The Marine Invasive Species Act, which generally applies to all vessels carrying or capable of carrying ballast water into the coastal waters of the state after operating outside of the coastal waters of the state and to all ballast water and associated sediments taken on a vessel, imposes specified requirements on the master, owner, operator, or person in charge of one those vessels to minimize the uptake and release of nonindigenous species. The act requires the State Lands Commission to adopt regulations governing ballast water management practices for vessels arriving at a California port from a port outside of the Pacific Coast Region, as defined. This bill would define the term "port" for purposes of the act to mean any port or place in which a vessel was, is, or will be anchored or moored, or where a vessel will transfer cargo. The act requires the master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge of a vessel carrying, or capable of carrying, ballast water, that visits a California port, to provide specified information in electronic or written form to the commission upon the vessel's departure from each California port of call. This bill would instead require that the above information be provided to the commission at least 24 hours before the vessel arrives at that California port or, if a vessel's voyage is less than 24 hours in total duration, prior to departing the port of departure. The act requires the commission to adopt specified regulations, on or before January 1, 2008, that require an owner or operator of a vessel carrying, or capable of carrying, ballast water that operates in the waters of the state to implement an interim performance standard, as prescribed, for specified periods and the final performance standard for the discharge of ballast water of zero detectable for all organism size classes by 2020. The act specifies that if an owner or operator of a vessel applies to install an experimental ballast water treatment system, and the commission approves that application on or before January 1, 2016, the commission shall deem the system to be in compliance with any future treatment standard adopted, for a period not to exceed 5 years from the date that the specified interim performance standards would apply to that vessel. This bill would instead require the commission to adopt regulations that require an owner or operator of a vessel carrying, or capable of carrying, ballast water that operates in the waters of the state to comply with that interim performance standard either upon first arrival at a California port for new vessels constructed on or after January 1, 2020, or as of the first scheduled drydocking on or after January 1, 2020, for all other vessels, as applicable, and to meet the final performance standard for the discharge of ballast water of zero detectable living organisms for all organism size classes by January 1, 2030. This bill would also extend to January 1, 2020, the operation of those provisions governing the compliance of experimental ballast water treatment systems with those specified interim performance standards. The act requires the commission, in coordination with the United States Coast Guard, to take samples of ballast water and sediment from at least 25% of the arriving vessels subject to the act. This bill would instead require the commission, in coordination with the United States Coast Guard, to take samples of ballast water, sediment, and biofouling from and inspect at least 25% of the arriving vessels subject to the act. The act requires the commission, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, the United States Coast Guard, and a specified technical advisory group, to prepare and submit to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2006, a specified report on the release of nonindigenous species from vessels. This bill would delete that obsolete reporting requirement, and make various other changes relating to implementation of the act.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state, and provides for the establishment of local educational agencies to operate these schools and provide instruction to pupils. Existing law states the policy of the State of California to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law, the Safe Place to Learn Act, requires the State Department of Education, as part of its regular monitoring and review of a local educational agency, to assess whether the local educational agency has, among other things, adopted a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying, as specified, and has publicized that policy to pupils, parents, employees, agents of the governing board, and the general public. This bill would require the department to also assess whether the local educational agency has provided to certificated schoolsite employees who serve pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, information on existing schoolsite and community resources related to the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning pupils, as specified.
Existing law prescribes requirements for contracts between private parties and public entities, as defined. This bill would, among other things, provide that a public works contract entered into on or after January 1, 2016, that contains a clause expressly requiring a contractor to be responsible for delay damages, as defined, is not enforceable unless the delay damages have been liquidated to a set amount and identified in the public works contract. Under the bill, these provisions would not apply to specified state agencies. The bill would also make findings and declarations related to public contracts.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state. Under this system, school districts throughout the state operate and maintain schools at which they provide instruction. Existing law establishes procedures under which new school districts may be formed by dissolving 2 or more existing school districts of the same kind from the entire territory of the original school districts, by forming one or more new school districts of the same kind from all or parts of one or more existing school districts of the same kind, or by unifying or deunifying school districts as specified. Under existing law, new school districts may also be formed through an action to transfer territory, including an action to transfer all or part of an existing school district to another existing school district. Existing law also establishes a system of funding public elementary and secondary education in this state. This funding system includes, among other elements, a local control funding formula through which funds are apportioned to school districts for educational purposes based on the total number of pupils attending the schools in those districts and the number of those pupils who fall into specified categories, including English learners, pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals, and foster youth. This bill would enact numerous provisions specifying computations to determine the funding, pursuant to the local control funding formula, of school districts that are, or proposed to be, affected by the various types of actions that may be undertaken to reorganize districts, as defined.
Existing law establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority, and requires it to adopt regulations that further the purpose of establishing a statewide system for emergency medical services. Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, authorizes each county to develop an emergency medical services program. The act further authorizes a local emergency medical services (EMS) agency to develop and submit a plan to the Emergency Medical Services Authority for an emergency medical services system, and requires the local EMS agency, using state minimum standards, to establish policies and procedures to assure medical control of the emergency medical services system that may require basic life support emergency medical transportation services to meet any medical control requirements, including dispatch, patient destination policies, patient care guidelines, and quality assurance requirements. This bill would authorize a local EMS agency to adopt policies and procedures relating to ambulance patient offload time, as defined. The bill would require the authority to develop a statewide standard methodology for the calculation and reporting by a local EMS agency of ambulance patient offload time.
The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act authorizes the Governor to annually award and present in the name of the State of California a Medal of Valor to one or more public safety officers, as defined, who are cited by the Attorney General, upon the recommendation of the Medal of Valor Review Board, for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. The act also establishes the Medal of Valor Review Board that recommends candidates to the Attorney General for the Medal of Valor from among the applications received by the board. This bill would add ocean lifeguards to the list of public safety officers eligible to receive the award and authorize the United States Lifesaving Association to represent ocean lifeguards on the review board.
This measure would proclaim April 12 through April 19, 2015, 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.
This measure would designate November 2015 as Court Adoption and Permanency Month and would encourage the courts and their local communities to join in activities to expedite permanency for children.
This measure would establish the California Task Force on Family Caregiving, to meet, if a nonstate organization agrees to provide administrative support to the task force, to examine issues relative to the challenges faced by family caregivers and opportunities to improve caregiver support, review the current network and the services and supports available to caregivers, and make policy recommendations to the Legislature. The task force would be required to submit an interim report to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2017, and a final report no later than July 1, 2018.
This measure would recognize the California Association of County Veterans Service Officers for helping veterans secure their federal and state benefits over the past 70 years.