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 oil and gas wells, as provided. Existing law requires that the supervisor, on or before the first day of October of each year, make public, for the benefit of all interested persons, a report in writing showing specified information, including the total amounts of oil and gas produced in each county in the state during the previous calendar year. This bill would require the supervisor to include in the report an inventory of all surface expressions that have occurred in the previous calendar year, separated by low and high energy. Existing law requires an operator proposing to perform a well stimulation treatment on a well to apply to the supervisor or a district deputy for a permit to perform the well stimulation treatment and imposes other requirements and conditions on the use of well stimulation treatments. Existing law defines a well stimulation treatment as being any treatment of a well designed to enhance oil and gas production or recovery by increasing the permeability of the formation, including hydraulic fracturing treatments and acid well stimulation treatments. Existing law excludes from the definition of well stimulation treatments steam flooding, water flooding, or cyclic steaming. Under existing law, a person who fails to comply with this and other requirements relating to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would qualify the exclusion from the definition of well stimulation treatment for cyclic steaming to that cyclic steaming that does not exceed the fracture gradient. Because the bill would limit the exclusion for cyclic steaming and thereby expand the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the division to review, evaluate, and update its regulations pertaining to cyclic steaming, by July 1, 2021, to include measures that ensure geologic and hydrologic isolation of the oil and gas formation during a cyclic steaming project, as specified. Upon the discovery of a surface expression leak from an oil and gas well, the bill would require the owner or operator of the oil and gas well to promptly notify the division of the jurisdiction in which the leak is located and require the division to post all relevant information regarding any surface expression reported to it and to promptly cooperate with all relevant state agencies on any surface expression leak. By imposing additional requirements on owners and operators of oil and gas wells, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law provides that a person who violates certain requirements related to the regulation of oil and gas is subject to specified civil penalties. The civil penalty amount for a well stimulation violation, as defined, is not less than $10,000 per day per violation and not more than $25,000 per day per violation. The civil penalty amount for a major violation, as defined, is not less than $2,500 per violation and not more than $25,000 per violation. This bill would make the maximum civil penalty for a well stimulation violation $50,000 per day per violation and make the maximum civil penalty for a major violation $50,000 per violation. The bill would authorize the supervisor to impose a greater civil penalty if the supervisor makes a written finding that a violation is a special circumstance that warrants a higher penalty than what is otherwise allowable. 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.
Sponsored bills
Existing law provides for the formation of port districts, with specified powers and duties, for the purpose of aiding or developing navigation, commerce, or fishing. Existing law authorizes a port district to do any work or make any improvement within or without the territorial limits of the port district that will aid in the development or the improvement of navigation or commerce to or within the port district. Under the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, a city or district may only provide new or extended services by contract or agreement outside of its jurisdictional boundary if it requests and receives written approval, as provided, from the local agency formation commission in the county in which the extension of service is proposed. This bill would, notwithstanding the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, authorize the Ventura Port District, to the extent permitted by federal law, to construct, maintain, operate, lease, and grant permits to others for the installation, maintenance, and operation of aquaculture plots in federal waters off the coast of the County of Ventura, as prescribed, in order to aid in the development or improvement of navigation or commerce to the port district. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Ventura. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would state that the Legislature should stop speaking of climate change and instead speak of the climate crisis.
Existing law requires the Treasurer to invest, or deposit in banks and savings and loan associations, specified state moneys designated as surplus and determined to be available for that purpose by the Pooled Money Investment Board. Existing law prescribes eligible securities for the investment of surplus moneys under these provisions, including bonds, notes, and warrants of this state and bonds or warrants of any county, city, or specified types of districts of this state. This bill would expand the scope of securities eligible for investment under these provisions to include loans issued by the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank for the financing of infrastructure projects by local agencies. The bill, by January 1, 2022, would require the Treasurer to target an investment of 1% of the average daily balance of the Pooled Money Investment Account in these securities.
Existing law provides that in any action arising out of the Mobilehome Residency Law, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs, and defines a prevailing party for these purposes. This bill would instead provide that a resident who is the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs and, if management is the prevailing party, would require a court to award reasonable attorney's fees and costs only if the resident's action or defense is frivolous. The bill would delete the provision defining a prevailing party.
This measure would declare March 5, 2020, as Family Justice Center Day in California and would recognize the lifesaving and hope-giving work of the California Family Justice Center Network and its member Family Justice Centers as they work with rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, human trafficking agencies, prosecutors' offices, law enforcement agencies, and other professionals and community-based organizations to ensure that adult and child survivors of trauma can access all of their services in one setting.
This measure would recognize March 7, 2020, as California Arbor Day, and would urge California residents to observe the day with appropriate tree-planting activities and programs.
The California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law provides for the licensure and regulation by the Commissioner of Business Oversight of persons engaged in the business of making or arranging deferred deposit transactions. Existing law, among other things, prohibits a licensee from entering into an agreement for a deferred deposit transaction with a customer during the period of time that an earlier written agreement for a deferred deposit transaction for the same customer is in effect. A knowing and willful violation of the provisions of this law is a crime. This bill would require the commissioner, by July 1, 2021, to develop, operate, and maintain an internet website and common database in which a licensee would be required to, by the time period described below, record each deferred deposit transaction for the purpose of preventing violations of the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law. The bill would require the database to meet certain requirements, including that it allow real-time access to information entered into the database via an internet connection. The bill would, alternatively, authorize the commissioner to contract with a provider to develop, operate, or maintain the database. The bill would require, on or after July 1, 2021, a licensee to conduct a search on the database before entering into any deferred deposit transaction, and would prohibit the licensee from entering into that transaction if the database reveals the customer has any outstanding deferred deposit transactions or has taken out 4 or more deferred deposit transactions in the preceding 365 days. The bill would require the licensee to adhere to generally accepted security safeguards to maintain the confidentiality and security of information transmitted to the database. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the information contained in the database is confidential and not subject to public inspection, and the database and its contents are not subject to requests under the California Public Records Act, except 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. 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.