This measure would designate that January 16, 2012, be observed as the official memorial of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth, commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, as defined. Existing law prohibits a commissioner from holding an official relation to or having a financial interest in a person or corporation subject to regulation by the commission and requires the commission to adopt an updated Conflict of Interest Code and State of Incompatible Activities. This bill would prohibit a commissioner or employee of the commission from knowingly soliciting charitable, political, or other contributions from any person or corporation subject to regulation by the commission, or from any person that is representing, or regularly represents, persons or corporations regulated by the commission. The bill would additionally require the commission to annually report certain information to the Legislature relative to organizations that solicit charitable, political, or other contributions from any person or corporation subject to regulation by the commission, or from any person that is representing, or regularly represents, persons or corporations regulated by the commission on which a commissioner, the executive director, an assistant executive director, the attorney, an administrative law judge, or other exempt employee of the commission serves as an officer or member of the board of directors or other leadership body for the organization.
The Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act creates the California Department of Aging, with prescribed duties, including the development of the state plan on aging. This bill would require, if specified conditions are met, the department to report data from the Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) , as defined, for each service area included in the state plan and use the index as a reference when making decisions about allocating resources. The act also establishes area agencies on aging with specified duties, including creation of a plan for the agencies that considers available data and population trends, assesses the need for services, identifies sources of funding for services, and develops and implements a plan for the delivery of services based on the need. This bill would require, if specified conditions are met, that the plan utilize the Elder Index as a reference when making decisions about allocating resources to specify the costs of meeting basic needs for elders in each planning and service area.
Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include instruction in social sciences, which is permitted to include instruction on World War II and the American role in that war. Existing law encourages that instruction to include a component drawn from personal testimony of American soldiers who were involved in World War II and those men and women who contributed to the war effort on the homefront. This bill would encourage instruction in social sciences for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include instruction on World War II and the role of Filipinos in that war, and would encourage that instruction to include a component drawn from personal testimony, as provided.
(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, which includes a local agency, to prepare, or cause to be prepared by contract, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, 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 requires a lead agency to file a notice of approval or a notice of determination containing specified information with the Office of Planning Research or the county clerk of each county in which the project is located, as appropriate. CEQA provides a procedure by which a party may attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the determination, finding, or decision of a public agency on specified grounds and requires that a petitioner or plaintiff name, as a real party in interest, a recipient of an approval that is the subject of an action or proceeding challenging the determination, finding, or decision of a public agency pursuant to CEQA. This bill would require a notice of approval or notice of determination to identify the person undertaking an activity that receives financial assistance from a public agency or the person receiving a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement of use from a public agency. Because a lead agency would be required to include additional information in the notice of approval or notice of determination, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a petitioner or plaintiff to name, as a real party in interest, the person identified by the public agency in its notice of determination or notice of exemption, as reflected by the agency's record of proceedings. The bill would provide that the above requirement would not apply to a proceeding for judicial review filed pursuant to CEQA that is pending on or before December 31, 2011, or to actions or proceedings challenging an act or decision of a public agency for which a notice of decision or notice of exemption was filed on or before December 31, 2011. (2) 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. The Public Utilities Act authorizes the commission to ascertain and fix just and reasonable standards, classifications, regulations, practices, measurements, or services to be furnished, imposed, observed, and followed by specified public utilities, including gas corporations, as defined. Existing federal law requires the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to adopt minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and for pipeline facilities, including an interstate gas pipeline facility and an intrastate gas pipeline facility, as defined. Existing law authorizes the United States Secretary of Transportation to prescribe or enforce safety standards and practices for an intrastate pipeline facility or intrastate pipeline transportation to the extent that the safety standards and practices are regulated by a state authority that annually submits to the secretary a certification for the facilities and transportation or, alternatively, authorizes the secretary to make an agreement with a state authority authorizing it to take necessary action to meet certain pipeline safety requirements. Existing federal law prohibits a state authority from adopting or continuing in force safety standards for interstate pipeline facilities or interstate pipeline transportation, but permits a state authority that has submitted a specified certification to adopt additional or more stringent safety standards for intrastate pipeline facilities and intrastate pipeline transportation only if those standards are compatible with the minimum standards prescribed by PHMSA. This bill would designate the commission as the state authority responsible for regulating and enforcing intrastate gas pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities pursuant to federal law, including the development, submission, and administration of a state pipeline safety program certification for natural gas pipelines. The bill would require the commission, by July 1, 2012, to open an appropriate proceeding or expand the scope of an existing proceeding to establish compatible emergency response standards, as defined, that owners or operators of certain commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities, as defined, would be required to follow. The standards would require owners or operators of intrastate transmission and distribution lines to implement emergency response plans, with specified requirements, that are compatible with PHMSA's regulations concerning emergency plans. The bill would require the owners of intrastate transmission lines to provide the State Fire Marshal and the chief fire official of the applicable local government with instructions on how to access and utilize the National Pipeline Mapping System developed by PHMSA to improve local response capabilities for pipeline emergencies. The bill would require the commission to report to the Legislature on the status of establishing the compatible emergency response standards on or before January 1, 2013. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new 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.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act authorizes the commission to establish a system of accounts to be kept by public utilities and to prescribe the manner in which accounts are kept, the records and memorandum to be kept, as well as the receipts and expenditures of moneys, and any other forms, records, and memoranda that in the judgment of the commission may be necessary to carry out any of the provisions of the act. The act requires the commission to require a public utility to establish and maintain a reserve account reflecting any positive or negative balance whenever the commission authorizes any change in rates reflecting and passing specific changes in costs through to customers, and requires the commission to take any positive or negative balance remaining into account by appropriate adjustment or other action at the time of any subsequent rate adjustment. This bill would require, in any ratemaking proceeding in which the commission authorizes a gas corporation to recover expenses for the gas corporation's transmission pipeline integrity management program established pursuant to specified federal pipeline safety law or related capital expenditures for maintenance and repair of transmission pipelines, that the commission require the gas corporation to establish and maintain a balancing account for the recovery of those expenses. Existing law provides that any public utility that violates any provision of the California Constitution or the Public Utilities 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 $20,000 for each offense. This bill would increase the maximum amount of the penalty to $50,000. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new 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.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would prohibit a gas corporation from recovering any fine or penalty in any rate approved by the commission. The bill would require a gas corporation to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commission in its general rate case proceeding that the requested revenue requirements will be sufficient to enable the gas corporation to fund those projects and activities necessary to maintain safe and reliable service and to meet federal and state safety requirements applicable to its gas plant, in a cost-effective manner. The bill would require a gas corporation to file gas transmission and storage safety reports with the commission's consumer protection safety division that include certain matter and require that if the division determines that there is a deficiency in a gas corporation's prioritization or administration of the storage or pipeline capital projects or operation and maintenance activities, to bring the deficiency to the commission's immediate attention. This bill would require the commission, in any ratemaking proceeding in which the commission authorizes a gas corporation to recover expenses for a federal transmission pipeline integrity management program, or for related capital expenditures for the maintenance and repair of transmission pipelines, to require the gas corporation to establish and maintain a balancing account for the recovery of those expenses. This provision would not become operative if SB 879 is enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2012, and SB 879 enacts an identical provision. (2) The Public Utilities Act authorizes the commission to ascertain and fix just and reasonable standards, classifications, regulations, practices, measurements, or service to be furnished, imposed, observed, and followed by specified public utilities, including gas corporations. Existing federal law requires the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to adopt minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and for pipeline facilities, including an interstate gas pipeline facility and intrastate gas pipeline facility, as defined. Existing law authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe or enforce safety standards and practices for an intrastate pipeline facility or intrastate pipeline transportation to the extent that the safety standards and practices are regulated by a state authority that submits to the secretary annually a certification for the facilities and transportation or alternatively authorizes the secretary to make an agreement with a state authority authorizing it to take necessary action to meet certain pipeline safety requirements. Existing law prohibits a state authority from adopting or continuing in force safety standards for interstate pipeline facilities or interstate pipeline transportation. Existing law authorizes a state authority that has submitted a current certification to adopt additional or more stringent safety standards for intrastate pipeline facilities and intrastate pipeline transportation only if those standards are compatible with the minimum standards prescribed by PHMSA. This bill would require owners and operators of intrastate transmission and distribution lines for natural gas, at least once each calendar year, to meet with each local fire department having fire suppression responsibilities in the area where those lines are located to discuss and review contingency plans for emergencies involving the intrastate transmission and distribution lines within the jurisdiction of the local fire department. The bill would require the commission, unless it determines that doing so is preempted under federal law, to require the installation of automatic shutoff or remote controlled sectionalized block valves on certain intrastate transmission lines, as specified. The bill would require each gas corporation to prepare and submit to the commission a proposed comprehensive pressure testing implementation plan that includes specified elements and require that, at the conclusion of an implementation period, all intrastate transmission line segments meet specified requirements. (3) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. (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 authorizes school districts to provide specified medical services in connection with athletic events that are under the jurisdiction of, or sponsored or controlled by, school districts. These services include medical or hospital insurance for pupils injured while participating in athletic activities and ambulance service for pupils, instructors, spectators, and other individuals in attendance at athletic activities. This bill would require a school district that elects to offer athletic programs to immediately remove from a school-sponsored athletic activity for the remainder of the day an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury during that activity. The bill would prohibit the return of the athlete to that activity until he or she is evaluated by, and receives written clearance from, a licensed health care provider, as specified. The bill would require, on a yearly basis, a concussion and head injury information sheet to be signed and returned by the athlete and the athlete's parent or guardian before the athlete's initiating practice or competition. These provisions would not apply to an athlete engaged in an athletic activity during the regular schoolday or as part of a physical education course, as specified.
Existing law requires that every person who participates in, or has anything to do with, the racing of horses and every employee of a parimutuel department be licensed by the California Horse Racing Board. Existing law requires the board to set forth requirements for the position of satellite facility supervisor for all satellite wagering facilities operated by the state or on public land. The supervisor is required to monitor the performance of licensees at the facilities. This bill would create an exception from that provision by authorizing a fair satellite facility generating less than $10,000,000 annually in total handle to elect not to be subject to the requirements related to a satellite facility supervisor if the board of directors of the fair satellite facility, after a public hearing, deems those requirements to be not economically feasible, under specified conditions. Those conditions would include a requirement that the fair board notify the California Horse Racing Board in writing of its intention to take that action 30 days prior to the public hearing, and that notice of the fair board's action be provided to the California Horse Racing Board within 10 days of approval by the fair board. The bill would require the fair satellite facility to continue to abide by all laws and regulations pertaining to the operation of a satellite facility, including the responsibilities of the position of satellite facility supervisor. The bill would also require that notice of the fair board's action include the name and contact information of the individual or individuals assuming the responsibilities of the satellite facility supervisor position.
