Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , by March 1, 2010, to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in California's existing residential and nonresidential building stock. Existing law requires the PUC to investigate the ability of electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide various energy efficiency financing options to their customers for the purposes of implementing the program developed by the Energy Commission. Existing law requires the PUC, by September 1, 2016, to authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide financial incentives, rebates, technical assistance, and support to their customers to increase the energy efficiency of existing buildings, as specified, and to authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to recover the reasonable costs of those programs in rates. Existing law requires the PUC to authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to count all energy savings achieved through the authorized programs, unless determined otherwise, toward overall energy efficiency goals or targets established by the PUC and authorizes the PUC to adjust the energy efficiency goals or targets of electrical corporations and gas corporations to reflect the estimated change in energy savings resulting from those programs. This bill would delete the language explicitly authorizing recovery in rates for the costs of those programs. Commencing July 1, 2019, this bill would require the PUC to authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide incentives, rebates, technical assistance, and support to their customers to increase energy efficiency, pursuant to separate procedures applicable only to custom projects and other custom programs for industrial, agricultural, commercial, residential, and public sector customers. The bill would require the PUC to develop and maintain rules for custom energy efficiency projects that include eligibility criteria and other metrics for determining whether a project is eligible for funding pursuant to the program, and sets forth procedural requirements for the adoption and revision of the criteria or metrics. The bill would require that the criteria or metrics operate prospectively and be applied uniformly and consistently by each electrical corporation and gas corporation. The bill would require each electrical corporation and gas corporation to maintain a custom measure project archive and would require the PUC to develop and maintain requirements for what information is to be included in the archive, including information required to support the applications of customers' custom energy efficiency projects. Upon being notified of the filing of a new application, or that a proposed project has moved from the preapplication stage to the application stage, the bill would require the PUC to make a determination of whether the application has been selected for review within 15 days and to notify the electrical corporation or gas corporation of its decision. The bill would require that the review of a proposed project be concluded within 30 business days from when the project documentation is received by the commission, unless the commission determines the supporting information is incomplete and inaccurate. If, as a result of the review, the PUC rejects the proposed project or requests modification of the project, the bill would require the PUC to notify the electrical corporation or gas corporation of the reasons for the rejection or request for modification, including each basis as to why the project is rejected or modification is requested, and would require the PUC to make specific recommendations for the conditions under which the project would be approved. The bill would provide that for projects that were not reviewed, an electrical corporation or gas corporation may rely on its project application review process to determine the forecast energy savings values for the project based on rules adopted by the commission, and base the final customer incentive payment and contractor pay-for-performance payment on postinstallation measurement and verification results. The bill would authorize the PUC to employ postinstallation review of a project to determine if the project was carried out consistent with the application and to obtain information pertaining to whether the eligibility criteria or metrics should be revised. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the PUC to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions 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.
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Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to supervise the maintenance and operation of dams and reservoirs as necessary to safeguard life and property. Under existing law, the department operates the State Water Resources Development System, also known as the State Water Project, composed of the state water facilities, including Oroville Dam. This bill would create the Citizens Advisory Commission for Oroville Dam within the Natural Resources Agency. The bill would require the commission to consist of specified members of state agencies or their designees, including the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency or his or her designee serving as chairperson. The bill would require the chairperson to invite persons appointed by specified local agencies to serve as members of the commission, as prescribed. This bill would require the department to, among other things, provide the commission with onsite tours of the dam and its grounds and provide the commission with all information reasonably requested by the commission regarding the construction, rehabilitation or reconstruction, operation, maintenance, and management of the dam. The bill would set forth the organization and duties of the commission and would require the commission to meet as necessary to carry out the purposes and duties of the commission. The bill would require the commission to publish a report at least once every 3 years that provides, among other things, an overview of ongoing maintenance and improvements made at the dam and its site. The bill would prohibit the commission from making regulations or rules to bind operations at the dam.
The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 provides the exclusive authority and procedure for the initiation, conduct, and completion of changes of organization and reorganization for special districts, as specified. The act requires a local agency formation commission in each county to encourage the orderly formation and development of local agencies based upon local conditions and circumstances, among other things. Existing law also establishes the Strategic Growth Council in state government and assigns to the council certain duties, including providing, funding, and distributing data and information to local governments and regional agencies that will assist in the development and planning of sustainable communities. This bill would require the Strategic Growth Council, until July 31, 2024, to establish and administer a local agency formation commissions grant program for the payment of costs associated with initiating and completing the dissolution of districts listed as inactive, the payment of costs associated with a study of the services provided within a county by a public agency to a disadvantaged community, as defined, and for other specified purposes, including the initiation of an action, as defined, that is limited to service providers serving a disadvantaged community and is based on determinations found in the study, as approved by the commission. The bill would specify application submission, reimbursement, and reporting requirements for a local agency formation commission to receive grants pursuant to the bill. The bill would require the council, after consulting with the California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions, to develop and adopt guidelines, timelines, and application and reporting criteria for development and implementation of the program, as specified, and would exempt these guidelines, timelines, and criteria from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would make the grant program subject to an appropriation for the program in the annual Budget Act, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2025.
Under existing law, a professional person in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment for a gravely disabled person may recommend a conservatorship for that person without that person being an inpatient in a facility providing comprehensive evaluation or intensive treatment, if specified conditions are met. This bill would expand that authority to a professional person in charge of providing mental health treatment at a county jail or his or her designee. Existing law also authorizes initiation of conservatorship proceedings for, among others, a person who has been transferred from a county jail to a specified mental health facility for 72-hour evaluation and treatment, upon a recommendation to the conservatorship investigator of the appropriate county, as specified. Under existing law, the initiation of conservatorship proceedings or the existence of a conservatorship does not affect pending criminal proceedings for that person. This bill would additionally prohibit a conservatorship investigator from failing to schedule an investigation based upon the custody status of a person who is subject to a conservatorship investigation.
Existing law regulates trust administration and generally requires a trustee to administer the trust according to the trust instrument. Under existing law, a trustee may exercise specified powers without court authorization, including the power to acquire or dispose of property. Existing law authorizes the beneficiaries of an irrevocable trust to compel modification of the trust upon petition to the court, if all beneficiaries of the trust consent. This bill would enact the Uniform Trust Decanting Act, under which a fiduciary of an irrevocable trust may distribute the property of a first trust to one or more 2nd trusts or modify the terms of the first trust without the consent of the beneficiaries or approval of the court, subject to certain exceptions. The bill would require specified persons, including qualified beneficiaries and, if the trust contains a determinable charitable interest, the Attorney General, to be provided notice of the intended exercise of the decanting power, and would authorize the court, on application by specified persons, to, among other things, approve an exercise of the decanting power. Among other provisions, the bill would require a fiduciary exercising the decanting power to act in accordance with its fiduciary duties and in accordance with the purposes of the first trust. The bill would also specify that the decanting power does not apply to a trust held solely for charitable purposes.
The California Emergency Services Act creates within the office of the Governor the Office of Emergency Services, which is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services, as specified. Existing federal law requires a state mitigation plan as a condition for disaster assistance and authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to condition mitigation grant assistance upon state, local, and Indian tribal governments undertaking coordinated disaster mitigation planning and implementation measures. This bill would require the office to include an evaluation of risks from an electromagnetic pulse attack, a geomagnetic storm event, and from other potential causes of a long-term electrical outage in the next update of the State Hazard Mitigation Plan undertaken to comply with the federal requirements. As necessary, based on that analysis, the bill would require the plan to identify cost-effective and feasible measures to lessen risks from those hazards, including hardening the critical infrastructure of electrical utilities.
Existing law authorizes 2 or more public agencies, by agreement, to form a joint powers authority to exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as specified. Existing law authorizes the agreement to set forth the manner by which the joint powers authority will be governed. This bill would authorize the creation of the Orange County Housing Finance Trust, a joint powers authority, for the purposes of funding housing specifically assisting the homeless population and persons and families of extremely low, very low, and low income within the County of Orange, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Orange.
Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, and authorizes the commission to take specified actions, including developing strategies to overcome stigma and discrimination and accomplish the objectives of the Mental Health Services Act. This bill would authorize the commission to establish a framework and voluntary standard for mental health in the workplace that serves to reduce mental health stigma, increase public, employee, and employer awareness of the recovery goals of the Mental Health Services Act, and provide guidance to California's employer community to put in place strategies and programs, determined by the commission, to support the mental health and wellness of employees. The bill would require the commission to consult with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency or its designee to develop the standard.
This measure would proclaim October 13, 2018, as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, and requests the citizens of California, on that day, to become informed and aware of this disease.
Existing law requires, until January 1, 2019, a health facility at which a mammography examination is performed to include a prescribed notice on breast density in the summary of the written report that is sent to a patient, if specified circumstances apply. This bill would extend the operation of that provision until January 1, 2025. The bill would also make technical and conforming changes.