Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law, implemented by the PUC through a general order, generally prohibits an electrical corporation from beginning the construction of a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the commission a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require its construction, as specified. However, existing law exempts the extension, expansion, upgrade, or other modification of an existing electrical transmission facility, including transmission lines and substations, from that certification requirement. This bill would additionally exempt the rebuilding of an existing electrical transmission facility from that requirement, and would provide that the construction of a new electrical transmission facility, or the extension, expansion, upgrade, rebuilding, or other modification of an electrical transmission facility, including lines and substations, by an electrical corporation serving 10,000 or more retail customers does not require that certification, a permit to construct, or any other discretionary permit from the commission, if the new or modified electrical transmission facility meets certain requirements. The bill would also require the PUC, no later than January 1, 2025, to revise the general order to implement these changes, as specified. 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 certain provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing its requirements 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.
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The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act provides for the issuance of various categories of alcoholic beverage licenses, including the imposition of fees, conditions, and restrictions in connection with the issuance of those licenses. The act provides that any on-sale licensee authorized to sell wine may also sell soju, an imported Korean alcoholic beverage that contains not more than 24% of alcohol by volume and is derived from agricultural products. This bill would provide that any on-sale licensee authorized to sell wine may also sell shochu, an imported Japanese alcoholic beverage that contains not more than 24% of alcohol by volume and is derived from agricultural products.
The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to classify personal property for differential taxation or for exemption by means of a statute approved by a 23 vote of the membership of each house. Pursuant to this constitutional authorization, existing property tax law, for the January 1, 2014, lien date to and including the January 1, 2024, lien date, exempts qualified property, as defined, for use in space flight, as specified. Existing law repeals this exemption as of July 1, 2025. This bill would extend to January 1, 2029, the operation of the property tax exemption for qualified property used in space flight. By extending the operation of this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. The Legislative Open Records Act (LORA) authorizes any person to inspect legislative records, as defined, subject to specified exemptions. This bill would include findings and reporting requirements in compliance with the above-described new tax expenditure requirement. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to provide the report and would provide that records received by and in the custody of the LAO are confidential and not subject to disclosure under LORA. 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. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits, and collect, compile, and disseminate information regarding exemplary practices in supporting and assessing beginning teachers. Existing law establishes the Teacher Residency Grant Program and appropriates funds from the General Fund to the commission to make grants to develop new, or expand, strengthen, or improve access to existing, teacher residency programs that support, among other things, a list of designated shortage fields. This bill would require the commission to contract with a public relations organization, or other organization with similar expertise, to develop a public awareness campaign that highlights the value and benefits of educational careers in California's public schools, spanning from prekindergarten and kindergarten to elementary and secondary schools serving pupils in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. The bill would require the campaign to recognize the value of the contributions made by public school teachers, encourage individuals to enter the teaching profession, and include information about available high-quality teacher credentialing pathways and financial supports. The bill would authorize the campaign to include the development and distribution of public service announcements related to teacher recruitment and outreach to high school pupils and college students.
Existing law generally designates air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes the State Air Resources Board or the air district to adopt rules and regulations to require the owner or the operator of an air pollution emission source to take any action that the state board or the air district determines to be reasonable for the determination of the amount of air pollution emissions from that source. Existing law requires the air pollution control officer to inspect, as the officer determines necessary, the monitoring devices installed in every stationary source of air contaminants located within a jurisdiction that is required to have those devices to ensure that the devices are functioning properly. Existing law authorizes the district to require reasonable fees to be paid by the operator of that source to cover the expense of the inspection and other costs related thereto. A person who violates these requirements, or any rule, regulation, permit, or order of the state board or of a district adopted pursuant to these requirements is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a specified fine or imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility that is located within 1,500 feet of a residential area and has an original design capacity of 425,000,000 gallons or more per day to develop, install, operate, and maintain a wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system approved by the appropriate air quality management district. The bill would require the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system to include equipment capable of measuring pollutants of concern, as provided, emitted into the atmosphere that the appropriate air quality management district deems appropriate for monitoring. The bill would provide that it does not alter the responsibility of an owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to not exceed limits for nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emitted into the atmosphere established in existing air quality regulations, as provided, and would require source testing for these pollutants to be conducted pursuant to a protocol approved by the appropriate air quality management district. This bill would require the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to collect real-time data from the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system, to maintain records of that data for at least 3 years, and to transmit that data to the appropriate air quality management district. The bill would require the air quality management district to maintain records of data from a wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system for at least 3 years. In addition, the bill would require, to the extent feasible, the data generated by these systems to be provided to the public in a publicly accessible format that provides a real-time data display. This bill also would require the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to be responsible for specified costs related to the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system, including all costs incurred by the air quality management district related to the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system and source testing at the wastewater treatment facility, and the costs associated with providing the required data to the air quality management district and the public. By adding to the duties of air districts and by expanding the scope of crimes, this 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 specified reasons.
Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, provides for the regulation of various subjects relating to the manufacturing, processing, labeling, advertising, and sale of food, drugs, and cosmetics, under the administration and enforcement of the State Department of Public Health. A violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would require a manufacturer of baby food for sale or distribution in this state, beginning on January 1, 2024, to test a representative sample of each production aggregate of the manufacturer's final baby food product, at a proficient laboratory meeting certain criteria, for toxic elements, as defined, at least once per month. The bill would require a manufacturer to provide test results to any authorized agent of the department upon their request, as specified. The bill would require a manufacturer of a final baby food product sold, manufactured, delivered, held, or offered for sale in the state on and after January 1, 2025, to provide specified information disclosures to consumers, including making publicly available on its internet website the name and level of each toxic element present in each production aggregate of the final baby food product. If a product is tested for a certain toxic element subject to an action level, regulatory limit, or tolerance established by the United States Food and Drug Administration, the bill would require manufacturers to include on the product label a quick response (QR) code that links to a page on the manufacturer's internet website containing, among other information, test results for the toxic element and a link to related FDA guidance, as specified. The bill would prohibit a person or entity from selling in the state or manufacturing, delivering, holding, or offering for sale in the state any baby food that does not comply with these provisions. By creating a new 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 law establishes various holidays in this state, including Lunar New Year. Existing law requires community colleges to close on specified holidays, including February 12, known as "Lincoln Day," and the third Monday in February, known as "Washington Day." Existing law entitles certain community college employees to be given time off with pay for specified holidays, including for Lincoln Day and Washington Day. This bill would authorize the governing board of a community college district, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding, to replace closing on Lincoln Day or Washington Day with the date corresponding with the second new moon following the winter solstice, or the third new moon following the winter solstice should an intercalary month intervene, known as "Lunar New Year." The bill would require that certain community college employees, in lieu of a paid holiday for Lincoln Day or Washington Day, receive a paid holiday for the Lunar New Year if the governing board of the community college replaces closing on Lincoln Day or Washington Day with closing on Lunar New Year.