(1) Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses to applicants who meet specified criteria and provide the department with the required information. Existing law requires the department to establish that the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law. Under existing federal law, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has issued a directive allowing certain undocumented individuals who meet several key criteria for relief from removal from the United States or from entering into removal proceedings to be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of 2 years, subject to renewal, and who will be eligible to apply for work authorization. This bill would allow persons who provide satisfactory proof, as described, that their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law, but who are not eligible for a social security account number, to receive an original driver's license from the Department of Motor Vehicles if they meet all other qualifications for licensure. (2) Existing law prohibits a person from renting a motor vehicle to another unless the person to whom the vehicle is rented is a validly licensed driver, as specified, and the person renting to that driver has inspected the person's driver's license and compared the signature on the license with the signature of the driver written in his or her presence. This bill would delete the requirement that the signature of the driver be written in his or her presence and would allow the person renting the vehicle to instead compare the photograph on the driver's license of the person with the person to whom the vehicle is to be rented. The bill would also exempt, a "rental company," as defined, from these requirements if the rental is subject to the terms of a membership agreement that allows the renter to gain physical access to a car without a key through use of a code, key card, or by other means that allow the car to be accessed at a remote location or at a business location of the rental company outside of that location's regular hours of operation.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the sheriff to receive all persons committed to jail by competent authority and authorizes a sheriff to release a prisoner from a county correctional facility for transfer to a medical care facility or residential care facility upon the advice of a physician, as specified, provided the sheriff gives specified notice to the superior court. This bill would additionally authorize the sheriff to release a prisoner from a county correctional facility after conferring with a physician who has oversight for providing medical care at a county jail if the sheriff determines that the prisoner would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety and the prisoner, upon diagnosis by the examining physician, is deemed to have a life expectancy of 6 months or less, provided the sheriff gives specified notice to the superior court. The bill would also authorize the sheriff to request the court to grant medical probation or to resentence a prisoner to medical probation in lieu of jail time to a prisoner convicted and sentenced to a county jail, if the prisoner is physically incapacitated with a medical condition that renders the prisoner permanently unable to perform activities of basic daily living, which has resulted in the prisoner requiring 24-hour care, and if that incapacitation did not exist at the time of sentencing or if the prisoner would require acute long-term inpatient rehabilitation services. The bill would authorize the probation officer or the court to request a medical examination of the person released on medical parole at any time, and to return that person to the sheriff's custody if that person no longer qualifies for release. The bill would require a county that chooses to implement these provisions to pay the nonfederal share of a prisoner's or probationer's Medi-Cal costs, as specified. The bill would not require a county to provide medical care for a prisoner or probationer ineligible for Medi-Cal if it determines that the prisoner or probationer can provide for his or her own medical care, as specified. This bill would require a county board of supervisors to adopt a process to fund the nonfederal share of Medi-Cal costs, as specified, before implementing the above-referenced provisions. The bill would require the county board of supervisors to notify the State Department of Health Care Services of the process.
Existing law requires the court to order a person who is convicted of a crime to pay a restitution fine, as prescribed, and restitution to the victim or victims for the full amount of economic loss, unless the court finds compelling and extraordinary reasons for not doing so and states those reasons on the record. Existing law requires every employer except the state to secure the payment of compensation by being insured against liability, or by securing a certificate of consent to self-insure. Under existing law, payment, in whole or in part, of compensation by either the employer or the insurer is a bar to recovery against each of them of the amount paid. This bill would prohibit, in cases where an employer is convicted of a crime against an employee, a payment to the employee or the employee's dependent that is made by the employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier from being used to offset the restitution owed to the victim unless the court finds that the defendant substantially met the obligation to pay premiums for that insurance coverage. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1202.4 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 1479, to become operative only if SB 1479 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2013, and this bill is chaptered last.
(1) Existing law requires various state agencies to submit certain reports, plans, evaluations, and other similar documents to the Legislature and other state agencies. This bill would eliminate the requirement that certain state agencies submit certain reports to the Legislature and other state agencies relating to a variety of subjects. The bill would also modify various requirements of certain reports by, among other ways, requiring specified reports be placed on the Internet Web site of the reporting agency rather than submitted to the Legislature or other state agencies, requiring certain agencies to collaborate with other agencies in preparing specified reports, consolidating certain reports, deleting the requirement that specified state agencies make specified information available on their Internet Web sites, and transferring reporting duties from one agency to another. This bill would make various conforming changes. (2) Existing law requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to convene a committee to develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature, on or before December 31, 2008, a Strategic Vision for a Sustainable Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This bill would repeal the provisions establishing that committee. (3) Existing law, the Naturopathic Doctors Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of naturopathic doctors by the Naturopathic Medicine Committee within the Osteopathic Medical Board of California. Existing law also requires the committee to establish a naturopathic childbirth attendance advisory subcommittee to issue recommendations concerning the practice of naturopathic childbirth attendance based upon a review of naturopathic medical education and training, as specified. This bill would repeal the provisions providing for the establishment of this subcommittee. (4) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of accountants by the California Board of Accountancy. Existing law requires an applicant for an accountancy license to complete a minimum of 24 semester units in accounting subjects and a minimum of 24 semester units in business-related subjects. Existing law, on and after January 1, 2014, requires an applicant for an accountancy license to complete an additional 10 semester units or 15 quarter units in ethics study and 20 units in accounting study. Existing law establishes the Advisory Committee on Accounting Ethics Curriculum within the jurisdiction of the board to, by January 1, 2012, recommend guidelines for the ethics study requirement to the board. This bill would repeal the provisions establishing the Advisory Committee on Accounting Ethics Curriculum and would make related conforming and technical changes. (5) Existing law establishes the Committee of Executive Salaries, and requires the committee to study issues relating to executive salaries in the private and public sector, and to report to the Legislature on a biannual basis its findings and recommended changes. This bill would repeal the provisions establishing the committee. (6) Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to regulate certain types of candy, as defined, and requires the department to convene an interagency collaborative to serve as an oversight committee for the implementation of those provisions and to work with the department in establishing and revising the required standards. This bill would repeal those provisions establishing the interagency collaborative and would make technical and conforming changes. (7) Existing law creates the Fraud Division within the Department of Insurance to enforce specific provisions of law regarding crimes against insured property and insurance fraud reporting. Existing law creates the advisory committee on automobile insurance fraud and economic automobile theft prevention within the division to recommend ways to coordinate the investigation, prosecution, and prevention of automobile insurance claims fraud, and to provide assistance to the division towards implementing the goal of reducing the frequency and severity of fraudulent automobile insurance claims, among other things. This bill would repeal the provisions establishing the advisory committee. (8) This bill would make various technical and conforming changes.
Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state to promote and encourage the use of solar energy systems, as defined, and to limit obstacles to their use. Existing law provides that the implementation of consistent statewide standards to achieve timely and cost-effective installation of solar energy systems is not a municipal affair, but is instead a matter of statewide concern. Existing law requires a city or county to administratively approve applications to install solar energy systems through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit. Existing law requires fees charged by a local agency for specified purposes, including permits, to not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged, unless a question regarding the amount of the fee charged in excess of this cost is submitted to, and approved by, 23 of the electors. This bill would require permit fees for rooftop solar energy systems, as specified, by a city, county, city or county, or charter city to not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged, which cannot exceed $500 plus $15 per kilowatt for each kilowatt above 15kW for residential rooftop solar energy systems, and $1,000 plus $7 per kilowatt for each kilowatt between 51kW and 250kW, plus $5 for every kilowatt above 250kW, for commercial rooftop solar energy systems, unless certain conditions are met. By requiring local agencies to perform additional duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 these statutory provisions. The provisions of the bill would remain in effect only until January 1, 2018.
Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate community care facilities, including foster family agencies and other facilities that provide foster care services for children. A violation of community care facility provisions is a misdemeanor. Existing law requires the department to develop, and an administrator of a group home facility to complete, a certification program that includes training in various areas, including the rights of foster children. Existing law requires a foster family agency to provide, and a licensed foster parent to complete, preplacement training and additional annual training in various areas, including the rights of foster children. Existing law also requires a community college district with a foster care education program to make orientation and training available to a relative or nonrelative extended family member caregiver, as specified. The bill would require the training for an administrator of a group home facility, licensed foster parent, and relative or nonrelative extended family member caregiver to also include instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in out-of-home care. Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that foster children have specified rights. This bill would provide that foster children also have the right to have caregivers and child welfare personnel who have received instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to LGBT youth in out-of-home care.
(1) Existing law makes it unlawful to engage in specified practices, unfair methods of competition, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in a transaction intended to result or that results in the sale or lease of goods or services, including making false or misleading statements concerning the existence of price reductions, or the home solicitation of a consumer who is a senior citizen where a loan is made encumbering the primary residence of that consumer for purposes of paying for home improvements. A consumer who suffers damages as a result of the use or employment of the prohibited acts or practices may bring an action to recover civil damages of at least $1,000, and, if the victim is a senior citizen and the trier of fact makes specified findings, including that the consumer has suffered substantial physical, emotional, or economic damage resulting from the defendant's conduct, to recover an additional amount of up to $5,000. This bill would expand that provision to include advertising or promoting any event, presentation, seminar, workshop, or other public gathering regarding veterans' benefits or entitlements that does not include a statement that the person disseminating the statement is not authorized to file an initial application for veterans' benefits or that the event is not sponsored by or affiliated with specified veterans' organizations, including the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill would also make a conforming change. (2) Existing law provides that all insurers, brokers, agents, and others engaged in the transaction of insurance owe a prospective insured who is 65 years of age or older, a duty of honesty, good faith, and fair dealing. This duty is in addition to any other duty, whether express or implied, that may exist. This bill would make it unlawful for an insurance agent who is not licensed as an attorney to deliver to a person who is 65 years of age or older, or for an insurance agent who is licensed as an attorney to deliver to a person who is 65 years of age or older, a living trust or other legal document, other than an insurance contract or other insurance product document, except as specified. (3) Existing law requires any person who meets with a senior in the senior's home to deliver a specified notice to the senior in writing and in 14-point type no less than 24 hours prior to that individual's initial meeting in the senior's home. This bill would additionally require the notice to be delivered no more than 14 days prior to the meeting. The bill would also require that the notice be a stand-alone document in 16-point, rather than 14-point, type, that the notice include specified information regarding the agent, including his or her full name and license number, and that the notice include a specified statement. (4) Existing law sets certain standards with regard to any advertisement, as defined, or other device designed to produce leads based on a response from a potential insured that is directed to a person 65 years of age or older, including, but not limited to, disclosing certain information, not using certain language, names, letters, or symbols, and not using specified deceptive or misleading practices and materials. This bill would change the definition of advertisement to also include worksheets, questionnaires, or other materials designed to collect personal or financial information about a prospective insured or annuitant. The bill would also add veterans organizations or agencies and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to the list of those entities that cannot be used in specified deceptive or misleading advertising practices and materials.
Existing law governs the release of a patient's medical records and medical information by a health care provider, health care service plan, pharmaceutical company, or provider. A violation of these provisions that causes economic loss or personal injury to a patient is punishable as a misdemeanor. Under existing law, a patient may inspect his or her medical records if the patient or his or her representative, as defined, presents a written request to the health care provider. Existing law also authorizes a health care provider, health care service plan, pharmaceutical company, or contractor to release a patient's medical information after receiving a valid signed authorization from the patient, the patient's legal representative, as defined, if the patient is a minor or incompetent, and other specified individuals. Existing law provides that a minor may be removed from the physical custody of his or her parents in dependency proceedings if there is a substantial danger to the physical health of the child or the child is suffering severe emotional damage and there are no reasonable means to protect the child without removing him or her. This bill would prohibit a psychotherapist, as defined, who knows that a minor has been removed from the physical custody of his or her parent or guardian in dependency proceedings, from releasing or disclosing the information in the mental health records of that minor patient to the patient's parent or guardian based solely on an authorization to release those records signed by the parent or guardian, and from allowing the parent or guardian to inspect or obtain those records, unless the juvenile court has authorized the parent or guardian to sign an authorization for the release of those records after finding that the authorization order would not be detrimental to the minor. Under the bill, when the juvenile court issues such an order, the parent or guardian would be required to present a copy of the order to the psychotherapist before the release of the records or any information about the minor. When presented with the order, the psychotherapist would have no duty to inquire into whether a minor has been removed from the physical custody of his or her parent or guardian in dependency proceedings. Because a violation of these provisions that causes economic loss or personal injury to a patient would be punishable as a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would not affect a psychotherapist's ability to deny a parent's or guardian's request to inspect or obtain a minor's records in specified circumstances, and would not affect the psychotherapist's immunity from liability for that decision. 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 vests in the State Department of Developmental Services jurisdiction over state hospitals referred to as developmental centers for the provision of residential care to persons with developmental disabilities. Existing law requires a developmental center to immediately report all resident deaths and serious injuries of unknown origin to the appropriate local law enforcement agency. Existing law establishes the Office of Protective Services within the State Department of Developmental Services. This bill would instead require a developmental center to immediately report a death, a sexual assault, an assault with a deadly weapon by a nonresident of the developmental center, an assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, an injury to the genitals when the cause of injury is undetermined, or a broken bone when the cause of the break is undetermined, to the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the city or county in which the developmental center is located, regardless of whether the Office of Protective Services has investigated the facts and circumstances relating to the incident. The bill would require the developmental center to submit a written report of the incident to the local law enforcement agency within 2 working days of any telephone report to that agency. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 4427.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, proposed by SB 1051, to be operative only if SB 1051 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2013, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law relative to private energy producers requires every electric utility, as defined, to make available to an eligible customer‑generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering 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. Existing law requires the electric utility, upon an affirmative election by the eligible customer-generator to receive service pursuant to this contract or tariff, to either: (1) provide net surplus electricity compensation for any net surplus electricity generated in the 12-month period, or (2) allow the eligible customer-generator to apply the net surplus electricity as a credit for kilowatthours subsequently supplied by the electric utility to the surplus customer-generator. This bill would authorize an eligible customer-generator with multiple meters to elect to aggregate the electrical load of the meters located on the property where the generation facility is located and on all property adjacent or contiguous to the property on which the generation facility is located, if those properties are solely owned, leased, or rented by the eligible customer-generator, as provided. For an electric utility that is an electrical corporation, the bill would condition this authorization upon the commission making a determination that permitting eligible customer-generators to aggregate their load from multiple meters will not result in an increase in the expected revenue obligations of customers who are not eligible customer-generators. For an electric utility that is a local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative, the bill would condition this authorization upon the utility's ratemaking authority, as defined, making a determination that permitting aggregation will not result in an increase in the expected revenue obligations of customers who are not eligible customer-generators. The bill would prohibit an eligible customer-generator that chooses to aggregate from receiving net surplus electricity compensation and require the electric utility to retain kilowatthours, as prescribed. Existing law establishes a net energy metering program that is available to an eligible fuel cell customer-generator, as defined. Existing law requires that the net metering calculation be made by measuring the difference between the electricity supplied to the eligible fuel cell customer-generator and the electricity generated by the eligible fuel cell customer-generator and fed back to the electrical grid over a 12-month period. Existing law requires that an electrical corporation determine if the eligible fuel cell customer-generator was a net consumer or producer of electricity during the 12-month period. For purposes of making this determination, existing law requires that the electrical corporation aggregate the electrical load of the eligible fuel cell customer-generator under the same ownership. This bill would require that in making the determination whether the eligible fuel cell customer-generator is a net consumer or producer of electricity during the 12-month period, the electrical corporation is to aggregate the electrical load of the meters located on the property where the eligible fuel cell electrical generation facility is located and on all property adjacent or contiguous to the property on which the facility is located, if those properties are solely owned, leased, or rented by the eligible fuel cell customer-generator. 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 the bill would require an expansion of the above-described net energy metering programs and would require an order or decision of the commission to implement, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a 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. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 2827.10 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by AB 2165, to be operative only if AB 2165 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2013, and this bill is chaptered last.