This measure would proclaim March 2024 as Arts Education Month and urge all residents to become interested in and give full support to quality arts education programs for children and youth.
This measure would encourage the state and local municipalities to develop and fund high-volume spay and neuter clinics across the state to provide sterilization services, and would encourage other actions relating to pets, including actions to control animal breeding and encourage spaying and neutering, as specified.
Existing law prohibits a person who is found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. Existing law requires a court, if a question is raised as to a defendant's mental competence, to hold a hearing into the defendant's mental competence. Existing law, if a defendant is found incompetent, requires the court to order the defendant to treatment for the restoration of competence. Under existing law, if the defendant's competence is restored, the defendant is returned to the court with a certificate of restoration. Under existing law, if a defendant's competence is not restored within 2 years of being declared incompetent, the defendant is either subject to conservatorship proceedings or released. This bill would make the issuance of a certificate of restoration toll the running of that 2-year period. The bill would additionally establish procedures for a trial by court on the question of mental competence of a defendant after a defendant has been issued a certificate of restoration, including, among other things, that the defendant shall be presumed restored to competence unless it is proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant is mentally incompetent.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , in consultation with the Independent System Operator, to establish resource adequacy requirements for all electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators. Existing law requires electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators to maintain physical generating capacity and electrical demand response adequate to meet their load requirements, as specified. This bill would require the PUC, in coordination with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Independent System Operator, to take specified actions in relation to virtual power plants, as defined. The bill would require the PUC, on or before March 1, 2026, to begin a proceeding to determine targets for each electrical corporation to procure generation from cost-effective virtual power plants, and would require the PUC, on or before October 1, 2026, to finalize its proceeding and issue a decision adopting virtual power plant procurement targets to be achieved by each electrical corporation on or before December 31, 2028, and on or before December 31, 2033. The bill would, upon the PUC adopting virtual power plant procurement targets, require each electrical corporation, beginning January 30, 2028, and each year thereafter, to file a report with the PUC on its progress toward complying with the virtual power plant procurement targets. 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 above-described provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing this bill's requirements 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.
Existing law regulates natural gas in various contexts, including for purposes of manufacturing, transportation, energy generation, utility service, and storage, and establishes various programs, funds, and charges related to natural gas, including the Natural Gas Services Program and the natural gas surcharge. Existing law defines "natural gas," for specified purposes, as all gas produced in this state, natural or manufactured, except propane, for light, heat, or electricity. Existing law requires the Director of General Services to operate the Natural Gas Services Program to consolidate and address the needs of multiple state agencies for the procurement of natural gas and related services. Existing law creates the Department of General Services Natural Gas Services Program Account, which is continuously appropriated to the department for purposes of operating that program. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to impose a surcharge on all natural gas consumed in this state to fund low-income assistance programs, cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities, and public interest research and development that are not adequately provided by the competitive and regulated markets. Existing law establishes the Gas Consumption Surcharge Fund, which is continuously appropriated to that commission for specified purposes, as prescribed. This bill would generally replace the term "natural gas" with the term "methane" throughout all of the state's codes. Because some natural gas is not methane and some methane is not natural gas, the bill would authorize the expenditure of continuously appropriated moneys for new purposes, thereby making an appropriation, and would also change the applicability of various charges, and the purposes for which revenues from those charges may be used. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a Public Utilities Commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, and to the extent this bill would mandate that a local entity provide a new program or higher level of service, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law prohibits a person from driving, moving, or leaving standing upon a highway any motor vehicle, as defined, unless it has been registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Existing law generally requires specified information to be submitted to the department and specified vehicle registration fees to be paid to the department at the time of a vehicle's registration or a renewal of a vehicle's registration. Under existing law, it is an infraction for a person to violate, or fail to comply with, a provision of the Vehicle Code, unless otherwise specified. This bill would require the owner of an aircraft based in this state to register the aircraft with the department, as specified. The bill would require the original or renewal registration of an aircraft to include specified information. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to determine the aircraft registration fee, but would require the fee to cover the costs incurred in connection with the administration of this program and to include an amount to be used to combat the detrimental environmental impacts of aircraft emissions, thereby imposing a tax. The bill would create the Aircraft Registration Account in the State Transportation Fund, and would require the fee revenues to be deposited in that account. The bill would continuously appropriate moneys in that account without regard to fiscal years, thus making an appropriation. 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 include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law requires the state board to approve and begin implementing the comprehensive short-lived climate pollutant strategy, as specified, to achieve a reduction in the statewide emissions of methane by 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would reduce upstream methane from the oil and gas sector by examining the practices of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0.
