Existing law establishes the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, which regulates insurers and insurance practices. Existing law requires an admitted insurer with written California premiums totaling $10,000,000 or more, to submit a report, as specified, to the commissioner with specified fire risk information on its residential property policies. Existing law subjects an admitted insurer that fails to submit a report to a civil penalty to be fixed by the commissioner, not to exceed $5,000, or $10,000 if the act was willful. This bill would increase the limit of the penalty against an admitted insurer for a willful failure to report specified fire risk information on its residential property policies from $10,000 to $15,000.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the English Language Learner Acquisition and Development Pilot Program, under the administration of the State Department of Education, as a 3-year competitive grant pilot project of 25,000 or more English language learners to be conducted during the 2007–08 to 2009–10, inclusive, school years. Under the program, grants are made to local educational agencies, as defined, to identify existing best practices regarding topics including, but not limited to, curriculum, instruction, and staff development for teaching English language learners and promoting English language acquisition and development. The program requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a 13-to-20 member advisory committee, with specified responsibilities. This bill would repeal the statutes that establish the program.
Existing law makes it a crime to possess for sale or purchase for purpose of sale, transport, sell, furnish, administer, give away, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, derive, process, or prepare various controlled substances, including, among others, fentanyl, peyote, and various other opiates and narcotics. This bill would require a person who is convicted of, or who pleads guilty or no contest to, the above crimes to receive a written advisory of the danger of manufacturing or distribution of controlled substances and that, if a person dies as a result of that action, the manufacturer or distributor can be charged with voluntary manslaughter or murder. The bill would require that the fact the advisory was given be on the record and recorded on the abstract of the conviction.
The California Oil Refinery Cost Disclosure Act requires operators of refineries in the state that produce gasoline meeting California specifications, within 30 days of the end of each calendar month, to submit a report to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission containing certain information regarding its refining activities related to the production of gasoline that month. Existing law requires the commission to post the reported data, in aggregate, on its internet website within 45 calendar days of the end of each calendar month. This bill would require the commission to post and regularly update a dashboard on its internet website that includes the difference in average gasoline prices in California compared to national average gasoline prices, the identification of California-specific taxes, fees, regulations, and policies and their individual contribution to gasoline prices in the state, and any substantiated evidence of price gouging or other anticompetitive behavior within the petroleum industry and its contribution to the price differential.
Existing law requires the Judicial Council to sponsor a pilot program for 2 fiscal years to study whether increases in juror compensation and mileage reimbursement rates increase juror diversity and participation. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to provide a report to the Legislature describing the findings of the pilot program and providing information for promoting juror diversity. This bill would require the Judicial Council to also make the report available to the public on its website.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would prohibit an electrical corporation from proposing a rate increase above the rate of inflation, as specified, except with the approval of the commission. The bill would authorize the commission to approve a rate increase above the rate of inflation if the commission determines that those costs are directly related to safety enhancements and modernization, or higher commodity or fuel costs. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the above-described requirements would be a part of the act, and because a violation of an action of the commission implementing the above-described prohibition would be a 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 constitutional law establishes the right of freedom of speech. Existing case law interpreting those provisions applies varying levels of scrutiny to state action that restricts protected speech, based in part on the nature of the forum in which the speech occurs. This bill would declare that, notwithstanding any law, a social media platform, as defined, shall be considered a traditional First Amendment forum for those purposes, as specified. The bill would require a social media platform located in California to develop a policy or mechanism to address content or communications that constitute unprotected speech, including obscenity, incitement of imminent lawless action, and true threats, or that purport to state factual information that is demonstrably false.
Existing law establishes the Domestic Violence Prevention Act for the purpose of preventing acts of domestic violence, abuse, and sexual abuse and providing for a separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence for a period sufficient to enable those persons to seek a resolution of the causes of the violence. Existing law authorizes a court to issue a protective order enjoining a party from engaging in specified acts, including threatening or harassing the other party or disturbing the peace of the other party. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to those provisions.
(1) The Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, imposes a tax upon each gallon of motor vehicle fuel removed from a refinery or terminal rack in this state, entered into this state, or sold in this state, at a specified rate per gallon. Existing law requires the department to adjust the tax on July 1 each year by a percentage amount equal to the increase in the California Consumer Price Index, as calculated by the Department of Finance. Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax, Diesel Fuel Tax Law, and other taxes imposed by the state on fuels used in motor vehicles upon public streets and highways to street and highway and certain mass transit purposes. This bill would authorize the Governor to suspend an adjustment to the motor vehicle fuel tax, as described above, scheduled on or after July 1, 2025, upon making a determination that increasing the rate would impose an undue burden on low-income and middle-class families. The bill would require the Governor to notify the Legislature of an intent to suspend the rate adjustment on or before January 10 of that year, and would require the Department of Finance to submit to the Legislature a proposal by January 10 that would maintain the same level of funding for transportation purposes as would have been generated had the scheduled adjustment not been suspended. (2) The California Constitution provides for the establishment of the State Board of Equalization, which, before July 1, 2017, had primary responsibility for most of the state's duties, powers, and responsibilities regarding the administration of taxes and fees. Existing law, on July 1, 2017, transferred to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration various duties, powers, and responsibilities of the State Board of Equalization, including administration of the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law and the Diesel Fuel Tax Law, as specified. This bill would also change references in these provisions of law from the "State Board of Equalization" to the "California Department of Tax and Fee Administration" or "department", as applicable, to reflect the transfer of the board's duties, powers, and responsibilities to the department. (3) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law governs the sale to certain entities of a property that has been tax defaulted for 5 years or more, or 3 years or more, as applicable, in an applicable county, including by authorizing the state, county, any revenue district the taxes of which on the property are collected by county officers, or a redevelopment agency created pursuant to the California Community Redevelopment Law, to purchase the property or any part thereof, as prescribed. Existing law also authorizes a nonprofit organization to purchase, with the approval of the board of supervisors of the county in which it is located, a residential or vacant property that has been tax-defaulted for 5 years or more, or 3 years or more if the property is subject to a nuisance abatement lien, as prescribed. Existing law requires the sales price of a property sold pursuant to the provisions described or referenced above to include certain amounts, including all defaulted taxes and assessments and all associated penalties and costs. This bill would prohibit a property or property interest from being offered for sale under the provisions described above if that property or property interest has not been offered for sale under the provisions described below. Existing law generally authorizes a county tax collector to sell to any person tax-defaulted property 5 years or more, or 3 years or more, as applicable, after that property has become tax defaulted. Existing law authorizes a party of interest in the property to file with the county a claim for the excess proceeds, in proportion to that person's interest held with others of equal priority in the property at the time of sale, at any time before the expiration of one year following the recordation of the tax collector's deed to the purchaser and provides for the distribution of those excess proceeds. Existing law requires, if excess proceeds from the sale of tax-defaulted property exceed $150, the county to provide notice of the right to claim the excess proceeds, as prescribed. This bill would increase the claims period described above to 2 years if the county does not receive any claims before the expiration of one year following the recordation of the tax collector's deed to the purchaser and would make conforming changes. The bill would also require the notice described above to include certain information, including the consequences for failing to apply for excess proceeds within the claims period. By requiring a county to administer the claims period for a longer time period and to include additional information in the required notice of the right to claim excess proceeds, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.