The Transportation Development Act, also known as the Mills-Alquist-Deddeh Act, provides for the allocation of local transportation funds in each county from 14 of 1% of the sales tax to various transportation purposes, including transportation planning, transit operations, and in some cases, local streets and roads. The act is administered by the transportation planning agency having jurisdiction and specifies the sequence of allocations to be made by that agency to eligible claimants. This bill would authorize the Solano Transportation Authority, a joint powers agency, to file a claim with the transportation planning agency for up to 2% of local transportation funds available to the county and city members of the authority for countywide transit planning and coordination relative to Solano County. Existing law creates the State Transit Assistance program as one of the transit programs funded by the Public Transportation Account from certain fuel sales tax revenues. Under the program, available funds are apportioned by the Controller to transportation planning agencies for allocation to transit operators and for other related purposes within the agency's jurisdiction. Apportionments are made under 2 different formulas, one based on population and the other based on operator revenue. This bill would specifically provide for the Solano Transportation Authority to be an eligible claimant for State Transit Assistance funds apportioned under the population formula, to be used for public transportation purposes, including countywide transit planning and coordination relative to Solano County.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law provides for the operation of live horse racing by associations and fairs, and for wagering thereon, and for the operation of satellite wagering facilities, subject to regulation and oversight by the California Horse Racing Board, as specified. This bill would, during calendar periods when a thoroughbred association or fair in the northern zone and the Humboldt County Fair simultaneously conduct live race meetings, permit the Humboldt County Fair and a thoroughbred association in the southern zone when conducting a live race meeting to accept wagers on the result of not more than 8 out-of-state thoroughbred horse races in addition to those already authorized in law, if specified conditions are met. (2) Existing law provides that when the San Mateo County Fair, or any other fair or thoroughbred association, and the Humboldt County Fair simultaneously conduct race meetings in the northern zone, the San Mateo County Fair, or other fair or thoroughbred association, is authorized to distribute the signal and accept wagers on out-of-zone, out-of-state, and out-of-country races if it complies with specified conditions. Existing law requires, for the period in which both fairs are conducting race meetings, the San Mateo County Fair, or other fair or thoroughbred association, to distribute to the Humboldt County Fair, from and to the extent of license fees generated from the total handle, 0.75% of the out-of-zone, out-of-state, and out-of-country handle, and requires the San Mateo County Fair, or other fair or thoroughbred association, to distribute the remaining amount by retaining 50% and distributing it equally as commissions and purses with the other 50% being paid to the state as a license fee. Existing law provides similar provisions for the Fresno District Fair as are applied to the Humboldt County Fair.This bill would delete those provisions relating to the Fresno District Fair, and, with respect to the provisions relating to the distribution of the signal and acceptance of wagers, would delete the reference to the San Mateo County Fair, leaving those other provisions applicable if any other fair or thoroughbred association and the Humboldt County Fair simultaneously conduct race meetings. The bill, with respect to the provisions relating to the distribution to the Humboldt County Fair, would also delete the reference to the San Mateo County Fair, would require that the distribution to the Humboldt County Fair shall be from and to the extent of commissions and purses generated from the total handle, and would delete obsolete language pertaining to the distribution of excess license fees. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law prohibits the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment by any person in any river, stream, or lake of this state without a permit issued by the Department of Fish and Game. Under existing law, it is unlawful to possess a vacuum or suction dredge in areas, or in or within 100 yards of waters, that are closed to the use of vacuum or suction dredges. A violation of the permit requirement is a misdemeanor. The department is authorized to close areas otherwise open for dredging and for which permits have been issued if there is an unanticipated water level change and the department determines that closure is necessary to protect fish and wildlife resources. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations to implement certain of the vacuum or suction dredge equipment requirements and authorizes the department to issue regulations with respect to other requirements. Existing law requires that the regulations be adopted in accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) . CEQA requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared by contract, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, 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. The act exempts from its provisions, among other things, certain types of ministerial projects proposed to be carried out or approved by public agencies, and emergency repairs to public service facilities necessary to maintain service. This bill would designate the issuance of permits to operate vacuum or suction dredge equipment to be a project under CEQA, and would suspend the issuance of permits, and mining pursuant to a permit, until the department has completed an environmental impact report for the project as ordered by the court in a specified court action. The bill would prohibit the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment in any river, stream, or lake, for instream mining purposes, until the director of the department certifies to the Secretary of State that (1) the department has completed the environmental review of its existing vacuum or suction dredge equipment regulations as ordered by the court, (2) the department has transmitted for filing with the Secretary of State a certified copy of new regulations, as necessary, and (3) the new regulations are operative. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to supervise and regulate every public utility and do all things necessary and convenient in the exercise of its power and jurisdiction. Existing law, until January 1, 2013, establishes the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in the State Treasury, and requires a surcharge, which is imposed by the commission and collected through retail telecommunications customers' bills, to be deposited in that fund, for the purpose of encouraging the deployment of advanced communications services, as provided in a specified order of the commission. Pursuant to that order, which establishes a program providing matching funds to build broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, eligible applicants for these funds are telephone corporations having a specified certificate from the commission and wireless carriers subject to registration with the commission. This bill would, for the sole purpose of providing matching funds pursuant to the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, make any entity eligible for funding pursuant to that act eligible to apply for participation in the matching funds program if that entity otherwise satisfies the eligibility requirements under the program. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would designate the Salmon Creek Bridge on State Highway Route 101 in Humboldt County as the James F. McManus Memorial Bridge. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
This measure would declare May 2009 to be "Senior Volunteer Month" to honor the contributions of California's senior volunteers.
This measure would designate Friday, May 8, 2009, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day and would urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers.
This measure proclaims the month of May 2009 to be Lyme Disease Awareness Month.
This measure would recognize the month of February 2009 as American Heart Month in California, would recognize February 6, 2009, as Wear Red Day in California, and would urge public support for Go Red for Women events.
This measure would endorse efforts to raise awareness of global climate change and energy efficiency and would declare the hour of 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March to be "Earth Hour" throughout the state. The measure would encourage city, county, and state employees, and businesses to turn off nonessential lights in government buildings, public schools, public landmarks, and other buildings for that hour on March 28, 2009.