Existing law provides that it is the Department of Fish and Wildlife's mission to manage California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment of the public. Existing law provides that one of the department's core programs is biodiversity conservation. This bill would establish the Biodiversity Protection and Restoration Act and would provide that it is the policy of the state that all state agencies, boards, and commissions shall utilize their authorities in furtherance of the biodiversity conservation purposes and goals of certain executive orders. The bill would require all state agencies, boards, and commissions to consider and prioritize the protection of biodiversity in carrying out their statutory mandates. The bill would require strategies related to the goal of the state to conserve at least 30% of California's land and coastal waters by 2030 to be made available to the public and provided to certain legislative committees by no later than June 30, 2022.
Sponsored bills
The Early Childhood Development Act of 2020 sets forth legislative findings and declarations regarding the need for an integrated early childhood learning and care system to promote high-quality, affordable learning to comprehensively and effectively serve children and families and to address societal inequities and disproportionalities. This bill would make additional legislative findings and declarations regarding childcare supportive services. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to report on various topics related to early childhood supports in light of the COVID-19 pandemic by October 1, 2021. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Personal Income Tax Law and California Constitution impose taxes based upon taxable income of individuals, estates, and trusts at specified rates. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, in addition to those taxes, would impose an additional tax of at the rates of 1%, 3%, and 3.5% on that portion of a taxpayer's taxable income over specified thresholds, as provided. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state, and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law establishes procedures for the apportionment of state funds to these local educational agencies. Existing law, for purposes of calculating apportionments for the 2020–21 fiscal year, requires a local educational agency to offer in-person instruction and authorizes these agencies to offer distance learning, as specified. This bill would specify that the requirement to provide in-person instruction applies when that instruction is allowed under state and local public health orders. (2) Existing law establishes criteria for local educational agencies to offer distance learning for the 2020–21 school year, including as a result of an order or guidance from a state public health officer or local public health officer, or for pupils who are medically fragile or would be put at risk by in-person instruction or who are self-quarantining. This bill would specify that, from March 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021, inclusive, distance learning is authorized on an agency-wide or schoolwide level as a result of an order from a state public health officer or a local public health officer requiring school campus closure. The bill would also include, in addition to pupils, certificated employees who are medically fragile or who are self-quarantining within the scope of this provision. (3) Existing law requires local educational agencies to offer in-person instruction to the greatest extent possible and to develop written procedures for tiered reengagement strategies for all pupils who are absent from distance learning for more than 3 schooldays or 60% of the instructional days in a school week. This bill would require local educational agencies to publicly adopt plans that offer in-person instruction within 2 weeks of local or state public health orders allowing school campuses to be open, and that outline all local educational agency plans to meet local and state public health school campus safety standards. The bill would also require each local educational agency to implement the written procedures for the tiered reengagement strategies for all pupils who are absent from distance learning for more than 3 schooldays or 60% of the instructional days in a school week, as specified. The bill would also require local educational agencies to develop and implement written procedures for tiered reengagement strategies for all unduplicated pupils who are performing significantly below grade level, with a priority for pupils in kindergarten or grades 1 to 3, inclusive, and pupils at risk of not graduating from high school. Because these provisions would impose new duties on local educational agencies, they would create a state-mandated local program. (4) 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. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides for officers and employees of the state to receive travel expenses when away from their headquarters for state business. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would prohibit state-sponsored travel to any state that enacts any law that limits or reduces access to voting.
Existing law, except as specified, prohibits enforcement of a personal service contract beyond 7 years from the commencement of service under the contract. Under existing law, an employee who is a party to a contract to render personal services in the production of specified phonorecords is prohibited from invoking this provision without first giving written notice to the employer that the employee, from and after a specified date, will no longer render service under the contract by reason of the above provision. Existing law specifies that a party to a contract to render personal services in the production of specified phonorecords may still pursue an action for certain damages. This bill would eliminate that provision requiring an employee who is a party to a contract to render personal services in the production of specified phonorecords to give written notice and would also repeal the provisions related to damages. The bill would instead authorize a music talent, as defined, to terminate, at any time, their personal services agreement by sending notice to the contracting party, if an option has not been exercised within 6 months of the earlier of the satisfaction of the delivery obligation for a contract period by the musical talent or the initial commercial release of the applicable music product, and would also prohibit the inclusion of option periods that extend more than 6 months after the earlier of the satisfaction of the delivery obligation for a contract period by the musical talent or the initial commercial release of the applicable music product. This bill would additionally prohibit the initial term, as specified, of a contract for the exclusive or first-priority personal services of an actor on an episodic series, as defined, from extending over 12 months after the earlier of delivery of the executed contract or commencement of the actor's performance on the pilot or first episode of an episodic series. The bill would also require those contracts containing options exercisable by any person other than the actor to have all options exercised, and all of the actor's performance services for optioned seasons completed, within 12 months after the completion of the actor's performance services for the prior season. The bill would specify that if these timeframes are not met, the actor may, at any time, terminate their personal services agreement by sending notice to the contracting party. This bill would prohibit the waiver of its provisions in an individual negotiation, collective bargaining agreement, or other agreement, and void any contract provision that would deprive a music talent or actor of the protections of this bill. The bill would provide that it applies to all unexercised option periods after January 1, 2022, regardless of the start date of the contract containing those option periods.
Existing law prohibits a jury or judge from convicting a defendant, finding a special circumstance true, or using a fact in aggravation based on the uncorroborated testimony of an in-custody informant. Existing law defines "in-custody informant" for these purposes as a person, other than a codefendant, percipient witness, accomplice, or coconspirator, whose testimony is based on statements allegedly made by the defendant while both the defendant and the informant were held within a city or county jail, state penal institution, or correctional institution. Existing law provides that, except as otherwise provided by statute, all relevant evidence is admissible. The California Constitution provides for the Right to Truth-In-Evidence, which requires a 23 vote of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding, as specified. This bill would instead make testimony by, or information obtained by, an in-custody informant, as defined, regarding statements made by the defendant while the defendant was in custody, inadmissible, as specified. The bill would provide an exemption for such testimony relating to a crime or incident occurring within a correctional facility and testimony obtained pursuant to a law enforcement operation, as described, that meets specified criteria.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires every electric utility, defined to include electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, and electrical cooperatives, to develop a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering, as defined, for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, as defined, upon request on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. For a large electrical corporation, as defined, existing law requires the commission to have developed a 2nd standard contract or tariff to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in the electrical corporation's service territory and imposes no limitation on the number of new eligible customer-generators entitled to receive service pursuant to this 2nd standard contract or tariff. Existing law requires the commission to ensure that the 2nd standard contract or tariff made available to eligible customer-generators by large electrical corporations ensures that customer-sited renewable distributed generation continues to grow sustainably. Existing law requires the commission, in developing this standard contract or tariff, to include specific alternatives designed for growth among residential customers in disadvantaged communities. This bill would require the commission, no later than August 1, 2022, to develop a replacement for the 2nd standard contract or tariff, which may include net energy metering, for an eligible customer-generator with a renewable electrical generation facility that is a customer of a large electrical corporation, and would require that large electrical corporations offer the standard contract or tariff to eligible customer-generators beginning no later than December 31, 2023. The bill would eliminate the requirement that the large electrical corporation tariff or contract ensure that customer-sited renewable distributed generation continues to grow sustainably. The bill would require that a customer-generator of a large electrical corporation that receives service pursuant to the existing statutory net energy metering tariffs be transferred to the replacement tariff no later than 10 years from the date that customer first received service pursuant to those tariffs, except as specified. If the commission fails to adopt a replacement net energy metering tariff for large electrical corporations by August 1, 2022, this bill would require the commission to develop a successor net energy metering tariff for large electrical corporations, to take effect no later than December 31, 2023, that does specified things, including having interconnection fees and monthly fixed charges based on the cost to interconnect and serve the eligible customer-generator and crediting the eligible customer-generator for any electricity exported to the electrical grid at a rate equal to the electrical corporation's avoided cost. The bill would require that an eligible customer-generator of a large electrical corporation that receives service pursuant to the existing statutory net energy metering tariffs be transferred to the successor tariff no later than 10 years from the date that customer first received service pursuant to those existing tariffs, except as specified. Existing law requires the PUC to submit various reports to the Legislature, as specified. This bill would require the PUC to annually report to the Legislature, by June 30, on progress made to grow use of distributed energy resources among residential customers in disadvantaged communities. 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 the bill would require an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission to implement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating new crimes. 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 authorizes and regulates the formation and operation of various corporations, including a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation. Existing law , the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law, provides that subject to any other provision of law of this state applying to the particular class of corporation or line of activity, a corporation may be formed as a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation for any lawful purpose, except when a corporation's assets are irrevocably dedicated to charitable, religious, or public purposes and which as a matter of law or according to its articles or bylaws are required, upon dissolution, to distribute its assets to a person carrying on a charitable, religious, or public purpose. Existing law creates in the Department of Industrial Relations, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Under existing law, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement is under the direction of the Labor Commissioner, who is authorized to investigate employee complaints and charged with the enforcement of labor laws. This bill would require the Labor Commissioner to organize, and members to maintain, a corporation under the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law named the "Federation of California Worker Cooperatives" (federation) or a substantially similar name. The bill would require the federation to function as a membership organization for worker cooperatives. This bill would require the Governor to appoint the initial board of directors, to serve for one year or until the first regular meeting of the members, whichever comes later. This bill would provide that the federation is a nonpublic entity, does not constitute a public agency or state employer for any purpose, and that once the Labor Commissioner organizes the federation as a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation and the Governor chooses the first board of directors, there shall be no further involvement in the operation of the federation by any governmental entity. This bill would require the members in the federation to be restricted to legal entities with certain characteristics, including, but not limited to, uniform hiring and ownership eligibility criteria and for whom a majority of the work is performed by worker-owners, at least 51% of the workers are worker-owners, and a majority of the voting ownership interest is held by worker-owners. The bill would also require the federation to set labor policies of the members and provide all management to the members. The bill would provide that the federation is the employer of the management professionals and each member's workers and worker-owners for purposes of federal law and that the federation and the member are both employers of the workers and worker-owners for purposes of state law.
Existing law requires the Governor to appoint every office whose mode of appointment is not prescribed by law. Existing law also prescribes the manner of the Governor's appointment of those officers. This bill would require the office of the Governor to convene, on or before June 1, 2022, a working group to discuss and make recommendations on the most effective way to ensure the state's leadership on boards and commissions reflects the diversity in age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability status, region, veteran status, and sexual orientation, among other things, that are representative of the state. The bill would require these recommendations to be completed and published on the Governor's internet website no later than March 1, 2023, and contain specified recommendations. The bill would set forth selection and qualification requirements for members of the working group. The bill would also require the working group to hold its first meeting no later than September 1, 2022, and to determine a schedule, at that first meeting, to have 5 additional meetings completed no later than February 1, 2023. The bill would terminate the working group on January 1, 2024. This bill would require the office of the Governor, on or before December 1, 2022, and on or before every December 1 thereafter, to create and deliver to the Legislature a report containing specified information relating to the demographic information, as defined, of individuals appointed by the office of the Governor and relating to information on every state board and commission. The bill would also require, on or before December 1, 2022, and on or before every December 1 thereafter, a portion of that report relating to the boards and commissions of the state to be published on the internet website of the office of the Governor. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.