Sen. Sam Blakeslee Ph.D.

Under existing law, when a defendant pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, the court is required to appoint at least 2 psychiatrists or licensed psychologists to examine, investigate, and report on the defendant's mental status. The report is required to include certain information, including the psychological history of the defendant and the present psychological or psychiatric symptoms of the defendant. This bill would require the report to also include the defendant's substance abuse history, his or her substance use history on the day of the commission of the offense, a review of the police report of the offense, and any other credible and relevant material reasonably necessary to describe the facts of the offense.

This measure would recognize the United States Navy for its contributions to California, its communities, and its citizens by proclaiming the week of July 16 to July 22, inclusive, as Navy Week Sacramento.

(1) Existing law makes it a crime for a person who is under the influence of alcohol or any drug, or under the combined influence of alcohol and any drug, to drive a vehicle. Existing law also makes it a crime for a person to drive a vehicle with 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood. This bill would, in addition, make it a crime for a person to have a controlled substance, as defined, in his or her blood while driving a vehicle. (2) Existing law makes it a crime for a person who drives a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or any drug, or under the combined influence of alcohol and any drug, to do any act forbidden by law or neglect any duty imposed by law while driving a vehicle when that act or neglected duty is the proximate cause of bodily injury to any person other than the driver. Existing law also makes it a crime for a person who drives a vehicle with 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to do any act forbidden by law or neglect any duty imposed by law while driving a vehicle when that act or neglected duty is the proximate cause of bodily injury to any person other than the driver. This bill would, in addition, make it a crime for a person to have a controlled substance, as defined, in his or her blood while driving a vehicle and to do any act forbidden by law or neglect any duty imposed by law while driving when that act or neglected duty is the proximate cause of bodily injury to any person other than the driver. (3) Under existing law, there is a rebuttable evidentiary presumption that a person was under the influence of alcohol at the time he or she drove a vehicle if he or she had 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of a chemical test if the chemical test was done within 3 hours after the person drove the vehicle. This bill would create a rebuttable evidentiary presumption that a person had a controlled substance in his or her blood at the time he or she drove a vehicle if the person had a controlled substance, as defined, in his or her blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test if the test is done within 3 hours after the person drove the vehicle. (4) Because this bill would create new crimes, it 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) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities and can establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to investigate the cause of all accidents occurring upon the property of any public utility or directly or indirectly arising from or connected with its maintenance or operation, resulting in loss of life or injury to person or property and requiring, in the judgment of the commission, investigation by it, and authorizes the commission to make any order or recommendation with respect to the investigation that it determines to be just and reasonable. This bill would require that any order or recommendation made by the commission and any accident report filed with, or generated by, the commission pursuant to these requirements be made available and ready for public review in compliance with the California Public Records Act and these provisions. (2) The Public Utilities Act prohibits the commission or an officer or employee of the commission from disclosing any information furnished to the commission by a public utility, a subsidiary, an affiliate, or corporation holding a controlling interest in a public utility, unless the information is specifically required to be open to public inspection under the act, except on order of the commission or a commissioner in the course of a hearing or proceeding. The act provides that any present or former officer or employee of the commission who divulges this information is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would require the commission, for those records subject to public disclosure, to determine, prior to disclosing any record, whether any exemptions to the California Public Records Act or other law restricting disclosure applies to that record. This bill would require the commission to create a list of safety-related reports submitted by gas corporations or electrical corporations that the commission would, upon completion of the reports, automatically disclose to the public. The bill would require the commission, prior to disclosing any record, to determine whether any exemptions to the California Public Records Act or other law restricting disclosure apply to that record. The bill would require the commission to post certain information on its Internet Web site.

This measure would declare the month of May 2012 to be Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month in California.

Under existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board (state board) and the 9 California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with responsibility for the coordination and control of water quality in the state. The act requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policies for water quality control, and requires the regional boards to adopt regional water quality control plans in compliance with the state policies. Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency, or a board, department, or office within the agency, to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, the University of California, the California State University, or any similar scientific institution of higher learning, or any combination of those entities, or with a scientist or group of scientists of comparable stature and qualifications that are recommended by the President of the University of California, to conduct an external scientific peer review of the scientific basis for any proposed rule, as defined, to include a policy adopted by the state board that has the effect of a regulation and that is adopted in order to implement or make effective a statute, and prescribes procedures for conducting that scientific peer review, as specified. This bill would add the adoption of general permit application requirements for stormwater discharges by the state board and would add a conditional waiver of waste discharge requirements from irrigated lands adopted by a regional water quality control board to the definition of rule for the purposes of the above provisions, and would require these provisions to apply only when fees are available to cover the state board's or a regional board's costs of complying with these provisions. This bill would also deem the state board or a regional board to have complied with the above provisions if a scientific peer review has been done on the scientific basis or scientific portion of an adopted rule.

This measure would designate Monday, May 7, 2012, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day, urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers, and recognize specified California peace officers who were killed in defense of their communities.

(1) Existing law requires the custodian of records within a county child welfare agency, within 5 business days of learning that a child fatality has occurred in the county and that there is a reasonable suspicion that the fatality was caused by abuse or neglect, to release upon request specified records, subject to the redaction of certain identifying personal information, of child abuse or neglect that results in the death of a child. Existing law requires each county welfare agency or department to notify the State Department of Social Services, as provided, of all child fatalities that occurred within its jurisdiction that were the result of child abuse or neglect. This bill would require each county child welfare agency, within 60 calendar days of determining that abuse or neglect led to a child's death in the county, as described, to review the child's death and prepare a written report containing specified information. The bill would require the county child welfare agency to submit this report to the State Department of Social Services within 10 business days of its completion. By increasing the duties of local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to annually issue a report identifying the child fatalities and any systemic issues or patterns revealed by the notices submitted by county welfare services departments or agencies and other relevant information. This bill, commencing January 1, 2013, would require this report to include additional information provided to the department pursuant to the above-described reports prepared by county child welfare agencies. (3) 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and 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 require the commission to require an electrical corporation and gas corporation with 100,000 or more service connections in the state to develop and implement an on-bill repayment program, as defined, for eligible energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed generation investments, financed pursuant to an agreement with an OBR partner, as defined, on terms that the commission approves and ensures that the terms are just and reasonable. The bill would require the commission ensure that any on-bill repayment program approved by the commission include certain elements. The bill would authorize the commission to require an electrical corporation or gas corporation to treat any resulting shortfall in payment for electric or gas service consistent with the rules established by the commission for a customer's failure to pay for electric or gas service. The bill would authorize the commission to order an electrical corporation or gas corporation with less than 100,000 service connections in the state to establish on-bill repayment programs based upon each utility's individual circumstances. 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 require action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation of the commission's orders 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.