Sen. Henry Stern

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 requires the state board to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants in the state. This bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2021, to adopt a climate accounting protocol to evaluate the potential of proposed climate mitigation and restoration actions to reduce radiative forcing and excess heat in the atmosphere to reduce the global and regional mean temperatures.

The California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, approved by the voters as Proposition 68 at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary direct election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,100,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access for all program. This bill would enact the Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2020, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,510,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for a wildfire prevention, safe drinking water, drought preparation, and flood protection program. This bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would name the public street, circle, and plaza at 914 and 915 Capitol Mall in the City of Sacramento as the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Circle and Plaza. The measure would request the Department of General Services to determine the cost of erecting the appropriate signage commemorating this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources, to cover that cost to erect that signage.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop and implement the Electric Program Investment Charge program for the purpose of awarding funds to projects that may lead to technological advancement and breakthroughs to overcome barriers that prevent the achievement of the state's statutory energy goals and that may result in a portfolio of projects that are strategically focused and sufficiently narrow to make advancement on the most significant technological challenges. Existing law authorizes an individual to contribute amounts in excess of their personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds. Under existing law, there are general administrative provisions applicable to these voluntary contributions, which, among other things, provide for the disbursement of contributions following the repeal of the fund's provisions and require undesignated funds to be transferred to the General Fund. Existing law requires any new or extended voluntary contribution to include the words "voluntary tax contribution" in the name of the fund, to require the administering agency to include specified information about the fund on its internet website, to continuously appropriate from the fund the contributions made to the administering agency, to set a minimum contribution amount for the continuation of any voluntary tax contribution on the tax return form, and to include a generally applicable repeal date for a voluntary tax contribution. This bill would establish the Climate Innovation Grant Program, to be administered by the Strategic Growth Council or another entity identified by the council that it determines to have the appropriate skills necessary to successfully implement this program. The bill would establish the Climate Innovation Fund, a special fund, in the State Treasury and would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to the council for purposes of the program. Once the Climate Innovation Fund accrues $2,000,000, the bill would require the council or the entity implementing the program to notify the Franchise Tax Board and would require the program to award grants for the development and research of new innovations and technologies that either reduce emissions of greenhouse gases or address impacts caused by climate change. The bill would repeal the program on January 1, 2031. This bill would allow an individual to designate on their tax return that a specified amount in excess of their personal income tax liability be transferred to the Climate Innovation Voluntary Tax Contribution Account, which would be created by this bill. The bill would conform with those aforementioned administrative requirements by continuously appropriating those funds to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for administrative costs and to the Climate Innovation Fund, as specified. The bill would also conform by requiring the Strategic Growth Council to comply with certain internet website reporting requirements. The bill would make the voluntary tax contribution provisions operative upon notification of the Franchise Tax Board that the fund has accrued $2,000,000. The bill would repeal these provisions as of the sooner of December 1 of the year that the minimum contribution amount of $250,000 is not met or by a specified repeal date. By continuously appropriating these funds, the bill would make an appropriation.

Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File, sometimes referred to as the Armed Prohibited Persons System, to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1996, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. The Budget Act of 2019 appropriated $3,000,000 to the Counties of Alameda, San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Ventura to support local law enforcement activities related to seizing weapons and ammunition from persons who are prohibited from possessing them through a Gun Violence Reduction Pilot Program. This bill would require the Counties of Alameda, San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Ventura on or before 15 months after receiving these funds appropriated in the Budget Act of 2019, to submit a report to the Department of Justice and to the Legislature containing specified information relating to the efficacy of their programs.

Existing law establishes in state government the Natural Resources Agency, consisting of various departments, including the Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Coastal Commission, and the State Coastal Conservancy. Existing law, the State Urban Parks and Healthy Communities Act, requires the Director of Parks and Recreation to develop a competitive grant program to assist state parks, specified state conservancies, urbanized and heavily urbanized local agencies, and community-based organizations within those jurisdictions to provide outdoor educational opportunities to children. This bill would require the Natural Resources Agency to develop and implement a community access program focused on engagement programs, technical assistance, or facilities that maximize safe and equitable physical admittance, especially for low-income and disadvantaged communities, to natural or cultural resources, community education programs, or recreational amenities. The bill would authorize the agency, in consultation with certain state entities, to develop a grant program within a state department for innovative transportation projects that provide disadvantaged and low-income youth with access to outdoor experiences, as specified.

The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, "full cash value" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under "full cash value" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. Existing law defines "newly constructed" and "new construction" to mean any addition to real property since the last lien date and any alteration of land or of any improvement since the last lien date that constitutes a major rehabilitation thereof or that converts the property to a different use. Existing law, where real property has been damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity, excludes from the definition of "newly constructed" and "new construction" any timely reconstruction of the real property, or portion thereof, where the property after reconstruction is substantially equivalent to the property prior to damage or destruction. This bill would define the term "substantially equivalent" for purposes of the provisions described above to mean the size of the improvement after reconstruction does not exceed 120% of the size of the improvement prior to damage or destruction or the full cash value of the improvement after reconstruction does not exceed 120% of the full cash value of the improvement prior to damage or destruction. The bill would apply this definition to real property damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity on or after January 1, 2017. By imposing new duties upon local government officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations regarding the public purpose served by the bill. 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 the statutory provisions noted above. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill.

(1) Existing law requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to identify areas in the state as very high fire hazard severity zones based on specified criteria and the severity of the fire hazard. Existing law requires that a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains an occupied dwelling or structure in, upon, or adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered land, brush-covered land, grass-covered land, or land that is covered with flammable material that is within a very high fire hazard severity zone, as designated by a local agency, or a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining those areas or lands within a state responsibility area, to maintain a defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, as specified. A repeated violation within a specified timeframe of those requirements is a crime. This bill would require a person described above to utilize more intense fuel reductions between 5 and 30 feet around the structure, and to create an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of the structure, as provided. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime or expand the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require each local agency having jurisdiction of property upon which conditions that are regulated by the defensible space provisions described above apply and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to make reasonable efforts to provide notice to affected residents of the above requirements before imposing penalties for a violation of those requirements. By imposing additional duties on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would authorize the department, subject to availability of funding, to make local fire prevention grants available to certain entities to improve compliance with defensible space requirements in very high fire hazard severity zones through the creation of defensible space assessment or inspection programs. This bill would require the director to establish a statewide program to allow qualified entities, as defined, to support and augment the department in its defensible space and home hardening assessment and education efforts and to establish a common reporting platform for participating qualified entities to report defensible space and home hardening assessment data to the department. The bill would require the department to develop and implement a training program to train individuals to support and augment the department in its defensible space and home hardening assessment and education efforts. The bill would require the department to issue to individuals who have successfully completed the training program a certification of completion. The bill would require the director, by January 1, 2024, to submit to the Legislature a report on the effectiveness of the statewide program. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2025. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop, periodically update, and post on its internet website a guidance document on fuels management for purposes of very high fire hazard severity zones, as designated by a local agency, and requires the guidance document to include, but not be limited to, regionally appropriate vegetation management suggestions that preserve and restore native species. This bill would limit these native species, for purposes of the guidance document, to those that are fire resistant or drought tolerant, or both. (3) Existing law requires a person that owns, controls, operates, or maintains an electrical transmission or distribution line upon mountainous land, or in forest-covered land, brush-covered land, or grass-covered land, to maintain certain clearances between all vegetation and all conductors that are carrying electric current during those times and in those areas determined to be necessary by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection or the agency with primary responsibility for the fire protection of those areas. A violation of this provision and other specified provisions relating to fire prevention requirements is a crime. This bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission and any person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or distribution lines, on or before July 1, 2021, to develop, through a public process, an online guidebook of vegetation, including tree and shrub species, that, if planted in the vicinity of electrical transmission and distribution lines, cannot encroach within the vicinity of overhead conductors, as provided. For purposes of this provision, and other specified provisions related to firebreaks and vegetation clearance around electrical transmission or distribution lines, as provided, the bill would define person to mean, among other things, a county, city, district, or other local public agency. By expanding the duties of a local public agency, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the guidebook to include, but not be limited to, guidelines for planting underneath and to the side of conductors of varying voltages, as provided. The bill would require the department, the Public Utilities Commission, an electrical corporation, and a local publicly owned electric utility to make available on their respective internet websites the above-described guidebook. (4) Existing law sets forth findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to the benefits of the state's expertise in wildland fire prevention and vegetation management on forest, range, and watershed lands. This bill would revise those findings and declarations of the Legislature. (5) Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to assist local governments in preventing future wildland fire and vegetation management problems by making its wildland fire prevention and vegetation management expertise available to local governments to the extent possible within the department's budgetary limitations. This bill instead would require the department to assist local governments in preventing future high-intensity wildland fires and instituting appropriate fuels management by making its wildland fire prevention and vegetation management expertise available to local governments to the extent possible within the department's budgetary limitations. The bill would explicitly define, for these purposes, "local governments" to include cities, counties, and special districts. (6) Existing law authorizes a county, by resolution, to loan moneys to certain local and regional districts to enable those districts to perform their functions and meet their obligations. This bill would include a resource conservation district as a district eligible for a loan from a county. (7) 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 establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services that are medically necessary are provided to qualified, low-income persons through various health care delivery systems, including managed care pursuant to Medi-Cal managed care plan contracts. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law generally requires Medi-Cal managed care plan contractors to be licensed pursuant to the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975. Under the act, a health care service plan is required to provide access to medically necessary health care services to its enrollees who have been displaced by a state of emergency, and existing law enumerates actions that a plan may be required to take to meet the needs of its enrollees during the state of emergency. This bill would require a Medi-Cal managed care health plan to ensure that an enrollee who remains in a general acute care hospital continues to receive medically necessary postacute care services at the general acute care hospital if specified requirements are met, including that the Medi-Cal managed care health plan is unable to locate a postacute care facility within the plan's network, as a result of a state of emergency, for purposes of transferring the enrollee to the postacute care facility. The bill would condition the implementation of these requirements to the extent that federal financial participation is available and not otherwise jeopardized, and any necessary federal approvals have been obtained.

(1) Existing law establishes the Office of California-Mexico Affairs and provides that the office succeeds to, and is vested with, all the duties, powers, purposes, and responsibilities vested in the previously established Commission of the Californias. Existing law generally sets forth the duties and authority of that office with respect to California-Mexico relations. This bill would establish the Commission on California-Mexico Affairs, consisting of 9 voting and 2 nonvoting members, as specified. The bill would require the commission to, among other things, develop policy proposals and provide recommendations as to issues pertaining to the border between California and Mexico and to advise the Legislature and the Governor on matters of particular concern to this state in relation to border issues and matters with Mexico. The bill would expressly authorize the commission to develop and inform the Legislature of its position on pending legislative proposals, to make other legislative recommendations, and to state its position and viewpoint on issues developed in the performance of its duties and responsibilities. The bill would establish the California-Mexico Border Relations Account in the Special Deposit Fund within the State Treasury to receive specified moneys received by the commission and, upon appropriation, make the moneys in the account available to the commission for these purposes. The bill would also authorize the Governor to enter into an agreement with the governments of the State of Baja California and the State of Baja California Sur to establish the authority of a binational commission to support the coordination of activities between all three states that are related to cross-border programs, initiatives, projects, and partnerships of mutual interest to the governments and civil societies of the 3 states. (2) Existing law establishes the California-Mexico Border Relations Council and requires the council to, among other things, coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to cross-border programs, initiatives, projects, and partnerships that exist within state government, and to improve the effectiveness of state and local efforts that are of concern to California and Mexico. Beginning January 1, 2008, existing law requires the council to submit a report to the Legislature on its activities annually. Existing law also requires the State Department of Health Care Services to establish a permanent Office of Binational Border Health to facilitate cooperation between health officials and health professionals in California and Mexico, as specified, and requires that office to convene a voluntary community advisory group of representatives of border community-based stakeholders to develop a strategic plan with short-term, intermediate, and long-range goals and implementation actions, as provided. Existing law also requires the office to prepare an annual border health status report and submit it to the Director of Health Care Services, the Legislature, and the Governor. This bill, beginning on January 1, 2020, would require the California-Mexico Border Relations Council to provide a copy of the report submitted to the Legislature to the Commission on California-Mexico Affairs at the same time that it submits that report to the Legislature. The bill would also require the Office of Binational Border Health to provide a copy of the above-described strategic plan to the commission and to submit the above-described annual border health status report to the commission.