This measure would proclaim May 1 through May 8, 2011, as California Holocaust Memorial Week and would urge Californians to observe these days of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, as defined. Under the Public Utilities Act, a public utility is required to seek commission approval prior to selling, leasing, assigning, mortgaging, or otherwise disposing of or encumbering any property necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to the public. This bill would prohibit a public utility from paying or transferring moneys to its holding company unless approved by a 23 vote of the public utility's ratepayers. 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 provisions of this bill would be a part of the act, the 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.
Existing law, the Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act, which establishes the Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation, requires that all seating furniture sold or offered for sale for use in this state be fire retardant, as defined, and requires all bedding products, other than mattresses and mattress sets, that the bureau determines to contribute to mattress bedding fires to comply with specified regulations adopted by the bureau. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions a crime. This bill would exempt strollers, infant carriers, bassinets, and nursing pillows from those requirements, and would require products that do not meet those requirements to be labeled in a specified manner. The bill would authorize the bureau to modify this exemption if it determines that any of the exempted products pose a serious fire hazard. Because a violation of the labeling requirement would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides for the imposition of the death penalty as punishment for first-degree murder with special circumstances, train wrecking causing death, treason against the state, perjury resulting in the execution of an innocent person, and fatal assault by a convict serving a life sentence. This bill would prohibit a person from being executed pursuant to a judgment that was either sought or obtained on the basis of race if the court makes a finding that race was a significant factor in seeking or imposing the death penalty. The bill would provide that a finding that race was a significant factor would include statistical evidence or other evidence that death sentences were sought or imposed significantly more frequently upon persons of one race than upon persons of another race or that race was a significant factor in decisions to exercise preemptory challenges during jury selection. This bill would state that it applies retroactively. Because this bill would place additional duties on prosecutors, it 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) The California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 requires a retailer to obtain a license from the State Board of Equalization to engage in the sale of cigarette and tobacco products in this state, requires a retailer to obtain a separate license for each retail location, requires retailer licensees to pay a one-time license fee of $100, no renewal fee, and a reinstatement fee of $100 if the license is renewed after lapse, and authorizes the board to suspend or revoke the license of any retailer of tobacco products that is in violation of the act. Existing law requires all moneys collected pursuant to the act to be deposited in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund, which is available for appropriation by the Legislature solely for the purpose of implementing, enforcing, and administering the California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003. This bill would specify that a new license may not be issued to a retailer for a retail location that is located within 600 feet of a school, except as specified. This bill would prohibit the board from issuing a new license to a retailer for a retail location in an area of overconcentration, as defined. The bill would authorize the board to issue a new license if the local governing body of the area in which the applicant's premises are located, or its designated subordinate officer or body, determines that public convenience or necessity would be served by the issuance. The bill would require that determination to be made within 90 days of notification of a completed application, as specified, except that if the local governing body, or its designated subordinate officer or body, did not make a determination within 90 days the license would be deemed denied. The board would be authorized to issue a license if the determination is made within the 90-day period and the applicant shows that public convenience or necessity would be served by the issuance. The bill would set the renewal fee at $100. This bill would allow, under specified circumstances, a retailer to transfer an existing license to another person for continued use at the same location upon the sale or transfer of the business holding the license, if the business is in an area of overconcentration. This bill would require the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the State Department of Public Health to provide specified information to the board upon request. (2) Existing law, the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement Act or STAKE Act, establishes various requirements for retailers relating to tobacco sales to minors. Existing law also makes it a misdemeanor for a retailer to knowingly or under circumstances in which it has knowledge, or should otherwise have grounds for knowledge, sell, give, or in any way furnish a minor with tobacco products or paraphernalia. Under existing law, violation of the STAKE Act or the misdemeanor provision result in State Board of Equalization action, on a set schedule, relating to the licensure of the retailer when the youth purchase survey finds that 13% or more of youth are able to purchase cigarettes, and makes the board's authority inoperative when a youth purchase survey shows less than 13% of youth were able to purchase cigarettes. This bill would allow the board to take action relating to the licensure of retailers who have violated the STAKE Act and misdemeanor provisions at any time, would require the enforcing agency to notify the board of a conviction of a violation in a timely manner, and would require the board to take appropriate action upon that notification. This bill would delete the provision conditioning the board's authority to take action against retailers on the results of a youth purchase survey. This bill would also modify the schedule of actions taken by the board for violations. This bill would require the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the State Department of Public Health to provide specified information to the board upon request.
This measure would urge the President and Congress of the United States to take specified actions relating to the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Existing law prohibits a person or entity from entering into a contract or agreement for labor or services with specified types of contractors if the person or entity knows or should know that the contract or agreement does not include funds sufficient to allow the contractor to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws or regulations governing the labor or services to be provided. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law establishes the State Air Resources Board, which is responsible for control of emissions from motor vehicles and is designated the air pollution control agency for all purposes set forth in federal law. Existing law vests air pollution control districts and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law establishes maximum criminal and civil penalties for any person that violates specified nonvehicular air pollution laws. This bill would require the state board, on March 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, to adjust these maximum civil and criminal penalties for inflation, and to publish the inflation-adjusted maximum penalties on its Internet Web site.
Existing law regulates the labeling requirements for various consumer products. This bill would require specific language relating to the specific absorption rate, as defined, to be included at the point of sale on the Internet Web site of a phone service provider or manufacturer, on the exterior packaging, and in the instruction manuals of cellular telephone devices, as defined, that are sold in the State of California.
Existing law regulates the use and possession of less lethal weapons and stun guns, which are defined to include weapons able or intended to stun or immobilize a person, like the electrical weapons commonly known as tasers. This bill would codify the holding of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Bryan v. McPherson (2009) 590 F.3d 767, relating to the use of tasers by law enforcement, would make findings and declarations about electronic control weapons, and would encourage law enforcement agencies to establish use of force policies regarding those weapons, as specified. The bill would provide that an electronic control weapon, as defined, may only be used when objectively reasonable and compatible with specified constitutional provisions and may not be used in the absence of a threat of imminent physical harm to the officer or to others.
