Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards Code. Existing law requires the commission to adopt, approve, codify, and publish mandatory building standards for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings and nonresidential development. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to propose mandatory building standards for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings and submit the proposed mandatory building standards to the commission for consideration. Existing law requires the department and the commission, in proposing and adopting these standards, to actively consult with specified parties. This bill, for purposes of the requirements described above, would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to research and develop, and would authorize the department to propose to the commission for adoption, mandatory building standards for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings that achieve specified objectives. In this regard, the bill would require those mandatory building standards to require that each multifamily dwelling unit with access to parking have at least one parking space served by a dedicated branch circuit terminating in a receptacle or an electric vehicle charging station and to include specified signage. The bill would additionally require the commission and the department to consult with interested parties, including multifamily dwelling residents and electric vehicle equity advocate groups, in researching and developing these standards.
Sponsored bills
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. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, exempt from CEQA a university housing development project, as defined, carried out by a public university, as defined, on real property owned by the public university if the project meets certain requirements, including that each building within the project is certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum or better by the United States Green Building Council, that the project's construction impacts are fully mitigated, and that the project is not located, in whole or in part, on certain types of sites, including a site that is within a special flood hazard area subject to inundation by a 1% annual chance flood or within a regulatory floodway as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as provided. The bill, with respect to a site that is within a special flood hazard area subject to inundation by a 1% annual chance flood or within a regulatory floodway, would prohibit a local government from denying an application on the basis that a public university did not comply with any additional permit requirement, standard, or action adopted by that local government applicable to the site if the public university is able to satisfy all applicable federal qualifying criteria in order to demonstrate that the site meets these criteria and is otherwise eligible to be exempt from CEQA pursuant to the above requirements. By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that a university housing development project is not exempt from CEQA if, among other things, the project would require the demolition of specified housing or a historic structure that is listed on a national, state, or local historic register. The bill would require the public university to hold at least one noticed public hearing to hear and respond to public comments before determining that the university housing development project is exempt under the bill's provisions. The bill would require the lead agency, before the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for each building within a project, to obtain the LEED certification of the building, and to make a determination that all construction impacts of the project have been fully mitigated and issue a notice of that determination. The bill would require the lead agency to file the LEED certification and the notice with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk of the county in which the project is located. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk to make the certification and notice available to the public. To the extent that this bill would impose additional duties on a local agency, including the county clerk, 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 establishes various programs and funding sources administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development to enable the development of affordable housing, including the Building Homes and Jobs Act, the Multifamily Housing Program, the Housing for a Healthy California Program, and the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014. Under existing law governing the State Community Development Block Grant Program, the department is required to distribute funds made available under the program in order to provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expand economic opportunities, consistent with federal requirements. Existing federal law also establishes the HOME Investment Partnership Program to, among other things, expand the supply of affordable housing. Existing law designates the department as the state agency responsible for administering the HOME Investment Partnership Act. This bill would prohibit the department from requiring a project-specific transition reserve, as defined, for any unit subject to a qualified project rental or operating subsidy. This bill would create the Pooled Transition Reserve Fund and would continuously appropriate moneys in that fund to the department for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a pooled transition reserve, as defined. This bill would prescribe the sources from which the fund may receive moneys, and would make a transfer of $5,000,000 to the Pooled Transition Reserve Fund from the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund. By establishing, and transferring moneys to, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would authorize the department to charge a fee to a development that receives qualified project rental or operating subsidies at the time of permanent loan closing, not to exceed the department's reasonable costs to capitalize the reserve fund and cover administrative costs, to be deposited in the fund. This bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement these provisions and would exempt the adoption, amendment, or repeal of those guidelines from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. This bill would provide that these provisions apply to units financed by any department-administered program, for which permanent loan closing has not occurred prior to January 1, 2023, as specified. Existing law, the No Place Like Home Program, as ratified and amended by Proposition 2, which was approved by the voters at the November 6, 2018, statewide general election, provides funding to provide permanent supportive housing for a specified target population, which is defined to include individuals who have a serious mental disorder and who are homeless, chronically homeless, or at risk of chronic homelessness. Existing law authorizes the Legislature to amend Proposition 2 by a 23 vote, so long as the amendment is consistent with and furthers the intent of that measure. The bill would state the findings of the Legislature that these provisions are consistent with, and further the intent of, the No Place Like Home Act.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, that generally requires employers to secure the payment of workers' compensation for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, and in the course of, employment. Existing law requires an employer to provide medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of the injury. Existing law includes in the meaning of medical treatment services and supplies by physical therapists, chiropractic practitioners, and acupuncturists, that are licensed and within the scope of their practice. Existing law authorizes an insurer, employer, or entity that provides physician network services to establish or modify a medical provider network for the provision of medical treatment to injured employees, and requires that a network include an adequate number and type of physicians or other providers, as defined. This bill would include a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) as treatment the employer is reasonably required to provide, would expand the meaning of medical treatment to include the services of an LCSW, and would authorize an employer to provide an employee with access to an LCSW, as defined, acting within the scope of their practice. The bill would authorize medical provider networks to add LCSWs to the physician providers listing, authorize an LCSW to treat or evaluate an injured worker only upon referral from a physician, as defined, and prohibit an LCSW from determining disability, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations in support of allowing licensed clinical social workers to treat work-related mental and behavioral health issues. Existing law requires that when a self-insured employer, group of self-insured employers, or the insurer of an employer contracts with a health care organization for health care services to be provided to injured employees, those employees subject to the contract are to receive medical services in the manner prescribed in the contract. Existing law requires that each contract provide all medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the effects of the injury. This bill would include an LCSW as treatment that the contract is required to provide.
Existing law requires the Governor to appoint a State Public Defender, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The primary responsibilities of the State Public Defender are to represent those persons who are entitled to representation at public expense in specified proceedings and to provide assistance and training to specified attorneys. The State Public Defender, among other things, is authorized to represent any person who is not financially able to employ counsel in specified matters and to appear as a friend of the court, as specified. This bill would authorize the State Public Defender to administer and award grants to improve indigent defense services.
Existing law establishes a variety of health care workforce training programs and health professions education programs within the Department of Health Care Access and Information to, among other things, maximize the delivery of primary care and family physician services to specific areas of California where there is a recognized unmet priority need for those services and ensure an adequate supply of appropriately trained professional and vocational nurses. Existing law establishes the Health Professions Education Fund to support those programs by providing scholarships and loans to students from underrepresented groups who are accepted to or enrolled in schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, or other health professions. This bill would establish the California Reproductive Health Service Corps within the department for the purposes of recruiting, training, and retaining a diverse workforce of reproductive health care professionals who will be part of reproductive health care teams to work in underserved areas. The bill would require the corps to administer and oversee scholarships and stipends for scholars who are new reproductive health students, and loan repayment for scholars who have acquired debt from attending a reproductive health professional school in the past, in exchange for a 3-year term of obligated service in California at a corps-approved site. The bill would require the corps to prioritize the selection of scholars from historically excluded populations and underserved areas, and would require scholars to agree to complete abortion training as part of their health care education and to provide, or participate on a team that provides, reproductive health services and to commit to working at a corps-approved site in a specified area with a specified population. This bill would require the department to conduct an evaluation 5 years after implementation to assess the impact and effectiveness of the corps, and would require the department to report its findings to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2029.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California. Existing law authorizes the board to take action against all persons guilty of violating the Medical Practice Act. Existing law requires the board to enforce and administer various disciplinary provisions as to physician and surgeon certificate holders. Existing law, the Osteopathic Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of osteopathic physicians and surgeons by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California. Under existing law, the board has disciplinary functions pursuant to the act. Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of nursing by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law provides for the certification of nurse-midwives by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law, the Physician Assistant Practice Act, establishes the Physician Assistant Board for the licensure and regulation of physician assistants. Existing law requires the Board of Registered Nursing and the Physician Assistant Board to enforce and administer various disciplinary provisions as to nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and physician assistants. Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, provides that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to their personal reproductive decisions. Under existing law, an abortion is unauthorized if either the person performing the abortion is not an authorized health care provider, as specified, or the fetus is viable. Under existing law, the failure of a physician and surgeon to comply with the Reproductive Privacy Act constitutes unprofessional conduct. This bill would prohibit the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California from suspending or revoking the certificate of a physician and surgeon solely for performing an abortion if they performed the abortion in accordance with the provisions of the Medical Practice Act and the Reproductive Privacy Act. The bill would also prohibit those boards from denying an application for licensure as a physician and surgeon, or suspending, revoking, or otherwise imposing discipline upon a physician and surgeon because the person was disciplined in another state in which they are licensed or certified solely for performing an abortion in that state, or the person was convicted in that state for an offense related solely to the performance of an abortion in that state. The bill would additionally prohibit the Board of Registered Nursing and the Physician Assistant Board from suspending or revoking the certification or license of a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, or a physician assistant for performing an abortion if they performed the abortion in accordance with the provisions of the Nursing Practice Act or the Physician Assistant Practice Act, as applicable, and the Reproductive Privacy Act. The bill would also prohibit those boards from denying an application for certification or licensure as a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, or a physician assistant, or suspending, revoking, or otherwise imposing discipline upon a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, or a physician assistant because the person was disciplined in another state in which they are licensed or certified solely for performing an abortion in that state, or the person was convicted in that state for an offense related solely to the performance of an abortion in that state. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which authorizes a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University to receive a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, if the student satisfies certain requirements. Existing law prohibits a student from borrowing more than $20,000 in the aggregate under the program from any one participating institution. Existing law requires each participating institution to provide entrance and exit counseling to borrowers that is generally comparable to that required by federal student loan programs. This bill would prohibit a student from borrowing more than $40,000 in the aggregate under the program. The bill would prohibit a student who is enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing, as an undergraduate student, or a student who is enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing, as a graduate student, more than $20,000 in the aggregate under the program. The bill would require a participating institution, on or before January 1, 2024, to establish DREAM loan forgiveness options for borrowers with similar standards as those set forth in the Federal Perkins Loan Program. The bill would require borrowers to qualify for or be granted certain administrative relief, and would require borrowers to qualify for state of emergency administrative forbearance, as specified. The bill would specify that exit counseling provided by a participating institution includes information about DREAM loan repayment, forbearance, deferment, discharge, and forgiveness. The bill would require a participating institution to post information about the DREAM loan on its internet website, as specified.
Existing law makes public nuisance a misdemeanor, and defines a public nuisance as anything which is injurious to health, or is indecent, or offensive to the senses, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment or life or property by an entire community, neighborhood, or considerable number of persons. This bill would make a defendant sentenced for a violation of this public nuisance law based on a disposition negotiated between the defendant and the prosecution, or pursuant to an indicated sentence of the court, which includes the dismissal of one or more infraction charges that allege unlawfully cultivating, manufacturing, transporting, giving away, selling, or possession or use of a drug, or possession or use of drug paraphernalia, punishable by an infraction. The bill would make a violation of public nuisance under those circumstances, if the dismissal is of a misdemeanor charge that meets that criteria, punishable as a misdemeanor or an infraction. The bill would make a violation of public nuisance under those circumstances, if the dismissal is of a felony charge that meets that criteria, punishable as a felony or a misdemeanor. By changing the punishment of 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 authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue and renew driver's licenses, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the department to issue identification cards. Existing law requires the department to issue a restricted driver's license to an eligible applicant who is unable to submit satisfactory proof that their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law if they meet all other qualifications for licensure and provide satisfactory proof of identity and California residency. Existing law also authorizes the department to issue an identification card to a person documented under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. This bill would, among other things, require the department to, by no later than July 1, 2027, issue a restricted identification card to an eligible applicant who is unable to submit satisfactory proof that their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law if they provide satisfactory proof of identity and California residency, as specified. Existing law requires the restricted licenses and identification cards to include a recognizable feature on the front of the cards, such as the letters "DP" instead of "DL" and "IC" instead of "ID." This bill would delete the provision requiring a recognizable feature on the cards. Existing law prohibits California law enforcement agencies from cooperating, as specified, with federal immigration authorities. Existing law prohibits the disclosure of certain documents provided by an applicant to the department, except in response to a subpoena for individual records in a criminal proceeding or a court order, or in response to a law enforcement request to address an urgent health or safety need, as specified. This bill would specify that immigration enforcement, as defined, does not constitute an urgent health and safety need for those purposes, and would prohibit a government agency or department, law enforcement agency, commercial entity, or other person from obtaining, accessing, using, or otherwise disclosing, noncriminal history information maintained by the department, for the purpose of immigration enforcement. The bill would make other conforming changes. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12926 of the Government Code proposed by SB 523 to be operative only if this bill and SB 523 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.