This measure would urge Congress to defeat H.R. 5034 in order to protect and preserve the ability of California wineries, and all wineries in the United States, to ship wine directly to consumers without discrimination between in-state and out-of-state wine producers.
This measure would urge the United States Congress to pass the International Violence Against Women Act, and establish the offices and policies therein.
The United States Open Championship will be held at Pebble Beach Golf Links from June 14 to 20, 2010. This measure would declare the week of June 14 to 20, 2010, as California Golf Week to celebrate golf and the golfing industry in California.
This measure would proclaim May 2 through May 8, 2010, as Cinco de Mayo Week, and would urge all Californians to join in celebrating Cinco de Mayo.
This measure would designate Friday, May 7, 2010, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day and would urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers.
Existing law provides that any person who has been convicted of a violent felony who purchases, owns, or possesses body armor, as defined in the California Code of Regulations, except as authorized, is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for 16 months or 2 or 3 years. However, the court, in People v. Saleem (102 Cal.Rptr.3d 652) , held that this provision is unconstitutionally vague in violation of due process. This bill would change the definition of "body armor" for purposes of this provision to mean any bullet-resistant material intended to provide ballistic and trauma protection for the person wearing the body armor. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would create 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would urge the Department of Justice to ensure compliance with a requirement that the department develop a standard format to be used statewide for purposes of reporting secondhand dealer transactions.
(1) The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority and authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds to provide industry with an alternative method of financing in providing and promoting the establishment of facilities utilizing alternative methods and sources of energy and facilities needed for the development and commercialization of advanced transportation technologies. Existing law authorizes a public agency and a property owner to enter into voluntary contractual assessments to finance the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy or water efficiency improvements that are permanently affixed on real property. This bill would require the authority to establish a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Reserve program to assist local jurisdictions in financing the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy or water efficiency improvements meeting specified requirements that are permanently affixed on real property through the use of a voluntary contractual assessment. The bill would, until January 1, 2015, appropriate up to $50,000,000 from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund to the authority for the purposes of the PACE Reserve program. The bill would require the authority, on March 31, 2011, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2015, to submit to the Legislature a report containing specified information regarding the implementation of the above provisions. (2) Existing law vests the authority with specified powers in the implementation of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act. This bill would authorize the authority to purchase bonds issued by a public agency meeting specified criteria. The bill would authorize the authority to hold the purchased bonds or to sell the purchased bonds, in whole or in part, to public or private purchasers. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act established the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. The authority is authorized to do all things necessary and convenient to carry out the purposes of the act. The authority is also required to establish a renewable energy program to provide financial assistance, as defined, to certain entities for projects to generate new and renewable energy sources, develop clean and efficient distributed generation, and demonstrate the economic feasibility of new technologies. Existing law provides that the transfer of title of tangible personal property constituting a project under the act to the authority by a participating party, or the lease or transfer of tangible personal property constituting a project under the act by the authority to a participating party pursuant to the act is not a "sale" or "purchase" for the purposes of the Sales and Use Tax Law. This bill would, for purposes of the act until January 1, 2021, expand the definition of "alternative sources" and "projects," as specified. The bill would, until January 1, 2021, authorize the authority to evaluate project applications, and to approve projects, as defined, for financial assistance under the existing exclusion from a "sale" or "purchase" subject to sales or use tax, as provided. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to submit a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, as provided. 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 districts, as specified, may impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into these laws. Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides that the state will 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 local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law vests exclusive power to certify a thermal powerplant with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) . Existing law requires a person to obtain a certification from the commission prior to commencing the construction of a thermal powerplant, as defined. This bill would require the Energy Commission to establish a process for certain applicants for certification of a solar thermal powerplant that allows the applicant to elect to pay additional fees to be used by the Energy Commission to contract with 3rd parties to assist Energy Commission staff in performing the analysis otherwise performed by staff in determining whether or not to issue a certification. The Energy Commission would retain discretion as to when this option will be offered to qualified applicants. (2) The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species and requires the Department of Fish and Game to recommend, and the commission to adopt, criteria for determining if a species is endangered or threatened. CESA states that state agencies should not approve projects, as defined, that would jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat essential to the continued existence of the species if there are reasonable and prudent alternatives available consistent with conserving the species or its habitat that would prevent jeopardy. CESA further declares that in the event specific economic, social, or other conditions make infeasible these alternatives, individual projects may be approved if appropriate mitigation and enhancement measures are provided. CESA authorizes the department to authorize the take of threatened species, endangered species, or candidate species by permit if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity, the impacts of the authorized take are minimized and fully mitigated, the permit is consistent with specified regulations, and the applicant ensures adequate funding to implement the minimization of mitigation measures and monitors compliance with, and effectiveness of, those measures. This bill would authorize the department, in consultation with the Energy Commission and, to the extent practicable, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and United States Bureau of Land Management, to design and implement actions to protect, restore, or enhance the habitat of plants and wildlife that can be used to fully mitigate the impacts of the take of endangered, threatened, or candidate species (mitigation actions) resulting from certain solar thermal and photovoltaic powerplants in the planning area of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, as defined. The bill would establish the Renewable Energy Resources Development Fee Trust Fund as a continuously appropriated fund in the State Treasury to serve, and be managed, as an optional, voluntary method for developers or owners of eligible projects, as defined, to deposit fees sufficient to complete mitigation actions established by the department and thereby meet their requirements pursuant to CESA or the certification authority of the Energy Commission. The bill would loan $10,000,000 from the Renewable Resources Trust Fund to the fund, to be repaid no later than December 31, 2012, to be used by the department to purchase mitigation lands or conservation easements and to cover related restoration, monitoring, and transaction costs incurred in advance of the receipt of fees and to cover the department's administrative costs for the program. The bill would require the department to collect, and require the owner or developer of an eligible project to pay, a one-time permit application fee of $75,000. The bill would require that fees collected by the department be deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The bill would require the department to utilize the permit application fee to pay for all or a portion of the department's cost of processing incidental take permit applications pursuant to CESA and would appropriate $1,650,000 from the fund for those purposes. If the permit application fee is insufficient to complete permitting work due to the complexity of a project or timeline delays, the bill would authorize the department to collect an additional fee from the owner or developer to pay for its actual costs, not to exceed an additional $75,000. (3) Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, provides for the conduct of administrative adjudication proceedings of state agencies. Existing law generally prohibits during a pending proceeding, communication, regarding any issue in the proceeding, with the presiding officer from an employee or representative of the agency without notice and opportunity for all parties to participate, except as specified. This bill would except from this general prohibition specified communications relating to determinations of applications for site certification that are before the Energy Commission and are made by employees of another state agency for the purpose of enabling the presiding officer to effectively manage the proceeding. (4) Existing law generally requires the Department of Personnel Administration to establish and adjust salary ranges for each class of position in the state civil service subject to any constitutional merit limits. Existing law requires the salary range to be based on the principle that like salaries shall be paid for comparable duties and responsibilities. Existing law prohibits the department from making any adjustments that require expenditures in excess of existing appropriations that may be used for salary increase purposes. This bill, until January 1, 2011, would approve the recruitment and retention differentials of the Department of Personnel Administration for specified employees in State Bargaining Units 1 and 10 employed by the Energy Commission covered by the October 29, 2009, letter from the Director of the Department of Personnel Administration to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The bill would specify that those differentials that require the expenditure of funds would not take effect unless funds for these provisions are specifically appropriated by the Legislature or already exist within available appropriations. The bill would authorize either party to reopen negotiations on all or part of the addendum if the Legislature does not approve or fully fund any addendum included in this measure. (5) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on January 8, 2010. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 8, 2010, pursuant to the California Constitution. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
