Existing law provides for the establishment and operation of certain state-owned and operated veterans' cemeteries. Existing law authorizes honorably discharged veterans and their spouses and children to be interred at these cemeteries, and provides for a fee to be charged for each spouse or child interred at the cemetery, as specified. This bill would authorize the fee for the interment of the spouses and children of honorably discharged veterans in these cemeteries to be waived if the cemetery administrator determines that the families of the spouses or children do not have sufficient means to pay for the costs of interment, and would require any costs for these interments to be paid from nonstate funds. This bill would require the cemetery administrator to seek reimbursements, as specified, and would authorize the cemetery administrator to solicit private donations, to offset any fees lost as a result of this fee waiver.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim various days as holidays and days of remembrance. Existing law also designates certain days in each year as having special significance for purposes of encouraging schools to observe those days and conduct suitable commemorative exercises. This bill would require the Governor to annually proclaim March 30 of each year as "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day." The bill would additionally encourage schools to conduct exercises on March 30 of each year to recognize the contributions of those involved in the Vietnam conflict.
This measure would designate April 24, 2009, as "California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923." It would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.
Existing law, effective May 21, 2009, requires a passenger vehicle rental company to only advertise a rental rate that includes the entire amount, except taxes, the increased vehicle license fee, any customer facility charge, and any mileage charge, that a renter must pay to hire or lease the vehicle for the period of time to which the rental rate applies. Existing law authorizes the rental company, when imposing charges for a rental, to separately state the rental rate, taxes, increased vehicle license fee, customer facility charge, if any, airport concession fee, if any, tourism commission assessment, if any, and a mileage charge, if any. Existing law, effective May 21, 2009, also requires the rental company, if customer facility charges, airport concession fees, or tourism commission assessments are imposed, to provide the person receiving the quote with a good faith estimate of the rental rate and certain taxes and charges, including the increased vehicle license fee, when the quote is given, to clearly and conspicuously disclose in the rental contract the total rate and certain taxes and charges, including the increased vehicle license fee, when the rental commences, and to provide each person, other than those persons within the rental company, offering quotes to actual or prospective customers access to information about certain taxes and charges, including the increased vehicle license fee. Existing law, effective May 21, 2009, defines the increased vehicle license fee as the amount of the fee increase in the vehicle license fee above 0.65% of the value of the vehicle. Existing law requires that fee to be separately charged, clearly stated, and prorated at 1365 of the fee increase in the annual vehicle license fee actually paid on the particular vehicle being rented for each full or partial 24-hour rental day that the vehicle is rented. Existing law prohibits the total of all increased vehicle license fees charged to renters from exceeding the fee increase in the annual vehicle license fee actually paid for the particular vehicle rented. This bill would define "increased vehicle license recovery fee" as a charge that seeks to recover the amount of increased vehicle license fees actually paid by a rental company for the particular class of vehicle being rented. The bill would require a rental company to calculate every 3 months the daily increased vehicle license recovery fee by prorating at 1365 of the average increased vehicle license fee for vehicles in each particular class of vehicle being rented, based on the increase in the annual vehicle license fee actually paid during the preceding 12 months for each class of vehicle being rented. The bill would require the rental companies to reconcile the amount of increased vehicle license fees actually paid by the rental company for each class of vehicle and the amount of increased vehicle license recovery fees charged to customers for rental of vehicles in those classes, and to post that information on its Internet Web site, as specified. The bill would prohibit the total of all increased vehicle license fees charged to customers by the rental company for each class of vehicle from exceeding the total of increased vehicle license recovery fees actually paid for vehicles in those classes on an annual basis. The bill would make other related, technical changes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides that no disaster worker who is performing disaster services during a state of war emergency, a state of emergency, or a local emergency shall be liable for civil damages on account of personal injury to or death of any person or property, as provided. This bill would provide that disaster service workers shall not be liable when acting within the scope of their responsibilities under the authority of the governmental emergency organization, as provided. This bill would provide that these provisions apply exclusively to any legal action filed on or after the effective date of this bill. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Local Health Care District Law, provides for the formation of local health care districts and specifies district powers. Existing law authorizes health care districts to enter into a secured line of credit with a commercial lender, as specified, and requires any money borrowed under this line of credit to be repaid within 5 years from each separate borrowing or draw. This bill would exempt from the above-described repayment requirement, the repayment of any money borrowed under a line of credit established on or after January 1, 2010, for the purpose of consolidating certain debts and that is to be repaid within 20 years from each separate borrowing or draw.
Existing law requires every person who engages in the transportation of waste or used tires to hold a valid waste and used tire hauler registration issued by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, and requires a registered waste and used tire hauler to only transport waste or used tires to a facility that meets the conditions for being permitted, excluded, exempted, or authorized to accept waste and used tires, or to a facility that lawfully accepts waste or used tires for reuse or disposal. Existing law exempts certain persons from registration if the person meets at least one of 8 specified standards, including a person, who is not a waste tire generating business who is transporting waste or used tires to an amnesty day event or to an authorized location, and has written authorization from the local enforcement agency. This bill would additionally exempt from the waste and used tire hauler registration requirements, a person transporting illegally dumped waste or used tires to an amnesty day event or to an authorized location who has received written authorization, which includes specific conditions and dates and documentation that a police report has been filed for the illegally dumped tires, from the local enforcement agency. The bill would also make technical and clarifying changes.
This measure would proclaim May 2009 as California Water Awareness Month, and encourage all Californians to participate in a statewide campaign that focuses on educating Californians about the value of water in everyday life.
This measure would designate Friday, May 8, 2009, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day and would urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers.
(1) Existing law designates the Judicial Council as the entity having full responsibility, jurisdiction, control, and authority over trial court facilities for which title is held by the state, including the acquisition and development of facilities. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to design, construct, or renovate prison housing units, prison support buildings, and programming space as specified. Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services, when authorized by the Legislature, to use the design-build procurement process for a specific project to contract and procure state office facilities, other buildings, structures, and related facilities. Existing law requires a bidder participating in the process to provide written declarations, subject to misdemeanor penalties. This bill would also authorize the Director of General Services or the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as appropriate, to use the design-build procurement process in contracting and procuring a state office facility or prison facility, and would authorize the Judicial Council to use that same process in contracting and procuring a court facility, but would limit this authorization to 5 total projects, to be approved by the Department of Finance, as specified. The bill would require the Department of General Services, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Judicial Council to submit to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, before January 1, 2014, a report containing a description of each public works project procured through the design-build process, as specified. The bill would require a bidder participating in the process to provide written declarations, subject to misdemeanor penalties, and would thereby impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law sets forth requirements for the solicitation and evaluation of bids and the awarding of contracts by public entities for the erection, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of any public structure, building, road, or other public improvement. Existing law also authorizes specified state agencies, cities, and counties to implement alternative procedures for the awarding of contracts on a design‑build basis. Existing law, until January 1, 2011, authorizes transit operators to enter into a design-build contract, as defined, according to specified procedures. This bill would, until January 1, 2014, allow certain state and local transportation entities, if authorized by the California Transportation Commission, to use a design‑build process for contracting on transportation projects, as specified. The bill would require a transportation entity to implement, or contract with a third-party to implement, a labor compliance program for design-build projects, except as specified. The bill would also require these transportation entities to report to the commission, and the commission to submit a mid-term and a final report to the Legislature, regarding the design-build process as specified. The bill would establish a procedure for submitting bids that includes a requirement that design-build entities provide a statement of qualifications submitted to the transportation entity that is verified under oath. Because a verification under oath is made under penalty of perjury, the bill would, by requiring a verification, create a new crime and thereby impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Under existing law, any work of grading, clearing, demolition, or construction undertaken by a redevelopment agency is required to be done by contract after competitive bidding if the cost of that work exceeds a specified amount. This bill would, until January 1, 2016, authorize a redevelopment agency, with the approval of its duly constituted board in a public hearing, to enter into design-build contracts for projects, as defined, in excess of $1,000,000, in accordance with specified provisions. This bill would authorize up to 10 design-build contracts, would require an agency to apply to the State Public Works Board for authorization to enter a design-build contract, as provided, and would require the State Public Works Board to notify the Legislative Analyst's Office when 10 projects have been approved. This bill would also require an agency using the design-build method to submit a report to the Legislative Analyst's Office, as provided, and for the Legislative Analyst to report to the Legislature before January 1, 2015, on the agency's use of the design-build method, as provided. This bill would require specified information to be verified under oath, thus imposing a state-mandated local program by expanding the scope of existing crime. (4) Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation and regional transportation agencies, as defined, until January 1, 2012, to enter into comprehensive development lease agreements with public and private entities, or consortia of those entities, for certain transportation projects that may charge certain users of those projects tolls and user fees, subject to various terms and requirements. Existing law limits the number of projects authorized pursuant to these provisions to 2 in northern California and 2 in southern California. This bill would extend the authorization for these agreements to January 1, 2017, and would delete the restriction on the number of projects that may be undertaken pursuant to these provisions. The bill would require the projects to be primarily designed to achieve improved mobility, improved operations or safety, and quantifiable air quality benefits. (5) Existing law requires that the negotiated lease agreements be submitted to the Legislature for approval or rejection. Under existing law, the Legislature has 60 legislative days to act after submittal of the agreement and the agreement is deemed approved unless both houses of the Legislature concur in the passage of a resolution rejecting the agreement. Existing law prohibits the Legislature from amending these lease agreements. The bill would eliminate that prohibition and the provision requiring approval or rejection by the Legislature. The bill would require that all lease agreements first be submitted to the California Transportation Commission for approval, then to the Legislature and the Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission, as defined, for review, as specified. The bill would also require the Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission to perform specified acts and would authorize that commission to charge the department and regional transportation agencies a fee for specified services. (6) Existing law authorizes the department and regional transportation agencies to utilize various procurement approaches, including, among other things, acceptance of unsolicited proposals, as specified. This bill would prohibit the department or a regional transportation agency from awarding a contract to an unsolicited bidder without receiving at least one other responsible bid. (7) Under existing law, for these projects, tolls and user fees may not be charged to noncommercial vehicles with 3 or fewer axles. This bill would eliminate that prohibition. (8) Existing law imposes various contract requirements for these projects, including permitting compensation for a leaseholder for losses in toll or fee revenues in certain instances if caused by the construction of supplemental transportation projects, but prohibits the compensation to exceed the reduction in revenues. This bill would prohibit that compensation from exceeding the difference between the reduction in revenues and the amount necessary to cover the costs of debt service, as specified. The bill would additionally require the agreements to include an indemnity agreement, as specified, and to authorize the contracting entity or lessee to utilize the design-build method of procurement for transportation projects, subject to specified conditions. The bill would also require contracting entities or lessees to have specified qualifications. The bill would authorize the department or the regional transportation agency, when evaluating a proposal submitted by a contracting entity or lessee, to award a contract on the basis of the lowest bid or best value, as defined. The bill would provide that the Department of Transportation is the responsible agency for the performance of certain tasks and the preparation of certain documents, relative to projects on the state highway system, where a regional transportation agency is otherwise the sponsor of the project. The bill would state that the department may perform those functions with department employees or with consultants contracted by the department. (9) 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.