Asm. Cottie Petrie-Norris

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Under existing law, the department is responsible for administering various housing programs throughout the state, including, among others, the California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program, which, among other things, provides rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services to ensure housing affordability for people who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. Existing law, the Housing Authorities Law, creates a housing authority in each county and each city, which is authorized to transact business and exercise specified powers upon adoption of a resolution by the governing body of the county or city declaring that there is a need for the authority to function. Among other things, existing law authorizes a housing authority to provide leased housing to persons of low income. This bill would require all public housing authorities to report specified data, including their monthly success rates as of the first of each month, to the department beginning on July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, as specified. Because the bill would require local housing authorities to perform additional duties, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to make the data publicly available, beginning on January 1, 2026, and each year thereafter. The bill would require the department, beginning on July 1, 2025, and bi-annually thereafter until June 30, 2027, to convene a group of public housing authorities to discuss factors that impact success rates and recommendations for state and local intervention. The bill would also require the department, in consultation with participants in the Housing Choice Voucher program and other stakeholders, to publish a report, which shall be made publicly available, with recommendations for state and local interventions to improve success rates, on or before July 1, 2026. 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 establishes the Independent System Operator as a nonprofit, public benefit corporation to manage the transmission grid and related energy markets, as provided. This bill would require the Independent System Operator, upon approval of each transmission plan, to report to the Public Utilities Commission and to the relevant policy committees of each house of the Legislature any new use of any grid enhancing technology that is deemed reasonable by the Independent System Operator in that plan and the cost and efficiency savings of the deployment of that grid enhancing technology.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The Public Utilities Act prohibits any 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, except that the extension, expansion, upgrade, or other modification of an existing electrical transmission facility, including transmission lines and substations, does not require a certificate of public convenience and necessity. Existing law requires the commission, in considering an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for an electric transmission facility, to consider cost‑effective alternatives to transmission facilities that meet the need for an efficient, reliable, and affordable supply of electricity, including demand-side alternatives such as targeted energy efficiency, ultraclean distributed generation, as defined, and other demand reduction resources. This bill would repeal the latter provision requiring the commission to consider cost-effective alternatives to transmission facilities, as specified.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law requires the commission to establish a program of assistance to low-income electricity and gas customers with annual household incomes that are no greater than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines levels, referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program. Existing law establishes the Multifamily Housing Program administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Existing law requires that specified funds appropriated to provide housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and who are inherently impacted by or at increased risk for medical diseases or conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other communicable diseases be disbursed in accordance with the Multifamily Housing Program for specified uses. This disbursement scheme is referred to as Homekey. This bill would require that the CARE program include public housing authority owned or administered Homekey housing facilities where the residents of the facility substantially meet the CARE program's income eligibility requirements, as determined by the commission, and the account is in the name of Homekey, a nonprofit funded by Homekey, or the public housing authority that owns or administers the facility. The bill would require the commission to authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to offer discounts to those facilities and to establish a feasible process for certifying that the assistance is used for the direct benefit of the residents of those facilities. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act, or of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act, and because 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.

(1) Existing federal law, the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, creates the Crime Victims Fund and authorizes federal financial assistance to states for the purpose of supporting eligible crime victim assistance programs. Existing law creates various programs under the Office of Emergency Services related to crime prevention and education, including, among other things, programs concerning family violence prevention and domestic violence prevention. This bill, the California Victims of Crime Act, would establish the California Crime Victims Fund in the State Treasury and would require that moneys deposited in the fund be continuously appropriated to the Office of Emergency Services to support crime victims services. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to seek advisement from the Victims of Crime Act Steering Committee on priorities for utilizing the funds and would require the Treasurer to provide an annual report to the Legislature on the amounts deposited into the fund. By continuously appropriating moneys to the Office of Emergency Services for the support of crime victim services, the bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law establishes the aggravated white-collar crime enhancement which imposes enhanced penalties against a person who commits 2 or more related felonies, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, that involve a pattern of related felony conduct, and the pattern of related felony conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000, as specified. This bill would authorize a court to impose an additional fine, known as the corporate white collar criminal enhancement, against a corporation that is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony. The bill would authorize the court to determine the amount of the fine, but would set specified limits. The bill would require the court to consider certain factors when determining the amount of the fine, including, among other things, the nature and seriousness of the offense and the corporation's assets, liabilities, and net worth, as specified. The bill would require that any moneys collected under this provision be deposited into the California Crime Victims Fund. (3) The California Constitution entitles the victim of a crime to restitution. Existing law requires the court in each criminal case to order a convicted defendant to pay full restitution to the victim and a separate restitution fine, as specified. This bill would, if a corporation is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony offense, require the court to impose a separate and additional restitution fine, as specified. The bill would authorize the court to determine the amount of the restitution fine, but would impose specified maximums. The bill would require any moneys collected under this provision to be distributed to the California Crime Victims Fund and the prosecuting agency that brought the criminal prosecution, as specified.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. This bill would require the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , to develop a framework for assessing, tracking, and analyzing total annual energy costs paid by residential households in California, as specified. The bill would authorize the PUC to use the framework for purposes of evaluating any request by an electrical corporation and gas corporation to track new spending eligible for recovery or to adjust a revenue requirement. The bill would require the PUC to submit a report to the Legislature containing the framework and certain information. The bill would require large electrical corporations, as defined, and large gas corporations, as defined, by January 1, 2026, and each year thereafter, to publish on their internet websites and provide to the PUC a visual representation of certain cost categories included in residential electric or gas rates for the succeeding calendar year. Existing law requires the PUC, triennially, to submit a report to the Legislature on the energy efficiency and conservation programs it oversees. This bill instead would require the PUC to submit a report to the Legislature on the demand-side management programs it oversees or that are paid for by ratepayers of community choice aggregators, electrical corporations, or gas corporations. The bill would revise the information required to be included in the report. This bill would require the PUC, in consultation with the Energy Commission, the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, and the Independent System Operator, by July 1, 2025, to submit to the Governor and the Legislature a study identifying proposals to reduce the cost to ratepayers of expanding the state's electrical transmission grid as necessary to achieve the state's goals, to meet the state's requirements, and to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, as specified in law, regulation, or executive order. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because certain of the above-described provisions would be part of the act and a violation of those provisions or a PUC action implementing this bill's 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.

Existing law requires the Independent System Operator to ensure the efficient use and reliable operation of the transmission grid, as provided. This bill would authorize the Independent System Operator to amend its tariff, as deemed necessary and subject to approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to be consistent with the efficient use and reliable operation of the transmission grid. Existing law requires the Independent System Operator to perform a review following a major outage that affects at least 10% of customers of the entity providing the local distribution service, as provided. This bill would require the Independent System Operator, if it finds that the primary cause of the outage was the insufficiency of the available electricity supply, to post the finding and recommendations to prevent future shortfalls on its internet website and share the finding and recommendations with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Legislature. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the Independent System Operator, to establish resource adequacy requirements for all load-serving entities and requires the PUC in establishing those requirements to ensure the reliability of electrical service in California. Existing law requires the PUC to determine and authorize the most efficient and equitable means of achieving certain objectives. This bill would require that the resource adequacy program consider mitigation measures, if the commission determines they are needed, to reduce costs to ratepayers. The bill would require the PUC to determine and authorize the most efficient and equitable means of ensuring that the resource adequacy program can reasonably maintain a standard measure of reliability and use it for planning purposes. Existing law requires the PUC to ensure that load-serving entities ensure system and local reliability and require sufficient, predictable resource procurement and development to avoid unplanned energy supply shortfalls, as provided. This bill would require the PUC, as part of the integrated planning process, to assess short-term, midterm, and long-term reliability by conducting specified modeling. The bill would require the PUC to review the results, as specified. Under the Public Utilities Act, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because a violation of a PUC action implementing certain provisions of this bill 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 law establishes various county offices, including the office of recorder. Existing law requires the recorder to, among other things, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, as specified. Existing law authorizes a notary public to apply for registration with the Secretary of State to perform online notarization according to specified requirements. This bill would authorize a disinterested custodian, as defined, to certify that a tangible copy of an electronic record is a completed and accurate reproduction of the electronic record. The bill would require a recorder to accept for recording a tangible copy of an electronic record that has been so certified by a notary public if specified requirements are met. The bill would state that a tangible copy of an electronic record imparts notice of its contents, as specified, notwithstanding any failure of the person making the certification to qualify as a disinterested custodian. By imposing these requirements, and by expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose state-mandated local programs. Existing law provides that any instrument affecting the title to real property, one year after the same has been copied into the proper book of record, that is kept in the office of any county recorder, provides notice of its contents to specified individuals, notwithstanding any defect, omission, or informality in the execution of the instrument or in the certificate of acknowledgment, or absence of that certificate. This bill would instead provide that an above-described instrument provides notice of its contents 90 days after it has been copied into the proper book of record. 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 Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (hereafter the 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 the act a crime. Existing law requires the records, books, and papers of a health care service plan and other specified entities to be open to inspection by the director of the department during normal business hours. This bill would instead require the records, books, and papers of a health care service plan and other specified entities to be open to inspection by the director, including through electronic means. The bill would require a plan and other specified entities to furnish in electronic media records, books, and papers that are possessed in electronic media and to conduct a diligent review of records, books, and papers and make every effort to furnish those responsive to the director's request. The bill would require records, books, and papers to be furnished in a format that is digitally searchable, to the greatest extent feasible. The bill would require records, books, and papers to be preserved until furnished, if requested by the department. The bill would authorize the director to inspect and copy these records, books, and papers, and to seek relief in an administrative law proceeding if, in the director's determination, a plan or other specified entity fails to fully or timely respond to a duly authorized request for production of records, books, and papers. Because a willful violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the department to conduct periodically an onsite medical survey of the health delivery system of each plan. Existing law requires the director to publicly report survey results no later than 180 days following the completion of the survey, and requires a final report to be issued after public review of the survey. Existing law requires the department to conduct a followup review to determine and report on the status of the plan's efforts to correct deficiencies no later than 18 months following release of the final report. This bill would state that nothing in those provisions prohibits the director from taking any action permitted or required under the act in response to the survey results before the followup review is initiated or completed, including, but not limited to, taking enforcement actions and opening further investigations. The bill would declare that these provisions are declaratory of and clarify existing law with regard to the director's enforcement authority. Existing law enumerates acts or omissions by a health care service plan that constitute grounds for disciplinary action by the director. This bill would add to those enumerated acts or omissions the failure by a health care service plan to respond fully or timely, or both, to a duly authorized request for production of records. 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 maintain a program of maternal and child health, which may include, among other things, facilitating services directed toward reducing infant mortality and improving the health of mothers and children. Existing law requires the Office of Health Equity within the department to serve as a resource for ensuring that programs collect and keep data and information regarding ethnic and racial health statistics, and strategies and programs that address multicultural health issues, including, but not limited to, infant and maternal mortality. Existing law makes legislative findings relating to implicit bias and racial disparities in maternal mortality rates. Existing law requires a hospital that provides perinatal care, and an alternative birth center or a primary clinic that provides services as an alternative birth center, to implement an evidence-based implicit bias program, as specified, for all health care providers involved in perinatal care of patients within those facilities. Existing law requires the health care provider to complete initial basic training through the program and a refresher course every 2 years thereafter, or on a more frequent basis if deemed necessary by the facility. Existing law requires the facility to provide a certificate of training completion upon request, to accept certificates of completion from other facilities, and to offer training to physicians not directly employed by the facility. Existing law requires the department to track and publish data on pregnancy-related death and severe maternal morbidity, as specified. This bill would make a legislative finding that the Legislature recognizes all birthing people, including nonbinary persons and persons of transgender experience. The bill would extend the evidence-based implicit bias training requirements to specified health care providers at hospitals that provide perinatal care, alternative birth centers, or primary care clinics, as specified. The bill would require an implicit bias program to include recognition of intersecting identities and the potential associated biases. The bill would require initial basic training for the implicit bias program to be completed by June 1, 2025, for current health care providers, and within 6 months of their start date for new health care providers, unless exempted. The bill would require specified facilities to, by February 1 of each year, commencing in 2026, provide the Attorney General with proof of compliance with these provisions, as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to pursue civil penalties for violations of these provisions, as specified. The bill would require that Attorney General be awarded all attorney's fees and costs in any civil action in which a court imposes any of those civil penalties. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to post on its internet website a list of facilities that did not timely submit proof of compliance or were assessed penalties under these provisions, as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to post any other compliance data they deem necessary and would authorize the Attorney General to biennially publish a report outlining compliance data related to these provisions. The bill would make the provisions of the act severable.