This measure would congratulate and commend the Boy Scouts of America on their 100th anniversary and centennial celebration, and recognize the achievements and impacts the scouting program has had on youth.
Existing law authorizes the California Earthquake Authority, administered under the authority of the Insurance Commissioner, to transact basic residential earthquake insurance. Existing law authorizes the governing board of the authority to take certain actions to open the authority to participation by insurers, who have not elected to participate in the authority by contributing the required operating capital, in order to act upon findings and recommendations reported to the Legislature or to implement a specific finding by the commissioner or the board that modification of the requirements for entry into the authority is necessary to broaden the availability of residential property or residential earthquake insurance. Any action by the board, to act upon findings and recommendations reported to the Legislature or to implement a specific finding by the commissioner or the board that modification of requirements for entry into the authority is necessary to broaden the availability of residential property or residential earthquake insurance, is subject to certain limitations, including, but not limited to, a finding of necessity, as specified. All materials and documents prepared or used by the authority to make a finding of necessity, other than proprietary materials and documents owned or licensed by 3rd parties, are considered public documents and are required to be made available to the public. This bill would require the authority to make all nonproprietary materials and documents available in the electronic form in which it holds the information or which has been used by the authority to create copies for its own use or for provision to others. Existing law requires that all materials and documents prepared or used by the authority to determine its rates, other than proprietary materials and documents owned or licensed by 3rd parties, are considered public documents and are required to be made available to the public. This bill would require the authority to make all nonproprietary materials and documents available in the electronic form in which it holds the information or which has been used by the authority to create copies for its own use or for provision to others.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with the Independent System Operator (ISO) , to establish resource adequacy requirements for all load-serving entities, as defined, in accordance with specified objectives. This definition of a "load-serving entity" excludes a local publicly owned electric utility. However, other provisions of existing law require that each local publicly owned electric utility serving end-use customers prudently plan for and procure resources that are adequate to meet its planning reserve margin and peak demand and operating reserves, sufficient to provide reliable electric service to its customers. This bill would authorize an eligible customer-generator, as defined, to participate in resource adequacy distributed generation, as specified. The bill would require each responsible load-serving entity, as defined, to develop a standard offer contract for the purchase of electricity generated by an eligible facility, as defined, of an eligible customer-generator participating in resource adequacy distributed generation, and would require that the standard offer contract provide for payment for every kilowatthour delivered to the electrical grid by the eligible facility at the generation rate of the responsible load-serving entity. The bill would require that the commission approve, or approve as modified, the standard offer contract of a responsible load-serving entity that is an electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator, and would similarly require that the governing board approve, or approve as modified, the standard offer contract of a responsible load-serving entity that is a local publicly owned electric utility. The bill would authorize an electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric utility to offer resource adequacy distributed generation pursuant to a tariff, and would authorize the tariff to be offered in lieu of, or in addition to, the standard offer contract. The bill would require every responsible load-serving entity, upon approval of its standard offer contract or tariff, to make the standard offer contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators within its service territory, or for an electric service provider, to any eligible customer-generator with which it has entered into a direct transaction. The bill would impose additional requirements upon responsible load-serving entities, the commission, and the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility for implementation of the resource adequacy distributed generation program. The bill would provide that the physical generating capacity of the eligible facility available to the responsible load-serving entity pursuant to the program shall count toward the resource adequacy requirements of those entities. (2) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would require action by the commission to implement, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. Because this bill would establish various requirements to be met by local publicly owned utilities, 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 specified reasons.
This measure would recognize the week of April 18, 2010, through April 24, 2010, as Crime Victims' Rights Week.
Existing law establishes the right of individuals with exceptional needs to a free appropriate public education and ensures the right to special education and related services. Existing law requires that a pupil with exceptional needs be accommodated through the creation and implementation of an individualized education program. Existing law establishes procedural safeguards under state and federal law to be established and maintained by agencies that provide education and related services to children who are individuals with exceptional needs, including procedural requirements for parties to special education disputes. This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with specified other entities, to prepare a report identifying options for reducing administrative and legal costs borne by local educational agencies and parents resulting from disputes and litigation over the adequacy and administration of individualized education programs. This bill would require the Superintendent to submit an interim report to the Legislature by July 1, 2011, and a final report to the Legislature by December 1, 2011. The provisions of this bill would be repealed on December 1, 2015.
This measure would proclaim the month of May to be Women Veterans Recognition Month.
(1) The Enterprise Zone Act provides for the designation of enterprise zones by the Department of Community Housing and Development based on the department's approval of applications from a city, county, or city and county with a geographic area meeting certain criteria. Certain entities within a designated enterprise zone may receive regulatory, tax, and other incentives for private investment and employment. Existing law provides that no more than 42 enterprise zones be designated at any one time pursuant to the act. Upon the expiration or termination of a designation, existing law authorizes the department to designate another enterprise zone to maintain a total of 42 enterprise zones. This bill would authorize the department to designate one special enterprise zone within the City of Fremont consisting of a geographical area encompassing a facility that manufactures automobiles and to designate, until 90 days after the act takes effect, an additional 10 special enterprise zones limited to one nonrenewable 15-year term. The bill would exclude these enterprise zones from the calculation of the overall number of enterprise zones authorized under the act. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute. (2) The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act established the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. The authority is authorized to do all things necessary and convenient to carry out the purposes of the act. The authority is also required to establish a renewable energy program to provide financial assistance, as defined, to certain entities for projects to generate new and renewable energy sources, develop clean and efficient distributed generation, and demonstrate the economic feasibility of new technologies. Existing law provides that the transfer of title of tangible personal property constituting a project under the act to the authority by a participating party or the lease or transfer of tangible personal property constituting a project under the act by the authority to a participating party pursuant to the act is not a "sale" or "purchase" for the purposes of the Sales and Use Tax Law. This bill would include as a project, machinery, or equipment that is utilized for the design, technology transfer, manufacture, production, assembly, distribution, or service of an alternative source component. The bill would include as "financial assistance" for the purposes of the act purchases, sales, or lease arrangements that qualify for exclusion from the Sales and Use Tax Law. The bill would require the authority to consider specified criteria in approving a project for which the purchase, sale, or lease of tangible personal property qualifies for the sales and use tax exclusion. The bill would require, when the sales and use tax exclusion for projects approved by the authority exceed $100,000,000 annually, the authority to provide a 20-day notice to the Legislature for additional project approval.
This measure would propose that the people of the State of California vote at the next statewide general election on the question of whether to call a convention to revise the California Constitution.
Existing workers' compensation law generally requires employers to secure the payment of workers' compensation, including medical treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, and in the course of, employment. Existing law provides that, in the case of certain officers and employees of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and each security officer employed at the Atascadero State Hospital, the term "injury" includes heart trouble that develops or manifests itself during a period while the officer or employee is in the service of the department or hospital, and establishes a disputable presumption that heart trouble that so develops or manifests itself arose out of and in the course of the employment. Existing law establishes state hospital peace officers, as specified, and defines their authority as peace officers. This bill would delete the reference in the above-described provisions to officers at the Atascadero State Hospital as security officers, and instead, refer to those officers as peace officers. The bill would also add peace officers employed at other hospitals, developmental centers, and community centers, as specified, to the list of persons to whom the above-described injury presumption applies.
Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of registered nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing and makes a violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a licensee renewing his or her license to submit proof to the board that during a specified time the licensee has been informed of developments in the registered nursing field either by pursuing a continuing education course offered by a provider approved by the board or by other means deemed equivalent by the board. Existing law requires the board to establish, by regulation, standards for continuing education. Existing law requires these standards to make a variety of alternative forms of continuing education available to licensees. Existing law requires the content of all courses of continuing education to be relevant to the practice of nursing. This bill would provide that continuing education courses, as specified, that advance or promote labor organizing on behalf of a union, or that advance or promote statutory or regulatory changes, political candidates, political advocacy, or political strategy shall not be considered content relevant to the practice of nursing and shall not be acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure renewal. The bill would also prohibit an approved provider from representing that such a continuing education course is acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure renewal and would require the board, subject to specified procedural requirements, to withdraw its approval of a provider that violates that requirement for no less than 5 years, as specified. Because a violation of these requirements by a provider would constitute a crime, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
