The California Emergency Services Act establishes the Office of Emergency Services in the office of the Governor and provides that the office is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or manmade disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property. Existing law authorizes each county, including a city and county, to enter into an agreement to access the contact information of resident accountholders through the records of a public utility or other agency responsible for water service, waste and recycling services, or other property-related services for the sole purpose of enrolling county residents in a county-operated public emergency warning system. Existing law requires any county that enters into such an agreement to include procedures to enable any resident to opt out of the warning system and a process to terminate the receiving agency's access to the resident's contact information. Existing law prohibits the use of the information gathered for any purpose other than for emergency notification. This bill would expand these provisions to authorize a city to enter into an agreement to access the contact information of resident accountholders through the records of a public utility, as specified. The bill would also expand the types of public utilities that can enter into these agreements by defining public utility to include, among others, a local publicly owned electric utility, mobile telephony services, a public water agency, and an agency responsible for solid waste or recycling services. The bill would require a local government that enters into an agreement to access information of resident accountholders to, upon receipt of that information, notify residents that they have been entered into the public emergency warning system. The bill would require a local government that enters into an agreement to access information to include procedures to enable any resident to opt out of the warning system and a process to terminate the receiving agency's access to the contact information of the resident from a public utility. The bill would also authorize a governing body of a postsecondary institution that receives state funds, including funds for student financial assistance, to use its own enrollment, registration, and personnel records to access the contact information of students and employees for the sole purpose of enrolling students and employees in a university- or college-operated public emergency warning system. The bill would require the governing body of a postsecondary institution that receives state funds, including funds for student financial assistance, to notify students and employees that they have been entered into the public emergency warning system and include procedures to enable them to opt out of the warning system. Existing law requires a county, upon the next update to its emergency plan, to integrate access and functional needs into its emergency plan by addressing, at a minimum, how the access and functional needs population is served by emergency communications, emergency evacuation for individuals who are dependent on public transportation, and accessible emergency sheltering. Existing law permits an authorized employee of a county social services department to disclose the name and residential address of elderly or disabled clients to police, fire, or paramedical personnel, or other designated emergency services personnel, in the event of a public safety emergency that necessitates the possible evacuation of the area in which those elderly or disabled clients reside. Existing law requires the Director of Social Services to seek any federal approval necessary to implement these provisions, and prohibits these provisions from being implemented unless the director executes a declaration stating that any required federal approval has been obtained, and only for the duration of that approval. Existing law defines "public safety emergency" for these purposes to include, but not be limited to, specified events that jeopardize the immediate physical safety of county residents. This bill would authorize a local government to enter into an agreement with a, or to use the records of its own, social services department to access the contact information of persons from the access and functional needs population, and the contact information of the designated emergency contacts of those persons, if any, for the sole purpose of enrolling those individuals, who are residents of that local government, in a city-operated, county-operated, or city-and-county-operated public emergency warning system, as specified. The bill would require a local government that enters into an agreement to access information of resident accountholders or designated emergency contacts to, upon receipt of that information, notify residents and designated emergency contacts that they have been entered into the public emergency warning system. The bill would require a local government that enters into an agreement to access information to include procedures to enable any resident or designated emergency contact to opt out of the warning system and a process to terminate the receiving agency's access to the contact information of the resident or designated emergency contact from a county social services department. Existing law permits an authorized employee of a county social services department to disclose the name and residential address of elderly or disabled clients to police, fire, or paramedical personnel, or other designated emergency services personnel, in the event of a public safety emergency that necessitates the possible evacuation of the area in which those elderly or disabled clients reside. Existing law specifies that public safety emergencies include, but are not limited to, events that jeopardize the immediate physical safety of county residents. This bill would additionally permit those individuals' telephone numbers and email addresses to be disclosed and would specifically identify a public safety power shutoff as a public safety emergency. The bill would require a county social services agency that intends to disclose information as described above to notify elderly or disabled individuals receiving services of that fact and give the individual the option to opt out of having that information disclosed. The bill would limit the use of the disclosed information to providing emergency services in the event of a public safety emergency described above.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes in state government the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, comprised of the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Department of Business Oversight, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board, the California Horse Racing Board, and the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission. This bill would establish the Commission on Home Hardening within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. The commission would be a 6-member body composed of, among others, the Insurance Commissioner, the State Fire Marshal, the Director of Housing and Community Development, and the Director of the Office of Emergency Services, or any of their respective designees. The bill would require the commission to develop a 3-tiered system of fire prevention levels for structures in a Wildland Urban Interface environment, as specified. The bill would require the commission to develop guidelines for certifying structures within the 3-tiered system by third-party inspectors and best practices for home hardening and wildfire mitigation for homeowners seeking certification. The bill would require the commission to work with stakeholders from fire protection districts, the insurance industry, building trades industry, planning associations, and cities and counties in developing the 3-tiered system and would require the system to comply with certain standards. This bill would also require the commission to develop new wildfire community hardening standards, as specified, and provide for a certification process for communities that meet these standards. The bill would require the commission to serve as a clearinghouse for information and studies relative to mitigation effectiveness in order to make recommendations on mitigation standards, and to consult with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety to develop recommended residential property insurance discounts for insurers to consider for residential properties meeting the structure type certifications and the certified wildfire community hardening standards. Existing law provides that a residential property insurance policy shall not be issued or renewed in this state unless it complies with certain requirements. This bill would authorize admitted insurers offering residential property insurance in this state to take into consideration the certifications and certified wildfire community hardening standards developed pursuant to these provisions for purposes of developing or revising underwriting guidelines or insurance rates.
(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. This bill, until January 1, 2025, would exempt from the requirements of CEQA emergency shelters or supportive housing projects meeting certain requirements. The bill would require an agency that determines that an emergency shelter or supportive housing project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to these provisions to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research, as provided. By requiring local agencies to file this notice of exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. CEQA establishes public comment periods for the lead agency to receive comments on a draft EIR for a project and requires the lead agency to respond to public comments received. This bill would authorize the lead agency to post on its internet website, at least 30 days before a public hearing at which it may approve the project, its responses to public comments received. The bill would authorize the lead agency to set a deadline of 10 days before the final public hearing at which it may approve the project for the receipt of written comments and supporting evidence if certain conditions are met. CEQA requires the courts to give an action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with CEQA preference over all other civil actions. CEQA establishes procedures applicable to an action or proceeding brought to challenge a public agency's action on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA, including, among other procedures, the requirement that a petitioner bringing the action or proceeding is to request a hearing within 90 days from the date of filing of the petition and the requirement that the respondent public agency, not later than 20 days from the date of service of the petition, is to file with the court a notice setting forth the time and place at which all parties are to meet and attempt to settle the litigation. This bill would additionally require the respondent public agency, not later than 20 days from the date of service of the petition, to file and serve a request for the court to schedule a case management conference, as provided. The bill would specify the subjects to be addressed in the case management conference, which include, among other subjects, the potential usefulness of settlement discussions, mediation, or arbitration. The bill would instead require the public agency, not later than 15 days from the date of service of the petition, to file with the court a notice setting forth the time and place at which all parties or their counsel are to meet to discuss various issues, including, among other issues, the potential usefulness of settlement discussions, mediation, or arbitration. The bill would require the public agency, not later than 20 days after the initial case management conference, to file and serve a notice of the time and place of a settlement meeting. CEQA requires a petitioner, at the time of the filing of an action or proceeding pursuant to CEQA, to file a request that the respondent public agency prepare the record of proceedings related to the subject of the action or proceeding. CEQA provides the petitioner with the authority to elect to prepare the record of proceedings, instead of preparation by the public agency. This bill would require the petitioner to file with the respondent public agency a notice either requesting the public agency to prepare the record of proceedings or notifying the public agency that it is electing to prepare the record of proceedings. The bill would authorize the public agency or real party in interest, within 10 business days of the service of the notice, to assume responsibility of preparing the record of proceedings, notwithstanding the petitioner's election. The bill would require the lead agency or real party in interest, if it makes this election, to bear the full costs in preparing and certifying the record of proceedings and to waive its rights to recover those costs from petitioner if it prevails in the action. CEQA requires superior courts in counties with a population of more than 200,000 to designate one or more judges to develop expertise in CEQA and certain related laws so that those judges will be available to hear and quickly resolve actions or proceedings alleging noncompliance with CEQA. This bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2021, to take certain actions related to the administration of justice under CEQA and to submit a report to the Legislature on its view regarding the administration of justice under CEQA, as provided. The bill would authorize a superior court in a county with a population of 200,000 or less, upon its own motion or upon motion by a party, to either order the transfer of the action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with CEQA to the superior court in a county with a population of more than 200,000 or to order the case be heard by a judge with expertise in CEQA assigned by the Judicial Council. This bill would repeal various obsolete provisions from CEQA, make conforming changes, and make various clarifying and nonsubstantive changes. (2) Existing law requires a legislative body of a city or county or a district board, if an initiative petition is signed by a specified number of voters, to either adopt the ordinance set forth in the initiative petition, without alteration, at a regular meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented, or within 10 days after it is presented, or submit the ordinance proposed in the petition, without alteration, to the voters for approval. This bill would require the legislative body of a city or county or district board to submit the ordinance proposed in an initiative petition to the voters for approval if the legislative body or district board determines that the approval of the proposed ordinance constitutes an approval of a project within the meaning of CEQA, had the proposed ordinance been proposed by the legislative body or district board rather than by initiative petition. By requiring the legislative body of a city or county or district board to submit those ordinances to the voters for approval, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The Planning and Zoning Law requires an action or proceeding against local zoning and planning decisions of a legislative body to be commenced within certain time periods, as specified. The Subdivision Map Act requires an action or proceeding against a decision of a local agency taken pursuant to that act to be commenced within a certain time period, as specified. CEQA requires an action or proceeding challenging a decision of the lead agency on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA to be commenced within certain time periods, as specified. This bill would specify that tolling agreements entered into, as provided, are effective to toll the time periods in which an action or proceeding is to be commenced, as required by those 3 acts. (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 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.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. Those laws provide various exemptions from those taxes, including, until July 1, 2023, an exemption for the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption of, menstrual hygiene products, defined as tampons, specified sanitary napkins, menstrual sponges, and menstrual cups. Existing law requires the Department of Finance, beginning on May 15, 2020, to estimate the total dollar amount of revenue that would have been credited to the Local Revenue Fund 2011 if not otherwise exempted under the sales and use tax exemption for menstrual hygiene products and requires the Controller to transfer that amount from the General Fund to the Local Revenue Fund 2011, a continuously appropriated fund, no later than June 30 of each fiscal year. This bill would establish a similar exemption for the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption of, menstrual hygiene products beginning July 1, 2023, and would define menstrual hygiene products to additionally include menstrual underwear. The bill would provide that the Department of Finance is required to calculate, and the Controller is required to transfer, the total dollar amount of revenue prior to January 1, 2024, that would have been credited to the Local Revenue Fund 2011 if not otherwise exempted under the sales and use tax with respect to menstrual hygiene products, as specified. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law, including, but not limited to, property tax law, the Sales and Use Tax Law, the Personal Income Tax Law, the Corporation Tax Law, the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, the law governing the taxation of insurers, the Use Fuel Tax Law, and the Diesel Fuel Tax Law, provides for tax expenditures, including exemptions, deductions, exclusions, and credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would establish in state government the California Tax Expenditure Review Board as an independent advisory body to comprehensively assess major tax expenditures, as defined, and make recommendations to the Legislature. The bill would require the board to be composed of 5 members, as specified, who would serve without compensation. This bill would request the University of California, through a new or existing research center, to perform a comprehensive assessment of the major tax expenditures and to present a comprehensive, peer-reviewed assessment to the board by July 1, 2022, at a public hearing of the board. The bill, to the extent that the University of California needs access to taxpayer data and information, would require the Franchise Tax Board or the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to ensure relevant taxpayer data is made available and ensure appropriate levels of data security and protections are in place for transferred and sensitive data. This bill would set forth the scope of the comprehensive assessment, which would include certain specified information, including a brief description of the beneficiaries of the tax expenditure, and would require the board to post the comprehensive assessment on its internet website after receipt. The bill would require the board to make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the major tax expenditures, and to provide a report to the Legislature that compiles all of its recommendations regarding those tax expenditures, after a vote of the members of the board, by January 1, 2023, as specified. The bill would also require the board to submit the report to the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance, the Assembly Committee on Budget, and the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, and post it on its internet website. The bill would require the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance and the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, after receipt of the report by the Legislature, to hold a joint public hearing on the report by August 15 of the second year of the legislative session.
The Trial Jury Selection and Management Act, until January 1, 2021, authorizes a criminal defendant and the state to each exercise 6 peremptory challenges during jury selection, if the offense charged is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of one year or less, or 10 peremptory challenges each, if the offense charged is punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, but not by imprisonment for life or by death, except as provided for defendants who are jointly tried. After January 1, 2021, the act authorizes a criminal defendant and the state to each exercise 6 peremptory challenges during jury selection, if the offense charged is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 90 days or less, or 10 peremptory challenges each, if the offense charged is punishable by more than 90 days of imprisonment, but not by imprisonment for life or by death, except as provided for defendants who are jointly tried. This bill would instead make the above-described change in the number of peremptory challenges operative on January 1, 2024. The bill would also make a technical change to delete an outdated reporting requirement.
This measure would proclaim the week of March 1, 2020, to March 7, 2020, inclusive, as Women in Construction Week.
Existing law requires a provider of telecommunications services, as defined, that provides access to 911 service to notify the Office of Emergency Services, as provided, whenever a community isolation outage limiting the provider's customers' ability to make 911 calls or receive emergency notifications occurs within 60 minutes of discovering the outage. Existing law makes the office responsible for notifying any applicable county office of emergency services, the sheriff of any county, and any public safety answering point affected by the outage. Existing law requires the telecommunications service provider to notify the office of the estimated time to repair the outage and when service is restored. This bill would additionally require a telecommunication service provider to notify the office of critical telecommunications infrastructure out of service or experiencing functionality failures that would prevent the transmission of an emergency notification or 911 call and the estimated range of any mobile telephony service base transceiver station towers identified as damaged or experiencing functionality failures. The bill would require each provider of telecommunications service, to the extent feasible, to provide real-time information to a county office of emergency services upon identifying outages or functionality failures that could impede the transmission of an emergency alert or notification. The bill would require a telecommunication service provider, on an annual basis, to provide the office with the name or names and contact information for an official representative of the provider, who has the knowledge and technical expertise necessary to participate in state and local emergency operations response for a declared disaster or emergency. The bill would require the office to ensure that the names and contact information reported by a telecommunications service provider are transmitted to each county office of emergency services. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, to identify the need for telecommunications service systems not on customers' premises to have backup electricity to enable the telecommunications networks to function, and to enable customers to contact a public safety answering point operator during an electrical outage, to determine performance criteria for backup systems, and to determine whether specified best practices for backup systems have been implemented by telecommunications service providers operating in California. This bill would require the commission to (1) evaluate the extent to which telecommunications network failures impacted the transmission of emergency alerts and notifications, (2) direct each provider of telecommunications service to submit an inventory of critical telecommunications infrastructure in the provider's network on an annual basis, and (3) provide that inventory to the Office of Emergency Services for inclusion in statewide emergency planning activities. The bill would require the commission and the office to keep the provided inventory confidential. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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.