(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes a procedure for the preparation and certification of the record of proceedings upon the filing of an action or proceeding challenging a lead agency's action on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA. This bill would require the lead agency, at the request of a project applicant and consent of the lead agency, to prepare a record of proceedings concurrently with the preparation of a negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, EIR, or other environmental document for projects. (2) CEQA requires the lead agency to submit to the State Clearinghouse a sufficient number of copies of specified environmental documents prepared pursuant to CEQA for review and comment by state agencies in certain circumstances and a copy of those documents in electronic form, as prescribed. CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to implement, utilizing existing resources, a public assistance program to, among other things, establish and maintain a database to assist in the preparation of environmental documents, establish and maintain a central repository for the collection, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of certain notices provided to the office, and provide to the California State Library copies of documents submitted in electronic format to the office pursuant to CEQA. This bill would require a lead agency to submit to the State Clearinghouse those environmental documents in either a hard-copy or electronic form as prescribed by the office. The bill would instead require the office to establish and maintain a database for the collection, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of environmental documents and notices prepared pursuant to CEQA and to make the database available online to the public. The bill would eliminate the requirement to provide copies of documents to the California State Library. The bill would require the office to submit to the Legislature a report, by July 1, 2017, describing the implementation of this requirement and a status report, by July 1, 2019.
Sponsored bills
(1) The Greenway Development and Sustainment Act applies certain creation and transfer provisions similar to those of conservation easements to greenway easements. The act defines various terms for purposes of the act, including "greenway," to mean certain types of travel corridors that, among other requirements, incorporate an array of amenities for users of the corridor and nearby communities, and "greenway easement," to mean a limitation in a deed, will, or other instrument for the purpose of developing greenways adjacent to urban waterways. The act provides that a recorded greenway easement constitutes an enforceable restriction for purposes of certain property tax provisions. This bill would instead require a greenway to incorporate an array of amenities only within an urbanized area, as defined. The bill would include easements created for the purpose of preserving greenways adjacent to urban waterways as greenway easements. The bill would require greenway easements created for the purpose of developing greenways to be consistent with restoration efforts undertaken at the adjacent urban waterways at the time of the creation of the easement. The Greenway Development and Sustainment Act requires that a greenway reflect specified design standards applicable for each affected local agency as documented in the local agency's applicable planning document. This bill would require that these design standards be consistent with plans and facilities for controlling the floodwater of rivers and their tributaries, as applicable. Because this bill, by revising these terms for purposes of the act and by expanding the definition of a greenway easement, would change the manner in which county assessors assess property for property taxation purposes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county, and city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan that contains certain mandatory elements, including a land use element and an open-space element. Existing law includes greenways, as defined in the Greenway Development and Sustainment Act, in the definition of "open-space land" for the purposes of the open-space element. This bill would instead specify that greenways be included in the land use element of a general plan. By revising the contents of the mandatory elements of a general plan, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65302 of the Government Code proposed by SB 974 and SB 1000 that would become effective only if this bill and either or both of those bills are chaptered and become operative on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last. (4) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law authorizes an individual to contribute amounts in excess of his or her personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds, including the School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund. Existing law requires the moneys deposited in the School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated to the State Department of Social Services for distribution to a designated nonprofit organization for the sole purpose of assisting pupils in California pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as provided. Existing law provides that this voluntary contribution remain in effect only until January 1 of the 5th taxable year in which the fund appears on the tax return or when the amount of contributions by taxpayers does not meet the minimum contribution amount, whichever occurs first. This bill would authorize the designated nonprofit organization to provide school supplies and health-related products to homeless children and homeless youth residing in or receiving services from specified living centers and would extend the time period for the School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund to appear on the tax return to January 1, 2022, or when the amount of contributions by taxpayers does not meet the minimum contribution amount, whichever occurs first.
Existing law, to be repealed on January 1, 2017, provides for the establishment of California American Indian education centers by any tribal group or incorporated American Indian association to meet specified objectives, and further provides for the administration of grants, upon application, by the State Department of Education for those purposes in accordance with specified provisions. Existing law requires each center to annually submit specified data to the department that reflects each center's ability to meet its stated objectives, and requires the department, on or before January 1, 2011, and again on or before January 1, 2016, to report consolidated results for all California American Indian education centers, provide information required to evaluate the results, and make recommendations for program improvement. This bill would instead require each center to submit data that reflects the center's progress toward meeting its stated objectives and any other objectives chosen by the center. The bill would require the department to report the information on or before January 1, 2021, and every 5 years thereafter, and would specify that the information shall be reported to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature. The bill would also delete the January 1, 2017, repeal date.
Existing law establishes the Department of Parks and Recreation and vests the department with the control of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the Director of Parks and Recreation to negotiate or renegotiate a concession contract within state parks if specified conditions exist and generally requires that a concession contract within state parks for a period of more than 2 years be awarded to the best responsible bidder. This bill would enact the California Heritage Protection Act, which would make various changes to the process for negotiating or renegotiating state parks concession contracts. The bill would modify the definition of a best responsible bidder to include that the bidder, among other things, will operate the concession in a manner that protects the state's trademark and service mark interest in the names associated with a state park venue and its historical, cultural, and recreational resources. This bill would prohibit a concession contract from providing a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and would prohibit a concession contract from serving as the basis for any legal claim that the contracting party has that interest. The bill would declare that these provisions do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory of, existing law. The bill would prohibit a bidder who makes that legal claim or assertion, and a bidder who a court has determined has made that legal claim or assertion with respect to a state or federal park venue without reasonable cause and in bad faith, from being awarded a concession contract within state parks. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to provide a bidder who is denied a contract award based on these reasons with written notice and an opportunity to rebut the basis of the contract denial at a formal hearing. The bill would render a provision of a concession contract that, on and after January 1, 2017, provides a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, void and unenforceable. This bill would require a concession contract to contain provisions requiring the concessionaire to forfeit the right to bid on future state park concession contracts if the concessionaire makes the above-described legal claim or assertion and requiring a concessionaire to be responsible for the state's attorney fees, costs, and expenses if the concessionaire in bad faith files a federal or state trademark or service mark application for a trademark or service mark that incorporates or implies association with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and the state files a successful opposition or cancellation of the trademark or service mark application. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5080.18 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 1473 to be operative only if SB 1473 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law prohibits the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, the Trustees of the California State University, the governing boards of each community college district, and, if they adopt an appropriate resolution, the Regents of the University of California from collecting mandatory systemwide tuition and fees from any surviving spouse or surviving child of a deceased person who was a resident of the state and employed by or contracting with a public agency, whose principal duties consisted of active law enforcement service or active fire suppression and prevention, and who died as a result of his or her duties, as specified. This bill would extend the application of those provisions to the surviving spouse or surviving child of a person who died as a result of an industrial injury or illness arising out of and in the course of active law enforcement or fire suppression and prevention duties, and who otherwise met the above-referenced requirements. The bill would also make conforming changes. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on community college districts, 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, 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.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to, on or before December 31, 2013, adopt uniform water recycling criteria for indirect potable reuse for groundwater recharge and to investigate and, on or before December 31, 2016, report to the Legislature on the feasibility of developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse. Existing law transferred these powers and responsibilities to the State Water Resources Control Board on July 1, 2014. Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health licenses and regulates water bottlers, distributors, and vendors. Existing law prescribes various quality and labeling standards for bottled water and limits the levels of certain contaminants that may be contained in those water products. Violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would authorize the operator of an advanced water purification facility to cause advanced purified demonstration water to be bottled and distributed as samples for educational purposes and to promote water recycling, as specified. The bill would prohibit the advanced purified demonstration water in each bottle from exceeding 8 ounces and would prohibit that water from being distributed unless the water, among other requirements, meets or exceeds all federal and state drinking water standards. The bill would authorize advanced purified demonstration water to be bottled at a licensed water-bottling plant in compliance with specified provisions. The bill would further establish bottling and labeling requirements for advanced purified demonstration water and would prohibit a facility from causing more than 1,000 gallons of the water to be bottled in a calendar year. The bill would require an operator of an advanced water purification facility seeking to bottle advanced purified demonstration water to establish a collection and recycling program for distributed bottles. The bill would require the operator to maintain a daily record of the number of individuals to whom the water is distributed, served, made available, or otherwise distributed and to submit a report based on those records, as specified and under penalty of perjury, to the state board. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a bottler of advanced purified demonstration water to submit sample labels and specified analyses of the advanced purified demonstration water to the department and to conduct a full sanitation of the bottling and filling equipment immediately after bottling advanced purified demonstration water. 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 prohibits the taking or possession of a fully protected fish, except as provided, and designates the unarmored threespine stickleback as a fully protected fish. The California Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except as specified. The Department of Fish and Wildlife may authorize the take of listed species if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity and the impacts are minimized and fully mitigated. This bill would permit the department to authorize, under the California Endangered Species Act, the take of the unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) attributable to the periodic dewatering, inspection, maintenance, modification, or repair of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's Foothill Feeder water supply facility from Castaic Dam to the Joseph Jensen Treatment Plant in the County of Los Angeles, as specified, if certain conditions, including the adoption of an adaptive management plan, are satisfied. The bill would require the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, if it receives a permit under the bill, to report certain information to the department within 6 months after every dewatering of the Foothill Feeder. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5515 of the Fish and Game Code, proposed by AB 1845 and AB 2001, that would become operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law requires a debt collector that receives a copy of a police report filed by the debtor alleging that the debtor is the victim of an identity theft crime and a written statement in which the debtor claims to be the victim of identity theft to cease collection activities until completion of a review. Existing law requires the debt collector to review and consider all of the information provided by the debtor and other available information and authorizes the debt collector to recommence debt collection activities only upon making a good faith determination that the information does not establish that the debtor is not responsible for the specific debt in question. This bill, the Identity Theft Resolution Act, would require the debt collector, upon receipt of the police report and written statement described above, if it furnished adverse information about the debtor to a consumer credit reporting agency, to notify the consumer credit reporting agency that the account is disputed, and initiate a review, as specified, within 10 business days. The bill would require the debt collector to send notice of its determination to the debtor no later than 10 business days after concluding the review. The bill would require a debt collector that does not recommence collection activities under these provisions to notify the creditor, no later than 10 business days after making its determination, and if it furnished adverse information to a consumer credit reporting agency, to notify the agency to delete that information no later than 10 business days after making its determination. The bill would also prohibit a creditor from selling a consumer debt to a debt collector if the creditor has received notice that the debt collector has terminated debt collection activities, as described above.
Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) , 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. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to develop and administer instructions for the Annual Mental Health Services Act Revenue and Expenditure Report, which gathers specified information on mental health spending as a result of the MHSA, including the expenditures of funds distributed to each county. This bill would require the department, based on the Annual Mental Health Services Act Revenue and Expenditure Report, to compile information, in total and by county on an annual basis, that includes, among other things, the total amount of MHSA revenue, the amount of MHSA money received and expended for each specified component of the MHSA program, and the amount of MHSA money spent on program administration. The bill would require the department to make the collected information available to the Legislature and the public on its Internet Web site no later than July 1, 2018, and annually thereafter.