Existing law provides for the conditional examination of a witness by the defendant in all cases, and by the people in cases where the punishment may be other than death, if the defendant is charged with a serious felony and there is evidence that the life of the witness is in jeopardy, and in certain other circumstances. This bill would also provide for the conditional examination of a witness by the people or the defendant in a case of domestic violence, as defined, when there is evidence that the life of the witness is in jeopardy or when there is evidence that a victim or material witness has been or is being dissuaded, as provided, from cooperating with the prosecutor or testifying at trial. The bill would make conforming changes to related provisions.
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Existing law establishes various programs designed to conserve and protect endangered species and wildlife. Existing law, the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) , prohibits a person from importing, exporting, or taking, possessing, purchasing, or selling within the state, any species, or any part or product thereof, that the Fish and Game Commission determines to be an endangered species or a threatened species, with specified exceptions. This bill would enact the California State Safe Harbor Agreement Program Act (act) , which would establish a program to encourage landowners to manage their lands voluntarily, by means of state safe harbor agreements approved by the Department of Fish and Game, to benefit endangered, threatened, or candidate species without being subject to additional regulatory restrictions as a result of their conservation efforts. The bill would authorize the department to authorize specified acts that are otherwise prohibited pursuant to the CESA pursuant to a safe harbor agreement entered into under the act. The bill would repeal the act on January 1, 2020.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations, as defined. The existing Public Utilities Act requires the PUC to review and adopt a procurement plan for each electrical corporation. The act requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and to establish efficiency targets for an electrical corporation to achieve pursuant to its procurement plan. The act requires that an electrical corporation's procurement plan include a showing that the electrical corporation will first meet its unmet resource needs through all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible. The act requires the PUC, in consultation with the Energy Commission, to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective natural gas efficiency savings and to establish efficiency targets for the gas corporation to achieve these targets and to require that a gas corporation first meet its unmet gas resource needs through all available natural gas efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible. The act requires each electrical corporation and each gas corporation to disclose on the residential customer's billing statement specified information on usage and cost, and contact information for the PUC's Consumer Affairs Branch, and to make available online to residential customers specified information on usage and energy conservation measures. The act authorizes the PUC to modify, adjust, or add to these requirements as the individual circumstances of each electrical corporation or gas corporation merit, or for master-meter customers, as individual circumstances merit. The act requires the PUC, as part of the general rate case of an electrical corporation or gas corporation, to assess opportunities to improve the quality of information contained in the utility's periodic billings. This bill would require each electrical corporation and gas corporation having a comparative energy usage disclosure program, as defined, to report to the PUC the nature of the utility's program and the energy savings resulting from that program on or before March 15, 2010, or within 90 days of having collected a year's worth of data, and each March 15, or one year from the last reporting date, thereafter, up to and including March 15, 2014. The bill would require the PUC, using an experimental design, as defined, to evaluate the information supplied by electrical corporations and gas corporations relative to their comparative energy usage disclosure programs and to determine the net energy savings that are currently being achieved and which could be achieved through expansion of comparative energy usage disclosure programs. The bill would require the PUC to report to the Energy Commission and the Legislature on the results of its evaluation and any action undertaken by the PUC in response to the evaluation. These requirements would become inoperative on July 1, 2015, and would repeal on January 1, 2016. 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 the provisions of this bill are within the act and a violation of the bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. (2) The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the Energy Commission and requires it to prepare an integrated energy policy report on or before November 1, 2003, and every 2 years thereafter. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, on or before November 1, 2007, and every 3 years thereafter, in consultation with the PUC and local publicly owned electric utilities, in a public process that allows input from other stakeholders, to develop a statewide estimate of all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity and natural gas efficiency savings and establish statewide annual targets for energy efficiency savings and demand reduction over 10 years. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to include in the integrated energy policy report, for each electrical corporation and each gas corporation, a comparison of the public utility's annual energy efficiency targets, and the public utility's actual energy efficiency savings and demand reductions. Existing law requires each local publicly owned electric utility, as defined, in procuring energy, to first acquire all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible. Existing law requires each local publicly owned electric utility to report annually to its customers and to the Energy Commission its investment in energy efficiency and demand reduction programs, as specified. Existing law requires a local publicly owned electric utility, on or before June 1, 2007, and every 3 years thereafter, to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and to establish annual targets for energy efficiency savings and demand reduction over 10 years. Existing law requires a local publicly owned electric utility to report those targets to the Energy Commission within 60 days of the date of adoption. This bill would require each local publicly owned electric utility having an active comparative electricity usage disclosure program, as defined, to report to the Energy Commission the nature of the utility's program and the energy savings resulting from that program on or before March 15, 2010, or within 90 days of having collected a year's worth of data, and each March 15, or one year from the last reporting date, thereafter, up to and including, March 15, 2014. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to request information from a local publicly owned electric utility that the Energy Commission determines is needed to evaluate the potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings achievable through an expansion or statewide deployment of comparative electricity usage disclosure programs. The bill would authorize the PUC, for comparison purposes in performing the above-described evaluation, to request that the Energy Commission supply the PUC with the information supplied by a local publicly owned electric utility about its comparative electricity usage disclosure program. These requirements would become inoperative on July 1, 2015, and would repeal on January 1, 2016. This bill would require that the Energy Commission, in developing a statewide estimate of all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity and natural gas efficiency savings and establishing targets for statewide annual energy efficiency savings and demand reduction, to consider the information supplied relative to comparative energy or electricity usage disclosure programs. (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.
Under existing law, the Department of Toxic Substances Control is responsible for administering various programs to control the release of toxic substances into the soil and groundwater. Existing law requires, on or before January 1, 2011, the department to adopt regulations to establish a process to identify and prioritize chemicals or chemical ingredients in consumer products that may be considered as being a chemical of concern, as prescribed, and to establish a process for evaluating chemicals of concern in consumer products, and their potential alternatives, to determine how best to limit exposure or to reduce the level of hazard posed by a chemical of concern. Existing law also establishes the Hazardous Waste Control Account to be used as specified by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would prohibit the manufacture, sale, or installation in California of a wheel weight that contains more than 0.1% lead. The bill would provide for injunctive relief, as well as civil and administrative penalties for violation of that provision, as specified. The bill requires all civil and administrative fines collected to be deposited in the Hazardous Waste Control Account for expenditure by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement and enforce the act. This bill would also specify that if the department identifies an alternative to lead contained in wheel weights as a chemical of concern, then the lead alternative would remain subject to the evaluation process, as prescribed, to determine how best to limit exposure or to reduce the level of hazard posed by the lead alternative.
Existing law provides that a person, other than the loan applicant, who makes false financial statements in connection with an application for a loan to be secured by real property is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment; and by restitution to the victim, as specified. This bill would delete this provision and provide instead for the offense of mortgage fraud, as defined, a violation of which would be a public offense punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or in a county jail for not more than one year. The bill would provide that mortgage fraud may only be prosecuted when the value of the alleged fraud meets the threshold for grand theft, as specified. The bill would set forth legislative findings, declarations, and intent with respect to its enactment. By revising existing crimes and creating new crimes, 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.
(1) The Watershed, Clean Beaches, and Water Quality Act authorizes the Water Resources Control Board, in consultation with the State Coastal Conservancy, to award grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for projects designed to restore and protect the water quality and environment of coastal waters, estuaries, bays, and near shore waters, including, among other things, a project to make improvements to, or upgrades or conversions of, existing sewer collection systems and septic systems for the restoration and protection of coastal water quality. This bill would also authorize grants for projects designed to implement or promote low-impact development for new or existing developments that will contribute to the improvement of water quality or reduce stormwater runoff and for projects designed to implement specified stormwater resource plans. (2) Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of stormwater in accordance with the national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit program and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. Existing law authorizes a regional water management group, as defined, to adopt an integrated regional water management plan that addresses specified matters. This bill would authorize a city, county, or special district to develop, jointly or individually, stormwater resource plans that meet certain standards. The bill would authorize a regional water management group to coordinate its planning activities to address or incorporate into its plan any stormwater resource planning that is undertaken pursuant to the bill's provisions.
Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in cooperation with county and city governments, to establish minimum safety design criteria for the planning and construction of bikeways and roadways where bicycle travel is permitted. This bill would enact the California Bicycle Routes of National, State, or Regional Significance Act, which would authorize the department to establish a process for identifying and promoting bicycle routes of national, state, or regional significance, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to form an advisory committee to help implement the process for identifying and promoting these bicycle routes. The bill would authorize the department to establish a process for organizations, including, but not limited to, local bicycle organizations, private entities, or local or state governmental entities, to nominate a route for inclusion in the system of bicycle routes of national, state, or regional significance. The bill would authorize the department to install bicycle route signs identifying these bicycle routes, as specified. The bill would provide that applicants or nominating entities may pay the cost for bicycle route signs, as determined by the department.
(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 adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt by January 1, 2011, greenhouse gas emission limits and emission reduction measures to achieve the maximum technological feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions. The act defines greenhouse gases to include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. This bill would also include in that definition nitrogen trifluoride. Because a violation of the act may be a crime and this bill would expand the scope of the act, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (2) 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. (3) This bill would incorporate changes to Section 38505 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by both this bill and AB 1404, which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and this bill is enacted after AB 1404.
This measure would state the intent of the Legislature that the State of California generate sufficient funds for, and allocate sufficient funds to, education, so as to bring per-pupil spending up to or beyond the national average, and to a level that accounts for the actual cost of educating California's diverse pupil population.
This measure would call upon the Congress of the United States to quickly pass the federal Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act and the President of the United States to expeditiously sign it into law.