Asm. Jim Silva

This bill would provide further conformity to those federal acts, as provided. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt procedures for determining the compliance of any system designed for the control of gasoline vapor emissions during gasoline marketing operations, including storage and transfer operations, and additional performance standards to ensure that systems for the control of gasoline vapors from motor vehicle fueling operations do not cause excessive spillage and emissions. Existing law prohibits the state board from requiring a gasoline dispensing facility that meets certain requirements from undergoing an Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II upgrade until April 1, 2011. This bill, except as specified, would limit the fines imposed on a gasoline dispensing facility that fails to meet an April 1, 2009, compliance deadline to a total of no more than $1,000 for all violations that occur between April 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009, if the gasoline dispensing facility meets specified requirements. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires the payment of interest on late payments, or late prepayments, of tax, fee, or surcharge payments at the modified adjusted rate per month under the provisions of the Sales and Use Tax Law, Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, Use Fuel Tax Law, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law, Alcoholic Beverage Tax Law, Energy Resources Surcharge Law, Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act, Hazardous Substances Tax Law, Integrated Waste Management Fee Law, Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Law, Underground Storage Tank Maintenance Fee Law, Fee Collection Procedures Law, Diesel Fuel Tax Law, and the law governing the taxation of insurance companies. Interest is charged on a per-month basis, with one month's interest charged for each month, or fraction of a month, that a payment or prepayment is late. This bill would allow the members of the State Board of Equalization, meeting as a public body, to find, under specified circumstances, that it is inequitable to compute interest on a monthly basis and to instead compute interest on a daily basis.

Existing law establishes a process for the identification of excess state lands and for their transfer to the Department of General Services for sale or other disposition. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that, for any sale, lease, or exchange of state-owned property, the Department of General Services make every effort to maximize revenue to the state.

The California Constitution establishes the civil service and creates the State Personnel Board to enforce the civil service statutes. Existing law authorizes the State Personnel Board to hold hearings and make investigations concerning matters relating to the administration of the civil service. These provisions require, among other things, that a hearing or investigation be commenced within a reasonable time after the filing of the petition whenever a hearing or investigation is conducted in regard to an appeal by an employee. This bill would revise that provision to additionally require that employee termination cases take priority over all other cases that were initiated within the previous 4 months.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (the act) requires the State Air Resources Board (state board) to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of emissions of greenhouse gases and to monitor and enforce compliance with the reporting and verification program, and requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990 to be achieved by 2020. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The state board is required by January 1, 2011, to adopt greenhouse gas emissions limits and emission reduction measures by regulation to achieve the prescribed emission reductions. This bill would suspend the act until the state unemployment rate is 5.5% or lower for four consecutive calendar quarters. The bill would require the resuspension of the act whenever the state unemployment rate rises above 5.5% for four consecutive calendar quarters. The bill would prohibit the state board, and specified other state agencies, from proposing, promulgating, or adopting any regulation pursuant to the act during a period of suspension and would require that any such regulation adopted prior to January 1, 2011, be inoperative until the suspension is lifted. The bill would request local agencies to refrain from adopting rules, regulations, and policies that derive authority or responsibility from the act and to revise or repeal those rules, regulations, or policies adopted prior to January 1, 2011, until the suspension is lifted.

Existing law requires a person proposing to construct a thermal powerplant to obtain a certification from the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. Existing law exempts facilities for which the Public Utilities Commission has issued a certificate of convenience and necessity or that a municipal utility has approved before January 7, 1975. This bill would additionally exempt an applicant for a nuclear fission thermal powerplant capable of producing up to 2,000 megawatts of energy that is the first California entity to obtain an early site permit from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Existing law requires that ballot labels for state measures voted on at elections contain specified information. Existing law requires the Legislative Analyst to prepare a discussion of the state's current bonded indebtedness for the ballot pamphlet at a statewide general election in which a state bond measure is submitted for voter approval. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst to include additional information in the ballot pamphlet for an election for each state initiative measure that proposes the issuance of a state bond.

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would allow for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2010, and before January 1, 2015, a deduction under that law for the qualified costs paid or incurred during the taxable year by a taxpayer for the adoption of pets from a qualified animal rescue organization, as defined. Existing law relating to the administration of personal income taxes authorizes individual taxpayers to contribute amounts in excess of their tax liability for the support of specified funds or accounts. This bill would allow individual taxpayers to designate on their tax returns, that a specified amount in excess of their tax liability be transferred to the Pet Adoption Cost Deduction Fund, which would be created by this bill. This bill would provide that all moneys contributed to the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for reimbursement of costs, as provided, to the Controller for reimbursement of the General Fund for revenue losses from providing the deduction for pet adoption costs, and to the Department of Food and Agriculture for purposes relating to abandoned and impounded animals. This bill would provide that these voluntary contribution provisions are repealed on either January 1 of the 5th taxable year following the taxable year the fund first appears on the personal income tax return or on January 1 of an earlier calendar year, if the Franchise Tax Board estimates that the annual contribution amount will be less than $250,000, or an adjusted amount, as specified, for subsequent taxable years.