Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and responsibilities on the commission with respect to the purchase of electricity and requires the commission to review and adopt a procurement plan and a renewable energy procurement plan for each electrical corporation pursuant to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (RPS program) . The RPS program requires the commission to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, at specified percentages of the total kilowatthours sold to their retail end-customers during specified compliance periods. Existing law authorizes the commission to require a retail seller to procure eligible renewable energy resources in excess of the specified quantities. This bill would require that the commission evaluate the benefits and costs to the California economy, including upon low- and middle-income individuals and families and disadvantaged communities, before exercise of its authority to increase the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources in excess of the specified quantities. The bill would require the commission, in performing its evaluation, to conduct duly noticed public workshops throughout the state to allow for public comment and consideration of the economic findings.
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Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of home health agencies by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law requires all private or public organizations that provide or arrange for skilled nursing services to patients in the home to obtain a home health agency license. Existing law, the California Hospice Licensure Act of 1990 (the act) , provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of persons or agencies that provide hospice services to persons, and the families of persons, who are experiencing the last phases of life due to a terminal disease. The act prohibits a person, political subdivision of the state, or other governmental agency from establishing or operating a hospice without first obtaining a license. Existing federal law also provides for the certification of hospice care for purposes of Medicare reimbursement. Existing law exempts a hospice program certified in accordance with federal Medicare hospice conditions of participation from the requirement to obtain a license pursuant to the act, but provides that the program is subject to home health agency licensure unless it elects to apply for hospice licensure. This bill instead would exempt a licensed home health agency from the requirement to obtain a license to provide hospice services if the hospice program is certified in accordance with federal Medicare hospice conditions of participation or is in the process of obtaining that certification. The bill would also make conforming changes.
(1) Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state, and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. This bill would appropriate, for the 2015–16 fiscal year, $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Superintendent of Public Instruction to be allocated to applicant local educational agencies for the purpose of implementing a pilot program to train kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, teachers to more effectively utilize technology and digital resources within their instructional day, while also measuring and teaching the critical 21st century skills pupils need to succeed on California's next-generation online assessments, as well as to prepare pupils for college and career objectives, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the Superintendent to develop an application process for the allocation of funds appropriated for the implementation of the pilot program that gives priority to applicant local educational agencies that serve a large percentage of pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The bill would authorize any local educational agency in the state to apply to the Superintendent for funding to implement the pilot program, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2020. (2) Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to engage in disorderly conduct that delays or prevents a fire from being timely extinguished or to resist or interfere with the lawful efforts of a firefighter in the discharge of an official duty. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to impede police officers, firefighters, emergency personnel, or military personnel, in the performance of their duties in coping with an emergency. This bill would make it unlawful to knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly operate an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system, as defined, in a manner that prevents or delays the extinguishment of a fire, or in any way interferes with the efforts of firefighters to control, contain, or extinguish a fire. The bill would make a violation of this prohibition punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed 6 months, by a fine not to exceed $5,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. By creating a new 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to adopt regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, as defined, and requires that the fire prevention fee be adjusted annually using prescribed methods. Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to collect the fire prevention fees, as prescribed. Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and prohibits the collection of fire prevention fees if there are sufficient amounts of moneys in the fund to finance specified fire prevention activities for a fiscal year. Existing law requires that the fire prevention fees collected, except as provided, be deposited into the fund and be made available to the board and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for certain fire protection activities that benefit the owners of structures in state responsibility areas who are required to pay the fee. Existing law further requires the board to submit an annual written report to the Legislature on specified topics. This bill would repeal these provisions.
Existing federal law provides for the allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, no later than July 1, 2017, to design and implement a 5-year pilot project under which monetary grants are provided to organizations operating programs that assist individuals receiving CalWORKs benefits achieve economic independence. The bill would require the department, in developing the pilot project, among other things, to develop a competitive review process for all grant proposals submitted, to develop eligibility requirements for organizations seeking a grant, and to develop an ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of an organization receiving grant funding in teaching its program participants the skills necessary to achieve economic independence. The bill would authorize the department to enter into an agreement with an academic institution or other entity with sufficient expertise for the purpose of creating, performing, or both creating and performing the evaluation. The bill would authorize an organization receiving a grant to utilize the funds in any reasonable manner, as long as the funds are expended in furtherance of the organization's program or other requirements established by the department. The bill would require organizations receiving grant funding to contact the county welfare department upon being notified of the grant and to make a good faith effort to coordinate their programs with CalWORKs requirements. The bill would require the department, or the academic institution or other entity the department contracted with, to send a report evaluating the effectiveness of the programs funded by the grants to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by December 31, 2021. The bill would appropriate $50,000,000 from the General Fund for the purpose of funding these provisions. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2022, and would repeal them on January 1, 2023.
Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists and pharmacy corporations in this state by the California State Board of Pharmacy. The law prohibits a pharmacy from compounding sterile drug products unless the pharmacy has obtained a sterile compounding pharmacy license from the board, and prohibits the board from issuing or renewing that license until the board has, among other things, reviewed a current copy of the pharmacy's procedures and policies for sterile compounding. Existing law provides that fees collected on behalf of the board are credited to the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. This bill would require the board to license an outsourcing facility, as defined, and would prohibit an outsourcing facility to be concurrently licensed with the board as a sterile compounding pharmacy at the same location. The bill would require an outsourcing facility to be licensed with the board before doing business within or into the state, and would require an outsourcing facility to, among other things, notify the board of any disciplinary or other action taken by another state or the federal Food and Drug Administration within 10 days of the action. The bill would require the board to, among other things, inspect the location of an outsourcing facility to ensure that the outsourcing facility is in compliance with all laws and regulations before issuing or renewing an outsourcing facility's license. The bill would make a violation of any of these provisions or regulations adopted thereto punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 per occurrence. The bill would, on or after January 1, 2018, require the board to provide a report, as specified, to the Legislature regarding the regulation of nonresident outsourcing facilities. The bill would also authorize the board to collect a fee of $780 for the issuance and renewal of an outsourcing license and a fee of $715 for a temporary license, as specified. By increasing the amount of money deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report, or EIR, on a project 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. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Existing law establishes regulations related to numerous environmental issues. This bill would enact the Sustainable Environmental Protection Act and would specify the environmental review required pursuant to CEQA for projects related to specified environmental topical areas. For a judicial action or proceeding filed challenging an action taken by a lead agency on the ground of noncompliance with CEQA, the bill would prohibit a cause of action that (1) relates any topical area or criteria for which compliance obligations are identified or (2) challenges the environmental document if: (A) the environmental document discloses compliance with applicable environmental law, (B) the project conforms with the use designation, density, or building intensity in an applicable plan, as defined, and (C) the project approval incorporates applicable mitigation requirements into the environmental document. The bill would provide that the Sustainable Environmental Protection Act only applies if the lead agency or project applicant has agreed to provide to the public in a readily accessible electronic format an annual compliance report prepared pursuant to the mitigation monitoring and reporting program. Because this bill would impose additional duties on local agencies, it 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 establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. This bill would require the trustees and the board of governors, and would request the regents, to do all of the following regarding the respective segment's student code of conduct: (a) make it available to prospective students before enrollment, (b) develop a method of testing prospective students' knowledge of it before, or as a condition of, enrollment, and (c) set a standard for a prospective student to demonstrate proficient knowledge of it before beginning classes. The bill would require the trustees, and urge the regents and each community college district, to require each student to demonstrate proficient knowledge of the applicable code of conduct before the student begins classes.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 authorizes the State Air Resources Board to adopt greenhouse gas emissions limits and emission reduction measures by regulation to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in furtherance of achieving the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit. The act authorizes the board, in the regulations adopted, to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. This bill would prohibit the board, on and after January 1, 2016, from adopting or amending regulations pursuant to the act. The bill would authorize the board to submit to the Legislature recommendations on how to achieve the goals of the act.