(1) Existing law regulating commercial fishing imposes, or authorizes the imposition of, various license, permit, and registration fees. Existing law requires specified persons to pay commercial fishing fees, referred to as landing fees, and sets forth requirements for the documentation of those landing fees in the form of a landing receipt, as prescribed. Existing law requires certain persons to complete or make a landing receipt and requires the landing receipt to include certain information, including the accurate weight of the species of fish received and the price paid. Existing law requires the original signed copy of the paper landing receipt made under that provision to be delivered to the Department of Fish and Wildlife on or before the 16th or last day of the month in which the fish were landed, whichever date occurs first after the landing. Existing law requires landing receipt records completed and submitted electronically to be submitted to the department within 3 business days of the landing. Under existing law, a violation of the Fish and Game Code, or of any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under the code, is a crime. This bill would revise various provisions to refer to electronic fish tickets rather than to landing receipts. The bill would, for purposes of the required contents of an electronic fish ticket, define "accurate weight" and delete the requirement to include the price paid for live marine fish for use exclusively as live bait that are not brought ashore. The bill would require electronic fish tickets to be submitted to the department within 3 business days of the landing, as specified. By creating new requirements with respect to electronic fish tickets, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires any person who engages in any business for profit involving fish to be licensed, except as provided. Existing law includes among these licensure exceptions a person who purchases, sells, takes, or receives live marine fish for use as live bait, that are not brought ashore, and who does not engage in specified activity. This bill would instead provide a licensure exception for a person who purchases, sells, takes, or receives live marine fish for use exclusively as live bait, that is not brought ashore, and who has registered as a live bait dealer with the department. The bill would require a live bait dealer registered with the department to keep a printed hard copy of the landing receipt or electronic fish ticket for a period of 4 years, as specified. The bill would also prohibit the receipt, purchase, or transfer of fish from occurring at sea or from vessel to vessel, except for certain live marine fish used as bait or as prescribed by regulation. By creating new requirements with respect to the receipt, purchase, or transfer of certain fish, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife in consultation with the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group and other stakeholders, to adopt regulations establishing criteria and protocols to evaluate and respond to potential risk of marine life entanglement, as prescribed. Existing law authorizes the director to restrict the take of Dungeness crab pursuant to the criteria and protocols. Existing law makes it unlawful to take or possess Dungeness crab from any waters closed, or otherwise violate any restriction on take imposed, pursuant to these provisions. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2024. This bill would require the regulations to address the use of alternative gear, as specified, that may be prohibited by the department and would remove outdated language. The bill would extend the operation of these Dungeness crab provisions until January 1, 2030. By extending the operation of existing provisions, a violation of which is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law establishes the California Sea Urchin Commission in state government and vests the commission with various powers and duties, including establishing an assessment for each pound of sea urchin landed or delivered by divers to handlers in the state. Existing law authorizes the commission to consult and enter into agreements with the Director of Fish and Wildlife, if necessary and appropriate, to assist in the administration and enforcement of specified provisions of the Food and Agricultural Code related to sea urchins, including, but not limited to, collecting assessments and providing routine information regarding the persons that may be subject to these provisions. Existing law provides that sea urchins shall not be taken for commercial purposes except under a valid sea urchin diving permit, subject to regulations adopted by the Fish and Game Commission. Existing law establishes a $330 fee for the permit. This bill would require the Fish and Game Commission to adopt regulations related to commercial sea urchin diving permits, and to the vessels used to commercially fish for sea urchin, to better manage the number of permits issued. Because a violation of these regulations would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would update the fee for a sea urchin diving permit to $598.50 and would require the department, upon notice of the California Sea Urchin Commission, to charge for a sea urchin permit an additional $200, to be distributed to the California Sea Urchin Commission by the department, as specified. The bill would apply these provisions to the 2024 license year. This bill would additionally authorize the commission to enter into an agreement with the director regarding the expenses associated with the distribution of $200 of the total fee for a sea urchin permit. (5) Existing law establishes various requirements with respect to the taking of fish commercially using traps, fishing lines, and other appliances. This bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to adopt regulations regarding the marking and color coding of lines used in state managed fisheries. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law requires the owner of an aquaculture facility to register certain information with the Department of Fish and Wildlife by March 1 of each year, and requires the department to impose prescribed fees for registration and renewal. Existing law also requires, in addition to the registration and renewal fees, a surcharge fee to be paid at the time of registration by the owner of an aquaculture facility if the gross annual sales of aquaculture products of the facility during the prior calendar year exceed $25,000. Existing law imposes a penalty for delinquent payment of fees. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, increases those registration, renewal, surcharge, and penalty fees, as prescribed. This bill would extend the operation of the increased registration, renewal, surcharge, and penalty fees until January 1, 2025. (7) 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 the California Highway Patrol to regulate the safe operation of certain vehicles, including buses, truck tractors, and trailers, and to adopt certain rules and regulations pertaining to the operation of those vehicles. Existing law requires these regulations to include certain maximum driving times within a work period, including a maximum driving time of 10 hours for a driver of a tank vehicle with a capacity of more than 500 gallons transporting flammable liquid, and to prohibit a driver from driving for any period after having been on duty for 80 hours in any consecutive 8 days. This bill would authorize the department to, by regulation, allow a driver to exceed these limits during a declared state of emergency if transporting fuel used for refueling aircraft used in emergency-related activities, including fire suppression.
Existing law, until January 1, 2024, defines the offense of aggravated arson, and defines the aggravating factors for the offense as, the person has been previously convicted of arson on one or more occasions within the past 10 years, the fire caused property damage and other losses in excess of $8,300,000, or the fire caused damage to, or the destruction of, 5 or more inhabited structures. Existing law, commencing January 1, 2024, deletes the aggravating factor of property damage and other losses in excess of $8,300,000 from the definition of aggravated arson. This bill would increase the dollar amount of property damages and other losses required to be an aggravating factor to $10,100,000, exclusive of damage to, or destruction of, inhabited dwellings. The bill would extend the operation of the former aggravated arson offense until January 1, 2029. The bill would delay operation of the latter aggravated arson offense that deletes the threshold dollar amount of property damages and other losses as an aggravating factor until January 1, 2029. By extending the operation of law defining a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by any employee to take up to 5 days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member. This bill would additionally make it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by an eligible employee to take up to 5 days of reproductive loss leave following a reproductive loss event, as defined. The bill would require that leave be taken within 3 months of the event, except as described, and pursuant to any existing leave policy of the employer. The bill would provide that if an employee experiences more than one reproductive loss event within a 12-month period, the employer is not obligated to grant a total amount of reproductive loss leave time in excess of 20 days within a 12-month period. Under the bill, in the absence of an existing policy, the reproductive loss leave may be unpaid. However, the bill would authorize an employee to use certain other leave balances otherwise available to the employee, including accrued and available paid sick leave. The bill would make leave under these provisions a separate and distinct right from any right under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The bill would make it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to retaliate against an individual, as described, because of the individual's exercise of the right to reproductive loss leave or the individual's giving of information or testimony as to reproductive loss leave, as described. The bill would require the employer to maintain employee confidentiality relating to reproductive loss leave, as specified. 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.
Existing law authorizes a person who is a firefighter, retired firefighter, or a surviving family member of a firefighter or retired firefighter to apply for special license plates for their vehicle. The special license plates, which contain the words "California Firefighter" and run in a regular numerical series, are issued upon application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, presentation of proof of certain facts, and payment of certain fees, including $35 for a renewal of registration that includes the continued display of the special license plate. This bill would increase the fee to $40 for a renewal of registration that includes the continued display of the special license plate.
Existing law classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. Existing law classifies the drug fentanyl in Schedule II. Existing law prohibits a person from possessing for sale or purchasing for purposes of sale specified controlled substances, including fentanyl, and provides for imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years for a violation of this provision. Existing law also imposes an additional term, and authorizes a trial court to impose a specified fine, upon a person who is convicted of a violation of, or of a conspiracy to violate, specified provisions of law with respect to a substance containing heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine, if the substance exceeds a specified weight. This bill would add fentanyl to the substances for which additional terms or fines can be imposed and would require a defendant who violates those laws with respect to a substance containing heroin, fentanyl, or cocaine, as specified, to know of the substance's nature or character as a controlled substance to be subjected to an additional term and authorized fine. By increasing the penalty for, and by changing the definition of, 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, the Contractors State License Law, defines and regulates the activities of contractors and provides for their licensure, regulation, and discipline by the Contractors State License Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs (department) . That law requires a home improvement contract, as defined, to be in writing and include the contract amount, as specified, and prohibits any downpayment for that contract from exceeding the lesser of $1,000 or 10% of the contract amount. Except for a downpayment, existing law prohibits the contractor from requesting or accepting payment that exceeds the value of the work performed or material delivered. Existing law makes the violation of these provisions a misdemeanor and sets the penalty as a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $5,000, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would, for violations that take place in a location damaged by natural disaster, as specified, require the court to impose the maximum fine for the above-described crimes. (2) Existing law makes any person who commits specified acts involving a license, certificate, permit, or registration issued by the department guilty of a misdemeanor. Those acts include lending the person's license to any other person or knowingly permitting the use thereof by another, and knowingly permitting any unlawful use of a license issued to the person. Existing law, except as provided, limits the time for beginning prosecution for commission of specified offenses to one year after commission of the offense. With regard to individuals licensed pursuant to the Contractors State License Law who commit the above-described acts, this bill would instead authorize prosecution for a misdemeanor violation of the provisions described above involving use of a license issued by the board to begin within 3 years after discovery of the commission of the offense, or within 3 years after completion of the offense, whichever is later. By extending the statute of limitations for a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) Under existing law, the segments of postsecondary education in this state include the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges. Existing law authorizes the governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University to employ persons in academic and administrative positions in order to carry out the functions of their respective institutions. The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. This bill would request the Regents of the University of California, and would require the Trustees of the California State University and the governing boards of community college districts, to require, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic or administrative position, that the applicant disclose any final administrative decision, as defined, or final judicial decision, as defined, issued within the last 7 years, as provided, determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment, as defined. The bill would request the University of California to not ask, and would prohibit the California State University or a community college district from asking, an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described above, including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until it has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position. To the extent that this bill would impose new requirements on community college districts, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) 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 requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , on or before March 31, 2024, to provide transmission-focused guidance to the Independent System Operator about resource portfolios of expected future renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources, including the allocation of those resources by region based on technical feasibility and commercial interest in each region to allow the Independent System Operator to identify and approve transmission facilities needed to interconnect resources and reliably serve the needs of load centers, as specified. On December 23, 2022, the PUC, Energy Commission, and Independent System Operator entered into a memorandum of understanding related to resource and transmission planning, transmission development and permitting, procurement, and interconnections in order to achieve reliability and policy needs and to coordinate the timely development of resources, resource interconnections, and needed transmission infrastructure. This bill would require the Energy Commission and PUC, in coordination with the Independent System Operator, every 5 years, to review the memorandum of understanding and a related workplan to ensure the memorandum and workplan reflect the coordination that is needed to help meet the state's energy goals. This bill would require the Energy Commission, PUC, and Independent System Operator, on or before July 1, 2025, to jointly develop an electrical transmission infrastructure development guidebook that describes the state's electrical transmission infrastructure planning and permitting processes conducted by the Energy Commission, PUC, and Independent System Operator, and to provide an opportunity for stakeholder input and public comment on the guidebook, as specified. This bill would require the PUC, in consultation with California balancing authorities, on or before December 1, 2024, and biennially thereafter, to submit a report to the Legislature that includes specified information related to electrical transmission projects.
Prior state law established the Healthy California for All Commission for the purpose of developing a plan towards the goal of achieving a health care delivery system in California that provides coverage and access through a unified health care financing system for all Californians, including, among other options, a single-payer financing system. This bill would direct the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency to research, develop, and pursue discussions of a waiver framework in consultation with the federal government with the objective of a health care system that incorporates specified features and objectives, including, among others, a comprehensive package of medical, behavioral health, pharmaceutical, dental, and vision benefits, and the absence of cost sharing for essential services and treatments. The bill would further require the secretary to engage specified stakeholders to provide input on topics related to discussions with the federal government and key design issues, as specified. The bill would require the secretary, no later than January 1, 2025, to provide an interim report to specified committees of the Legislature and propose statutory language to the chairs of those committees authorizing the development and submission of applications to the federal government for waivers necessary to implement a unified health care financing system. The bill would require the secretary, no later than June 1, 2025, to complete drafting the waiver framework, make the draft available to the public on the agency's internet website, and hold a 45-day public comment period thereafter. The bill would require the secretary, no later than November 1, 2025, to provide the Legislature and the Governor with a report that communicates the finalized waiver framework, as specified, and sets forth the specific elements to be included in a formal waiver application to establish a unified health care financing system, as specified. The bill would also include findings and declarations of the Legislature related to the implementation of a unified health care financing system.