Asm. Tasha Boerner

(1) Existing law requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish fish hatcheries for the purposes of stocking the waters of California with fish, and requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to maintain and operate those hatcheries. This bill would require the department to develop and implement a plan, in collaboration with specified scientists, experts, and representatives, as part of its fish hatchery operations for the improvement of the survival of hatchery-produced salmon, and the increased contribution of the hatchery program to commercial and recreational salmon fisheries. The bill would make the requirement to develop and implement the plan operative upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature for this purpose. The bill would require the department to complete the development of the plan no later than 2 years after the operative date of the requirement to develop and implement the plan. The bill would require the department to submit to the Legislature a report no later than one year after that operative date that summarizes the progress in developing the plan and another report no later than 3 years after that operative date summarizing the progress made in implementing the plan. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2028, and would repeal them on January 1, 2029. (2) The Salmon, Steelhead Trout, and Anadromous Fisheries Program Act requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, with the advice of the Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout and the Commercial Salmon Trollers Advisory Committee, to prepare and maintain a detailed and comprehensive program composed of specified elements for the protection and increase of salmon, steelhead trout, and anadromous fisheries. The act requires the department to consult with every public agency whose policies or decisions may affect the goals of the program. The act declares it the policy of the state and the department to encourage specified nonprofit salmon release and return operations operated by, or on behalf of, licensed commercial salmon fishermen for the purpose of enhancing California's salmon populations and increasing the salmon harvest by commercial and recreational fishermen. The act requires the department, to the extent that funds and personnel are available, to cooperate with fishing organizations in the siting and establishment of those operations to ensure the protection of natural spawning stocks of native salmon. This bill would require the department, in coordination with the above-described advisory committees, to develop, as an element of the program, a policy by January 1, 2022, for the use of releases, including in-river and ocean net pen releases, of salmon produced in state-managed and comanaged hatcheries during periods of drought or in other circumstances that result in significantly abnormal levels of mortality during onsite releases. The bill would require this policy to consider the effects of releases on the natural production of salmon. The bill would also require the department, no later than January 1, 2022, in consultation with those advisory committees, to develop and implement at least one additional ocean-based offsite hatchery salmon release operation. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2021, the department, in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency, to develop and post on its internet website a plan for sediment reduction and fishery restoration within the Elk River watershed in the County of Humboldt and for one additional hydrologic area affected by historic forest practices with endangered anadromous salmonids, as specified. The bill would require the department, when awarding grants as part of the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program, to prioritize projects in accordance with that plan. (3) Existing law requires the Director of Fish and Wildlife to identify and list those streams and watercourses in the state, meeting designated conditions, for which minimum flow levels need to be established in order to assure the continued viability of stream-related fish and wildlife resources. Existing law requires the director to prepare proposed streamflow requirements for each identified stream or watercourse and, upon completion of the proposed streamflow requirements for any individual stream or watercourse, to transmit these proposed requirements to the State Water Resources Control Board. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to initiate studies to develop those requirements for those streams or watercourses in each fiscal year for which funds are appropriated and to complete studies on each stream or watercourse within 3 years. Existing law declares legislative intent that the department develop a program that will initiate studies on at least 10 streams or watercourses in each fiscal year. Existing law requires the department to impose and collect a filing fee of $850 from a user of water for certain types of permit applications filed with the state board to defray the cost of identifying streams and providing those studies. Existing law requires the state board to forward these fees to the department every 6 months. This bill would name the list of streams and watercourses identified by the director for these purposes as the California Endangered Rivers List. The bill would require the department to develop a program that will initiate studies on at least 3 streams or watercourses in each fiscal year. The bill would require the department to return the filing fees collected in a fiscal year to the state board for deposit in the Water Rights Fund if the department fails to initiate studies on at least 3 streams or watercourses in that fiscal year. (4) Existing law establishes the State Air Resources Board and vests the state board with regulatory jurisdiction over air quality issues. Existing law generally designates air pollution control and air quality management districts (air districts) with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. This bill would require the state board, in coordination with affected air districts along the coast and in consultation with the federal Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the United States Navy, to develop and implement a voluntary vessel speed reduction incentive program for the Santa Barbara Channel and San Francisco Bay area regions to reduce air pollution, the risk of fatal vessel strikes on whales, and harmful underwater acoustic impacts. The bill would require the state board to implement the program by May 1, 2021, and would require the state board to submit a report to the Legislature by December 31, 2022, regarding the implementation of the program. By adding to the duties of air districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency to update all of the state's existing wetlands inventory resources in order to prepare a study to accomplish specified goals, and to report the study to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2003. This bill would require the agency to inventory the state's existing coastal wetlands resources and prepare a new study that meets these goals, and to submit the study to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2023. The bill would require the study to be updated, at a minimum, once every 5 years after January 1, 2023. (6) Under existing law, the Budget Act of 2018, $6,000,000 was appropriated to the State Coastal Conservancy for support or local assistance to implement a beneficial reuse pilot program for dredged sediment in the Redwood City Harbor. Under existing law, this money is available for encumbrance or expenditure until June 30, 2020, and for liquidation until June 30, 2023. This bill would require the conservancy to submit a report, as provided, to the Legislature on that pilot program on or before December 31, 2022, and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the conservancy to develop, in partnership with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, a beneficial reuse program to place and reuse dredged sediment for coastal wetland restoration projects. (7) The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to, and approved by, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The act requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to adopt district forest practice rules and regulations, as provided, to ensure the continuous growing and harvesting of commercial forest tree species and to protect the soil, air, fish, wildlife, and water resources. The forest practice rules establish requirements specific to watersheds with listed anadromous salmonids for each forest district. Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the state. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2022, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, in consultation with specified state and federal agencies, to evaluate the above-referenced forest practice rules establishing requirements specific to watersheds with listed anadromous salmonids in order to support salmonid populations at all life history stages and to control pollutant inputs known to negatively impact salmonids. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2024, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to update those specified forest practice rules based on that evaluation, and would require any amendments to the rules to provide additional protections to listed anadromous salmonids. This bill would require timber harvesting plans filed on or after January 1, 2020, for lands containing or adjacent to watercourses bearing listed anadromous salmonids included on a specified list of water quality limited segments impaired by sediment to include an erosion control plan that is consistent with specified law. The bill would prohibit timber harvesting activity from being undertaken under a timber harvesting plan that requires an erosion control plan on ground with an extreme erosion hazard rating unless the timber harvesting plan has been reviewed by the California Geological Survey. (8) 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 California State University, under the administration of the Board of Trustees of the California State University, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in California. Existing law requires the trustees to take action in open session on an executive compensation proposal concerning the Chancellor of the California State University, the president of an individual campus, a vice chancellor, the treasurer, the assistant treasurer, the general counsel, or the trustees' secretary. This bill would require, for any proposed increase to the compensation of the specified executive officers, or change to policies and procedures relating to the compensation of those executive officers, that the board include the proposed increase, or change to policies and procedures, and related information as an informational item on a meeting agenda, with a public vote at the subsequent, consecutive, quarterly meeting. The bill would prohibit an increase of compensation for an executive officer in a year in which tuition is increased. Existing law requires the California State University to report biennially to the Legislature and the Department of Finance on the total costs of education at the university on a systemwide and campus-by-campus basis, as specified. This bill would require the chancellor's office to require each campus to annually prepare a comparison of the campus' budget to its actual spending levels, including a summary report of its expenditures of state appropriations received for the academic year and to submit 2 years of comparisons and summary reports to the chancellor's office on or before January 15, 2022, and biennially thereafter. The bill would require the chancellor's office to compile the campus-based reports into a systemwide report submitted to the Legislature and Department of Finance on or before March 31, 2022, and biennially thereafter.

Existing law establishes the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program (program) in the California Physician Corps Program within the Health Professions Education Foundation, which provides financial incentives, including repayment of educational loans, to a physician and surgeon who practices in a medically underserved area, as defined. Existing law establishes the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians, a continuously appropriated account, within the Health Professions Education Fund, to primarily provide funding for the ongoing operations of the program. Existing law defines "practice setting," for these purposes, to include a community clinic, as defined, a clinic owned or operated by a public hospital and health system, or a clinic owned and operated by a hospital that maintains the primary contract with a county government to fulfill the county's role to serve its indigent population, that is located in a medically underserved area and at least 50% of whose patients are from a medically underserved population. Existing law also defines "practice setting," for these purposes, to include a physician owned and operated medical practice setting that provides primary care located in a medically underserved area and has a minimum of 50% of patients who are uninsured, Medi-Cal beneficiaries, or beneficiaries of another publicly funded program that serves patients who earn less than 250% of the federal poverty level. This bill also would define "practice setting" to include a program or facility operated by, or contracted to, a county mental health plan. By expanding the group of persons eligible for financial incentives payable from a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) , in coordination with the California Behavioral Health Planning Council, to identify the total statewide needs for each professional and other occupational category utilizing county needs assessment information and develop a 5-year education and training development plan. Existing law requires OSHPD to include specified components in the 5-year plan, including expansion plans for the forgiveness and scholarship programs offered in return for a commitment to employment in California's public mental health system and making loan forgiveness programs available to current employees of the mental health system who want to obtain Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, master's degrees, or doctoral degrees. This bill would clarify that OSHPD is required to include in the 5-year plan both expansion plans for loan forgiveness and scholarship programs offered in return for a commitment to employment in California's public mental health system and expansion plans for making loan forgiveness programs available to current employees of the mental health system who want to obtain Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, master's degrees, or doctoral degrees.

This measure would recognize June 12, 2019, as the 121st Anniversary of Philippine Independence and would call upon the people of the state to observe the month of June with appropriate ceremonies, programs, and activities.

This measure proclaims September 22, 2019, to September 28, 2019, to be Special Districts Week.