Asm. Heath Flora

Existing law prohibits the State Department of Social Services from authorizing individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes from working or otherwise being present at a community care facility, a residential care facility for persons with a chronic, life-threatening illness, a residential care facility for the elderly, or a child day care facility. The act requires the department to perform criminal background investigations of individuals as part of its licensing and regulatory oversight of these facilities. This bill would enumerate additional crimes that prohibit the department from authorizing an individual from working or otherwise being present at these facilities, including, among other crimes, procuring another person for the purpose of prostitution. The bill would additionally require the department, with regard to licensing and regulating community care facilities, to examine and review whether the inclusion of additional specified crimes in those provisions would be appropriate, and to report its findings to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2022.

This measure would declare March 5, 2020, as Family Justice Center Day in California and would recognize the lifesaving and hope-giving work of the California Family Justice Center Network and its member Family Justice Centers as they work with rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, human trafficking agencies, prosecutors' offices, law enforcement agencies, and other professionals and community-based organizations to ensure that adult and child survivors of trauma can access all of their services in one setting.

This measure would recognize March 7, 2020, as California Arbor Day, and would urge California residents to observe the day with appropriate tree-planting activities and programs.

The Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act authorizes a public agency to elect to become subject to uniform construction cost accounting procedures. The act authorizes bidding procedures for public projects, as specified. Those bidding procedures include procedures for the publication or posting and electronic transmission of notice inviting formal bids. This bill would authorize a public agency, as an alternative to the publication or posting requirement, to meet the notice inviting formal bids requirement by transmitting notice electronically, as specified, and publishing the notice electronically in a prescribed manner on the public agency's internet website at least 14 calendar days before the date of opening the bids. The act creates the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission, to fulfill certain duties, including recommending for adoption by the Controller uniform construction cost accounting procedures for implementation by public agencies in the performance of, or in contracting for, construction on public projects. The act authorizes the commission to review practices of any participating public agency where an interested party presents evidence that the public agency is not in compliance with requirements to enact a prescribed informal bidding ordinance to govern the selection of contractors to perform public projects. This bill would also require the commission to review noncompliance with the notice inviting formal bid requirements described above.

This measure would memorialize the achievements of Rosa Parks in the Civil Rights Movement and would commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Rosa Parks Day in California on February 4, 2020.

Existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, requires every beverage container sold or offered for sale in this state to have a minimum refund value. Under existing law, a beverage distributor is required to pay a redemption payment to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the state by the distributor, and the department is required to deposit those amounts, and all other revenues the department receives under the act, in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. Under existing law, moneys in the fund, except for civil penalties or fines, are continuously appropriated to the department to, among other things, pay refund values, administrative fees, and processing payments to processors, and handling fees to recycling sites in convenience zones, as defined. Existing law requires the department, not less than once every 3 months, to provide to the Legislature an updated fund condition statement for the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and other specified information, for the current fiscal year and budget year. Existing law requires the department, not less than once every 3 months, to post that information on the department's internet website. Existing law requires the department, not less than once every 3 months, to review the information included in the fund condition statement, as provided, and to immediately notify the Legislature if the department determines that there may be inadequate funds to pay the payments required by the act. In that circumstance, existing law authorizes the department, after notifying the Legislature, to reduce or eliminate certain expenditures, including processing payments or handling fees, as provided. This bill would change the minimum frequency of the periodic requirements described above from 3 months to 2 months.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires each electrical corporation to construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment. Existing law requires each electrical corporation to annually prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan to the commission for review and approval, as specified. Following approval, the commission is required to oversee compliance with the plans. This bill would require the state's 3 largest electrical corporations, and authorize other electrical corporations, as part of the utility's wildfire mitigation plan, to include a pilot program proposal for the installation of monitoring equipment on transmission and distribution lines in targeted high fire-threat areas designated by the commission. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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.