Sen. Bob Wieckowski

The Planning and Zoning Law authorizes a local agency to provide by ordinance for the creation of accessory dwelling units in single-family and multifamily residential zones, requires that ordinance to designate areas where accessory dwelling units may be permitted, and sets forth standards the ordinance is required to impose, including, among others, maximum unit size, parking, and height standards. Existing law requires a local agency to submit an ordinance adopted for the creation of accessory dwelling units to the Department of Housing and Community Development and authorizes the department to review and comment on the ordinance. Existing law requires an application for an accessory dwelling unit permit to be considered, as specified, within 120 days of receiving it. This bill would require the ordinance for the creation of accessory dwelling units to designate areas where accessory dwelling units may be excluded for health and safety purposes, as specified. The bill would revise the standards for the local ordinance to, among other things, delete the authority to include lot coverage standards, and include a prohibition on considering the square footage of a proposed accessory dwelling unit when calculating an allowable floor-to-area ratio or lot coverage ratio for the lot. The bill would require that a permit application for an accessory dwelling unit be approved or disapproved within 60 days and would specify that if a local agency does not act on an application for a accessory dwelling unit within 60 days, then the application shall be deemed approved. The bill would prohibit a local agency from requiring that offstreet parking spaces be replaced when a garage, carport, or covered parking structure is demolished or converted in conjunction with the construction of an accessory dwelling unit. The bill would prohibit another local ordinance, policy, or regulation from being the basis for the delay of the issuance of a building permit or use permit for an accessory dwelling unit. The bill would delete provisions authorizing a local agency to require owner occupancy by the permit applicant and would declare an agreement with a local agency to maintain owner occupancy as void and unenforceable. The bill would authorize the department, upon submission of an adopted ordinance for the creation of accessory dwelling units, to submit written findings to the local agency regarding whether the ordinance complies with statutory provisions. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement uniform standards or criteria to supplement or clarify the terms, references, or standards set forth in statute and would exempt the adoption of those guidelines from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would, until January 1, 2029, also require a local building official, upon request of the owner of the accessory dwelling unit, to approve a delay of not less than 10 years of the enforcement of any building code requirement that, in the judgment of the building official, is not necessary to protect public health and safety. By increasing the duties of local agencies with respect to land use regulations, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also require the department to notify the city, county, or city and county and authorize notice to the Attorney General when the city, county, or city and county is not substantially complying with the above-described provisions regarding accessory dwelling units. The bill would require a local agency to ministerially approve an application for a building permit to create one or more accessory dwelling units if certain criteria are met. Existing law authorizes a local agency to provide by ordinance for the creation of junior accessory dwelling units, as defined, in single-family residential zones and requires the ordinance to include, among other things, standards for the creation of a junior accessory dwelling unit, required deed restrictions, and occupancy requirements. Existing law prohibits an ordinance from requiring, as a condition of granting a permit for a junior accessory dwelling unit, additional parking requirements. The bill would require a local agency to ministerially approve the creation of junior accessory dwelling units in single-family residential zones, if specified criteria are met. 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.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by those laws. Both laws allow a deduction for ordinary and necessary business expenses, including a deduction for amounts paid or incurred for specified types of punitive damages. This bill would, in an action in which those damages are sought, require the court to inform the trier of fact, prior to deliberation, that a tax deduction on these damages is allowed as ordinary and necessary business.

Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research to coordinate with appropriate entities to establish a clearinghouse for climate adaptation information for use by state, regional, and local entities. The bill would require the office to seek feedback from entities that use the clearinghouse to maximize the efficacy and usefulness of the clearinghouse.

The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 (AUMA) , an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities. MAUCRSA authorizes a licensee who obtains a retailer, microbusiness, or a specified type of nonprofit to deliver cannabis or cannabis products, and imposes requirements on the delivery of cannabis or cannabis products. MAUCRSA prohibits a local jurisdiction from preventing the delivery of cannabis or cannabis products on public roads by a licensee who is acting in compliance with MAUCRSA as well as any local law adopted pursuant to MAUCRSA. MAUCRSA generally authorizes a local jurisdiction to adopt and enforce local ordinances to regulate licensed businesses located within the local jurisdiction. This bill would prohibit a local government from adopting or enforcing any ordinance that would prohibit a licensee from delivering cannabis within or outside of the jurisdictional boundaries of the local jurisdiction. The bill would include findings that the changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern, rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act, an initiative measure, authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act with a 23 vote of the membership of both houses of the Legislature. This bill would declare that its provisions further specified purposes and intent of the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act.

This measure would urge lawmakers in Poland to reverse or revise a recent Polish law on speech related to the Holocaust, would call on Congress to join that effort, and would call for a renewed commitment to Holocaust education in California.

This measure would designate Monday, May 7, 2018, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day, urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers, and recognize specified California peace officers who were killed in defense of their communities.