Existing law establishes the Department of Parks and Recreation and vests the department with the control of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the Director of Parks and Recreation to negotiate or renegotiate a concession contract within state parks if specified conditions exist and generally requires that a concession contract within state parks for a period of more than 2 years be awarded to the best responsible bidder. This bill would enact the California Heritage Protection Act, which would make various changes to the process for negotiating or renegotiating state parks concession contracts. The bill would modify the definition of a best responsible bidder to include that the bidder, among other things, will operate the concession in a manner that protects the state's trademark and service mark interest in the names associated with a state park venue and its historical, cultural, and recreational resources. This bill would prohibit a concession contract from providing a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and would prohibit a concession contract from serving as the basis for any legal claim that the contracting party has that interest. The bill would declare that these provisions do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory of, existing law. The bill would prohibit a bidder who makes that legal claim or assertion, and a bidder who a court has determined has made that legal claim or assertion with respect to a state or federal park venue without reasonable cause and in bad faith, from being awarded a concession contract within state parks. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to provide a bidder who is denied a contract award based on these reasons with written notice and an opportunity to rebut the basis of the contract denial at a formal hearing. The bill would render a provision of a concession contract that, on and after January 1, 2017, provides a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, void and unenforceable. This bill would require a concession contract to contain provisions requiring the concessionaire to forfeit the right to bid on future state park concession contracts if the concessionaire makes the above-described legal claim or assertion and requiring a concessionaire to be responsible for the state's attorney fees, costs, and expenses if the concessionaire in bad faith files a federal or state trademark or service mark application for a trademark or service mark that incorporates or implies association with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and the state files a successful opposition or cancellation of the trademark or service mark application. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5080.18 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 1473 to be operative only if SB 1473 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in the Natural Resources Agency and prescribes the functions and duties of the conservancy with regard to the preservation, protection, and management of specified lands in the Santa Monica Mountains Zone, as defined. For purposes of providing a recreational trail corridor, the zone includes trails and accessways generally following the Rim of the Valley Trail, as specified. Existing law authorizes the conservancy to revise the boundaries of the Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor in the vicinity of the City of Santa Clarita if it determines, based on relevant scientific information and land use planning studies and after holding at least one public hearing, that a boundary revision is necessary, and to prepare and file a revised map showing the revised boundaries, as prescribed. This bill would, pursuant to the same process and conditions, also authorize the conservancy to revise the boundaries of the Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor in the vicinity of the City of Moorpark, and to prepare and file a revised map, as prescribed.
(1) 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 state board is required to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. This bill would require the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. (2) This bill would become operative only if AB 197 of the 2015–16 Regular Session is enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2017.
This measure would congratulate the United States Women's National Soccer Team on its impressive and historic World Cup victory on July 5, 2015.
Existing law establishes the California Alternative and Renewable Fuel, Vehicle Technology, Clean Air, and Carbon Reduction Act of 2007, which includes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Air Quality Improvement Program, administered by the State Air Resources Board. Existing law requires the emphasis of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program to be to develop and deploy technology and alternative and renewable fuels in the marketplace, without adopting any one preferred fuel or technology. Existing law requires the primary purpose of the Air Quality Improvement Program to be the funding of projects to reduce criteria air pollutants, to improve air quality, and to fund research to determine and improve the air quality impacts of alternative transportation fuels and vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies. This bill would create the Low Carbon Fuels Council, as specified, which, among other things, would coordinate state agencies' activities that are related to the acceleration and development of the instate production of low carbon fuels and very low carbon transportation fuels.
Existing law establishes the California Coastal Commission in the Natural Resources Agency and designates the commission as the state coastal zone planning and management agency for all purposes. Existing law prohibits a commission member or an interested person, as defined, from conducting an ex parte communication unless the commission member fully discloses and makes public that communication within 7 days after the communication or, if the communication occurs within 7 days of the next commission hearing, to the commission on the record of the proceeding at that hearing. This bill would require a commission member to fully disclose in writing 24 hours before a commission hearing any ex parte communication conducted within 7 days of the commission hearing relating to a matter that will be discussed at the hearing, and would prohibit a commission member or an interested person from conducting such an ex parte communication within 24 hours before the commission hearing. The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the regulation of the lobbying industry, including defining the term "lobbyist" and regulating the conduct of lobbyists. Among its provisions, the act prohibits lobbyists from engaging in certain activities, including accepting or agreeing to accept any payment in any way contingent upon the defeat, enactment, or outcome of any proposed legislative or administrative action. Under the act, a lobbyist is, among others, an individual whose principal duties as an employee are to communicate with, among others, any agency official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action. For these purposes, "administrative action" is defined as the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat by a state agency of any rule, regulation, or other action in any ratemaking or quasi-legislative proceeding and "agency official" is defined as any member, officer, employee, or consultant of any state agency who participates in any administrative action in other than a ministerial capacity. This bill would revise the definition of "administrative action" to include, with regard to proceedings before the California Coastal Commission, specified actions relating to the review, approval, and appeal of certain permit actions and coastal plans and programs. The bill would, however, exclude from these provisions relating to lobbyists an employee of a local government agency seeking, within the scope of his or her employment, to influence quasi-judicial decisions of the commission. The bill would also, for purposes of those matters before the California Coastal Commission, limit the definition of "agency official" to a member of the commission. Existing law makes a knowing and willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding those crimes. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes with a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. 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 requires the governing board of a school district, on or before July 1 of each year, to hold a hearing on, and adopt a budget for, the subsequent fiscal year. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district that proposes to adopt a budget that includes a combined assigned and unassigned ending fund balance in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the State Board of Education to provide specified information for public review and discussion. This bill would instead require the governing board of a school district that proposes to adopt a budget that includes unassigned ending balances in the school district's general fund and special reserve fund for other than capital outlay projects in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties to provide specified information for public review and discussion. The bill would also require the governing board of a school district to adopt a policy establishing procedures for reporting the fund balances as reflected in the school district's governmental fund financial statements, as specified. By imposing additional duties on school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law limits the amount of the combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance contained in a school district's annual budget in any fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made into the Public School System Stabilization Account. Existing law establishes formulas for calculating the maximum amount allowable for school districts with less than 400,000 units of average daily attendance and for school districts with more than 400,000 units of average daily attendance, as specified. Existing law authorizes the county superintendent of schools to grant an exemption from those requirements if the school district provides documentation indicating extraordinary fiscal circumstances substantiate the need for a combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance that is in excess of the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties, as specified. This bill would instead provide that the school district's budget shall not contain unassigned ending balances in the school district's general fund and special reserve fund for other than capital outlay projects in excess of 15% of those funds, and would require a county superintendent of schools to grant a school district an exemption if the school district provides documentation indicating extraordinary fiscal circumstances substantiate the need for those fund balances, as specified. The bill would require the governing board of a school district to report in a public meeting its assigned and unassigned fund balances in the school district's general fund and special reserve fund for other than capital outlay projects, as specified. Because the bill would impose additional duties on school districts and county superintendents of schools, 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, 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.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires the commission, in order to achieve transparency and accountability for rate revenues and best value for ratepayers, to consider, among other things, providing revenues for all activities identified and required by certain rules and procedures governing the operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities, including any adjustment of allowance for lost and unaccounted for gas related to actual leakage volumes. This bill, on or after January 1, 2019, to the extent feasible and in appropriate proceedings, as determined by the commission, would prohibit the commission from allowing a gas corporation to seek or receive recovery from ratepayers for the value of natural gas lost to the atmosphere from certain natural gas facilities under the control of the gas corporation, as specified.
This measure would recognize the contributions of the California Conservation Corps on the 40th anniversary of its creation.
Under existing law, programs have been established pursuant to bond acts for, among other things, the development and enhancement of state and local parks and recreational facilities. This bill would enact the California Parks, Water, Climate, and Coastal Protection and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in an amount of $3,497,500,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a parks, water, climate, and coastal protection and outdoor access for all program. The bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary direct election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.