Sen. Connie M. Leyva

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program requires an electrical corporation with 100,000 or more customers in California to file with the PUC an application requesting approval of a tariff to implement a program enabling ratepayers to participate directly in offsite electrical generation facilities that use eligible renewable energy resources, consistent with certain legislative findings and statements of intent. Existing law requires the PUC, by July 1, 2014, to issue a decision to approve or disapprove the utility's application, with or without modifications. Existing law requires the PUC, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to approve the application if the PUC determines that the proposed program is reasonable and consistent with the legislative findings and statements of intent and directs the commission to require that a utility's Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program be administered in accordance with specified provisions. An electrical corporation is not required to offer the program once the nameplate rated generating capacity serving customers participating in the program reaches the utility's proportionate share of a statewide limitation of 600 megawatts. Of this amount, 100 megawatts are reserved for facilities that are no larger than one megawatt nameplate rated generating capacity and that are located in areas that the California Environmental Protection Agency has identified pursuant to law as the 20% most impacted and disadvantaged communities, 100 megawatts are reserved for participation by residential class customers, and 20 megawatts are reserved for the City of Davis. This bill would require the PUC to increase the 600-megawatt statewide limitation up to 800 megawatts, to the extent necessary to accommodate participation by low-income customers and projects located in disadvantaged communities, as specified. The bill would provide, for the 100 megawatts reserved for the 20% most impacted and disadvantaged communities, that the 100 megawatts would instead be reserved for the 25% most impacted and disadvantaged communities, and would authorize the PUC to increase this minimum reserved for the most impacted and disadvantaged communities from 100 megawatts up to 300 megawatts. The bill would require, for the program generation not reserved for the most impacted and disadvantaged communities, residential class customers, and the City of Davis, that preference be given to projects located in disadvantaged communities identified by the agency. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. That act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, to be achieved by 2020, equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990. The state board is authorized to include in its implementation of the act the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. The implementing regulations adopted by the state board provide for the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to electrical corporations pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism. Existing law authorizes the PUC to allocate 15% of the revenues from the sale of these allowances for clean energy and energy efficiency projects established pursuant to statute that are administered by electrical corporations or 3rd-party administrators and requires the PUC to direct the balance of the revenues to be credited directly to the residential, small business, and emissions-intensive trade-exposed retail customers of the electrical corporations, as specified. Existing law requires the PUC to annually authorize the allocation of $100,000,000 or 10%, whichever is less, beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2016, and ending with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, from the greenhouse gas allowance revenues received by electrical corporations set aside for clean energy and energy efficiency projects for the Multifamily Affordable Housing Solar Roofs Program. This bill would require the PUC to implement, by January 1, 2019, the Renewable Energy for All program to pay any net costs associated with subscriptions by participating low-income customers under the Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program for generating facilities built pursuant to the 100 megawatts set aside for the most impacted and disadvantaged communities and projects given priority pursuant to this bill because they are located within disadvantaged communities. The bill would require that, beginning with the 2018–19 fiscal year and ending with the 2019–20 fiscal year, any moneys remaining of the 15% available for clean energy and energy efficiency projects from the sale of greenhouse gas allowances by electrical corporations not allocated to the Multifamily Affordable Housing Solar Roofs Program be allocated to the Renewable Energy for All program. The bill would authorize the PUC to allocate additional moneys to the Renewable Energy for All program if it makes specified findings. The bill would require the PUC to allocate moneys from the Renewable Energy for All program to community-based and nonprofit organizations to conduct marketing, education, and outreach to customers, with emphasis on increasing participation of low-income customers. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because the bill requires action by the PUC to implement its requirements, and a violation of the PUC's rule or order would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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 After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002, enacted by initiative statute, establishes the After School Education and Safety Program to serve pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 9, inclusive, at participating public elementary, middle, junior high, and charter schools. The act provides that each school establishing a program pursuant to the act is eligible to receive a renewable 3-year grant for before or after school programs, as provided, and a grant for operating a program beyond 180 regular schooldays or during summer, weekend, intersession, or vacation periods, as provided, and specifies the maximum grant amount and related amounts for each of these grants. The act provides a formula for determining an amount to be continuously appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for the purposes of the program. This bill, commencing with the increases to the minimum wage implemented during the 2018–19 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, would, when calculating the total amount to be appropriated for a fiscal year, require the Department of Finance to annually adjust the total program funding amount for each minimum wage increase using a specified calculation. The bill would require the State Department of Education to adjust the maximum grant amounts and related amounts in accordance with the amount provided for the program for the 2017–18 fiscal year. The bill, commencing with the 2018–19 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, would require the State Department of Education to adjust those amounts by the amounts necessary to properly allocate funding increases made to the total program funding amount by the bill.

Existing law requires an elections official to send to each voter a county voter information guide that contains written statements of each candidate for nonpartisan elective office in any local agency and may include the name, age, and occupation of the candidate and a brief description of the candidate's education and qualifications expressed by the candidate himself or herself. Except as specified, existing law authorizes the legislative body of any city, county, or district to propose by ordinance or resolution the adoption of a special tax. Existing law requires that the special tax proposition be submitted to the voters of the city, county, or district, and upon approval of two-thirds of the votes cast by voters voting upon the proposition, the city, county, or district may levy the tax. If the ordinance or resolution is adopted and approved by the voters, a validation action challenging the levy of the special tax may be commenced within 60 days of the effective date of the tax increase. This bill would require, if a local special tax measure is presented to the voters for approval, an elections official to include in the county voter information guide for that election a notice regarding the process for initiating a validation action challenging the levy of a special tax. The notice would be required to conform with certain formatting, print, and type requirements and would include language notifying taxpayers of the 60-day filing requirement for challenging the imposition of a special tax. By imposing new duties on local elections officials, the 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, 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 a county social worker to create a case plan for foster youth within a specified timeframe after the child is introduced into the foster care system. Existing law requires the case plan to include prescribed components, including, among other things, for youth in foster care 14 years of age and older and nonminor dependents, a document that describes the youth's rights with respect to education, health, visitation, and court participation, the right to be annually provided with copies of his or her credit reports at no cost, and the right to stay safe and avoid exploitation. This bill would additionally require, for youth in foster care 10 years of age and older and for nonminor dependents who are enrolled in high school, the case plan to be updated yearly to indicate that the case management worker has verified that the youth has received comprehensive sexual health education, as specified. The bill would also require, for youth in foster care 10 years of age and older and for all nonminor dependents, the case plan to be updated yearly to indicate that the case management worker has provided the youth or nonminor dependent certain information, including, among other things, that he or she may access age-appropriate, medically accurate information about reproductive and sexual health care. By imposing additional duties on county case management workers, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires foster care providers to ensure that adolescents who remain in long-term foster care receive age-appropriate pregnancy prevention information, provided that the department develops guidelines that describe the duties and responsibilities of foster care providers and county case managers in delivering pregnancy prevention services and information. This bill would require the department to develop a curriculum for case management workers and foster care providers that addresses certain topics related to sexual and reproductive health care, including, among others, how to document sensitive health information including sexual and reproductive health issues in a case plan. The bill would also require these topics to be addressed in certain additional training, including, among others, training for administrator certification programs for group homes and short-term residential therapeutic programs. 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 measure would proclaim Tuesday, April 4, 2017, as Equal Pay Day in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all.