(1) The California Emergency Services Act requires the Office of Emergency Services, among other things, to develop in collaboration with specified entities a comprehensive statewide earthquake early warning system in California through a public-private partnership, as specified. The act requires the office to identify funding for the system through single or multiple sources of revenue, and requires those sources to exclude the General Fund and to be limited to federal funds, funds from revenue bonds, local funds, and funds from private sources. Under the act, the requirement that the office develop the system is not operative until funding is identified, and is repealed if funding is not identified by July 1, 2016. The act establishes the California Earthquake Safety Fund in the State Treasury to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for seismic safety and earthquake-related programs, including the statewide earthquake early warning system. This bill would discontinue the requirement that the funding sources for the system exclude the General Fund and be limited to federal funds, funds from revenue bonds, local funds, and funds from private sources. The bill would delete the provisions providing for the repeal and the contingent operation of the requirement that the office develop the system. This bill would establish, within the office, the California Earthquake Early Warning Program and the California Earthquake Early Warning Advisory Board to support the development of the statewide earthquake early warning system, as specified. The bill would require the board to include 7 voting members, as specified, and the Chancellor of the California State University, or his or her designee, who would serve as a nonvoting member. The bill would authorize the President of the University of California, or his or her designee, to serve as an additional nonvoting member of the board. The bill would require all members to serve without compensation, but would require reimbursement for actual and reasonable travel and meal expenses to attend board meetings. The bill would require the board to comply with existing state open meeting and public record disclosure laws and would prohibit the disclosure of any information in a public record that is a trade secret, as defined, of a private entity cooperating with the board or participating in the statewide earthquake early warning system or the program. The bill would make legislative findings in support of its provisions. (2) 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.
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(1) Existing law requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to establish the Health Professions Education Foundation to, among other things, solicit and receive funds for the purpose of providing scholarships, as specified. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would establish a Dental Corps Scholarship Program, as specified, to increase the supply of dentists serving in medically underserved areas. (2) Existing law, the Dental Practice Act, requires the Dental Hygiene Committee of California to establish by resolution the amount of the fees that relate to the licensing of a registered dental hygienist, a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice, and a registered dental hygienist in extended functions. Existing law prohibits the biennial renewal fee from exceeding $160. Existing law requires these fees to be deposited in the State Dental Hygiene Fund and makes these moneys subject to appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would instead prohibit the biennial renewal fee from exceeding $500. (3) Existing law makes the State Board of Optometry responsible for the regulation of nonresident contact lens sellers, registered dispensing opticians, spectacle lens dispensers, and contact lens dispensers. Existing law authorizes the State Board of Optometry to issue a citation containing an order of abatement, an order to pay an administrative fine not to exceed $50,000, or both, as specified, for a violation of a specific section of law governing the permitted relationship of an optometrist with any registered dispensing optician or any optical company. This bill would make that $50,000 limit a limit per investigation. Existing law establishes regulatory fees for the regulation of nonresident contact lens sellers, registered dispensing opticians, spectacle lens dispensers, and contact lens dispensers, including, but not limited to, an initial registration fee, a renewal fee, and a delinquency fee. Existing law requires these fees to be deposited in the Dispensing Opticians Fund and makes these fees available, subject to appropriation, to the State Board of Optometry. This bill would establish a specified minimum and maximum application fee amount for nonresident contact lens sellers, registered dispensing opticians, and spectacle lens dispensers. The bill would also establish increased minimum and maximum amounts for those already established fees. The bill would authorize the State Board of Optometry to periodically revise and fix these fees, as specified. Existing law authorizes the State Board of Optometry to inspect any premises at which the business of a registered dispensing optician is colocated with the practice of an optometrist for the purposes of determining compliance with the aforementioned written lease agreement provisions. This bill would authorize the State Board of Optometry at any time to inspect the premises registered with the board in which optometry is being practiced or in which spectacle or contact lenses are fitted or dispensed. (4) The Nursing Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of nurse practitioners by the Board of Registered Nursing, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs, and requires the board to adopt regulations establishing standards for continuing education for licensees, as specified. That act requires providers of continuing education programs approved by the board to make records of continuing education courses given to registered nurses available for board inspection. That act also prescribes various fees to be paid by licensees and applicants for licensure, and requires these fees to be credited to the Board of Registered Nursing Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund as it pertains to fees collected by the board. This bill would require that the content of a continuing education course be based on generally accepted scientific principles. The bill would also require the board to audit continuing education providers, at least once every 5 years, to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, and to withhold or rescind approval from any provider that is in violation of regulatory requirements. The bill would raise specified fees, and would provide for additional fees, to be paid by licensees and applicants for licensure pursuant to that act. By increasing fees deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (5) The Pharmacy Law provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists by the California State Board of Pharmacy within the Department of Consumer Affairs. That law prescribes various fees to be paid by licensees and applicants for licensure, and requires all fees collected on behalf of the board to be credited to the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund as it pertains to fees collected by the board. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2017, modify specified fees to be paid by licensees and applicants for licensure pursuant to that act. By increasing fees deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (6) The Veterinary Medicine Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of veterinarians by the Veterinary Medical Board, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Under the act, it is unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to practice veterinary medicine in this state unless he or she holds a valid, unexpired, and unrevoked license issued by the board, except under specified circumstances, including regularly licensed veterinarians in actual consultation from other states, regularly licensed veterinarians actually called from other states to attend cases in this state who do not open an office or appoint a place to do business within the state, or veterinarians employed by the University of California or the Western University of Health Sciences while engaged in the performance of specified duties. This bill would replace those exceptions with an exception for veterinarians holding a current, valid license in good standing in another state or country who provide assistance to a California licensed veterinarian and attend on a specific case, subject to specified conditions, and an exception for veterinarians called into the state by a law enforcement agency or animal control agency. By requiring additional persons to be licensed under the act that were previously exempt, the bill would expand the definition of an existing crime and, therefore, would result in a state-mandated local program. (7) Existing law requires businesses that employ, or contract or subcontract with, the full-time equivalent of 5 or more persons functioning as health care professionals, as defined, whose primary function is to provide telephone medical advice, that provide telephone medical advice services to a patient at a California address to be registered with the Telephone Medical Advice Services Bureau and further requires telephone medical advice services to comply with the requirements established by the Department of Consumer Affairs, as specified. This bill would discontinue the requirement that those businesses be registered with the bureau, would instead make the respective healing arts licensing boards responsible for enforcing those requirements and any other laws and regulations affecting those health care professionals licensed in California, and would make conforming and related changes. (8) The Contractors' State License Law provides for the licensure and regulation of contractors by the Contractors' State License Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs. That law also prescribes various fees to be paid by licensees and applicants for licensure, requires the board to set the fees by regulation, and requires fees and civil penalties received under that law to be deposited in the Contractors' License Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund as it pertains to fees collected by the board. This bill, on and after July 1, 2017, would raise specified fees, would instead authorize the board to set the fees by regulation, and would require the board to establish criteria for the approval of expedited processing of applications, as specified. By increasing fees deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (9) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of structural pest control operators and registered companies by the Structural Pest Control Board, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs, and requires a licensee to pay a specified license fee. Existing law makes any violation of those provisions punishable as a misdemeanor. Existing law places certain requirements on a registered company or licensee with regards to wood destroying pests or organisms, including that a registered company or licensee is prohibited from commencing work on a contract until an inspection has been made by a licensed Branch 3 field representative or operator, that the address of each property inspected or upon which work was completed is required to be reported to the board, as specified, and that a written inspection report be prepared and delivered to the person requesting the inspection or his or her agent. Existing law requires the original inspection report to be submitted to the board upon demand. Existing law requires that written report to contain certain information, including a foundation diagram or sketch of the structure or portions of the structure inspected, and requires the report, and any contract entered into, to expressly state if a guarantee for the work is made, and if so, the terms and time period of the guarantee. Existing law establishes the Structural Pest Control Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund as it pertains to fees collected by the board. This bill would require the operator who is conducting the inspection prior to the commencement of work to be employed by a registered company, except as specified. The bill would not require the address of an inspection report prepared for use by an attorney for litigation to be reported to the board or assessed a filing fee. The bill would require instead that the written inspection report be prepared and delivered to the person requesting it, the property owner, or the property owner's designated agent, as specified. The bill would allow an inspection report to be a complete, limited, supplemental, or reinspection report, as defined. The bill would require all inspection reports to be submitted to the board and maintained with field notes, activity forms, and notices of completion until one year after the guarantee expires if the guarantee extends beyond 3 years. The bill would require the inspection report to clearly list the infested or infected wood members or parts of the structure identified in the required diagram or sketch. By placing new requirements on a registered company or licensee, this bill would expand an existing crime and would, therefore, impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a registered company to prepare a notice of work completed to give to the owner of the property when the work is completed. This bill would make this provision applicable only to work relating to wood destroying pests and organisms. (10) 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.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities and can establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. This bill would, until January 1, 2020, establish within the commission the Office of the Safety Advocate to advocate for the continuous, cost-effective improvement of the safety management and safety performance of public utilities. The bill would require the office to promote public utility safety by: (1) advocating for effective public utility safety management and infrastructure improvements and for the transparency of safety information; (2) recommending improvements to the commission's safety management policy and procedures and its safety culture; and (3) informing the official record on safety-related risks in applicable commission proceedings and assisting the commission in its efforts to hold public utilities accountable for their safe operation. The bill would require the office to annually provide specified information to the chairpersons of the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of each house of the Legislature.
(1) The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, with jurisdiction over all public utilities. The Public Utilities Act provides that the office of the commission shall be in the City and County of San Francisco, that the office always be open, except on legal holidays and nonjudicial days, and that the commission hold its sessions at least once in each calendar month in the City and County of San Francisco. This bill would require that the commission hold its sessions at least once in each calendar month, without specifying the location. (2) The California Constitution authorizes the commission to establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. Existing law requires the commission to determine whether a proceeding requires a hearing and, if so, to determine whether the matter requires a quasi-legislative, an adjudication, or a ratesetting hearing. For these purposes, quasi-legislative cases are cases that establish policy, including rulemakings and investigations which may establish rules affecting an entire industry; adjudication cases are enforcement cases and complaints except those challenging the reasonableness of any rates or charges; and ratesetting cases are cases in which rates are established for a specific company. Existing law requires the commission to publish and maintain certain documents on the Internet, including a docket card that lists all documents filed and all decisions or rulings issued in those proceedings, as provided. This bill would make the Administrative Adjudication Code of Ethics applicable to administrative law judges of the commission. Except in adjudication cases, the bill would require the commission, before determining the scope of the proceeding, where feasible and appropriate, to seek the participation of those who are likely to be affected by a decision in the proceeding. The bill would, until January 1, 2020, require the Policy and Planning Division of the commission to undertake one or more studies of outreach efforts undertaken by other state and federal utility regulatory bodies and to make recommendations to the commission to promote effective outreach, including metrics for use in evaluating success. The bill would require the commission to include a docket card that lists the public versions of all prepared oral and written testimony and advice letter filings, protests, and responses on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the commission to make additional information available on the Internet, including information on how members of the public and ratepayers can gain access to the commission's ratemaking process. (3) The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to develop, publish, and annually update an annual workplan that does all of the following: (A) describes in clear detail the scheduled ratemaking proceedings and other decisions that may be considered by the commission during the calendar year, (B) includes information on how members of the public and ratepayers can gain access to the commission's ratemaking process and information regarding the specific matters to be decided, (C) includes information on the operation of the office of the public advisor and identifies the names and telephone numbers of those contact persons responsible for specific cases and matters to be decided, and (D) includes a statement that specifies activities that the commission proposes to reduce the costs of, and rates for, energy, including electricity, and for improving the competitive opportunities for state agriculture and other rural energy consumers. The act requires the commission to submit the workplan to the Governor and Legislature by February 1 of each year. This bill would require the commission to develop, publish, and annually update a report that contains certain specified information, as provided, and would expand the requirement that the workplan, as part of that report, describe in clear detail the scheduled proceedings that may be considered by the commission during the calendar year to include all proceedings and not just ratemaking proceedings. The bill would additionally require that the report include performance criteria for the commission and executive director and evaluate the performance of the executive director during the previous year based on the criteria established in the prior year's workplan. The bill would require the report to include a list of the public meetings held outside San Francisco in the previous year and a schedule of meetings anticipated to be held outside San Francisco during the upcoming year. The bill would require the commission to post the report in a conspicuous area of its Internet Web site and disseminate the information in the report, as provided. (4) The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the number of cases where resolution exceeded the time periods prescribed in scoping memos and the days that commissioners presided in hearings. This bill would delete the requirement that the report include the number of cases where resolution exceeded the time periods prescribed in scoping memos and instead would require the commission to annually submit a report to the Legislature on the commission's timeliness in resolving cases and include information on the disposition of applications for rehearings. The bill would require that the report include the number of scoping memos issued in each proceeding and the number of orders issued extending the statutory deadlines for all adjudication, ratesetting, and quasi-legislative cases. (5) The Public Utilities Act provides intervenor compensation for reasonable advocate's fees, reasonable expert witness fees, and other reasonable costs to public utility customers or their representatives for participation or intervention in any proceeding of the commission based, in part, upon whether the intervenor would experience significant financial hardship and makes a substantial contribution to the adoption, in whole or in part, of the commission's order or decision. Existing law precludes a local government entity from receiving intervenor compensation by excluding them from the definition of a "customer" for purposes of the intervenor compensation provisions. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that intervenors be compensated for making a substantial contribution to proceedings of the commission, regardless of whether a settlement agreement is reached. The bill would permit intervenor compensation to be paid to cities, counties, and cities and counties that intervene or participate in commission proceedings to the extent that their involvement was for the purpose of protecting health and safety, under specified circumstances. The bill would make conforming changes. Existing law requires a public utility that is the subject of the hearing, investigation, or proceeding in which intervenor fees are awarded to pay those intervenor fees within 30 days and makes the failure to do so a crime. By expanding the obligation of a public utility to pay intervenor fees to an eligible local government entity, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the application of an existing crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law regulates secondhand dealers and coin dealers, and makes it unlawful for a person to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer without a license issued by the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission. Existing law also regulates pawnbrokers. Existing law requires a local law enforcement agency to issue a license to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer or pawnbroker to an applicant who has not been convicted of an offense involving stolen property. Existing law requires a secondhand dealer to report, as specified, to the chief of police or sheriff all secondhand "tangible personal property," as defined, purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning. Existing law requires the report to include, among other things, the identification of the intended seller or pledger of the property, verified by the person taking the information by specified methods. Existing law requires the reporting of this information to the Department of Justice through a single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to develop descriptive categories and secondhand dealers and coin dealers to use these categories in their reports. This bill would define "CAPSS" as the California Pawn and SecondhandDealer System, which is the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system operated by the Department of Justice. The bill would eliminate the requirement that a secondhand dealer send reports on paper forms. The bill would eliminate the requirements that the Department of Justice develop, and secondhand dealers and coin dealers use, descriptive categories in their reports of acquired tangible personal property. Instead, the bill would require the Department of Justice to accept the properly spelled and non-abbreviated plain text property descriptions commonly recognized and utilized by the pawn and secondhand dealer industries. The bill would require a secondhand dealer to provide a property description in an article field descriptor, as specified. This bill would prohibit the Department of Justice, chiefs of police, and sheriffs from requiring secondhand dealers to report any additional information other than that which is required by these provisions. The bill would require that a future change to the reporting requirements of CAPSS that substantively alters the reporting standards be implemented and operated in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act and prohibit the Department of Justice from taking any action with respect to the implementation, operation, or maintenance of CAPSS by adoption of an emergency regulation. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to convene a meeting with the Department of Technology to discuss issues pertaining to any proposed changes or upgrades, and authorize the Department of Technology to provide technological assistance for ongoing improvements, updates, or changes, to CAPSS. Existing law provides an exception to the reporting requirement for the acquisition of the same property from the same customer within 12 months of a reported transfer, except when submission of the report is specifically requested in writing by the local authorities. This bill would expand the reporting requirement exception to all acquisitions of the same property from the same customer within 12 months of a reported transfer. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law provides for the regulation, by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services within the Department of Consumer Affairs, of locksmiths and the employees of locksmiths, repossessors, private investigators, private patrol operators, armored contract carriers, firearms and baton training facilities, and employees of those licensees, alarm company operators and alarm agents, and proprietary security services. Existing law prescribes various fees and fines in connection with the regulation of these professions and vocations and provides for the deposit of the majority of these fees and fines into the Private Security Services Fund. Existing law also establishes the Professions and Vocations Fund, which consists of certain funds. Existing law provides that fine, penalty, and cost recovery moneys in any fund within the Professions and Vocations Fund are available only upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would subject the bureau to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. The bill would also provide that the Private Security Services Fund is a fund in the Professions and Vocations Fund. (2) The Collateral Recovery Act provides for the licensure and regulation of repossession agencies by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services and prohibits the use of an alias in connection with the official activities of a licensed repossession agency's business. This bill would instead prohibit the use of a business name other than the name of a licensed repossession agency in connection with the official activities of the licensee's business. (3) The Private Investigator Act provides for the licensure and regulation of private investigators by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Until January 1, 2018, the act provides for the licensure of limited liability companies under the act and requires the application for licensure of a limited liability company to be subscribed, verified, and signed by a duly authorized member of the applicant under penalty of perjury. The act also requires a licensee to notify the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services within 30 days of any change in its corporate officers or any addition of a new partner. This bill would additionally require the application for licensure of a limited liability company to be subscribed, verified, and signed by the qualified manager of the applicant. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill, among other things, would also require a licensee to notify the bureau within 30 days of any change in members required to be named in a corporation's or limited liability corporation's application for licensure. (4) The Private Investigator Act prohibits a licensed private investigator and qualified manager who, in the course of his or her employment or business, carries a deadly weapon from carrying or using a firearm unless he or she has in his or her possession a valid firearms qualification card and requires the licensed private investigator and qualified manager to comply with, and be subject to, specified provisions. This bill would authorize a licensed private investigator and qualified manager who possesses a valid firearms qualification card to also carry a concealed firearm if he or she satisfies specified conditions. The bill would also require, if a firearms qualification card is denied, the denial to be in writing, include the basis for the denial, and inform the applicant of his or her right to contest the denial. (5) The Alarm Company Act requires that specified agreements entered into by an alarm company pertaining to alarm systems, including, among others, lease agreements, monitoring agreements, service agreements, and installation agreements, be in writing and include specified items. This bill would additionally require initial agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2017, that contain an automatic renewal provision for a period of more than one month to disclose and describe the automatic renewal provision, as provided. (6) The Private Security Services Act provides, among other matters, for the licensure and regulation of private patrol operators by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services and makes a violation of its provisions a crime. Under that act, a person required to be registered as a security guard must report to his or her employer, within 24 hours of the incident, the circumstances surrounding the discharge of any firearm in which he or she is involved while acting within the course and scope of his or her employment. That act requires a person required to be registered as a security guard to carry a valid and current security guard registration card on his or her person, while on duty, and also requires a person registered as a security guard or patrolperson to deliver to the Director of Consumer Affairs and to local law enforcement a written report describing the circumstances surrounding the discharge of a firearm in which he or she was involved while acting within the course of his or her employment, within 7 days of the incident. This bill would additionally impose the reporting duties upon the employer of the security guard or patrolperson. The bill would authorize a person required to be registered as a security guard, while pending receipt of the security guard registration card after the bureau's approval, to be on duty if the person carries on his or her person both a hardcopy printout of the approved security guard registration information from the bureau's Internet Web site and a valid picture identification. (7) Existing law requires security guards, security patrolpersons, alarm company operators, and other specified persons to complete specified courses, acquire specified licenses, and be subject to specified provisions relating to their duties and relating to the carrying and use of a firearm or baton, as provided. This bill would exempt from those provisions a federal qualified law enforcement officer, as defined. (8) Existing law requires the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services to issue a firearms permit to a private patrol operator, alarm company operator, or other specified licensee when certain conditions are satisfied, including that the applicant has filed with the bureau a classifiable fingerprint card and that the bureau has determined, after investigation, that the carrying and use of a firearm by the applicant, in the course of his or her duties, presents no apparent threat to the public safety. Existing law prohibits a person required to be registered as a security guard from carrying or using a firearm unless he or she possesses a valid and current firearms permit and requires that person to carry the permit on his or her person when carrying a firearm on duty. This bill would provide for the association of a firearms permit with the license or registration of the applicant, as specified. The bill would authorize an applicant for a firearms permit to, in lieu of submitting a classifiable fingerprint card, submit fingerprints into an electronic fingerprinting system administered by the Department of Justice, as specified. The bill would require an applicant for a firearms permit who is a registered security guard to complete a specified assessment to determine whether or not the applicant, at the point in time of the assessment, is capable of exercising appropriate judgment, restraint, and self-control for the purposes of carrying and using a firearm during the course of his or her security guard duties, as provided. The bill would prohibit the bureau from issuing or renewing a firearm permit to an applicant who has been found incapable of exercising appropriate judgment, restraint, and self-control pursuant to the assessment in the past 12 months, as specified. The bill would authorize the appeal of the denial of a firearms permit or firearms qualification card on the basis of the results of the assessment. The bill would authorize the bureau to seek an emergency order against the holder of a firearms permit if, after investigation relating to specific events, the bureau determines that the holder of the permit presents an undue hazard to public safety. The bill would prohibit licensees or registrants with firearms permits from carrying or using a firearm while performing duties not related to the qualifying license or registration to which the bureau associated the licensee's or registrant's firearms permit. The bill would authorize a person required to be registered as a security guard, while pending receipt of the firearms permit after the bureau's approval, to carry a firearm while on duty if the person carries on his or her person both a hardcopy printout of the approved firearms permit information from the bureau's Internet Web site and a valid picture identification. (9) Existing law provides that any institution, firm, or individual wishing the approval of the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services to offer the firearms course must complete an application for certification as a firearms training facility, as specified. This bill would require the bureau, within 120 days after issuance of a "Firearms Training Facility Certificate," to inspect the facility for compliance with the specified requirements. The bill would authorize the bureau to inspect the facility prior to the issuance of a certificate. The bill would also require the bureau to maintain a program of random and targeted inspections of facilities to ensure compliance with applicable laws relating to the conduct and operation of facilities and to inform facilities when the bureau determines that the facility is not in compliance with the above-mentioned laws. (10) The Collateral Recovery Act, the Private Investigator Act, the Private Security Services Act, and the Alarm Company Act impose, or authorize the imposition of, various fines and civil penalties, or suspend various licenses or permits issued pursuant to those acts, for violations of specified provisions of those acts. This bill would revise specified fine amounts, civil penalty amounts, and suspensions for violations of specified provisions of the Collateral Recovery Act, the Private Investigator Act, the Private Security Services Act, and the Alarm Company Act. (11) The Private Investigator Act, the Private Security Services Act, and the Alarm Company Act require specified licensees and applicants for licensure to, as a condition of the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, or continued valid use of a license, maintain policies of insurance against liability for damages arising out of activities for which licensure is required pursuant to those acts, as specified. This bill would require the insurer of those policies of insurance to list the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services as the certificate holder for the purposes of receiving notifications related to the policy's status. The bill, until January 1, 2019, would provide for the automatic suspension, after 30-days' written notice, of a licensee under the Alarm Company Act for failure to maintain sufficient insurance or failure to provide proof of required insurance upon request by the bureau, as specified. (12) Existing law, the Real Estate Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers and real estate salespersons by the Real Estate Commissioner, the chief officer of the Bureau of Real Estate within the Department of Consumer Affairs. That law authorizes the commissioner to suspend or revoke the license of a real estate licensee if the licensee has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of, or been convicted of, a felony, or a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a real estate licensee, and the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or other conditions are met. Existing law, the Real Estate Appraisers' Licensing and Certification Law, provides for the licensure, certification, and regulation of real estate appraisers and appraisal management companies by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers within the Department of Consumer Affairs, which is headed by the Chief of the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. That law requires the chief to adopt regulations governing the process and the procedure of applying for a real estate appraiser's license and requires these regulations to include, among others, necessary experience or education and the submittal of an applicant's social security number. To substantiate appraisal experience or to facilitate investigations, existing law requires licensees, applicants, and persons acting in a capacity that requires a license to submit copies of appraisals or any other work product, as specified, and all supporting documentation. A willful violation of these laws is a crime. This bill would subject the Bureau of Real Estate and the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, as specified. The bill would further authorize the Real Estate Commissioner to suspend the license of a real estate license upon the entry of a guilty plea by the licensee to any of the crimes described above. The bill would require the rescission of the suspension if the plea is withdrawn. The bill would further require the Chief of the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers to require, as part of the educational requirements for applicants for licensure, the completion of a course on state and federal laws regulating the appraisal profession, as specified, and would additionally authorize the submittal of an applicant's individual taxpayer identification number. The bill would additionally require those licensees, applicants, and persons acting in a capacity that requires a license to submit copies of engagement letters. Because the willful failure to submit those engagement letters would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (13) 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 every operator of a subsurface installation, except the Department of Transportation, to become a member of, participate in, and share in the costs of, a regional notification center. Existing law requires any person who plans to conduct any excavation to contact the appropriate regional notification center before commencing that excavation, as specified. Existing law defines a subsurface installation as any underground pipeline, conduit, duct, wire, or other structure. Existing law requires an operator of a subsurface installation, who receives notification of proposed excavation work, within 2 working days of that notification, excluding weekends and holidays, to mark the approximate location and number of subsurface installations that may be affected by the excavation or to advise that no subsurface installations operated by him or her would be affected. Existing law requires an operator of a subsurface installation that has failed to comply with these provisions to be liable to the excavator for damages, costs, and expenses. This bill, the Dig Safe Act of 2016, would define terms for its purposes, including, among others, defining "working day" for purposes of determining excavation start date and time. This bill would require an excavator planning to conduct an excavation to delineate the area to be excavated before notifying the appropriate regional notification center of the planned excavation, as provided. The bill would require an operator, before the legal start date and time of the excavation, to locate and field mark, within the area delineated for excavation, its subsurface installations. The bill would require an operator to maintain and preserve all plans and records for any subsurface installation owned by that operator as that information becomes known, as specified. The bill would, commencing November 1, 2017, establish a process for an excavator to request and obtain a continual excavation ticket for an area of continual excavation that is required to be valid for one year from the date of issuance and eligible for renewal. This bill would amend the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011 to exclude from its provisions specific kinds of marking and locating of subsurface installations performed in compliance with this act. This bill would prohibit an excavator that damages a subsurface installation due to an inaccurate field mark, as defined, by an operator from being liable for damages, replacement costs, or other expenses arising from damage to the subsurface installation, provided that the excavator complied with the provisions described above. This bill would also require the Public Utilities Commission and the Office of the State Fire Marshal to enforce the requirement to locate and field mark subsurface installations and lines against operators of gas corporations, electrical corporations, water corporations, and operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, as specified. The bill would also authorize a local governing board to enforce these provisions on local agencies under its jurisdiction. This bill would create the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Board under, and assisted by the staff of, the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The bill would require the board to coordinate education and outreach activities, develop standards, and enforce, as specified, the provisions described above. The bill would also authorize the board to prescribe rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of these provisions and to exercise the power and duties conferred upon it. The board would be composed of 9 members who would serve 4-year terms, and 2 nonvoting ex officio members who may be invited by the appointed members of the board. The bill, commencing July 1, 2018, would require the board to investigate possible violations of the provisions described above, and would authorize the board to transmit the investigation results and any recommended penalty to the state or local agency with jurisdiction over the activity or business undertaken in the commission of the violation, as specified. The bill would require the board to convene an annual meeting and, on or before February 1, 2018, and each year thereafter, to report to the Governor and the Legislature on its activities and any recommendations. The bill would create the Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys deposited into the fund are to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the operational expenses of the board and for educational and outreach purposes, except as specified.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to immediately suspend a person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle for a specified period of time if the person has been convicted of driving a motor vehicle when the person had a certain blood-alcohol concentration. Existing law authorizes certain individuals, whose privilege is suspended pursuant to that provision to receive a restricted driver's license if specified requirements are met, including the elapse of specified periods of license suspension or revocation. Existing law also requires the department to immediately suspend or revoke a person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle if the person has been convicted of violating specified provisions prohibiting driving a motor vehicle under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or drug or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and drug, or with 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood or while addicted to the use of any drug, with or without bodily injury to another. Existing law authorizes certain individuals whose privilege is suspended or revoked pursuant to that provision to receive a restricted driver's license if specified requirements are met, including the elapse of specified periods of license suspension or revocation and, in some instances, the installation of an ignition interlock device on the person's vehicle. Existing law does not permit a person who has been convicted of a first offense of driving a motor vehicle under the influence, with injury, to receive a restricted driver's license. Existing law also requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish a pilot program from July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2017, inclusive, in the Counties of Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Tulare that requires, as a condition of being issued a restricted driver's license, being reissued a driver's license, or having the privilege to operate a motor vehicle reinstated subsequent to a conviction for any violation of the above offenses, a person to install for a specified period of time an ignition interlock device on all vehicles he or she owns or operates. Under existing law, the amount of time the ignition interlock device is required to be installed is based upon the number of prior convictions suffered by the individual, as prescribed. This bill would extend the pilot program in those counties until January 1, 2019. Effective January 1, 2019, and until January 1, 2026, the bill would make an individual whose license has been suspended for driving a motor vehicle when he or she has a certain blood-alcohol concentration and who is eligible for a restricted driver's license eligible for a restricted driver's license without serving any period of the suspension if the person meets all other eligibility requirements and the person installs an ignition interlock device. The bill would authorize that individual to install an ignition interlock device prior to the effective date of the suspension and would require the individual to receive credit towards the mandatory term to install an ignition interlock device, as specified. The bill would require the department to immediately reinstate the suspension of the privilege to operate a motor vehicle upon receipt of notification that a person has engaged in certain activities, including, among others, attempted to remove, bypass, or tamper with the ignition interlock device. The bill would also require, commencing January 1, 2019, and until January 1, 2026, a person who has been convicted of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, as specified, to install for a specified period of time an ignition interlock device on the vehicle, as ordered by the court, that is the vehicle that he or she operates. The bill would, commencing January 1, 2019, and until January 1, 2026, also authorize a person convicted of driving a motor vehicle under the influence, including a person who was convicted of a first offense of driving a motor vehicle under the influence, with injury, if all other requirements are satisfied, including the installation of an ignition interlock device, to apply for a restricted driver's license without completing a period of license suspension or revocation. The bill would require the department to, if a person maintains an ignition interlock device for the specified required time, reinstate the person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle at the time the other reinstatement requirements are satisfied. The bill would, commencing January 1, 2019, and until January 1, 2026, authorize a court to require a person convicted of a specified type of reckless driving to install a certified ignition interlock device on any vehicle that the person operates and prohibit that person from operating a motor vehicle unless that vehicle is equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock device for a specified period of time. The bill would require the Transportation Agency to issue a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2025, regarding the implementation and efficacy of these provisions. The bill would reinstate current law as described above as of January 1, 2026. The bill would also make conforming and clarifying changes. By specifying that certain crimes relating to ignition interlock devices apply when an ignition interlock device is installed pursuant to the provisions of this bill, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation under the supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs and requires the director to administer and enforce provisions relating to the registration of electronic and appliance repair service dealers. Existing law authorizes the director to deny, suspend, revoke, or place on probation the registration of a service dealer for any of certain acts, as specified. Existing law authorizes a service dealer licensed under these provisions to install, calibrate, service, maintain, and monitor ignition interlock devices. A violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. Existing law, the Automotive Repair Act, establishes the Bureau of Automotive Repair under the supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs and provides for the registration and regulation of automotive repair dealers. Existing law requires the bureau to adopt standards for installation, maintenance, and servicing of ignition interlock devices by automotive repair dealers, and existing regulations authorizes automotive repair dealers to install, maintain, and service an ignition interlock device. Existing law authorizes the director to deny, suspend, revoke, or place on probation the registration of an automotive repair dealer for certain acts, as specified. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would authorize the director to issue a citation to, or suspend, revoke, or place on probation the registration of an automotive repair dealer or service dealer who installs, calibrates, services, maintains, or monitors ignition interlock devices if the automotive repair dealer or service dealer is not in compliance with specified provisions relating to payment for the costs of an ignition interlock device and would require an automotive repair dealer or service dealer to provide that information to an individual receiving ignition interlock device services. By expanding the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require, commencing January 1, 2019, until January 1, 2026, an ignition interlock device manufacturer to be in compliance with specified provisions relating to payment for the costs of an ignition interlock device and would require those manufacturers to provide information to an individual who is required to install an ignition interlock device pursuant to a restricted driver's license. The bill would make a violation of those requirements subject to a civil assessment not exceeding $1,000, as specified. 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 creates the High-Speed Rail Authority with specified powers and duties relative to the development and implementation of a high-speed train system. Existing law, pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion for high-speed train capital projects and other associated purposes. The bond act requires the authority to expend the proceeds of the bond act pursuant to certain planning and reporting requirements, which require the authority to approve that the corridor or usable segment would be suitable and ready for high-speed train operations. This bill would provide for the purposes of a certain required funding plan that a corridor or usable segment thereof would be "suitable and ready for high-speed train operation" if specified conditions are met. The bill would also require the authority to include in its business plan and project update report information describing the use of these bond proceeds demonstrating that the investments made are consistent with the authority's current business plan and advance the development of the Phase I blended system as described in the business plan.
(1) Existing law, on and after January 1, 2017, requires any person operating a modified limousine that is modified prior to July 1, 2015, to ensure that the vehicle is equipped with one or 2 rear windows that the rear seat passengers or all passengers of the vehicle may open from the inside of the vehicle in case of any fire or other emergency. This bill would extend the operative date of this requirement to January 1, 2018. (2) Existing law defines a tour bus to include any bus operated by or for a charter-party carrier of passengers or a passenger stage corporation, with a bus in this respect defined to mean any vehicle designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 10 persons, including the driver. Existing law provides for the Department of the California Highway Patrol to regulate the safe operation of various classes of vehicles, including tour buses. A violation of various statutes and regulations governing tour buses and operators of tour buses is a crime. Existing law also requires the department, at least once every 13 months, to inspect every maintenance facility or terminal of any person who at any time operates any bus. Existing law requires that if the bus operation includes more than 100 buses, the inspection shall be without prior notice. This bill would require the department, if a tour bus has received an unsatisfactory compliance rating, to conduct a followup inspection between 30 and 90 days after the initial inspection during which the unsatisfactory rating was received. The bill would require the department to order a tour bus out of service upon determining during a terminal inspection or at any other time that the condition of a tour bus is such that it has multiple safety violations of a nature that operation of the tour bus could constitute an imminent danger to public safety. The bill would prohibit the tour bus from being operated with passengers until all of the safety violations have been corrected and the department has verified the correction of the safety violations upon a subsequent inspection by the department of the tour bus, which shall occur within five business days of the submission of a reinspection request from the tour bus carrier. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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.