Sen. Monique Limón

Existing law generally regulates the sale and transfer of firearms, including, among other things, requiring transactions of firearms to be completed through a licensed firearms dealer. Existing law generally makes a violation of the requirements relating to the sale, lease, or transfer of a firearm a misdemeanor. This bill would prohibit an officer, employee, operator, lessee, or licensee of the 32nd District Agricultural Association, as defined, from contracting for, authorizing, or allowing the sale of any firearm, firearm precursor part, or ammunition on the property or in the buildings that comprise the OC Fair and Event Center, as specified. The bill would exempt from its provisions a gun buyback event held by a law enforcement agency, the sale of a firearm by a public administrator, public guardian, or public conservator within the course of their duties, a sale that occurs pursuant to a contract that was entered into before January 1, 2022, and the purchase of ammunition on state property by a law enforcement agency in the course of its regular duties. Because a violation of this prohibition would be 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 Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act, grants certain employment rights to firefighters, as defined. Under the act, when a firefighter is investigated and interrogated by the firefighter's commanding officer, or another member of the employing agency, on matters that could lead to punitive action, the interrogation must be conducted pursuant to certain requirements. The act defines "punitive action" for these purposes as any action that may lead to dismissal, demotion, suspension, reduction in salary, written reprimand, or transfer for purposes of punishment. Existing law excepts from the act any employee who has not successfully completed the probationary period established by the employee's employer as a condition of employment. The act prohibits taking punitive actions if the investigation of the allegation is not completed within one year of discovery by the employing fire department. Existing law authorizes the State Personnel Board to hold hearings and make investigations concerning all matters relating to the enforcement and effect of the state civil service and various related personnel issues. This bill would include within the definition of "firefighter" a temporary, seasonal firefighter employed by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The bill would apply the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act to an employee of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection who holds a temporary firefighter appointment and who has commenced employment in a 2nd consecutive fire season with the department even though the person holding the position does not serve a probationary period. Under the bill, if an investigation involves a Department of Forestry and Fire Protection employee holding a temporary appointment to a firefighter position, the above-described one-year period would be tolled during the period that the employee is not employed by the department until the date the employee is rehired for a subsequent fire season. The bill would prohibit a Department of Forestry and Fire Protection employee holding a temporary appointment to a firefighter position from being terminated for cause without a right to appeal the termination to the State Personnel Board, subject to the board's rules, and the would prescribe a process in this regard. Under the bill, if the board finds that cause for termination was not supported by a preponderance of the evidence or that the termination was made in bad faith, the employee would be entitled to reinstatement, as specified, but would not be entitled to back pay. The bill would prohibit these provisions from being construed to create a property interest in a temporary appointment to a firefighter position or to a permanent position. The bill would authorize the State Personnel Board to held hearings and investigations for these purposes.

(1) Existing law establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, known as "GO-Biz," within the Governor's office to serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. This bill would require the office to coordinate with other relevant state and local agencies and national organizations to explore ways to facilitate streamlining of local land use approvals and construction permit processes for projects related to broadband infrastructure deployment and connectivity. (2) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies. Existing law establishes 5 accounts, the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account, the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account, the Broadband Public Housing Account, the Broadband Adoption Account, and the Federal Funding Account, within the CASF. Existing law provides that the goal of the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account is, by no later than December 31, 2026, to approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households. Upon the accomplishment of that goal, existing law makes up to $30,000,000 remaining in the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account available for infrastructure projects that provide last-mile broadband access to households to which no facility-based broadband provider offers broadband service at speeds of at least 10 megabits per second (mbps) downstream and one mbps upstream. Existing law authorizes the commission to impose a surcharge to collect $330,000,000 for deposit into the CASF beginning January 1, 2018, and continuing through the 2022 calendar year. Existing law specifies the amount of surcharge revenues to be deposited into each account within the CASF, subject to appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law authorizes the commission, in administering Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account, to require each infrastructure grant applicant to indicate steps taken to first obtain any available funding from the Connect America Fund program or similar federal public programs that fund broadband infrastructure. This bill would provide that the goal of the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account is to approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households by no later than December 31, 2032, rather than December 31, 2026. The bill would delete the provision making up to $30,000,000 available for infrastructure projects upon the accomplishment of that goal, as specified. The bill would authorize moneys appropriated from the CASF to be used to fund projects that deploy broadband infrastructure to unserved nonresidential facilities used for local and state emergency response activities, including fairgrounds. The bill would delete the commission's authorization to collect $330,000,000 for deposit into the CASF beginning January 1, 2018, and continuing through the 2022 calendar year. The bill would authorize the commission, through imposition of a surcharge, to collect up to $150,000,000 per year. The bill would delete the commission's authorization to require each infrastructure grant applicant to indicate steps taken to first obtain any available funding from federal public programs, as specified. (3) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be 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. (4) This bill would become effective only if AB 14 of the 2021–22 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2022. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law establishes the Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence Program in the Office of Emergency Services to, among other things, provide local assistance to existing service providers and to establish a targeted or directed program for the development and establishment of domestic violence services in currently unserved and underserved areas. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to provide financial and technical assistance to local domestic violence centers in implementing specified services. This bill would require that the portion of any grant funding awarded pursuant to this provision that is funded by the state be distributed to the recipient in a single disbursement at the beginning of the grant period. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 13823.15 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 689 to be operative only if this bill and AB 689 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation, under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field, so as to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources. Existing law requires the supervisor to order those tests or remedial work that in the judgment of the supervisor are necessary to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources, to protect oil and gas deposits from damage by underground water, to prevent the escape of water into underground formations, or to prevent the infiltration of detrimental substances into underground or surface water suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes, to the best interests of the neighboring property owners and the public. Existing law authorizes the supervisor or district deputy to order the plugging and abandonment of a well or the decommissioning of a production facility that has been deserted whether or not any damage is occurring or threatened by reason of that deserted well or production facility. Existing law requires the owner or operator to commence, in good faith, the work ordered and continue it until completion and, if the work has not been commenced and continued to completion, authorizes the supervisor to appoint necessary agents to enter the premises and perform the work and provides that any amounts expended are a perfected and enforceable state tax lien against real or personal property of the operator. This bill would authorize the division, before performing the work ordered by the supervisor or district deputy, to impose a lien against the real or personal property of the operator in an amount equal to an estimate of the cost of the work based on a bid from a contractor or previous costs to perform comparable work. The bill would require the division's accounting of actual or estimated costs to perform work ordered to be served upon the operator by personal service or certified mail. The bill would require the supervisor, on or before July 1, 2022, to establish a collections unit within the division to be responsible for identifying persons responsible for specified charges, locating assets belonging to those persons, and fully implementing all of the division's authorities for collecting the amounts owed. Until January 1, 2027, to the extent feasible, the bill would require the division to use existing resources and personnel in establishing the collections unit. Existing law requires the operator of any idle well to either (1) no later than May 1 of each year, for each idle well that was an idle well at any time in the last calendar year, file with the supervisor an annual fee, or (2) file a plan with the supervisor to provide for the management and elimination of all long-term idle wells. This bill would require the division, by April 1 of each year, to send a notice to the operator of an idle well identifying the amount of the annual fee due no later than May 1 of that year and stating that if the fee amount in the notice is in error, the operator may apply to the division before May 1 of that year to have the fee amount corrected. Existing law requires the supervisor, on or before July 1, 2019, and annually thereafter until July 1, 2026, to prepare and transmit to the Legislature a comprehensive report on the status of idle and long-term idle wells for the preceding calendar year that includes specified information. For the report due on or before July 1, 2021, and for each report thereafter, existing law requires the division to conduct inspections of production facilities attendant to long-term idle wells and requires that information summarizing violations and pertinent findings in these inspections be included in each report. For the report due on or before July 1, 2023, and each report thereafter, this bill would require the division to provide a description of activities undertaken by the division's collections unit, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3206.3 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 84 to be operative only if this bill and SB 84 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies. Existing law authorizes the commission to impose a surcharge to collect $330,000,000 for deposit into the CASF beginning January 1, 2018, and continuing through the 2022 calendar year. Existing law specifies the amount of surcharge revenues to be deposited into each account within the CASF, subject to appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would authorize the commission to impose the surcharge to fund the CASF until December 31, 2032, as specified. Existing law requires the commission, until April 1, 2023, to annually report specified information to the Legislature, including the remaining unserved areas in the state, the status of the CASF balance, and the projected amount to be collected in each year. This bill would require the commission to report that information in perpetuity. This bill would authorize the commission to require each internet service provider, as defined, to report specified information regarding each free, low-cost, income-qualified, or affordable internet service plan advertised by the provider. (2) Existing law requires the commission to require interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service providers to collect and remit surcharges on their California intrastate revenues in support of specified public purpose program funds. Existing law authorizes those providers to use certain methodologies to identify their intrastate revenues subject to the surcharge. This bill would repeal that authorization to use those methodologies. (3) Existing law establishes the deaf and disabled telecommunications program and requires the commission to establish a rate recovery mechanism through a surcharge not to exceed 12 of 1% uniformly applied to a subscriber's intrastate telephone service, other than one-way radio paging service and universal telephone service, until January 1, 2025, to allow providers of equipment and service pursuant to that program to recover their costs as they are incurred. This bill would revise those requirements to instead require the commission to administer a surcharge to collect revenues of up to $100,000,000 per year until January 1, 2025, subject to annual appropriation of moneys by the Legislature, to allow providers of equipment and service pursuant to the deaf and disabled telecommunications program to recover their costs as they are incurred. (4) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be 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. (5) This bill would become effective only if SB 4 of the 2021–22 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2022. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law defines the term "code enforcement officer" as a person who is not a peace officer, who has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements, and who is authorized to issue citations or file formal complaints, as specified. This bill would require each local jurisdiction that employs code enforcement officers to develop safety standards appropriate for the code enforcement officers employed in their jurisdiction. By imposing new duties on local jurisdictions, 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, 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.

(1) Existing law requires the regulation of health insurance policies by the Department of Insurance under the guidance of the Insurance Commissioner. Under existing law, the department regulates individual, small employer, and large employer health insurance policies, as defined. Existing law requires an individual or small group health insurance policy issued to include coverage for essential health benefits, as defined. This bill would require a large group health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2022, to cover medically necessary basic health care services, as defined. The bill would authorize the commissioner to adopt regulations to implement these provisions. The bill would require these provisions to apply to an individual, group, or blanket disability insurance policy if a specified condition is met. (2) Existing law prohibits a health insurer or agent or broker from, directly or indirectly, from among other things, employing marketing practices or benefit designs that will have the effect of discouraging the enrollment of individuals with significant health needs or discriminating based on an individual's race, color, national origin, present or predicted disability, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, expected length of life, degree of medical dependency, quality of life, or other health conditions. This bill would, with respect to large group health insurance, prohibit an insurer and its officials, employees, agents, and representatives from directly or indirectly employing marketing practices or benefit designs that have the effect of discouraging the enrollment of individual on the above-described protected classifications. An insurer that violates this provision would be liable for an administrative penalty of not more than $2,500 for the first violation, and not more than $5,000 for the second. The bill would also subject an insurer that violates this provision with a frequency that indicates a general practice or commits a knowing violation to an administrative penalty of not less than $15,000, and not more than $100,000 for each violation.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. A willful violation of the act is a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law sets limits on the amount of the deductible and out-of-pocket expenses that may be included in specified health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies. This bill, for a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2022, in the individual or group market, would require the health care service plan or health insurer to monitor an enrollee's or insured's accrual balance toward their annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, if any. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to provide an enrollee or insured with their accrual balance toward their annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum for every month in which benefits were used, as specified. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to establish and maintain a system that allows an enrollee or insured to request their most up-to-date accrual balances from their health care service plan or health insurer at any time. The bill would require accrual updates to be mailed to enrollees unless the enrollee has elected to opt out of mailed notice and elected to receive the accrual update electronically, as specified. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to notify enrollees and insureds of their rights under the bill, as specified. The bill would require a contracted entity to which a health care service plan or health insurer has delegated claims payment functions to comply with the requirements of the bill, as specified. Because a willful violation of the bill's provisions by a health care service plan would be 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.