(1) Existing law creates the enhanced fleet modernization program, administered by the Bureau of Automotive Repair in the Department of Consumer Affairs, to provide compensation for the retirement of passenger vehicles, and light-duty and medium-duty trucks that are high polluters. Existing law provides that under this program compensation for retired vehicles for a low-income motor vehicle owner, as defined, is $1,500, and for all other motor vehicle owners, it is $1,000. Existing law authorizes this compensation to be increased by the department based on various factors, including the emissions benefits of the vehicle's retirement. This bill would require the state board, in consultation with the bureau and no later than June 30, 2015, to update the guidelines for the enhanced fleet modernization program to include specified elements and to study and consider specified elements. The bill, in addition, would establish compensation for replacement vehicles for low-income vehicle owners at not less than $2,500 and would make this compensation available to an owner in addition to the compensation for a retired vehicle. The bill also would instead authorize an increase in the compensation under these programs for either retired or replacement vehicles only for low-income motor vehicle owners as necessary to balance maximizing air quality benefits of the program while ensuring participation by low-income motor vehicle owners, as specified. (2) Existing law, until January 1, 2016, increases vehicle registration fees, vessel registration fees, and specified service fees for identification plates by a specified amount. Existing law requires the revenue generated by the increase in those fees to be deposited in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, and either the Air Quality Improvement Fund or the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount, as provided. Existing law, until January 1, 2016, imposes on certain vehicles a smog abatement fee of $20, and requires a specified amount of this fee to be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund and in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund. This bill would extend those fees in the amounts required to make these deposits into the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, the Air Quality Improvement Fund, and the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount until January 1, 2024, at which time the fees would be reduced by those amounts. (3) Existing law establishes the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, which is administered by the state board, to provide grants to offset the incremental cost of eligible projects that reduce emissions of air pollutants from sources in the state and for funding a fueling infrastructure demonstration program and technology development efforts. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2015, limits the Carl Moyer program to funding projects that reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) . This bill would extend the current authorization for the Carl Moyer program to fund a broader range of projects that reduce emissions until January 1, 2024, and would make other conforming changes in that regard. The bill also would delete obsolete references and make conforming changes to the Carl Moyer program. (4) Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from fees and taxes imposed by the state on vehicles to specified purposes, subject to certain exceptions. This bill would require the commission and the state board to ensure that revenues from specified fees imposed on vehicles that are used for purposes of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program are expended in compliance with Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution. (5) This bill would make its provisions contingent on the enactment of AB 8 of the 2013–14 Regular Session. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Pursuant to its existing authority, the commission issued Electrical Rule 21 establishing operational and metering requirements for a generation facility to be connected to an electrical corporation's distribution system. Existing law relative to private energy producers requires every electric utility, as defined, to develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, as defined, upon request for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined. The existing definition of an eligible customer-generator requires that the generating facility use a renewable source of energy, as specified, and have a generating capacity of not more than one megawatt. Existing law requires that every electric utility ensure that requests for an interconnection agreement from an eligible customer-generator are processed in a time period not to exceed 30 working days from the date it receives a completed application form from the eligible customer-generator for an interconnection agreement. This bill would require the commission to determine criteria that would allow an independent generation facility, as defined, to apply for interconnection to the utility electric distribution grid under the fast track review process, as defined under Rule 21. Under existing law, a violation of an order, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a failure of an electric utility to process an interconnection request from an independent generation facility pursuant to Rule 21 would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA also requires, in an action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with its requirements, that the grounds for noncompliance shall have been presented by any person to the public agency during the public comment period or prior to the close of the public hearing on the project before the filing of the notice of determination. CEQA requires a person bringing an action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with its requirements to have objected to the project during the public comment period or prior to the close of the public hearing on the project before the filing of the notice of determination. This bill would require that the alleged grounds for noncompliance shall have been presented to a public agency prior to the close of the public hearing on the project if the grounds for noncompliance were not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence during the public comment period or if no public comment period was provided by CEQA. The bill would limit the standing of a person objecting to the project prior to the close of the public hearing on the project before the filing of notice of determination to an action or proceeding challenging a project for which no public comment period was provided by CEQA. (2) CEQA, until January 1, 2016, precludes an organization formed after the approval of a project from maintaining an action unless a member of the organization has objected to the approval of the project orally or in writing and presented the grounds of noncompliance to the public agency. Existing law, on and after January 1, 2016, precludes an organization formed after the approval of a project from maintaining an action unless a member of the organization has objected to the approval of the project orally or in writing. This bill would extend the preclusion in effect until January 1, 2016, indefinitely.
Existing law generally provides for the regulation of credit and debit cards, including, but not limited to, limitations on the methods for offering and denying a credit card, requirements for listing the name appearing on a credit card, and restrictions on a person's liability for an unauthorized use of his or her credit or debit card. This bill would require retailers, starting April 1, 2016, except as specified, that accept a payment card, as defined, to provide a means of processing card-present payment card transactions involving payment cards equipped with embedded microchips or any other technology that is more secure than static magnetic stripe technology for card-present fraud prevention. The bill would also require specified contracts entered into between a financial institution and a payment card network, as those terms are defined, to include a provision requiring that 75% of new or replacement payment cards issued to a cardholder with a California mailing address have an embedded microchip or any other technology that is more secure than microchip technology for card-present fraud prevention. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations in this regard and would repeal these requirements on or before January 1, 2020, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, with jurisdiction over all public utilities. The California Constitution grants the commission certain general powers over all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature, and authorizes the Legislature, unlimited by the other provisions of the Constitution, to confer additional authority and jurisdiction upon the commission that is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities, and to establish the manner and scope of review of commission action in a court of record. Existing law provides that only the Supreme Court and the court of appeal have jurisdiction to review, reverse, correct, or annul any order or decision of the commission or to suspend or delay the execution or operation thereof, or to enjoin, restrain, or interfere with the commission in the performance of its official duties. This bill would authorize an action to enforce the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act to be brought against the commission in the superior court.
(1) Under existing law, the Department of Food and Agriculture has general supervision of weights and measures and weighing and measuring devices sold or used in the state, and provides that the duty of enforcing and carrying out those provisions is vested with the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and in each sealer acting under the supervision and direction of the secretary. Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to sell poultry or smoked, fresh, frozen, cooked, dried, or pickled meats or fish other than by weight determined at the time of sale on a scale properly sealed in accordance with specified requirements, except as specified. Existing law specifies that fat added to fresh meat or roasts shall not be considered tare weight if the package is labeled as containing added fat. A violation of the provisions, or any regulations adopted pursuant to those provisions, regulating weights and measurements is a crime. This bill would authorize the secretary, by regulation, to establish a uniform policy consistent with federal law relating to the use of dry tare weight or wet tare weight methods of measurement for the retail sale of meat, poultry, and fish products. Because a violation of a regulation adopted pursuant to those provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law provides the criteria and methodology, as specified, by which local officials are to measure and verify the accuracy of a point-of-sale system used by retail establishments during an initial standard inspection as a means for determining the price of an item being purchased by a consumer. During an initial standard inspection, existing law specifies that only items displayed or computed by the system at a higher price than the lowest advertised, posted, marked, displayed, or quoted price shall be considered not in compliance. Existing law authorizes enforcement action to be taken for any item not in compliance. This bill would, until January 1, 2018, provide that a grocery store may be issued a written violation but shall not be fined or assessed any other penalty for the first item found to be not in compliance during an initial standard inspection if the grocery store meets specified requirements. (3) Existing law authorizes a city or county to license any kind of business, unless prohibited by law, and authorizes the city or county to levy license fees. This bill would authorize the secretary, by regulation, to impose an additional assessment of up to $2 for the license of a business that uses a point-of-sale system, to be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, which would be available to the secretary, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of carrying out the provisions regulating the use of point-of-sale systems. (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law imposes various requirements on a test agency, as defined, with respect to the administration of standardized tests for purposes of postsecondary education, and requires a test sponsor to submit certain information and data to the California Postsecondary Education Commission. A test agency that intentionally violates any of those provisions is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $750 for each violation. Existing law authorizes a test agency to cancel or invalidate a test score where substantial evidence exists to support cancellation or invalidation of the test score. This bill would require a test sponsor to also submit specified information that is required to be submitted to the California Postsecondary Education Commission, or its successor entity, to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and would authorize the submission of that information in digital format. The bill would, until January 1, 2017, require a test agency to submit a report, on or before March 1 of each year, to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and to the Legislature that contains specified information on test scores that were canceled or invalidated in the prior year.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of the lobbying industry and imposes various restrictions on public officials for the purpose of avoiding conflicts of interests. The act prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from making gifts to any person aggregating more than $10 in a calendar month and prohibits an elected state officer, elected officer of a local government agency, or other designated individual from accepting gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than $250. Existing law requires the Fair Political Practices Commission to adjust the gift limitation amount on January 1 of each odd-numbered year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. This bill would prohibit a lobbyist or lobbying firm from making a gift of any amount. The bill would prohibit an elected state officer, elected officer of a local government agency, or other designated individual from accepting gifts from a single source in a calendar year with a total value of more than $200 and would authorize the Fair Political Practices Commission to increase the gift limitation amount each odd-numbered year based upon changes in the Consumer Price Index. The bill would further prohibit a candidate for elective state office, elected state officer, or legislative official from receiving a gift of tickets to specified venues and events or a gift comprised of specified recreational activities. The act prohibits a public official at any level of state or local government from making, participating in making, or in any way attempting to use the official's position to influence a governmental decision in which the official knows or has reason to know that he or she has a financial interest. The act provides that the public official has a financial interest in a decision if it is reasonably foreseeable that the decision will have a material financial effect on the official, the official's immediate family, or other prescribed persons, including a donor of a gift or gifts aggregating $250 or more in value within the 12 months preceding the decision. The act requires the Commission to adjust the gift value amount that creates a financial interest in the donor to equal the above-described limitation amount on the value of gifts from a single source in a calendar year. This bill would reduce to $200 the aggregate value of gifts that create a financial interest for a public official in the gift's donor. The bill would also require the Commission to adjust this amount to equal the amount of any adjustment made by the Commission to the above-described gift limitation on the value of gifts from a single source in a calendar year. Violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor. By creating additional crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Existing law establishes the Railroad Accident Prevention and Immediate Deployment Force in the California Environmental Protection Agency and designates the force as being responsible for providing immediate onsite response capability in the event of a large-scale release of toxic materials resulting from a surface transportation accident. Existing law requires the agency to develop a state railroad accident prevention and immediate deployment plan, in consultation with specified state entities, other potentially affected state, local, or federal agencies, and affected businesses, and designates the force as being responsible for implementing the plan, acting cooperatively and in concert with existing local emergency response units. The plan is to be a comprehensive set of policies and directions that every potentially affected state agency and business is required to follow if there is a railroad accident to minimize the potential damage to the public health and safety, property, and the environment that might result from accidents involving railroad activities in the state. This bill would impose a fee in an unspecified amount upon every owner of hazardous material at the time that hazardous material is transported on rail by a tank car in this state. The bill would require a railroad to collect the fee from the owner of the hazardous material and to pay the fee to the State Board of Equalization. The bill would also require every person who operates a railroad that transports hazardous materials by tank car to register with the board and to remit the fees to the board pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law. The bill would create the Railroad Tank Car Hazardous Materials Safety Fund in the State Treasury and would require that all revenues, interest, penalties, and other amounts collected pursuant to the bill's requirements be deposited into the fund, less refunds and reimbursement to the board for expenses incurred in the administration and collection of the railroad tank car hazardous material fee. The bill would require that all moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used by the Department of Toxic Substances Control to pay for planning, developing, and maintaining a capability for emergency response to railroad accidents involving tank cars carrying hazardous materials, including the risks of explosions and fires, and planning, developing, and maintaining a capability for emergency response to releases of hazardous materials from tank cars, including reducing the harmful effects of exposure of those hazardous materials to humans and the environment. The bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require moneys from the fund be available to the board to pay for the board's administrative costs associated with implementation of the railroad tank car hazardous material fee, which would be advanced from the General Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, subject to repayment once the fees are collected. The Fee Collection Procedures Law makes a violation of any provision of the law, or of certain requirements imposed by the board pursuant to the law, a crime. By expanding the application of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program (Cal Grant Program) , establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards, the Cal Grant C awards, and the Cal Grant T awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission (commission) , and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions, as defined. Existing law requires the Student Aid Commission to certify by October 1 of each year a qualifying institution's latest 3-year cohort default rate as most recently reported by the United States Department of Education. Existing law provides that, for purposes of the 2012–13 academic year, and every academic year thereafter, an otherwise qualifying institution with a 3-year cohort default rate that is equal to or greater than 15.5% is ineligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution. Existing law also requires that an otherwise qualifying institution is ineligible for an initial or renewal Cal Grant award at the institution if the institution has a graduation rate of 30% or less for students taking 150% or less of the expected time to complete degree requirements, as specified, with certain exceptions. If an otherwise qualifying institution has a student body composed of at least 23 students who are receiving federal Pell grants, and a default rate that exceeds the existing statutory maximum for eligibility or a graduation rate less than the existing statutory minimum for eligibility, as prescribed, this bill would deem the institution eligible if the commission certifies that the institution satisfies specified conditions. The bill would require the commission to adopt any rules or regulations necessary to implement these provisions by March 1, 2015, and to report to the Legislature, by January 1, 2016, on its review and recommendations regarding additional criteria that would be appropriately considered in determining eligibility.