Existing law requires that, upon a breach of the obligation of a mortgage or transfer of an interest in property, the trustee, mortgagee, or beneficiary record a notice of default in the office of the county recorder where the mortgaged or trust property is situated and mail the notice of default to the mortgagor or trustor. Existing law provides that, after not less than 3 months after the filing of the notice of default, the parties described above may give notice of sale, stating the time and place of the sale, as specified. Existing law requires, until January 1, 2013, a mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent to contact the borrower, as defined, prior to filing a notice of default, in order to assess the borrower's financial situation and explore options for the borrower to avoid foreclosure. Existing law requires the notice of default to include a specified declaration from the mortgagee, beneficiary, or authorized agent regarding its contact with the borrower. This bill would, until January 1, 2013, require a mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent, prior to the filing of a notice of default, to provide the borrower with an application for a loan modification and other foreclosure avoidance options and a specified notice regarding the borrower's rights during the foreclosure process, subject to specified exceptions. The bill would require an unspecified state entity to make that notice available in English and specified languages. This bill would prohibit the mortgagee, beneficiary, or authorized agent from combining collections activity with communication with the borrower about foreclosure avoidance options. The bill would delete the requirement that the notice of default contain a specified declaration, and would instead require the mortgagee, beneficiary, or authorized agent to, concurrently with the filing of a notice of default, record a declaration of compliance that attests to specified facts, and mail the borrower a notice stating that these requirements have been met. The bill would provide that failure to record a declaration of compliance, or recordation of a declaration of compliance that fails to meet the specified requirements, would constitute grounds for the borrower to bring an action to void the foreclosure, or to recover either treble damages or statutory damages in the amount of $10,000, whichever is greater, from the mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent, if specified conditions exist. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on January 8, 2010. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 8, 2010, pursuant to the California Constitution.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, that generally requires employers to secure the payment of workers' compensation, including medical treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, and in the course of, employment. Existing law provides certain methods for determining workers' compensation benefits payable to a worker or his or her dependents for purposes of temporary disability, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and in case of death. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would adjust the amount of permanent partial disability benefits paid to workers in order to ensure that the benefits are fair, adequate, and more favorably aligned when compared with permanent partial disability benefits paid to workers in other states. This bill would provide for increased permanent partial disability benefits for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2010. Existing law requires the payment of workers' compensation benefits for injuries causing permanent disability to be computed in accordance with a prescribed formula. This bill would revise the formula for computing permanent disability payments for injuries causing permanent disability, that occur on or after January 1, 2010, as specified.
The Outdoor Advertising Act regulates placement of advertising displays adjacent to and within specified distances of highways that are part of the national system of interstate and defense highways and federal-aid highways. The act provides that lawfully erected advertising displays include displays that were erected in compliance with state laws and local ordinances in effect at the time of their erection or displays that were subsequently brought into full compliance with state laws and local ordinances. The act provides that an advertising display whose use is modified after erection in a manner that causes it to become illegal is not a lawfully erected display. The act establishes a rebuttable presumption that an advertising display is lawfully erected if it has been in existence for a period of 5 years or longer without the owner having received written notice during that period from a governmental entity indicating that the display was not lawfully erected. The act requires compensation to be paid to the owner of a lawfully erected advertising display if the display is compelled to be removed or its customary maintenance or use is limited, except as specified. This bill would additionally provide that an advertising display whose height, orientation, or size is modified after erection in a manner that causes it to become illegal is not a lawfully erected display. The bill would provide that a lawfully erected advertising display includes displays that were subsequently brought into, and maintained in, full compliance with state laws, local ordinances, and building permits. The bill would delete the provisions establishing the rebuttable presumption regarding an advertising display in existence for a period of 5 years or longer. The bill would instead establish a rebuttable presumption that an advertising display is lawfully erected if it was in existence prior to January 1, 1984. The bill would also authorize advertising displays that are subsequently altered in violation of the terms of a building permit to be removed without compensation. 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 requires the State Department of Social Services and the California Health and Human Services Agency Data Center to design, implement, and maintain a statewide fingerprint imaging system for use in connection with the determination of eligibility for benefits under the CalWORKs program, excluding the Aid to Families with Dependent Children‑Foster Care program, and the Food Stamp Program. Existing law, with specified exceptions, requires applicants for, and recipients of, CalWORKs and Food Stamp Program benefits, as a condition of eligibility, to be fingerprint imaged, pursuant to the statewide fingerprint imaging system. This bill would, instead, require the department and the Office of Systems Integration to design, implement, and maintain the system. The bill would require the fingerprint imaging system to apply to use under the Food Stamp Program only to the extent the applicants for, or recipients of, food stamps also apply for or receive designated nonhealth benefits associated with county aid and relief to indigents.
Existing law establishes various programs for the prevention of disease and the promotion of health to be administered by the State Department of Public Health, including, but not limited to, programs relating to the reporting of pesticide poisoning. Existing law establishes a program under the jurisdiction of the Department of Food and Agriculture for invasive pest planning, including, but not limited to, invasive pest eradication through aerial spraying of urban areas. This bill would, in the event of an emergency exemption from registration pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) , or a Federal Domestic Quarantine Order issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, prohibit the use of a pesticide in aerial application within or near residential or sensitive sites, as specified, where humans are likely to become exposed to the pesticide unless the manufacturer of the pesticide has previously and voluntarily made the complete ingredient list, including, but not limited to, all inert ingredients, as defined, available to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. The bill would require the director to provide a complete list of all ingredients to specified officials and care providers, and would require the director to seek federal reimbursement for all state costs associated with the emergency, as permitted by federal law. This bill would declare that its provisions are severable, and that if any provision or its application is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
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. A retailer owning more than one retail location must obtain a separate license for each retail location. 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, and would limit the issuance of licenses to retailers for a traditional retail location, as defined. 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.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires the PUC to require the state's 3 largest electrical corporations, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison, to identify a separate electrical rate component to fund programs that enhance system reliability and provide in-state benefits. This rate component is a nonbypassable element of local distribution and collected on the basis of usage. Existing PUC resolutions refer to the nonbypassable rate component as a "public goods charge." The public goods charge moneys are collected to support cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities, public interest research and development not adequately provided by competitive and regulated markets, and renewable energy resources. The existing Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) . Existing law establishes the Renewable Resource Trust Fund as a fund that is continuously appropriated, with certain exceptions for administrative expenses, in the State Treasury and requires that certain moneys collected to support renewable energy resources through the public goods charge are deposited into the fund and authorizes the Energy Commission to expend the moneys pursuant to the Renewable Energy Resources Program. The program states the intent of the Legislature to increase the amount of electricity generated from eligible renewable energy resources per year so that amount equals at least 20% of total retail sales of electricity in California per year by December 31, 2010. This bill would revise the Renewable Energy Resources Program to state the intent of the Legislature to increase the amount of electricity generated from eligible renewable energy resources per year, so that amount equals at least 33% of total retail sales of electricity in California per year by December 31, 2020. The bill would revise certain terms used in the program and revise certain eligibility criteria for a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined, pursuant to the program. The bill would require the Energy Commission, by May 31, 2010, to report to the Legislature whether out-of-state, run-of-river hydroelectric generating facilities should be considered renewable electric generating facilities, as defined. (2) Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature, in establishing the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (RPS program) , to increase the amount of electricity generated per year from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, to an amount that equals at least 20% of the total electricity sold to retail customers in California per year by December 31, 2010. This bill would express the intent that the amount of electricity generated per year from eligible renewable energy resources be increased to an amount that equals at least 20% of the total electricity sold to retail customers in California per year by December 31, 2013, and 33% by December 31, 2020. (3) The Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and responsibilities on the PUC with respect to the purchase of electricity and requires the PUC to review and adopt a procurement plan and a renewable energy procurement plan for each electrical corporation, as defined, pursuant to the RPS program. The RPS program requires that a retail seller of electricity, including electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, and electric service providers, but not including local publicly owned electric utilities, purchase a specified minimum percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources in any given year as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use customers each calendar year. The RPS program requires the PUC to implement annual procurement targets for each retail seller to increase its total procurement of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources by at least an additional 1% of retail sales per year so that 20% of its retail sales of electricity are procured from eligible renewable energy resources no later than December 31, 2010. Existing law requires the PUC to make a determination of the existing market cost for electricity, which PUC decisions call the market price referent, and to limit an electrical corporation's obligation to procure electricity from eligible renewable energy resources, that exceeds the market price referent, to an amount collected through the renewable energy public goods charge. This bill would instead require the PUC to require that a retail seller procure the following percentages of electricity from eligible renewable energy resources by the following dates: (A) Until December 31, 2012, the same percentage as actually achieved by the retail seller during 2009; (B) 20% by December 31, 2013; (C) 25% by December 31, 2016; and (D) 33% by December 31, 2020. The bill would authorize the PUC to permit a retail seller to delay compliance with (B) or (C) procurement levels when specified circumstances are present, but would not authorize the PUC to permit a retail seller to delay compliance with the (D) procurement level. The bill would delete the existing market price referent provisions and instead require the PUC to establish a methodology to determine the market price of electricity for terms corresponding to the length of contracts with eligible renewable energy resources, in consideration of, and reflecting, certain matters. The bill would require the PUC to establish a limitation on the annual expenditures made above the market price, by an electrical corporation, in order to achieve the procurement levels established by the PUC. The bill would require the PUC to permit an electrical corporation to limit its procurement of electricity from eligible renewable energy resources to that quantity that can be procured at or below the market prices established by the PUC, up to the limitation. The bill would delete an existing requirement that the PUC adopt flexible rules for compliance for retail sellers. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the PUC to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. (4) Under existing law, the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility is responsible for implementing and enforcing a renewables portfolio standard for the utility that recognizes the intent of the Legislature to encourage renewable resources, while taking into consideration the effect of the standard on rates, reliability, and financial resources and the goal of environmental improvement. This bill would repeal this provision and instead make certain of the requirements of the RPS program, as discussed below, applicable to local publicly owned electric utilities. By placing additional requirements upon local publicly owned electric utilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law requires the Energy Commission to certify eligible renewable energy resources, to design and implement an accounting system to verify compliance with the RPS requirements by retail sellers, and to develop tracking, accounting, verification, and enforcement mechanisms for renewable energy credits, as defined. This bill would require the Energy Commission to design and implement an accounting system to verify compliance with the RPS requirements by retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities. The bill would require the Energy Commission, among other things, to adopt regulations specifying procedures for enforcement of the RPS requirements that include a public process under which the Energy Commission is authorized to issue a notice of violation and correction with respect to a local publicly owned electric utility and for referral to the State Air Resources Board for penalties imposed pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The bill would require that the RPS established for a local publicly owned electric utility require it to procure the following percentages of electricity from eligible renewable energy resources by the following dates: (A) Until December 31, 2012, the same percentage as actually achieved by the utility during 2009; (B) 20% by December 31, 2013; (C) 25% by December 31, 2016; and (D) 33% by December 31, 2020. The bill would provide that the local publicly owned electric utility retains discretion with respect to certain matters in complying with the RPS, would require that certain notices be given by the utility when adopting and periodically revising its procurement plan, and would require the utility to report certain information relative to RPS compliance to the Energy Commission and its customers. (6) Existing law requires the PUC to prepare and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a written report annually before February 1 of each year on the costs of programs and activities conducted by an electrical corporation or gas corporation that have more than a specified number of customers in California. The bill would require the PUC to prepare and submit to the policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, annually before February 1 of each year, a report on (A) all electrical corporation revenue requirement increases associated with meeting the renewables portfolio standard, (B) all cost savings experienced, or costs avoided, by electrical corporations as a result of meeting the renewables portfolio standard, (C) all costs incurred by electrical corporations for incentives for distributed and renewable generation, (D) all cost savings experienced, or costs avoided, by electrical corporations as a result of incentives for distributed generation and renewable generation, (E) specified costs for which an electrical corporation is seeking recovery in rates that are pending determination or approval by the PUC, (F) the decision number of each PUC decision in the prior year authorizing an electrical corporation to recover costs incurred in rates, and (G) any changes in the prior year in load serviced by an electrical corporation. (7) This bill would appropriate $322,000 from the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account to the PUC for additional staffing to identify, review, and approve transmission lines reasonably necessary or appropriate to facilitate achievement of the renewables portfolio standard. (8) 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 specified reasons.
Existing law generally regulates the transfer of firearms and divides the state into agricultural districts. District 1-A is the County of San Mateo and the City and County of San Francisco. A violation of statutes governing agricultural districts is a misdemeanor. This bill would prohibit events at which firearms and ammunition are sold at the Cow Palace, as specified, located in District 1-A, except as provided, and would thereby make a violation of that prohibition a misdemeanor. The bill would authorize up to 5 of those events per year for 3 years and would require the district to replace those events with nonfirearm and nonammunition events, as provided. By creating a new crime, 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.
(1) Existing law requires that, for private and public works of improvement, and in a public works contract, a prime contractor or subcontractor pay to any subcontractor, not later than 10 days after receipt of each progress payment, unless otherwise agreed to in writing, the respective amount allowed the contractor on account of the work performed by the subcontractors, to the extent of each contractor's interest therein, as prescribed. This bill would, instead, require that those amounts be paid not later than 7 days after receipt of each progress payment. (2) Existing law requires, with regard to a contract entered into on or after January 1, 1995, in order to enforce a claim upon any payment bond given in connection with a public work, that a claimant give the 20-day public works bond preliminary notice, as provided. Existing law further authorizes a claimant, if the 20-day public works preliminary bond notice was not given as prescribed by statute, to enforce a claim by giving written notice to the surety and the bond principal, as provided, within 15 days after recordation of a notice of completion, or if no notice of completion has been recorded, within 75 days after completion of the work of improvement. This bill would, instead, with regard to a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2010, require that the written notice to be given to the surety and the bond principal be given prior to the completion, as defined, of the project, or recordation of a notice of completion. (3) Existing law authorizes the Department of General Services, or any other department with authority to enter into contracts, to contract with suppliers for goods and services and for public works. Existing law provides that in a contract relating to the construction of a public work of improvement between the public entity and original contractor, the original contractor and a subcontractor, and in a contract between a subcontractor and any subcontractor thereunder, the percentage of retention proceeds withheld cannot exceed the percentage specified in the contract between the public entity and the original contractor. This bill would instead prohibit retention proceeds from exceeding 5% of the payment, as specified, for those contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2010, between a public entity, as defined, and an original contractor, between an original contractor and a subcontractor, and between all subcontractors thereunder. (4) Existing law contains various provisions relating to contracts for the performance of public works of improvement, including provisions for the payment of progress payments and the disbursing and withholding of retention proceeds. Existing law prohibits progress payments upon these contracts from being made in excess of 95% of the percentage of actual work completed plus a like percentage of the value of material delivered, as specified, and requires the Department of General Services to withhold not less than 5% of the contract price until final completion and acceptance of the project. This bill would, until December 31, 2013, instead, prohibit progress payments upon these contracts from being made in excess of 100% of the percentage of actual work completed, and would require the Department of General Services to withhold not more than 5% of the contract price until final completion and acceptance of the project.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires the PUC to require the state's 3 largest electrical corporations, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison, to identify a separate electrical rate component to fund programs that enhance system reliability and provide in-state benefits. This rate component is a nonbypassable element of local distribution and collected on the basis of usage. Existing PUC resolutions refer to the nonbypassable rate component as a "public goods charge." The public goods charge moneys are collected to support cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities, public interest research and development not adequately provided by competitive and regulated markets, and renewable energy resources. The existing Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) . Existing law establishes the Renewable Resource Trust Fund as a fund that is continuously appropriated, with certain exceptions for administrative expenses, in the State Treasury and requires that certain moneys collected to support renewable energy resources through the public goods charge are deposited into the fund and authorizes the Energy Commission to expend the moneys pursuant to the Renewable Energy Resources Program. This bill would make conforming changes to terms used in the Renewable Energy Resources Program statutes that would be made by SB 14 of the 2009–10 Regular Session. (2) The Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and responsibilities on the PUC with respect to the purchase of electricity and requires the PUC to review and adopt a procurement plan and a renewable energy procurement plan for each electrical corporation pursuant to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (RPS program) . The RPS program requires that a retail seller of electricity, including electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, and electric service providers, but not including local publicly owned electric utilities, purchase a specified minimum percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources in any given year as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use customers each calendar year. The RPS program requires the PUC to implement annual procurement targets for each retail seller to increase its total procurement of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources by at least an additional 1% of retail sales per year so that 20% of its retail sales of electricity are procured from eligible renewable energy resources no later than December 31, 2010. Existing law requires the PUC to make a determination of the existing market cost for electricity, which PUC decisions call the market price referent, and to limit an electrical corporation's obligation to procure electricity from eligible renewable energy resources, that exceeds the market price referent, to an amount collected through the renewable energy public goods charge. This bill would delete an existing requirement that the PUC adopt flexible rules for compliance for retail sellers. The bill would require the PUC to direct each electrical corporation to prepare a renewable energy procurement plan that includes certain matter and to review and update the plan. The bill would, to the extent feasible, require that the renewable energy procurement plan be proposed, reviewed, and adopted by the PUC pursuant to the general procurement plan process. The bill would require that an electrical corporation's proposed procurement plan include a showing that the electrical corporation will, in order to fulfill its unmet resource needs, procure resources from eligible renewable energy resources in an amount sufficient to meet its procurement targets pursuant to the RPS program. The bill would authorize an electrical corporation to apply to the PUC for approval to construct, own, and operate an eligible renewable energy resource and require the PUC to approve the application if certain conditions are met, until corporation owned and operated resources provide 8.5% of the corporation's anticipated retail sales. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because certain provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the PUC to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. (3) The Public Utilities Act prohibits any electrical corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the PUC a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction, termed a certificate of public convenience and necessity. Existing law requires the PUC, in acting upon an application by an electrical corporation for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, to deem new transmission facilities necessary to the provision of electric service if the PUC finds that new transmission facilities are necessary to facilitate achievement of the renewable power goals established under the RPS program. Existing law requires the PUC, upon finding that new transmission facilities are necessary to facilitate achievement of the renewable power goals established under the RPS, to take all feasible actions to ensure that the transmission rates established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are fully reflected in any retail rates established by the PUC. This bill would require the PUC to issue a decision on an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity within 18 months of the filing of a completed application under specified circumstances. The bill would require the PUC, in acting upon an application by an electrical corporation for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, to deem new transmission facilities necessary to the provision of electric service if the PUC finds that new transmission facilities are reasonably necessary or appropriate to facilitate achievement of the renewables portfolio standard. The bill would require the PUC to provide assurance of the eligibility for recovery in retail rates of any increase in transmission costs incurred by an electrical corporation resulting from the construction of transmission facilities in certain circumstances and to allow recovery in retail rates of any increase in transmission costs if not approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission if the PUC determines the costs were prudently incurred pursuant to a specified law. (4) Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Game in the Natural Resources Agency, and generally charges the department with the administration and enforcement of the Fish and Game Code. This bill would require the department to establish an internal division with the primary purpose of performing comprehensive planning and environmental compliance services with priority given to projects involving the building of eligible renewable energy resources. (5) The existing restructuring of the electrical industry within the Public Utilities Act provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) . Existing law requires the ISO to ensure efficient use and reliable operation of the transmission grid consistent with achieving planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the American Electric Reliability Council. Pursuant to existing law, the ISO's tariffs are required to be approved by the FERC. This bill would require the ISO and other California balancing authorities to work cooperatively to integrate and interconnect eligible renewable energy resources to the transmission grid by the most efficient means possible with the goal of minimizing the impact and cost of new transmission facilities needed to meet both reliability needs and the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements, and to accomplish this in a manner that respects the ownership, business, and dispatch models for transmission facilities owned by electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, joint power agencies, and merchant transmission companies. (6) The bill would require the Energy Commission, by July 1, 2010, to update previously conducted studies relating to determining the effective load carrying capacity of wind and solar energy resources on the electrical grid. The bill would require the PUC to use those values in establishing the contribution of those resources toward meeting specified resource adequacy requirements. (7) 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. (8) The provisions of the bill would only become operative if the bill and SB 14 of the 2009–10 Regular Session are both enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2010.