Existing law, the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act, prohibits a person from selling or otherwise furnishing tobacco products, as defined, to a person under 21 years of age. Existing law also prohibits the use of tobacco products in county offices of education, on charter school or school district property, or near a playground or youth sports event, as specified. This bill would prohibit a tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer, as those terms are defined, except as specified. The bill would make a violation of this prohibition an infraction punishable by a fine of $250 for each violation. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that these provisions do not preempt or prohibit the adoption and implementation of local ordinances that impose greater restrictions on the access to tobacco products than the restrictions imposed by the bill, as specified. The bill would state that its provisions are severable. By creating a new 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.
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(1) Existing law requires any nonprofit corporation that operates or controls a health facility or other facility that provides similar health care to provide written notice to, and to obtain the written consent of, the Attorney General prior to entering into any agreement or transaction to sell, transfer, lease, exchange, option, convey, or otherwise dispose of the asset, or to transfer control, responsibility, or governance of the asset or operation, to a for-profit corporation or entity, to a mutual benefit corporation or entity, or to a nonprofit corporation, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to determine what information is required to be contained in the notice. This bill would require a health care system, as defined, private equity group, or hedge fund to provide written notice to, and obtain the written consent of, the Attorney General prior to a change of control, as defined, or an acquisition between the entity and a health care facility or provider, as those terms are defined, except as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to deny consent to a change of control or an acquisition between a health care system, private equity group, hedge fund, and a health care facility, provider, or both, unless the health care system, private equity group, or hedge fund demonstrates that the change of control or acquisition will result in a substantial likelihood of clinical integration, a substantial likelihood of increasing or maintaining the availability and access of services to an underserved population, or both. The bill would authorize a health care system, private equity group, or hedge fund located in a rural area, as defined, to request a waiver of this prohibition. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to deny consent to a change of control or an acquisition between a health care system, private equity group, or hedge fund and a health care facility, provider, or both, if there is a substantial likelihood of anticompetitive effects that outweigh the benefits of a substantial likelihood of clinical integration, a substantial likelihood of an increase in, or maintenance of, services to an underserved population, or both. The bill would additionally require a health care system, private equity group, or hedge fund to provide advance written notice to the Attorney General prior to a change of control or acquisition between a health care system, private equity group, or hedge fund and a nonphysician provider, as defined. The bill would make these provisions applicable to any transaction initiated, completed, or pending on or before December 31, 2025. This bill would require a health care system that is acquiring or making a change of control with a specified provider, group of providers, or health care facility, including, among other instances, when the transactional value is $1,000,000 or less, to provide written notice to the Attorney General and would require the Attorney General to provide one of 2 specified notices within 30 days, either not objecting to the transaction or raising concerns, as specified. The bill would make these provisions applicable to any transaction initiated, completed, or pending on or before December 31, 2025. This bill would require the Attorney General, beginning July 1, 2021, to establish the Health Policy Advisory Board, composed of specified appointed members, for the purpose of evaluating and analyzing health care markets in California and providing recommendations to the Attorney General's office. The bill would authorize the board to review a written notification submitted by a health care system, as described above, and provide the Attorney General with written information with regard to whether to grant or deny consent to the change of control or acquisition. The bill would require the board members to file a statement of economic interest with the Fair Political Practices Commission and would prohibit board members from receiving compensation for service on the board or from making, participating in making, or using their official position to influence the making of a decision that the member knows or has reason to know will have a reasonably foreseeable material financial effect, distinguishable from its effect on the public generally, on the member or a member of their immediate family. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2027. (2) Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action, seeking civil penalties, against any person who engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in unfair competition. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to bring the civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction. This bill would make it unlawful for one or more health care systems, either independently or dependently, to use their market power to, among other things, cause anticompetitive effects, as described, and would authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action for a violation of this unlawful conduct. The bill would require a court to impose civil fines for these violations, calculated either as $1,000,000 or as twice the gross gain to the health care system or gross loss to any other party multiplied by 2, whichever is greater. The bill would require the fines to be deposited into the Attorney General antitrust account within the General Fund. The bill would require a court to impose monetary relief for the state in the amount of 3 times the total damage sustained, as specified.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop and implement performance reliability standards for backup power systems installed on the property of residential and small commercial customers by a facilities-based provider of telephony services upon determining that the benefits of the standards exceed the costs. This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services and the telecommunications industry, by July 1, 2021, to develop and implement backup electrical supply rules, as specified, for telecommunications service, as defined, that is provided within a commission-designated Tier 2 or Tier 3 High Fire Threat District. 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 a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be 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.
(1) Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections as an entity independent of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and authorizes the board to carry out various powers and duties relating to providing advice and leadership on criminal justice issues. Existing law prescribes the membership of the board and the terms of those members. This bill would add 2 seats to the board to be held by members of the public, appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation, who have been previously convicted of a felony. (2) The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act provides for workforce investment activities, including activities in which the states may participate. Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. Existing law requires the board to be comprised of members appointed by the Governor who are responsible for, among other things, assisting the Governor in the development of the state workforce investment plan (State Plan) . Existing law authorizes the board to include, among others, representatives of business who are appointed from a group of individuals nominated by state business organizations and business trade associations. This bill would add 2 seats of the board to be held by 2 members who have previously been convicted of a felony. (3) Existing law requires the local chief elected officials in a local workforce development area to form a local workforce development board to, among other things, plan and oversee the workforce development system and develop and submit to the Governor a comprehensive 4-year local workforce investment plan that is consistent with the State Plan, as specified. Existing law requires that the membership of a local workforce development board be appointed by the local chief elected official using criteria established by the Governor and the California Workforce Development Board that requires specified representatives, including representatives from local businesses. This bill would require the membership of each local workforce development board to include at least one representative who has previously been convicted of a felony. By expanding the membership of local workforce investment boards beyond that required of federal law and imposing new duties on a local official to appoint that additional member, 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various responsibilities and duties. The act authorizes the state board to contract with, or provide a grant to, an administrator to provide administrative, technical, operational, legal, or managerial services, or any combination of those services, to a designated water system to assist with the provision of an adequate supply of affordable, safe drinking water. The act authorizes the state board to order consolidation with, or extension of service from, a receiving water system if a public water system or state small water system serving a disadvantaged community consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water or if a disadvantaged community is substantially reliant on domestic wells that consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The act requires the state board, no later than July 1, 2020, to develop and adopt a policy that provides a process by which members of a disadvantaged community may petition the state board to consider ordering consolidation. This bill would authorize the state board to order consolidation between a receiving water system and an at-risk water system, as defined, upon receipt of a petition that substantially conforms to the above-referenced policy adopted by the state board and that is either approved by the water system's governing body or signed by at least 30% of the households served by the water system. For purposes of that provision, the bill would authorize the state board to contract with a technical assistance provider or appoint an administrator to provide information to a community regarding the petition process, to assist with the preparation of a petition, or to evaluate whether a water system is an at-risk water system.
(1) Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, contingent upon funding being provided by the Wildlife Conservation Board or from other appropriate bond funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to investigate, study, and identify those areas in the state that are most essential as wildlife corridors and habitat linkages, as well as the impacts to those wildlife corridors from climate change, and requires the department to prioritize vegetative data development in these areas. This bill would additionally require the department to investigate, study, and identify impacts to those wildlife corridors from state infrastructure projects, including transportation and water projects, large-scale development projects not covered by an existing natural community conservation plan or habitat conservation plan, and planned or potential land conversions. The bill would also require the department to prioritize wildlife movement and habitat data development in those areas of the state that are most essential as wildlife corridors and habitat linkages. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to administer the Significant Natural Areas Program and requires the department, among other things, to develop and maintain a spatial data system that identifies those areas in the state that are most essential for maintaining habitat connectivity, including wildlife corridors and habitat linkages. Existing law requires the department to seek input from representatives of other state agencies, local government, federal agencies, nongovernmental conservation organizations, landowners, agriculture, recreation, scientific entities, and industry in determining essential wildlife corridors and habitat linkages. Existing law also declares that it is the policy of the state to encourage, wherever feasible and practicable, voluntary steps to protect the functioning of wildlife corridors through various means. This bill would enact the Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection and Movement Act of 2020 and would require the state to build off of existing programs and plans, including the State Wildlife Action Plan, to proactively protect and enhance wildlife corridors and design infrastructure to maximize wildlife connectivity. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and the Secretary of Transportation to coordinate with the Habitat Conservation Planning Branch of the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Division of Environmental Analysis of the Department of Transportation to ensure that the Significant Natural Areas Program and the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project are updated, as specified, and incorporated into future transportation and water infrastructure planning and design to allow for maximum wildlife passage features. The bill would require the secretaries, in implementing these provisions, to identify and incorporate, as appropriate, specified information as an addendum in both the Significant Natural Areas Program and the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, to establish the Ira Ruskin Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Advance Mitigation Pilot Program to create compensatory mitigation credits that can be used to address existing barriers identified in the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project and offset significant California Environmental Quality Act impacts of future transportation and water projects that impact wildlife connectivity. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to identify a corridor coordinator in each Department of Transportation (Caltrans) district to, among other things, lead the wildlife habitat connectivity program for that region and to coordinate with regional staff of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The bill would require the Strategic Growth Council to hold one public hearing each year focused on infrastructure design and wildlife corridors. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in developing guidelines to implement these provisions, to consider specified project impacts for a Caltrans district to be eligible for an application of mitigation credits. (3) Existing law creates the Advance Mitigation Program in the Department of Transportation to enhance communications between the department and stakeholders to, among other things, protect natural resources and accelerate project delivery. Existing law authorizes the department, for the purpose of implementing the program, to develop a programmatic mitigation plan to address the potential environmental impacts of future transportation projects for the purpose of required mitigation approved by federal, state, and local agencies. Existing law requires the department to set aside not less than $30,000,000 annually for 4 years, commencing with the 2017–18 fiscal year, for the program from specified state transportation programs for purposes of the Advance Mitigation Program. Existing law creates the Advance Mitigation Account and continuously appropriates moneys in the account for purposes of the program, and specifies what those funds can be used for. This bill would additionally require those funds to be used to modify or remove wildlife connectivity barriers not covered by existing regulatory programs. The bill would require that a programmatic mitigation plan also include wildlife corridor connectivity enhancement or protection. By expanding the purposes for which a continuously appropriated account may be used, the bill would make an appropriation.
(1) Existing law makes a person found to have violated specified provisions of law generally protecting fish and wildlife, water, or other natural resources in connection with the production or cultivation of a controlled substance liable for a civil penalty in addition to any penalties imposed by any other law. Existing law authorizes the imposition of larger fines on a person who violates one of these provisions on specified types of public or private land or while the person was trespassing on public or private land than on a person who violates one of these provisions on land that the person owns, leases, or otherwise uses or occupies with the consent of the landowner. Existing law authorizes these civil penalties to be imposed or collected by a court or imposed administratively by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. This bill would instead make these provisions applicable to activities conducted in connection with the production or cultivation of cannabis, cannabis products, or industrial hemp. Existing law requires these civil penalties imposed or collected by a court to be apportioned in a specified manner, with 40% of the civil penalty to be deposited in the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund and used for grants that improve forest health by remediating former marijuana growing operations. This bill would require this 40% increment to be deposited in this manner if the violation occurred on the above-described types of public or private land or while the person was trespassing on public or private land. The bill would require this 40% increment to be deposited in the Fish Game Preservation Fund and used for specified activities if the violation occurred on land that the person owns, leases, or otherwise uses or occupies with the consent of the landowner. Existing law requires these administrative civil penalties imposed or collected by the department to be deposited into the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund to repay any unpaid balance of a specified loan and requires any remaining funds from administrative civil penalties to be apportioned by depositing 50% in the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund and 50% in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, as specified. This bill would require these remaining funds to be apportioned in this manner if the violation occurred on the above-described types of public or private land or while the person was trespassing on public or private land. The bill would require these remaining funds to be deposited in the Fish Game Preservation Fund and used for specified activities if the violation occurred on land that the person owns, leases, or otherwise uses or occupies with the consent of the landowner. The bill would make other changes with regard to the required procedures for imposing an administrative civil penalty described above. (2) Existing law prohibits the construction or maintenance, in certain fish and game districts, of any device or contrivance that prevents, impedes, or tends to prevent or impede, the passing of fish up and down stream. Existing law makes a violation of this provision a misdemeanor and imposes an additional civil penalty of not more than $8,000 for a violation of this provision. Existing law requires these civil penalties that are imposed and collected in connection with the production or cultivation of a controlled substance to be apportioned in a specified manner. This bill would instead require the civil penalties to be apportioned in that specified manner if they are imposed for a violation in connection with the production or cultivation of cannabis, cannabis products, or industrial hemp.
Existing law, until June 30, 2020, authorizes specified local agencies to establish the Fort Ord Reuse Authority as a public corporation of the state and authorizes the authority's board to adopt the Fort Ord Reuse Plan, as specified. Existing law defines the term "public works" for purposes including the payment of prevailing wages. Existing law generally defines "public works" to include construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public funds. Under existing law, a willful violation of laws relating to the payment of prevailing wages on public works is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would, for the limited purposes of the application of prevailing wage law, designate those construction projects subject to prevailing wage requirements by the Fort Ord Reuse Authority as part of the Fort Ord Reuse Plan to be "public works." The bill would specify that this requirement shall remain in place notwithstanding the dissolution of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority. By expanding the definition of "public works," this bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing 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.
The California Endangered Species Act requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species and to add or remove species from either list if it finds, upon the receipt of sufficient scientific information, as specified, and based solely upon the best available scientific information, that the action is warranted. The commission has listed certain species of dudleya as threatened or endangered under the act. This bill would make it unlawful to uproot, remove, harvest, or cut dudleya, as defined, from land owned by the state or a local government or from property not their own without written permission from the landowner in their immediate possession, except as provided, and would make it unlawful to sell, offer for sale, possess with intent to sell, transport for sale, export for sale, or purchase dudleya uprooted, removed, harvested, or cut in violation of that provision. The bill would require a violation of those provisions, or any rule, regulation, or order adopted pursuant to those provisions, to be a misdemeanor punishable by a specified fine, imprisonment in a county jail for not more than a year, or both the fine and imprisonment. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Upon conviction or other entry of judgment for a violation of these provisions, the bill would require any seized dudleya to be forfeited to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and would authorize the court to impose, in addition to, and separate from, any criminal penalty the cost of replanting any dudleya forfeited to the department. The bill would require the prosecution of an offense punishable under these provisions to be commenced within 3 years after commission of the offense. 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 requires specified nuisance weapons and firearms possessed by a person legally prohibited from possessing a firearm to be surrendered to a law enforcement agency, as specified. Existing law prescribes the disposition of these surrendered weapons, including the sale or destruction of the weapon, the retention of the weapon by a governmental entity, or in the case of a stolen weapon, the return of the weapon the lawful owner. This bill would additionally require a law enforcement agency, as described, to accept and dispose of any found, unwanted, or inherited firearm turned in by any person, and would prescribe the disposition of these weapons by destruction, retention by the agency, or, in the case of a stolen weapon, the return of the weapon to the lawful owner. The bill would additionally require the law enforcement agency to adopt a policy regarding accepting surrendered firearms and to post that policy and other specified information on its internet website. The bill would require the Department of Justice to develop information and guidelines regarding the surrendering of firearms and to post that information on its internet website. The bill would specify that a person surrendering a firearm pursuant to these provisions is exempt from specified requirements or provisions relating to the possession and transfer of a firearm. The bill would make other conforming changes. By creating new duties for local law enforcement agencies, 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.