Existing law defines a nuisance as one that affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal, and provides that a public nuisance may be remedied by an indictment or information, a civil action, or abatement. This bill would make any property owner, or agent thereof, who participates in a program to abate lead-based paint created as a result of a judgment or settlement in any public nuisance or similar litigation immune from liability in any lawsuit seeking to recover inspection, abatement, or any other costs associated with that abatement program and the activities conducted pursuant to that abatement program.
Sponsored bills
The Planning and Zoning Law authorizes a local agency to provide by ordinance for the creation of accessory dwelling units in single-family and multifamily residential zones, requires that ordinance to designate areas where accessory dwelling units may be permitted, and sets forth standards the ordinance is required to impose, including, among others, maximum unit size, parking, and height standards. Existing law requires a local agency to submit an ordinance adopted for the creation of accessory dwelling units to the Department of Housing and Community Development and authorizes the department to review and comment on the ordinance. Existing law requires an application for an accessory dwelling unit permit to be considered, as specified, within 120 days of receiving it. This bill would require the ordinance for the creation of accessory dwelling units to designate areas where accessory dwelling units may be excluded for health and safety purposes, as specified. The bill would revise the standards for the local ordinance to, among other things, delete the authority to include lot coverage standards, and include a prohibition on considering the square footage of a proposed accessory dwelling unit when calculating an allowable floor-to-area ratio or lot coverage ratio for the lot. The bill would require that a permit application for an accessory dwelling unit be approved or disapproved within 60 days and would specify that if a local agency does not act on an application for a accessory dwelling unit within 60 days, then the application shall be deemed approved. The bill would prohibit a local agency from requiring that offstreet parking spaces be replaced when a garage, carport, or covered parking structure is demolished or converted in conjunction with the construction of an accessory dwelling unit. The bill would prohibit another local ordinance, policy, or regulation from being the basis for the delay of the issuance of a building permit or use permit for an accessory dwelling unit. The bill would delete provisions authorizing a local agency to require owner occupancy by the permit applicant and would declare an agreement with a local agency to maintain owner occupancy as void and unenforceable. The bill would authorize the department, upon submission of an adopted ordinance for the creation of accessory dwelling units, to submit written findings to the local agency regarding whether the ordinance complies with statutory provisions. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement uniform standards or criteria to supplement or clarify the terms, references, or standards set forth in statute and would exempt the adoption of those guidelines from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would, until January 1, 2029, also require a local building official, upon request of the owner of the accessory dwelling unit, to approve a delay of not less than 10 years of the enforcement of any building code requirement that, in the judgment of the building official, is not necessary to protect public health and safety. By increasing the duties of local agencies with respect to land use regulations, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also require the department to notify the city, county, or city and county and authorize notice to the Attorney General when the city, county, or city and county is not substantially complying with the above-described provisions regarding accessory dwelling units. The bill would require a local agency to ministerially approve an application for a building permit to create one or more accessory dwelling units if certain criteria are met. Existing law authorizes a local agency to provide by ordinance for the creation of junior accessory dwelling units, as defined, in single-family residential zones and requires the ordinance to include, among other things, standards for the creation of a junior accessory dwelling unit, required deed restrictions, and occupancy requirements. Existing law prohibits an ordinance from requiring, as a condition of granting a permit for a junior accessory dwelling unit, additional parking requirements. The bill would require a local agency to ministerially approve the creation of junior accessory dwelling units in single-family residential zones, if specified criteria are met. 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 the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with jurisdiction over the delivery of electrical services. Existing law provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and requires the ISO to make certain filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and to seek authority from FERC as needed to give the ISO the ability to secure generating and transmission resources necessary to guarantee achievement of planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the North American Electric Reliability Council. This bill would establish a state policy that load serving entities, including local publicly owned electric utilities, should receive direct financial benefit or indirect benefit for their ratepayers for the value of distributed generation resources in avoiding transmission costs. The bill would authorize the PUC, jointly with ISO and in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to convene a stakeholder process to develop modifications of tariffs governing transmission access charges, wheeling access charges, or retail rate structures as necessary to implement that policy and to ensure the tariffs conform to specified conditions. If the stakeholder process is undertaken, the bill would require the completion of the process by July 1, 2020. The bill would require public agencies or corporations with jurisdiction over the modifications to approve those modifications by October 31, 2020. For elements of the modifications that require approval by FERC, the bill would require the submission of those elements to FERC by January 1, 2021, and would require the commission and load serving entities, including local publicly owned electric utilities, with jurisdiction over those elements of the modifications to implement them within one year of the date of approval by FERC. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local publicly owned electric utilities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. If no modifications are approved by October 31, 2020, the bill would require each electrical corporation that recovers transmission charges from the customers of more than one load serving entity to modify its rules and tariffs to accomplish certain objectives regarding transmission charges. The bill would require the submission of those modifications to FERC by January 1, 2021. 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 above provisions amend the Public Utilities Act, and the commission would be required to issue an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement to implement those provisions, a violation of any of which would be a 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 specified reasons.
(1) Existing law establishes a system of state prisons under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Existing law authorizes the department to institute various programs for inmates, including programs for education and job training. This bill would require the department to develop guidelines for inmate participation in preapprenticeship training programs, as specified. The bill would also require the department to coordinate with local state-approved apprenticeship programs and local building trade councils so that inmates who complete an inmate preapprenticeship program have a pathway to employment upon release. (2) Existing law authorizes the Department of General Services, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and various local agencies to use the design-build procurement process for specified public works under different laws. This bill would authorize the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award contracts for construction projects over $500,000 using the design-build contracting process or construction manager at-risk contracts, as defined, if, on or before September 30, 2019, the department enters into a 10-year community workforce agreement with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California that applies to all construction contracts over $500,000. The bill would require the community workforce agreement to include provisions to encourage work opportunities for previously incarcerated individuals who have completed an inmate preapprenticeship program and include a plan for outreach and retention of women and military service veterans to help increase employment opportunities in the building and construction trades. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to renew or modify the agreement for 5-year terms.
Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law, administered by the State Department of Social Services, provides for the establishment of a statewide electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for the purpose of providing financial and food assistance benefits, including CalFresh benefits. This bill would establish the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project, which requires the department, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture and stakeholders with experience operating CalFresh nutrition incentive programs, to include within the EBT system a supplemental benefits mechanism that allows an authorized retailer, as defined, to deliver and redeem supplemental benefits, as specified. The bill would define supplemental benefits to mean additional funds delivered to a CalFresh recipient's EBT card upon purchase of California-grown fresh fruits and vegetables using CalFresh benefits, and to be redeemed only for purchases allowed under the CalFresh program at an authorized retailer. The bill would create in the State Treasury the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Grant Fund, as specified. The bill would, upon the deposit of sufficient moneys into the fund, as determined by the department, and upon the appropriation of moneys from the fund by the Legislature for this purpose, also require the department to provide a minimum of 3 grants to nonprofit organizations or government agencies for pilot projects to implement and test the supplemental benefits mechanism in existing retail settings, and to develop and adopt guidelines for awarding the grants, that includes selection criteria requiring that grant applicants demonstrate, among other things, previous experience and effectiveness in administering CalFresh nutrition incentive programs, or similar supplemental benefits programs. The bill would require the department to evaluate the pilot projects and make recommendations to further refine and expand the supplemental benefits mechanism, and to submit a report to the Legislature with the outcomes of that evaluation on or before January 1, 2021. The bill would require the department to seek any necessary federal approvals to establish this pilot project, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2024.
This measure would apologize for the enactment of past discriminatory laws and constitutional provisions that resulted in the persecution and oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and their communities. The measure would also express the Legislature's commitment to taking the steps needed to be a fully inclusive state and preserving the rights of all people.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to issue a permit to the owner or developer of property adjacent to or near a state highway, including the associated right-of-way, to construct, alter, repair, or improve any portion of the highway for the purpose of improving local traffic access, as provided. Existing law specifies that the permit may be issued only if the work within the highway right-of-way is to be performed in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the department. If the improvement would not affect the operation of the state highway and the associated work would be performed in accordance with local agency plans and specifications, this bill would prohibit the department from denying an application for a permit solely because the associated work is not to be performed in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the department.
Existing law establishes an action for a public nuisance, which affects an entire community or neighborhood, or a considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal. Existing law authorizes a private party or a public body to bring an action to abate a public nuisance. This bill would provide that residential lead-based paint that affects the health of a considerable number of persons constitutes a public nuisance. Under the bill, a party may be subject to liability for public nuisance if that party promoted lead-based paint for a particular use with actual or constructive knowledge that such use would cause health hazards sufficiently serious to render that use unreasonable, as specified. The bill would provide that, in an action seeking solely abatement of residential lead-based paint, causation may be established without presenting evidence that a particular party caused a particular lead-based paint to be applied in a particular residence, as specified. The bill would provide legislative findings and declarations in support of these provisions.