This measure would acknowledge the history of the Chinese in California, would recognize the contributions made to the State of California by Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants, and would request Congress to adopt resolutions of apology to the Chinese American community for enactment of the Chinese exclusion laws.
This measure would declare the 3rd week of September 2014, and the 3rd week of September in each subsequent year, as Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate community care facilities, including foster family homes, certified family homes of licensed foster family agencies, and group homes. Existing law requires that persons providing care or services at these homes or facilities obtain either a criminal record clearance or an exemption from disqualification from the department, as prescribed. Existing law authorizes a child welfare agency to secure from an appropriate governmental criminal justice agency the state summary criminal history information for specified purposes, including an assessment of the appropriateness of placing a child subject to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court with a relative or nonrelative extended family member. Existing law also requires the Department of Justice to provide information contained in the Child Abuse Central Index to the State Department of Social Services, or to any county licensing agency that has contracted with the state for the performance of licensing duties. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services and county child welfare agencies to share information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificates, or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, or revocation of a license, permit, or certificate, or in the exclusion of a person from a facility who is subject to a background check. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to provide, upon the request of a county child welfare agency, a list of each person who has received a criminal records exemption related to a licensed or certified foster home, so that the county may assess the appropriateness of placing a child in the foster home with which the individual is associated. The bill would also authorize the department to share with the county child welfare agency summary information, as defined, related to a criminal record clearance or exemption granted by the department, except as otherwise limited by state or federal law. The bill would prohibit the department from disclosing the names of individuals who are not the subject of the exemption request or disclosing more information than is necessary, as determined by the department and in accordance with state and federal law, to assess the appropriateness of placing a child in a licensed or certified foster home. The bill would require the department to issue an all-county letter on or before March 1, 2015, that specifies the process by which a county may request summary information, how the information will be issued by the department, and how the information may be used by a county.
Existing law establishes the Pierce's Disease Control Program in the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Pierce's Disease Management Account in the Food and Agriculture Fund. Existing law allows money in this account to be expended as specified to combat Pierce's disease and its vectors, including the glassy-winged sharpshooter, and for purposes relating to other designated pests and diseases, as provided. Existing law makes these provisions inoperative on March 1, 2016, and repeals them on January 1, 2017. This bill would extend to March 1, 2021, the date on which the above provisions become inoperative, and would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2022. Existing law creates in the department the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board, which consists of specified members, and prescribes the functions and duties of the board with respect to implementation of the Pierce's disease program. Existing law provides for an annual assessment to be paid by grape processors, as defined, into the Food and Agriculture Fund for the purposes of, among other things, research and other activities related to the Pierce's disease program. Existing law repeals these provisions on March 1, 2016. This bill would extend the repeal date of these provisions to March 1, 2021, and would make related conforming changes. Because assessments collected pursuant to these provisions are deposited into the Food and Agriculture Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, by extending the date until which the assessments are collected, the bill would make an appropriation.
The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations on timberland unless a timber harvesting plan has been prepared by a registered professional forester and has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and approved by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection or the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Existing law establishes minimum acceptable stocking standards and provides that an area covered by a timber harvesting plan is considered acceptably stocked if certain conditions are met within 5 years after completion of timber operations, including that the area contains an average point count of 300 per acre, as provided. Existing law requires the board to adopt stocking standards for each district, after a public hearing, that are equal to or stricter than the minimum standards. This bill would authorize the board to adopt alternative stocking standards if those alternative standards reasonably address variables in forest characteristics and achieve suitable resource conservation, as provided.
This measure would declare August 2014 as Valley Fever Awareness Month.
This measure would state the Legislature's support for the memorandum of understanding for establishing strategic partnerships between California and Israel.
This measure would urge the United States Department of Transportation and other relevant federal entities to (1) safeguard communities and environmentally sensitive areas from rail accidents involving transportation of crude oil by expediting rail safety reforms, (2) prioritize safety considerations over cost-effectiveness in deliberations about improving the transport of crude oil by rail, (3) mandate, at a minimum, the best practices explained in a 2014 safety initiative, as specified and (4) partner with the Canadian Transportation Agency to improve safety of the North American railroad tank car fleet by swiftly adopting a stricter design standard, and by retrofitting or phasing out tank cars that do not meet that standard.
This measure would commend the government of El Salvador on its handling of the recent election and would recognize the efforts of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and other institutions in assisting with the election in the spirit of the Chapultepec Peace Accords.
