Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing federal law requires the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into an agreement with each manufacturer of covered drugs that are not subject to a rebate under an agreement between the state Medicaid program and the manufacturer under which the amount required to be paid to the manufacturer for covered drugs purchased by a covered entity does not exceed an amount equal to the average manufacturer price for the drug under the federal Medicaid program in the preceding calendar quarter, reduced by the rebate received pursuant to the Medicaid agreement. This program is commonly referred to as the 340B Drug Pricing program or 340B program. Existing state law requires a covered entity to dispense only the above-described drugs to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, authorizes a covered entity that is unable to purchase the above-described drugs to dispense a drug purchased at regular drug wholesale rates to a Medi-Cal beneficiary if the covered entity maintains documentation of their inability to obtain the drugs, and requires a not-for-profit hospital that participates in the drug discount program established under federal law to enter into an agreement with the department that includes specified terms, including that the not-for-profit hospital continues its historic commitment to the provision of charity care. This bill would define a "designated entity" as a nonprofit organization, including any subsidiary of that organization, that individually or collectively with one or more of its subsidiaries meets specified requirements, including that the designated entity is a licensed managed care organization that has previously contracted with the department as a primary care case management organization, contracts with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide services in the Medicare Program as a Medicare special needs plan, and participates in the 340B program. The bill would prohibit a designated entity from using any revenue from a contract with the department, a contract with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and from the 340B program on specified activity, such as funding litigation under the California Environmental Quality Act. The bill would require a designated entity, and any subsidiary of that entity, to annually report on its internet website specified information, including the amount of gross revenue generated from a contract with the department, a contract with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and from the 340B program for the previous year, and would condition the implementation of these provisions to the extent that federal financial participation is available and federal approvals are obtained.
Sponsored bills
Existing law authorizes a life or disability income insurer to decline a life or disability income insurance application or enrollment request on the basis of positive test results from certain tests, known as the ELISA test and the Western Blot Assay, that detect antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) , performed by or at the direction of the insurer. This bill, to become operative January 1, 2023, would instead prohibit an insurer from declining an application or enrollment request for coverage under a policy or certificate for life insurance or disability income insurance based solely on the results of a positive HIV test, regardless of when or at whose direction the test was performed. However, the bill would not prevent or restrict an insurer from refusing to insure an applicant that is HIV positive, limiting the amount, extent, or kind of coverage for an applicant that is HIV positive, or charging a different rate to an applicant that is HIV positive, if the refusal, limitation, or charge is based on sound actuarial principals and actual or reasonably anticipated experience. The bill would define "HIV test" for purposes of these provisions to mean any clinical test, laboratory or otherwise, used to identify HIV, a component of HIV, or antibodies or antigens to HIV. Existing law imposes a civil penalty on a person who negligently or willfully discloses results of an HIV antibody test to any third party, except pursuant to written authorization or informed consent, in a manner that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of the person to whom the test results apply. Under existing law, the penalty for a negligent violation of those provisions is civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 plus court costs, and the penalty for a willful violation of those provisions is a civil penalty in an amount not less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000 plus court costs. If the negligent or willful disclosure results in economic, bodily, or psychological harm to the subject of the test, existing law makes the person guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Existing law defines "HIV antibody test" for these purposes to mean an ELISA test or a Western Blot Assay, or both. This bill would eliminate the references to HIV antibody test for purposes of those civil and criminal penalty provisions and instead would impose penalties for the negligent, willful, or malicious disclosure of results of an HIV test, as defined above. The bill would increase the civil penalty for a negligent violation of those provisions to an amount not to exceed $2,500 plus court costs and would increase the civil penalty for a willful violation of those provisions to an amount not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 plus court costs. The bill would impose the same civil penalty for a malicious violation of those provisions as is provided for the willful violation. The bill would also increase the amount of the fine that may be imposed for a misdemeanor violation of those provisions to an amount not to exceed $25,000. By changing the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make conforming changes. 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 allows a person who is unlawfully imprisoned or restrained of their liberty to prosecute a writ of habeas corpus to inquire into the cause of their imprisonment or restraint. Existing law allows a writ of habeas corpus to be prosecuted on the basis of false evidence that is substantially material or probative to the issue of guilt or punishment that was introduced at trial. Existing law defines false evidence for these purposes as including the opinions of experts that have been repudiated by the expert or that have been undermined by later scientific research or technological advances. This bill would expand the definition of false evidence to include the opinions of experts that are undermined by scientific research that existed at the time of the expert's testimony and opinions for which a reasonable dispute has emerged within the expert's relevant scientific community as to the validity of the methods or theories upon which the expert based their opinion. (2) Existing law limits the testimony of a witness who is testifying as an expert to matter that is of a type that reasonably may be relied upon by an expert in forming an opinion upon the subject to which the expert's testimony relates. Existing law allows a witness testifying in the form of an opinion to state on direct examination the reasons for their opinion and the matter upon which it is based. This bill would specify that an expert opinion based on circular reasoning is not based on matter that is of a type that reasonably may be relied upon by an expert in forming an opinion upon a subject. The bill would define circular reasoning as referring to any portion of an expert's opinion that is solely based upon the premise that the expert seeks to conclude, including any portion of the opinion or testimony that is based upon studies, literature, data, or other materials on which the expert relies that accepts the same unproven premise that the studies, literature, data, or other materials on which the expert relies seeks to conclude.
The Trial Jury Selection and Management Act (act) requires all persons be selected for jury service at random and from sources inclusive of a representative cross section of the population of the area served by the court. The act specifies that the list of registered voters and list of licensed drivers and identification cardholders who are resident within the area served by the court are appropriate source lists for the selection of jurors, and further specifies that these 2 source lists, when substantially purged of duplicate names, are considered inclusive of a representative cross section of the population. This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to semiannually furnish the jury commissioner of each county with a list of state tax filers, as defined, and include the list of state tax filers as source list for the purposes of jury selection. The bill would prohibit a jury commissioner, or an employee of the jury commissioner, from disclosing the information furnished by the FTB pursuant to this requirement.
Existing law, the Marks-Roos Local Bond Pooling Act of 1985, authorizes joint powers authorities, among other powers, to issue bonds and loan the proceeds to local agencies to finance specified types of projects and programs. The act authorizes certain joint powers authorities, upon application by a local agency that owns and operates a publicly owned utility, defined to mean certain utilities furnishing water or wastewater service to not less than 25,000 retail customers, to issue rate reduction bonds to finance utility projects, as defined, subject to certain requirements. Under the act, these rate reduction bonds are secured by a pledge of utility project property, and the joint powers authority issuing the bonds may impose on, and collect from, customers of the publicly owned utility a utility project charge to finance the bonds, as provided. The act requires the California Pollution Control Financing Authority, among other things, to review each issuance of rate reduction bonds issued under these provisions. This bill would expand the definition of a publicly owned utility for these purposes to include certain utilities furnishing generation, transmission, or distribution electrical service to retail customers, and would authorize an authority to issue rate reduction bonds to finance or refinance utility projects for the provision of generation, transmission, or distribution electrical service. The bill would include in the allowable costs of a public capital improvement, a utility project, or portion of the improvement or utility project financed with rate reduction bonds all or any part of the cost of financing or refinancing specified charges imposed upon the customers of the electrical corporation from which all or part of the improvement or utility project was acquired. The act prohibits a local agency from applying to an authority for financing or refinancing of a utility project pursuant to these provisions unless the legislative body of the local agency has determined, among other things, that the rates of the publicly owned utility plus the utility project charge resulting from the financing or refinancing of the utility project with rate reduction bonds are expected to be lower than the rates of the publicly owned utility if the utility project was financed or refinanced with bonds payable from revenues of the publicly owned utility. The act authorizes a local agency with a publicly owned utility having 500,000 or more retail customers, in lieu of making that determination, to alternatively determine that the use of rate reduction bonds to finance or refinance utility projects provides substantial benefits to the publicly owned utility. This bill would additionally authorize a local agency that has a population of 800,000 or more with a publicly owned utility that provides, or that will provide upon the acquisition of the utility project, electrical service anywhere within the service area of the local agency, to make that alternative substantial benefit determination. The bill would also make clarifying changes to the act.
Existing law, the Gender Tax Repeal Act of 1995 (the act) , prohibits a business establishment from discriminating against a person because of the person's gender with respect to the price charged for services of similar or like kind and specifies that this prohibition does not apply to price differences based specifically upon the amount of time, difficulty, or cost of providing the services. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act protects and safeguards the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination, abridgment, or harassment on account of various personal characteristics. Under existing law, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing is responsible for receiving, investigating, conciliating, mediating, and prosecuting complaints alleging violations of specified civil rights. This bill would prohibit a business establishment from discriminating against a person because of a person's gender with respect to the price charged for any 2 consumer products from the same manufacturer that are substantially similar if those products are priced differently based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the products are intended or marketed, as specified. The bill would make the department responsible for receiving, investigating, conciliating, mediating, and prosecuting complaints alleging violations of these provisions.
Existing law creates the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority, with prescribed powers and responsibilities, including the issuance of revenue bonds, for the purposes of augmenting electrical generating facilities and to ensure a sufficient and reliable supply of electricity, financing incentives for investment in cost-effective energy-efficient appliances and energy demand reduction, achieving a specified energy capacity reserve level, providing financing for the retrofit of inefficient electrical powerplants, renewable energy and conservation, and, where appropriate, developing strategies for the authority to facilitate a dependable supply of natural gas at reasonable prices to the public. Existing law prohibits the authority from approving any new program, enterprise, or project on or after January 1, 2007, unless authority to approve such an activity is granted by statute enacted on or before January 1, 2007. This bill would rename the authority the California Consumer Energy and Conservation Financing Authority and would repeal the prohibition upon the authority approving any new program, enterprise, or project, on or after January 1, 2007. The bill would authorize the authority to acquire, by eminent domain, the assets or ownership of an electrical corporation, gas corporation, or public utility that is both an electrical and gas corporation, including any franchise rights, if that corporation has been convicted of one or more felony criminal violations of laws enacted to protect the public safety within 10 years of the date the eminent domain action is commenced. The bill would authorize a local publicly owned energy utility, as defined, or community choice aggregator to elect to join in the eminent domain action brought by the authority and acquire that portion of the electrical or gas system necessary to provide service within its borders if the local publicly owned energy utility or community choice aggregator contributes its proportionate share of the compensation paid for the assets or ownership of the public utility. The bill would establish the Northern California Local Energy Utility District, with powers and duties similar to a municipal utility district, to provide electrical and gas service. The bill would require the Governor to appoint the initial governing board of the district, and would require subsequent members of the governing board to be selected by counties within the boundaries of the district, as provided. The bill would authorize the authority to transfer any public utility acquired by eminent domain to the district or to a local publicly owned energy utility or community choice aggregator that participates in the eminent domain action. By providing for misdemeanor liability for violations of the duties of the general manager or directors of the district, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By requiring county boards of supervisors to select the members of the governing board of the district, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Until the transfer of the utility is completed, the authority would be required to perform all management duties for the utility and operate the utility in trust. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the acquisition by eminent domain and transfer of those assets or ownership interest acquired be completed within 5 years of initiation of the eminent domain action. The bill would repeal the existing $5,000,000,000 upper limit upon the authority's ability to issue bonds. The bill would require that any bonds issued by the authority solely to acquire the assets or ownership interest of a public utility acquired by eminent domain so recite and be secured by a dedicated rate component in the rates of the public utility acquired. The bill would require that any transfer to the district include provisions preserving a dedicated rate component as security for any bonds issued by the authority to acquire the assets or ownership interest acquired. The bill would require the authority to take the steps necessary to ensure the earliest possible incorporation of Northern California Energy Utility Services pursuant to the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law. The bill would require that Northern California Energy Utility Services be governed by a 7-member governing board representing nonoverlapping districts of roughly equal population within the service territory of any public utility the assets or ownership of which is acquired by the authority through eminent domain. The bill would provide for the appointment of those board members. The bill would require that the authority assign all nonmanagement employment contracts of employees of a utility the assets or ownership of which has been transferred to the authority to Northern California Energy Utility Services and those employees would become employees of Northern California Energy Utility Services upon that assignment, with identical salaries and benefits as they had when they were still employed by the public utility. Until transfer of the utility to the district is completed, the bill would require the authority to transfer sufficient moneys, collected by the authority out of the rates of the utility, to Northern California Energy Utility Services to pay the salaries and benefits of all employees and independent contractors of the corporation and any other debts lawfully incurred by Northern California Energy Utility Services. Existing law provides mechanisms for electrical corporations to recover costs and expenses arising from covered wildfires, as defined, and establishes the Wildfire Fund to pay eligible claims arising from a covered wildfire. Existing law specifies the funding sources for the fund, which include, among other sources, contributions from electrical corporations and revenues generated from a specified charge imposed on the ratepayers of an electrical corporation. This bill would authorize the Northern California Local Energy Utility District to participate in the fund if it acquires assets or ownership interests of an electrical corporation from the authority, in which case the Wildfire Fund provisions applicable to electrical corporations apply to the district. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law provides that the commission has no authority to establish rates or regulate the borrowing of money, the issuance of evidences of indebtedness, or the sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, or other disposal or encumbrance of the property of any electrical cooperative, but that electrical cooperatives are otherwise subject to the regulatory authority of the commission pursuant to the Public Utilities Act. Under existing law, local publicly owned electric utilities, including a municipal utility district operating an electrical utility, are under the direction of their governing boards. This bill would provide that following completion of the acquisition of a public utility by the authority through eminent domain and the authority assuming its duties as trustee of the utility, the commission would have no authority to establish or fix the rates and charges of the utility, to regulate the borrowing of money, the issuance of evidence of indebtedness, or to regulate the sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, or other disposal or encumbrance of property of the utility, but otherwise would have that authority granted to the commission relative to the safe and reliable performance of utility services by an electrical or gas corporation, until the utility operations are fully transferred to the district. Following completion of the acquisition of a public utility by the authority through eminent domain and upon Northern California Energy Utility Services becoming functional, the bill would provide that the commission would have no authority over the rates and charges paid to Northern California Energy Utility Services by the authority, by the district, or by a local publicly owned energy utility and the commission would have no authority as to the sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, or other disposal or encumbrance of property for its employees, but otherwise would have that authority granted to the commission relative to the safe and reliable performance of utility services by an electrical or gas corporation. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The Bay Area County Traffic and Transportation Funding Act authorizes each of the 9 counties in the San Francisco Bay area to impose a 12 of 1% or 1% sales tax for transportation purposes, subject to voter approval. Existing law provides for the establishment of a county transportation authority in each county imposing a sales tax under these provisions, requires the development of a county transportation expenditure plan, and specifies the powers and duties of a county board of supervisors and the county transportation authority in this regard. Existing law requires each county transportation authority to award contracts for the purchase of supplies, equipment, and materials in excess of $75,000 to the lowest responsible bidder after competitive bidding, except in an emergency declared by the vote of 23 of the voting membership of the county transportation authority. This bill would require each county transportation authority to award contracts for the purchase of supplies, equipment, and materials in excess of $150,000, rather than $75,000, either to the lowest responsible bidder or to the responsible bidder whose proposal provides the best value, as defined, on the basis of the factors identified in the solicitation, except in a declared emergency, as specified. The bill would specify that the requirement does not apply to construction contracts.
(1) Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a local area planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law creates various transit districts located in the San Francisco Bay area, with specified powers and duties relative to providing public transit services. Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency consisting of various state agencies under the supervision of an executive officer known as the Secretary of Transportation, who is required to develop and report to the Governor on legislative, budgetary, and administrative programs to accomplish comprehensive, long-range, and coordinated planning and policy formulation in the matters of public interest related to the agency. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that would create a transportation network manager for the 9-county San Francisco Bay area to, among other things, integrate all aspects of public transit within the 9-county San Francisco Bay area and provide leadership and accountability in planning, coordinating, and financing the transportation network. The bill would establish a 19-member Bay Area Seamless Transit Task Force to recommend to the Legislature the structure, governance, and funding of the transportation network manager and the organizational structure, governance, and funding for San Francisco Bay area transportation agencies, and other reforms to the San Francisco Bay area's local, regional, and state public agencies, that should be enacted in future legislation to maximize the effectiveness of the public transit system in the San Francisco Bay area. The bill would require the Secretary of Transportation to convene the task force by April 1, 2021. The bill would require the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to provide staffing to the task force to aid it in the performance of its duties, and would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to advise the task force in the performance of its duties. The bill would require the task force to submit a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2023, of its findings and recommendations and a summary of its activities. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2027. (2) Existing law requires the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, in coordination with a specified regional transit coordinating council, to adopt rules and regulations to promote the coordination of fares and schedules for all public transit systems within its jurisdiction. This bill would require the commission, in consultation with transit agencies, on or before January 1, 2022, (A) to create standardized discount categories and eligibility requirements for fare discount programs for seniors, students, youth, and other rider categories, and (B) to create a multimodal, multiagency pilot program to implement an accumulator pass that may be used with one regional rail agency and at least one transit agency. The bill would require the regional rail agency and the transit agency or agencies selected to participate in the pilot program to offer the accumulator pass to the public on or before July 1, 2022. The bill would require the commission to prepare a plan, on or before July 1, 2023, to deploy the Clipper card payment system on passenger trains operated on the Capitol Corridor and on passenger trains operated by the Altamont Corridor Express. The bill would require the commission, in the next upgrade to the Clipper card payment system, to enable customers to pay for paratransit, parking at transit stations, and employer and educational institution transit discount programs. The bill would require the commission on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a copy of a specified transit fare study undertaken by the commission to certain committees of the Legislature and the Bay Area Seamless Transit Task Force. The bill would require the commission to submit a report on or before January 1, 2023, to those entities on the progress of implementing the recommendations of that study. (3) Existing law authorizes the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to improve service coordination and effectiveness in specified transit corridors by recommending improvements in those corridors, including the reduction of duplicative service and institution of coordinated service across public transit system boundaries. This bill would require the commission, in consultation with transit agencies, on or before July 1, 2023, to develop a comprehensive, standardized regional transit mapping and wayfinding system and to develop an implementation and maintenance strategy and funding plan for deployment of the system. The bill would require a transit operator in the San Francisco Bay area to use open data standards to make available all routes, schedules, and fares in a specified data format and to track actual transmission of real-time information by transit vehicles and report that information to the commission to ensure that schedule predictions are available. The bill would require the commission to coordinate these activities and to develop an implementation and funding plan for deployment of these capabilities. (4) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. Existing law requires designated regional transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt a regional transportation plan. Certain of these agencies are also designated under federal law as metropolitan planning organizations. Existing law requires a regional transportation plan to include specified elements, and, if the transportation planning agency is also a metropolitan planning organization, to also include a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy, which is designed to achieve certain targets for 2020 and 2035 established by the state board for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks in the region. This bill would require the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to develop and adopt targets for reducing vehicle miles traveled per capita and for increasing the travel mode share of public transit and active modes of transportation in the San Francisco Bay area that are consistent with, or exceed, state climate goals and other goals and standards for improving air quality in the region. The bill would require the commission to develop a comprehensive set of performance indicators for those targets, and would require the commission to annually report to the Transportation Agency and the state board on the progress the region is making towards meeting those targets. The bill would require the commission to establish a capital project development review process on or before January 1, 2023, and, as part of the process to, among other things, specify the project deliverables that will be evaluated to determine if a project is eligible to be included in the regional transportation plan or to receive an allocation of state or regional funds. (5) Existing law authorizes a regional transportation agency or the Department of Transportation to apply to the California Transportation Commission to develop and operate high-occupancy toll lanes or other toll facilities. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2022, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, in partnership with the Department of Transportation and the operators of managed lanes in the San Francisco Bay area, to take specified steps to ensure the regional managed lanes network supports seamless operation of high-capacity transit. (6) By imposing new duties on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. Existing law authorizes the commission, after a hearing, to require every public utility to construct, maintain, and operate its line, plant, system, equipment, apparatus, tracks, and premises in a manner so as to promote and safeguard the health and safety of its employees, passengers, customers, and the public. The Public Utilities Act provides that any public utility that violates any provision of the California Constitution or the act, or that fails or neglects to comply with any order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, where a penalty has not otherwise been provided, is subject to a penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $100,000 for each offense. This bill would authorize the Attorney General or the district attorney of a proper county or city and county, as specified, to bring an action in the name of the people, pursuant to the above-described civil penalty provision, against an electrical corporation involving a failure to comply with safety standards or requirements. The bill would provide that when the conduct that constitutes the violation or failure to comply is of a continuing nature, each day of that violation or failure to comply is subject to a separate and distinct civil penalty. The bill would require that an action seeking these civil penalties be commenced within 4 years after the cause of action accrues. The Public Utilities Act provides that every public utility and every officer, agent, or employee of a public utility, who violates or fails to comply with, or who procures, aids, or abets any violation by any public utility of any provision of the California Constitution or of the act, or who fails to comply with any part of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any public utility in a violation or noncompliance, in a case in which a penalty has not otherwise been provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both fine and imprisonment. This bill would authorize the Attorney General or the district attorney of a proper county or city and county, as specified, to bring an action in the name of the people, pursuant to the above-described criminal provision, against an electrical corporation involving a failure to comply with safety standards or requirements. The bill would provide that when the conduct that constitutes the violation or failure to comply is of a continuing nature, each day of that violation or failure to comply is a separate and distinct offense subject to a fine or imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment. The bill would require that an action seeking a fine or imprisonment pursuant to the above-described criminal provision be commenced within 4 years after the commission discovers the violation or failure to comply, or within 4 years after completion of the violation or failure to comply, whichever is later. The Public Utilities Act provides that all penalties accruing under the act are cumulative, and a suit for the recovery of one penalty does not bar or affect the recovery of any other penalty or forfeiture or serve as a bar to any criminal prosecution against any public utility, or any officer, director, agent, or employee of the public utility, or any other corporation or person. This bill would expressly provide that the above-described civil penalty and criminal sanction provisions are in addition to other fines or penalties imposed by other law. The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to ensure that where enforcement of provisions affecting public utilities is not specifically vested in some other officer or tribunal, that those provisions are enforced and obeyed and that violations are promptly prosecuted and penalties are recovered and collected. To accomplish this requirement, the commission is authorized to sue in the name of the people and to request the Attorney General or a district attorney to aid in any investigation, hearing, or trial and to institute and prosecute actions or proceedings. This bill would provide that the bill does not diminish the duty of the commission to be the primary entity responsible to ensure that the laws pertaining to public utilities are enforced and obeyed and does not diminish the authority of the commission to request the Attorney General or the district attorney of a proper county or city and county to aid in any investigation, hearing, or trial pursuant to the act.