Existing law establishes within the Department of Consumer Affairs a State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind, which is comprised of 7 members appointed by the Governor. Existing law requires 2 of the board members to be persons who are blind or visually impaired who use guide dogs. This bill would instead require at least 3 board members to be persons who are blind or visually impaired who use guide dogs. Under existing law, the board has exclusive authority in this state to issue licenses for the instruction of persons who are blind or visually impaired in the use of guide dogs and for the training of guide dogs for use by persons who are blind or visually impaired. Under existing law, the board also has exclusive authority in this state to issue licenses to operate schools for the training of guide dogs and the instruction of persons who are blind or visually impaired in the use of guide dogs. Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, give, hire, or furnish under any other arrangement, any guide dog or to engage in the business or occupation of training a guide dog unless he or she holds a valid and unimpaired license issued pursuant to the provisions governing guide dogs. A violation of those provisions is a crime. This bill, whenever an individual has received training or instruction from a specified certified school outside of this state, would authorize personnel from that school to provide that individual with any followup services within this state with respect to the specific guide dog for whom training or instruction was originally provided outside of this state, as specified. The bill would require the personnel, not less than 3 days prior to arriving in this state, to notify the board of their intent to provide those services. This bill would, if specified conditions are met, authorize followup emergency services. If those services are to be provided due to emergency circumstances, as determined by the school based on specified examples, the bill would authorize that notice to be provided within 24 hours after the personnel arrive in this state. The bill would prohibit the board from requiring the school to provide the name of the individual who will be receiving followup services, however, it would permit the board to require a school to provide the name of the individual to whom services have been provided to investigate personnel providing those services, so long as the investigation is based on reasonable grounds for determining that personnel may have provided substandard care. The bill would also authorize the board to refuse to allow personnel who have committed certain acts for which the board could suspend or revoke a license to provide those services, and would place those personnel under the disciplinary jurisdiction of the board while they provide those services. The bill, until January 1, 2018, would require the board to prepare a factsheet regarding various functions of the board, to post that factsheet on its Internet Web site, and to provide copies to each of the licensed guide dog schools. The bill, until January 1, 2018, would also require a licensed guide dog school to provide copies of the factsheet to every student receiving training from that school. Because the failure of a licensed guide dog school to provide those copies and the failure of personnel to provide that notification 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.
Sponsored bills
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law creates the California Environmental Protection Agency, consisting of various boards, offices, and departments, including the state board. Existing law, until 2008, established the former California Climate Action Registry to carry out specified actions, including, among others, helping various entities in the state to establish emissions baselines, encourage voluntary actions to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and recognize, publicize, and promote participants in the registry. This bill would require the agency to oversee the development of a registry for greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the water-energy nexus using the best available data. The bill would authorize the agency to enter into a contract with a qualified nonprofit organization to develop and administer the registry, which would include, among other things, the above-stated actions of the former California Climate Action Registry as those relate to the water-energy nexus.
Existing law authorizes a peace officer, humane officer, or animal control officer to take all steps reasonably necessary to remove an animal from a motor vehicle because the animal's safety appears to be in immediate danger of specified harm. Existing law requires those persons who remove an animal from a vehicle to take the animal to an animal shelter or other place of safekeeping or, if deemed necessary, to a veterinary hospital for treatment, and to leave a notice in the vehicle that notifies the owner of, among other things, the location where the animal may be claimed. Existing law authorizes the owner to claim the animal only after paying all charges that have accrued for the maintenance, care, medical treatment, or impoundment of the animal. This bill would expand the authorization and requirements applicable to a peace officer, humane officer, or animal control officer described above to include a firefighter or other emergency responder. The bill would additionally provide that a person may be required to pay for charges that have accrued for the maintenance, care, medical treatment, or impoundment of the animal removed from the vehicle. The bill would exempt a person from criminal liability for actions taken reasonably and in good faith to remove an animal from a vehicle under the circumstances described above if the person satisfies specified conditions, including immediately turning the animal over to a representative from law enforcement, animal control, or other emergency responder who responds to the scene. The bill would exempt a person from civil liability for property damage or trespass to a motor vehicle if the property damage or trespass occurred while the person was rescuing an animal pursuant to these provisions.
(1) Existing law requires a city or county that determines a project, as defined, is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act to identify certain water systems that may supply water for the project and to request those public water systems to prepare and approve a specified water supply assessment. Under existing law, if no public water system is identified, the city or county is required to prepare and approve the water supply assessment. Existing law provides that if, as a result of its assessment, the public water system or city or county concludes that its water supplies are, or will be, insufficient, the public water system or city or county is required to provide its plans for acquiring additional water supplies, as prescribed. Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to designate a basin as a probationary basin if the state board makes a certain determination and to develop an interim plan for the probationary basin. This bill would require a city or county that determines a project is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act to identify any water system whose service area includes the project site and any water system adjacent to the project site. This bill would provide that hauled water is not a source of water for the purposes of a water supply assessment, as specified. This bill would, if a water supply for a proposed project includes groundwater, require certain additional information to be included in the water supply assessment. By imposing additional duties on cities and counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, the Subdivision Map Act, establishes a statewide regulatory framework for controlling the subdividing of land. The act generally requires a subdivider to submit, and have approved by the city, county, or city and county in which the land is situated, a tentative map for subdivisions of land, as specified. Existing law requires a city or county to deny approval of a tentative map, or parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, if it makes certain findings relating to the proposed subdivision. Existing law requires a city or county to include as a condition in any tentative map that includes a subdivision a requirement that a sufficient water supply be available. Existing law requires proof of the availability of a sufficient water supply, as prescribed, and that the written verification of a public water system's ability or inability to provide a sufficient water supply be supported by substantial evidence. This bill would revise the definition of sufficient water supply to include additional factors relating to a proposed subdivision that relies in whole or in part on groundwater. (3) 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.
(1) Existing law establishes the State Lands Commission in the Natural Resources Agency and prescribes the functions and duties of the commission. Under existing law, the commission has jurisdiction over various state lands, including coastal lands. This bill would, upon appropriation of moneys by the Legislature, require the commission to, within 2 years, administer a coastal hazard removal and remediation program, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to seek and accept on behalf of the state any gift, bequest, devise, or donation whenever the gift and the terms and conditions thereof will aid in actions undertaken to administer that program. The bill would authorize the commission to seek to abandon, in cooperation with the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, legacy oil and gas wells, as defined, that present a hazard to the public health and safety and the environment. The bill would require the commission to annually report to the Legislature the activities and accomplishments of the program. (2) Existing law, with specified exceptions, generally requires the State Lands Commission, on and after July 1, 2006, to deposit all revenue, money, and remittances, derived from mineral extraction leases on state tide and submerged lands, including tideland oil revenue, into the General Fund, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for specified purposes. Existing law establishes the Land Bank Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, from which the commission may expend moneys for management and improvement of real property held by the commission, as trustee, to provide open space, habitat for plants and animals, and public access. This bill would require that, for the 2017–18 fiscal year, out of those funds deposited into the General Fund by the commission, the sum of $500,000 be transferred to the Land Bank Fund and be available, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act, for the purpose of implementing the coastal hazard removal and remediation program. The bill would require that, commencing with the 2018–19 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, an amount sufficient to bring the unencumbered balance of the Land Bank Fund available for the purpose of implementing the program to $500,000 be transferred to that fund and be available, upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, for the purpose of implementing the program.
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 and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law also provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services through, among other things, managed care plans licensed under the act that contract with the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016, to provide coverage for women for all prescribed and FDA-approved female contraceptive drugs, devices, and products, as well as voluntary sterilization procedures, contraceptive education and counseling, and related followup services. This bill would require a health care service plan or a health insurance policy issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2017, to cover up to a 12-month supply of FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptives when dispensed at one time for an enrollee or insured at one time by a provider, pharmacist, or at a location licensed or authorized to dispense drugs or supplies. The bill would specifically provide that a health care service plan contract or an insurance policy is not required to cover contraceptives provided by an out-of-network provider, pharmacy, or other location, except as authorized by state or federal law or by the plan or insurer's policies governing out-of-network coverage. The bill would also prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer, in the absence of clinical contraindications, from imposing utilization controls limiting the supply of FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptives that may be furnished by a provider or pharmacist, or at a location licensed or otherwise authorized to dispense drugs or supplies to an amount that is less than a 12-month supply. The bill would include Medi-Cal managed care plans, as specified, in the definition of a health care service plan for purposes of these provisions, and would require the State Department of Health Care Services to seek federal approval, if necessary, and to issue all-plan letters or similar instructions to implement these provisions. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes a pharmacist to dispense not more than a 90-day supply of a dangerous drug other than a controlled substance pursuant to a valid prescription that specifies an initial quantity of less than a 90-day supply followed by periodic refills of that amount if the patient has met specified requirements, including having completed an initial 30-day supply of the drug. Existing law prohibits a pharmacist from dispensing a greater supply of a dangerous drug if the prescriber indicates "no change to quantity" on the prescription. Existing law authorizes a pharmacist to furnish self-administered hormonal contraceptives in accordance with standardized procedures or protocols developed and approved by both the board and the Medical Board of California, as specified. This bill would require a pharmacist to dispense, at a patient's request, up to a 12-month supply of an FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptive pursuant to a valid prescription that specifies an initial quantity followed by periodic refills. The bill would authorize a pharmacist furnishing an FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptive, pursuant to the authorization described above, to furnish up to a 12-month supply at one time at the patient's request. This bill would incorporate changes to Section 4064.5 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by both this bill and SB 253, which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last. 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 Stormwater Resource Planning Act, authorizes one or more public agencies to develop a stormwater resource plan that meets specified standards to address the capture of stormwater, as defined, and dry weather runoff, as defined. This bill would authorize a public entity that captures stormwater from urban areas, in accordance with a stormwater resource plan, before the water reaches a natural channel to use the captured water under certain circumstances.
Existing law vests control of the state park system with the Department of Parks and Recreation and authorizes the department to enter into an operating agreement with a qualified nonprofit organization for the development, improvement, restoration, care, maintenance, administration, or operation of a unit or units, or portion of a unit, of the state park system, subject to certain conditions and requirements. This bill would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2025. The bill would also provide that an operating agreement may not eliminate jobs maintained under a memorandum of understanding. This bill would authorize the department to enter into a statewide agreement with a park support organization, as defined, to facilitate the implementation of reforms recommended by the Parks Forward Commission and to develop and secure expertise, services, resources, and projects that are not readily available to the state park system for specified purposes relating to the funding, visitation, use, facilities, and staffing of state parks, as provided. The bill would require the department to take specified actions relating to the development and implementation of such an agreement and would authorize the Director of Parks and Recreation and the Director of Finance, or their designees, to serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the park support organization's board of directors. The bill would require the department, if it enters into an agreement with a park support organization, to collaborate with the park support organization to develop an annual list of strategic initiatives and projects that are statewide priorities for the state park system and the park support organization and that the park support organization will undertake in partnership with the department. The bill would authorize the department to enter into supplementary agreements and leases, as provided, with the park support organization and receive donations of projects, services, and funds to be used for the support of the state park system, subject to the review and approval of the statewide agreement or substantial amendment of such an agreement by the Director of Finance. Existing law authorizes the department to lease, for any use, all or any portion of any parcel of real property acquired for state park system purposes, if the director finds that the use would be compatible with the use of the real property as a unit or part of a unit and with the sound management and conservation of resources within the unit, but prohibits the department from entering into a lease that extends beyond 10 years unless certain conditions for the review and approval of a proposed lease as part of the annual budget process are met. Existing law imposes similar review and approval requirements of operating leases or agreements that are expected to generate over $500,000 in annual gross revenues. This bill would revise certain of those conditions for the review and approval of a proposed lease or operating lease or agreement by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, as specified. The bill would make those conditions applicable only to operating leases or agreements that are expected to generate over $1,000,000 in annual gross revenues.
(1) Existing law creates, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services, which, under the Director of Emergency Services, coordinates disaster response, emergency planning, emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, disaster mitigation, and homeland security activities. This bill would establish the Office of Emergency Services as the lead agency for emergency response to a large, ongoing leak or release of natural gas and associated gases from a natural gas storage facility that poses a significant present or potential hazard to the public health and safety, property, or the environment. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to coordinate among other state and local agencies the emergency response, public health and environmental assessment, monitoring, and long-term management and control of the leak. (2) The Public Utilities Act provides that any public utility that violates any provision of the California Constitution or the act, or that fails or neglects to comply with any order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission where a penalty has not otherwise been provided, is subject to a penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $50,000 for each offense. Existing law requires that any fine or penalty imposed by the commission and collected from a public utility be paid to the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020. Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to identify disadvantaged communities. This bill would require a penalty assessed against a gas corporation pursuant to the Public Utilities Act in regards to a natural gas storage facility leak to at least equal the amount necessary to fully offset the impact on the climate from the greenhouse gases emitted by the leak from the natural gas storage facility, as determined by the state board, and would require the commission to consider the extent to which the gas corporation has mitigated, or is in the process of mitigating, the impact on the climate from greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the leak, as specified. The bill would require the commission to deposit moneys from penalties assessed against a gas corporation in regards to a natural gas storage facility leak into the Gas Storage Facility Leak Mitigation Account, which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The bill would require that moneys in this account be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, solely for direct emissions reductions in furtherance of achieving the greenhouse gas emissions limit and, if sufficient moneys remain after mitigating the impact on the climate from the gas corporation's emissions, to reimburse state and local response costs. The bill would require these moneys to be expended in a manner that achieves a reduction in greenhouse gases that will fully offset the impact on the climate from those gases emitted by the leak, and in accordance with provisions requiring specified allocations to disadvantaged communities. The bill would require the state board to determine the amount of, and impact on the climate from, greenhouse gases emitted by a leak for these purposes. The bill would require that moneys in the fund resulting from penalties assessed for the Aliso Canyon gas leak be expended, consistent with the state board's Aliso Canyon Climate Impacts Mitigation Program, for specified purposes.
The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 establishes the Wildlife Conservation Board in the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Under existing law, the board consists of the President of the Fish and Game Commission, the Director of Fish and Wildlife, and the Director of Finance. Existing law requires the board to investigate, study, and determine the areas in the state that are most suitable for certain wildlife-related purposes. This bill would expand the composition of the board to include 4 public members to serve terms of 4 years each and would require one public member to be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, one public member to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and 2 public members to be appointed by the Governor. This bill would require the public members appointed to the board to have demonstrated interest and expertise in land acquisition for conservation purposes.