This measure would urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue final rules protecting consumers' interests with respect to mandatory arbitration clauses that prohibit class actions.
(1) Existing law generally prohibits the possession or transfer of assault weapons, except for the sale, purchase, importation, or possession of assault weapons by specified individuals, including law enforcement officers. Under existing law, "assault weapon" means, among other things, a semiautomatic centerfire rifle or a semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and has any one of specified attributes, including, for rifles, a thumbhole stock, and for pistols, a 2nd handgrip. This bill would revise this definition of "assault weapon" to mean a semiautomatic centerfire rifle or a semiautomatic pistol that does not have a fixed magazine but has any one of those specified attributes. The bill would also define "fixed magazine" to mean an ammunition feeding device contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm in such a manner that the device cannot be removed without disassembly of the firearm action. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law makes any person who, within this state, possesses an assault weapon, except as otherwise provided, guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony. This bill would exempt from punishment under that prohibition a person who possessed an assault weapon prior to January 1, 2017, if specified requirements are met. (3) Existing law requires that, with specified exceptions, any person who, prior to January 1, 2001, lawfully possessed an assault weapon prior to the date it was defined as an assault weapon, and which was not specified as an assault weapon at the time of lawful possession, register the firearm with the Department of Justice. Existing law permits the Department of Justice to charge a fee for registration of up to $20 per person but not to exceed the actual processing costs of the department. Existing law, after the department establishes fees sufficient to reimburse the department for processing costs, requires fees charged to increase at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved annual cost-of-living adjustment for the department's budget or as otherwise increased through the Budget Act. Existing law requires those fees to be deposited into the Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, establishes the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. This bill would require that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, register the firearm with the Department of Justice before January 1, 2018, but not before the effective date of specified regulations. The bill would permit the department to increase the $20 registration fee as long as it does not exceed the reasonable processing costs of the department. The bill would also require registrations to be submitted electronically via the Internet utilizing a public-facing application made available by the department. The bill would require the registration to contain specified information, including, but not limited to, a description of the firearm that identifies it uniquely and specified information about the registrant. The bill would permit the department to charge a fee of up to $15 per person for registration through the Internet, not to exceed the reasonable processing costs of the department to be paid and deposited, as specified, for purposes of the registration program. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for the purpose of implementing those provisions and would exempt those regulations from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would also make technical and conforming changes. (4) 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. (5) This bill would become operative only if SB 880 of the 2015–16 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2017.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires the commission, in order to achieve transparency and accountability for rate revenues and best value for ratepayers, to consider, among other things, providing revenues for all activities identified and required by certain rules and procedures governing the operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities, including any adjustment of allowance for lost and unaccounted for gas related to actual leakage volumes. This bill, on or after January 1, 2019, to the extent feasible and in appropriate proceedings, as determined by the commission, would prohibit the commission from allowing a gas corporation to seek or receive recovery from ratepayers for the value of natural gas lost to the atmosphere from certain natural gas facilities under the control of the gas corporation, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee the state prison system. Existing law authorizes Security Housing Units for segregation of certain prisoners for disciplinary or security purposes, and because of gang membership or association. Existing law requires a prisoner of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to be awarded credit reductions from his or her term of confinement of 6 months for every 6 months of continuous confinement, as specified. Existing law provides for up to 6 weeks of additional credit in a 12-month period for the successful completion of certain rehabilitative programs, for certain inmates, as specified. Existing law makes a person who is placed in a Security Housing Unit, Psychiatric Services Unit, Behavioral Management Unit, or an Administrative Segregation Unit for specified misconduct, or upon validation as a prison gang member or associate, ineligible to earn credits pursuant to these provisions. This bill would repeal those provisions regarding ineligibility to earn credits and instead require the department, no later than July 1, 2017, to establish regulations to allow specified inmates placed in segregation housing to earn credits during the time he or she is in segregation housing.
Under existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control through the Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a special on-sale general license to the operator of any for-profit theater located within the City and County of San Francisco, as specified. Existing law prohibits that special on-sale general license from being issued until any existing licenses issued by the department to the operator for the premises of the for-profit theater are canceled. This bill would delete that prohibition. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would recognize the contributions of the California Conservation Corps on the 40th anniversary of its creation.
This measure would recognize the year of 2016 as the 50th anniversary of California's community-based developmental services system, and would reaffirm the commitment of the Legislature to support this system. This measure would declare the importance of ensuring a sustainable system that protects the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities.
Existing law, until January 1, 2017, specifies, when a judgment of imprisonment is to be imposed and the statute specifies 3 possible terms, that the choice of the appropriate term shall rest within the sound discretion of the court. Existing law, on and after January 1, 2017, requires, in that situation, the court to order imposition of the middle term, unless there are circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime. Existing law also requires the court to set forth on the record the facts and reasons for imposing the upper or lower term and the reason for its sentencing choice. Existing law prohibits the court from imposing an upper term based upon the fact of any enhancement upon which sentence is imposed. This bill would also prohibit the court from imposing an upper term based upon aggravating facts unless those facts are presented to, and found to be true by, the factfinder. The bill would require the court to specify on the record the specific facts in aggravation, if any, the court relied upon to impose an upper term. The bill would also prohibit a fact pleaded in the indictment, information, or accusatory pleading in aggravation of sentence from being used as an aggravating factor in sentencing unless that fact has been proven to the trier of fact or admitted by the defendant. The bill would also require the bifurcation of the trial of all facts pleaded in aggravation of sentence, as specified. By increasing the duties of local prosecutors with regards to presenting and proving aggravating facts, this 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 establishes the "Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights," which, among other things, encourages a law enforcement agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault offenses to perform DNA testing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence in a timely manner to assure the longest possible statute of limitations. Existing law also requires a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain unsolved sexual assault offenses if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA evidence within certain time limits. This bill would require law enforcement agencies to report information regarding rape kit evidence to the department through a database established by the department. The bill would require that information to include, among other things, the number of kits collected, the number of kits from which one or more biological evidence samples were submitted to a DNA laboratory for analysis, and the number of kits from which a probative DNA profile was generated. The bill would additionally require a public DNA laboratory, or a law enforcement agency contracting with a private laboratory, to provide a reason for not testing a sample every 120 days the sample is untested, except as specified. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the department to file a report to the Legislature on an annual basis summarizing the information in its database. The bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies or laboratories from being compelled to provide any contents of the database in a civil or criminal case, except as required by a law enforcement agency's duty to produce exculpatory evidence to a defendant in a criminal case. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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.
Existing law requires the California Victim Compensation Board to administer a program to assist state residents to obtain compensation for their pecuniary losses suffered as a direct result of criminal acts. Payment is made under these provisions from the Restitution Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the board for these purposes. Existing law requires the California Victim Compensation Board to administer a program to evaluate applications and award grants to trauma recovery centers funded by moneys in the Restitution Fund. This bill would make legislative findings and recognize the Trauma Recovery Center at San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, as the State Pilot Trauma Recovery Center (State Pilot TRC) . The bill would require the board to use the evidence-based Integrated Trauma Recovery Services model developed by the State Pilot TRC when it provides grants to trauma recovery centers. This bill would also require the board to enter into an interagency agreement with the Trauma Recovery Center of the University of California, San Francisco, to establish the State Pilot TRC as the technical assistance provider to the board for the period between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2019. The bill would require the board to select a trauma recovery center, through a competitive process, to be the technical assistance provider every 2 years thereafter and would require that provider to assist the board by providing training materials, technical assistance, and ongoing consultation and programming to the board and to each center to enable the grantees to replicate the evidence-based approach. The bill would authorize the board to provide grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the technical assistance provider, up to a specified amount. The bill would require the board, through a competitive process, to select a 3rd party evaluator to conduct a review of the effectiveness of the trauma resource center model and the work done by grant recipients with the trauma resource center funds.
