(1) Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to specify the maximum amount of vinyl chloride that may be found in landfill gas. Existing law prohibits a gas producer from knowingly selling, supplying, or transporting to a gas corporation, and a gas corporation from knowingly purchasing, landfill gas containing vinyl chloride in a concentration exceeding the maximum amount determined by the PUC. Existing law requires a person who produces, sells, supplies, or releases landfill gas for sale offsite to a gas corporation to sample and test, bimonthly, the gas at the point of distribution for chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. Existing law requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to evaluate the environmental and health risks posed by various hazardous substances. This bill would require OEHHA, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and the California Environmental Protection Agency, to compile a list of constituents of concern that could pose risks to human health and that are found in biogas, as defined, at concentrations that significantly exceed the concentrations of those constituents in natural gas. The bill would require OEHHA to determine the health protective levels for that list, as specified, and would require the state board to identify realistic exposure scenarios and the health risks associated with those scenarios, as specified. The bill would require the state board to determine the appropriate concentrations of those constituents, as specified. The bill would also provide that actions taken pursuant to the above-described requirements do not constitute regulations and are exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would further require the PUC to adopt, by rule or order, (1) standards for biomethane that specify the concentrations of constituents of concern that are reasonably necessary to protect public health and ensure pipeline integrity and safety, as specified, and (2) requirements for monitoring, testing, reporting, and recordkeeping, as specified. The bill would require a gas corporation, as defined, to comply with those standards and requirements. The bill would require the PUC to require gas corporation tariffs to condition access to common carrier pipelines on the applicable customer meeting those standards and requirements. The bill would also prohibit a person and a gas corporation from knowingly engaging in specified transactions involving common carrier pipelines and biogas collected from a hazardous waste landfill, as defined. (2) The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and requires it to prepare an integrated energy policy report on or before November 1, 2003, and every 2 years thereafter. The act requires the report to contain an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state, including, but not limited to, supply, demand, pricing, reliability, efficiency, and impacts on public health and safety, the economy, resources, and the environment. This bill would require the Energy Commission to hold public hearings to identify impediments that limit procurement of biomethane in California, including, but not limited to, impediments to interconnection. The bill would require the Energy Commission to offer solutions to those impediments as part of the above-mentioned report. (3) This bill would require the PUC to adopt policies and programs that promote the in-state production and distribution of biomethane. (4) Existing law allows the PUC to set heating and purity requirements for biomethane injected into a gas pipeline. Existing law allows gas corporations to impose tariffs on biomethane injected into their pipelines. This bill would require the PUC to adopt pipeline access rules that ensure that each gas corporation provides nondiscriminatory open access to its gas pipeline system to any party for the purposes of physically interconnecting with the gas pipeline system and effectuating the delivery of gas. (5) This bill would become operative only if this bill and AB 2196 of the 2011–12 Regular Session are both enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2013. (6) 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 this bill would require action by the PUC to implement certain of its requirements, a violation of which would be a crime, these provisions 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.
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Existing law requires a pupil who is placed in a licensed children's institution or foster family home to attend programs operated by the local educational agency unless the pupil is entitled to remain in his or her school of origin, the pupil has an individualized education program requiring placement elsewhere, or the pupil's parent or guardian, or other person holding the right to make educational decisions for the pupil, determines that it is in the best interests of the pupil to be placed in another educational program. This bill would require that, if the pupil's parent or guardian, or other person holding the right to make educational decisions for the pupil, makes that determination, he or she shall provide a written statement to that effect to the local educational agency, as specified. The bill would authorize a local educational agency to provide a parent, guardian, or other person holding the right to make educational decisions for the pupil with specified information, including, among other things, that the pupil has the right to attend a regular public school in the least restrictive environment. Existing law provides that no local educational agency shall refer an individual with exceptional needs residing in a licensed children's institution or foster family home to a nonpublic, nonsectarian school unless the services required by the individualized education program of the pupil can be assured, and that before a local educational agency places an individual with exceptional needs in, or refers such an individual to, a nonpublic, nonsectarian school, the school district, special education local plan area, or county office of education shall initiate and conduct a meeting to develop an individualized education program for the pupil. This bill would specify that these pupils shall not be referred to, or placed in, a nonpublic, nonsectarian school unless their individualized education programs specify that the placement is appropriate. The bill would also specify that the meeting that is required to take place to develop an individualized education program shall be conducted pursuant to specified provisions. To the extent this bill would require local educational agencies to perform additional duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law prohibits a licensed children's institution from requiring as a condition of residential placement that it provide the appropriate educational programs to individuals with exceptional needs residing there through a nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency owned, operated by, or associated with, it. This bill would also prohibit a licensed children's institution from referring or placing a pupil in a nonpublic, nonsectarian school. This bill would prohibit a licensed children's institution from requiring that a child be identified as an individual with exceptional needs as a condition of admission or residency. 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing federal law provides for the collection of fraudulent and nonfraudulent overissuances of SNAP benefits, and authorizes the United States Secretary of Agriculture to delegate this power to the appropriate state agencies. Under existing law, a county administering CalFresh, and operating an early fraud detection and prevention program in accordance with existing law, is required to make a referral for fraud investigation when reasonable grounds for fraud exist, including when an overpayment or overissuance of benefits, or both, may result from an applicant's failure to report information pertinent to eligibility or benefits. This bill would establish procedures, consistent with federal law, for recovering CalFresh overissuances, including requiring benefits to be reduced when an overissuance is caused by intentional program violation or fraud, inadvertent household error, or when caused by administrative error, under certain circumstances. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to establish a minimum cost-effective threshold for collecting CalFresh overissuances, as specified. The bill would prohibit collection of an overissuance from being attempted, in connection with a household that is no longer receiving CalFresh benefits, when the overissuance is caused by administrative error and is less than $125, or a threshold established by the state pursuant to a specified provision, whichever is greater. This bill would require collection of an overissuance to be attempted, in connection with a household that is no longer receiving CalFresh benefits, when the overissuance is caused by inadvertent household error and is $35 or more. The bill would extend the authority to implement, as specified, these provisions and related provisions until January 1, 2014. Because counties administer the CalFresh program, by requiring that counties perform new duties, 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law requires specified information to be provided to patients regarding their health care. Existing federal law requires a written report of the results of each mammography examination and requires a summary of that report to be sent to the patient within a specified time period. This bill, from April 1, 2013, until January 1, 2019, would require, under specified circumstances, a health facility at which a mammography examination is performed to include in the summary of the written report that is sent to the patient a prescribed notice on breast density.
Existing law establishes the Administrator Training Program, to be administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the Superintendent to award incentive funding from funds appropriated for that purpose, to provide instruction and training to school administrators in various areas, including, among others, school financial and personnel management, instructional leadership and management strategies, and the use of state and local pupil assessments. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that local educational agencies give highest priority to training school administrators assigned to, and practicing in, high-priority or hard-to-staff schools. This bill would authorize a school district to evaluate a principal annually for the principal's first and second year of employment as a new principal and authorize additional evaluations, as specified. The bill would authorize the governing board of a school district to identify who will conduct the evaluation of each school principal. The bill would authorize the criteria for school principal evaluations to be based upon the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders and to include evidence of, among other things, pupil academic growth, effective and comprehensive teacher evaluations, culturally responsive instructional strategies, the ability to analyze quality instructional strategies and provide effective feedback, and effective school management. The bill would authorize the use of specified federal carryover funds and certain other funds to implement this act.
Existing law, the California Early Intervention Services Act, requires the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide a statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive, family-centered, multidisciplinary, interagency programs responsible for providing appropriate early intervention services and support to all eligible infants and toddlers and their families. This bill, to the extent that sufficient federal or private funds are deposited with the state and appropriated by the Legislature, would establish the California Children's Coordinating Council to serve, until January 1, 2019, as an advisory body responsible for improving the collaboration among agencies that provide services to the children and youth of the state. This bill would provide that the council shall be comprised of, among others, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, the Chief Justice of California, or his or designee, and the heads of various specified state agencies. The bill would require the council to provide recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature every odd-numbered year.
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. Existing law establishes a higher education accountability program under which the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges are required to prepare a list of reports on a regular basis and present those reports to the Legislature and to state agencies. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that budget and policy decisions regarding postsecondary education generally adhere to 3 specified goals. The bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to identify and define appropriate metrics in order to monitor progress toward the achievement of those 3 goals and establish interim targets for those metrics to be achieved by 2025. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to convene a working group to develop those metrics, and any recommended interim targets for those metrics, as specified. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office, in consultation with the Department of Finance, to submit recommended metrics to specified persons and entities on or before January 31, 2013. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to formally adopt statewide metrics following a review of those recommended metrics. Commencing September 30, 2013, the bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to annually release a statewide performance report, as specified, using each of the statewide metrics adopted by the Legislature. Commencing January 1, 2014, the bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to annually provide its own assessment of progress toward the achievement of those 3 goals, as specified, with recommendations for legislative action, as appropriate. The bill also would require the segments of postsecondary education, as defined, to have the opportunity to annually provide their own assessments. The bill would also state additional legislative intent and make specified findings and declarations regarding state goals for postsecondary education.
This measure would declare December 12, 2012, as California Bullying Prevention Day, and would recognize the need for individuals, schools, communities, businesses, local governments, and the state to take action on behalf of bullying prevention in California.
This measure would designate the interchange at Hazel Avenue and State Highway Route 50 in the County of Sacramento as the Senator Dave Cox Memorial Interchange. This measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering those costs, to erect those signs.
The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) , which provides a defined benefit to its employees based on age at retirement, service credit, and final or highest compensation paid to the employee. Existing law authorizes any public agency to participate in, and make its employees members of, PERS by contract. In the case of an employee who has been employed by one or more contracting public agencies, retirement benefits distributed to that employee are based on the highest final compensation under any system, and each system makes a separate retirement payment to the employee based upon the number of years that the employee worked for each of those agencies. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that a contracting agency not experience a significant increase in actuarial liability due to increased compensation paid by another contracting agency to a nonrepresented employee. The bill would require the Board of Administration of PERS to develop guidelines in this regard and to implement program changes to ensure that a contracting agency that creates a significant increase in actuarial liability due to increased compensation bears the associated liability. The bill would require the system actuary to assess an increase in liability in this regard to the employer that created it at the time the increase is determined and to make adjustments to that employer's rates as needed. The bill would apply these requirements to any significant increase in actuarial liability due to increased compensation paid to a nonrepresented employee regardless of when the increase in compensation occurred. The bill would require the board to report to the Legislature on the implementation of these provisions. Existing law requires the Board of Administration of PERS to establish a plan of replacement benefits for members and any survivors or beneficiaries whose retirement benefits are limited by a specified provision of federal law and that cannot be fully maximized pursuant to PERL. This bill would prohibit a plan of replacement benefits from being administered by the board for a person who first becomes a member on or after January 1, 2013.