of a $7 fee for certified copies of birth certificates. Under existing law, $4 of the $7 fee is allocated to either the county Children's Trust Fund or to the State Children's Trust Fund, which exists in the State Treasury. Existing law requires that the money in the State Children's Trust Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated to the State Department of Social Services for the purpose of funding child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention programs, as specified. This bill would, instead, until January 1, 2018, require the collection of a $9 fee for certified copies of birth certificates and require that $2 of any $9 fee be paid to the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program Fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law, until February 20, 2009, authorized a claimant, as defined, to file a claim with the Controller to postpone the payment of ad valorem property taxes, where household income, as defined, did not exceed specified amounts. Existing law authorized the Controller, upon approval of the claim, to either make payment directly to specified entities, or to issue the claimant a certificate of eligibility that constituted a written promise of the state to pay the amount specified on the certificate, as provided. Existing law required these payments to be made out of specified funds appropriated to the Controller, as specified, and also required repaid property tax postponement payments to be transferred, as specified, to the General Fund. Existing law, on and after February 20, 2009, prohibits a person from filing a claim for postponement, and prohibits the Controller from accepting applications for postponement, under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens Property Tax Postponement Law. This bill would establish the County Deferred Property Tax Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens, authorize a county to elect to participate in the program by adopting a resolution indicating the county's intention to participate in and administer the program, and specify that the requirements of a county or county officials set forth in the bill are conditioned upon the county's passage of the above-described resolution. Under the program, a participating county would be authorized to defer a claimant's property taxes retroactively, for property taxes due on or before February 20, 2010, and prospectively, as specified. This bill would require a claimant, as defined, to use the application form of a county to initiate participation in the program. The bill would authorize the county treasurer or county tax collector to review the claimant's application for program participation, as specified, and, if the claimant is eligible, and if there are sufficient funds within the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, which this bill would require a participating county to establish within its treasury, to (1) defer property taxes on the claimant's residential dwelling for that fiscal year, (2) issue a subvention payment to that county, in an amount equivalent to the amount of the deferred property taxes, from the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, (3) direct the county auditor to apportion that subvention payment in the same manner as if the property taxes had been paid, and (4) provide a letter or other written notice to the claimant, noting the relevant fiscal year of participation, for use as written confirmation of participation. The bill would authorize the county treasurer of a participating county, if he or she makes a specified determination, upon the adoption of a specified resolution by that county's board of supervisors, to deposit specified funds in the county treasury for the purpose of investment of those funds in the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund. This bill would require the amount of property taxes deferred, plus any interest accrued thereon, to be secured by a county property tax lien, as specified. The bill would also require the lien to be evidenced by a notice of lien, and various county officials to process and record the notice of lien, as specified. The bill would require a participating county to charge a claimant a specified adjusted rate of interest on the amount owed for the deferment of property taxes. The bill would require the amount secured by the lien to be increased to reflect the accrual of interest on the property taxes deferred, or decreased by the amount of any payment made to reduce the amount secured by the lien, as specified. The bill would provide procedures for the release of the lien if the obligation is paid in full or otherwise discharged, and would require all amounts owed by a claimant under the program to become due immediately under specified circumstances. This bill would authorize a participating county to charge an application fee to the claimant to offset the actual costs of administering the program, and would require the fee proceeds to be deposited in an account within the county's Property Tax Deferral Fund, to be used exclusively for those administrative costs. The bill would require the letter or other written confirmation of participation in the program provided by the county to be considered as evidence of program participation.
Existing law prohibits the disposal of latex paint in the land or waters of the state and authorizes certain persons to accept latex paint for recycling. The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, is required to reduce, recycle, and reuse solid waste generated in the state to the maximum extent feasible in an efficient cost-effective manner to conserve water, energy, and other natural resources. This bill would create an architectural paint recovery program that would be enforced by the department. On or before April 1, 2012, a manufacturer or designated stewardship organization would be required to submit to the department an architectural paint stewardship plan to develop and implement a recovery program to reduce the generation of postconsumer paint, promote the reuse of postconsumer architectural paint, and manage the end-of-life of postconsumer architectural paint, in an environmentally sound fashion, including collection, transportation, processing, and disposal. The plan would be required to contain specified elements of an architectural paint stewardship program, including, but not limited to, an architectural paint stewardship assessment, approved by the department, on each container of architectural paint sold in this state. The bill would require the plan to be reviewed and approved by the department within 90 days of receipt. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2012, or 3 months after a plan is approved by the department, the manufacturer or stewardship organization to implement the architectural paint stewardship program described in the approved plan. The bill would also prohibit a manufacturer or retailer from selling or offering for sale architectural paint to any person in this state, unless the manufacturer is listed on the department's Internet Web site as being in compliance with the bill's requirements. The prohibition would be in effect on the 120th day after a notice listing the manufacturers that are in compliance is posted on the department's Internet Web site and would remain in effect with regard to a noncompliant manufacturer until that manufacturer is listed on the department's Internet Web site or can otherwise demonstrate compliance, as prescribed. This bill would authorize the department to administratively impose civil penalties for violations of the act. The bill would also require a stewardship organization to pay the department annual administrative fees in the amount that is sufficient to cover the department's full costs of administering and enforcing the program. The bill would establish the Paint Recovery Account in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, would require the fees to be deposited in this account, and would require the department to expend those fees, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the department's costs to implement the bill's provisions. The bill would also establish the Paint Recovery Penalty Subaccount in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, would require the penalties collected to be deposited in that subaccount, and would authorize the department to expend those funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the department's costs to implement the bill's provisions. The bill would require manufacturers to submit a report to the department by July 1, 2013, and each year thereafter, describing their paint recovery efforts. The bill would provide that certain actions taken pursuant to the program established by the bill do not violate the Cartwright Act or the Unfair Practices Act.
The California Constitution establishes the Fish and Game Commission and provides for the delegation to the commission of powers relating to the protection and propagation of fish and game. Existing statutory law delegates to the commission the power to regulate the taking or possession of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, and reptiles in accordance with prescribed laws. Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Game in the Natural Resources Agency, and generally charges the department with the administration and enforcement of the Fish and Game Code. This bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to convene a committee, with membership as prescribed, to develop and submit to the Governor and Legislature, before July 1, 2012, a strategic vision for the department and the commission that addresses specified matters relating to state fish and wildlife resource management.
(1) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan containing specified components, including a source reduction component, a recycling component, and a composting component. With certain exceptions, the source reduction and recycling element of that plan is required to divert 50% of all solid waste from landfill disposal or transformation by January 1, 2000, through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities. Existing law requires the department to review, at least once every 2 years, a jurisdiction's source reduction and recycling element and household hazardous waste element. The department is required to issue an order of compliance if the department finds that a jurisdiction has failed to implement its source reduction and recycling element or its household hazardous waste element, pursuant to a specified procedure. If, after issuing an order of compliance, the department finds the city, county, or regional agency has failed to make a good faith effort to implement those elements, the department is authorized to impose administrative civil penalties upon the city, county, or regional agency. The bill would require the department, by January 1, 2013, to report to the Legislature on the current diversion rate in the state and provide strategies to increase the diversion rate to 75% by 2020. The bill would repeal this requirement on January 1, 2017. (2) Existing law requires a local agency to impose certain requirements on an operator of a large venue or event to facilitate solid waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. This bill would require the owner or operator of a business that contracts for solid waste services and generates more than 4 cubic yards of total solid waste and recyclable materials per week to take specified action. The bill would require a jurisdiction to implement a commercial recycling program meeting specified elements but would not require the jurisdiction to revise its source reduction and recycling element if the jurisdiction adds or expands a commercial recycling program to meet this requirement. The bill would authorize a local agency to charge and collect a fee from a commercial waste generator to recover the local agency's estimated costs incurred in complying with the commercial recycling program requirements. By requiring a jurisdiction to implement a commercial recycling program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to review a jurisdiction's compliance with the above requirement as a part of the department's review of a jurisdiction's compliance with the 50% solid waste diversion requirement. (3) Existing law requires a city, county, and city and county to incorporate the nondisposal facility element and any amendment to the element into the revised source reduction and recycling element at the time of the 5-year revision of the source reduction and recycling element. Existing law requires the department to review an amendment to a nondisposal facility element. Existing law requires a local task force to review and comment on amendments to a nondisposal facility element. This bill would repeal those requirements. The bill would instead require a city, county, city and county, or regional agency to update all information required to be included in the nondisposal facility element. The bill would provide that the update is not subject to approval by the department or comment and review by a local task force. (4) Existing law requires each state agency to submit an annual report to the department summarizing its progress in reducing solid waste that is due on September 1 of each year starting in 2009. This bill would change the due date to May 1 of each year. (5) Existing law requires an operator of a solid waste facility that wants to change the design or operation of the solid waste facility in a manner not authorized by the current permit to apply for a revised permit. Within 60 days of receipt of the application for the revised permit, the enforcement agency is required to inform the operator, and in some circumstances the department, of its determination to allow the change without revision of the permit, disallow the change, require a revision of the permit to allow the change, or require review under the California Environmental Quality Act before a decision is made. This bill would also require the enforcement agency to give notice of its determination to allow certain changes without a revision to the permit through a modification to the permit allowed by regulations developed by the department. (6) 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 establishes the Salmon, Steelhead Trout, and Anadromous Fisheries Program Act to protect and increase the naturally spawning salmon, steelhead trout, and anadromous fishery resources of the state. Existing law defines anadromous fish as fish that spawn in fresh water and spend a portion of their lives in the ocean. This bill would add legislative findings and declarations to the act. The bill would proclaim and reaffirm a legislative goal of restoring Chinook and Coho salmon populations to sustainable levels, sufficient to support viable recreational, commercial, and tribal fisheries, and to make substantial progress within the next decade toward meeting this goal. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature, in implementing this goal, that the department utilize the best available science in determining where to focus and prioritize conservation planning efforts for recovery of Chinook salmon and other salmonid species. The bill would also designate the Chinook salmon as the official state anadromous fish.