Sen. Henry Stern

Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research to coordinate with appropriate entities to establish a clearinghouse for climate adaptation information for use by state, regional, and local entities. This bill would authorize the office to include in the clearinghouse information concerning funding and financing opportunities relating to clean energy projects, as specified.

This measure would proclaim April 16, 2018, as California Holocaust Memorial Day and would urge all Californians to observe this day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.

This measure would designate Monday, May 7, 2018, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day, urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers, and recognize specified California peace officers who were killed in defense of their communities.

Existing law prohibits a person from performing, or otherwise procuring or arranging for the performance of, surgical claw removal, declawing, onychectomy, or tendonectomy on any cat that is a member of an exotic or native wild cat species. Existing law also prohibits a person from otherwise altering such a cat's toes, claws, or paws to prevent the normal function of the cat's toes, claws, or paws. Except as specified, a person who violates these prohibitions is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would make the protections of that prohibition applicable to domestic cats, as defined. The bill would make a violation of these prohibitions with a domestic cat an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 for a first offense, and as a misdemeanor for a 2nd or subsequent offense. By creating a new 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 includes among the holidays in this state the second Monday in October, known as "Columbus Day." This bill would change the name of the Columbus Day holiday in California to Indigenous Peoples' Day and would make conforming changes.

Existing law creates the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority with certain powers and duties relative to transportation planning and programming, and the operation of transit service. Existing law provides that the authority is the successor agency to the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. 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 creates the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District. Where the BART District purchases electricity at more than one location, at any voltage, from an electric utility under tariffs fixed by the commission, existing law requires that the utility bill the BART District for usage as though all the electricity purchased at transmission level voltages were metered by a single meter at one location and all the electricity purchased at subtransmission voltages were metered by a single meter at one location, provided that any billing for demand charges be based on the coincident demand of transmission and distribution metering. This bill would adopt electricity billing requirements applicable to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that are similar to the above-described requirements applicable to BART, but would also impose those requirements applicable to an electrical corporation in the BART statute on a local publicly owned electric utility. The bill would declare that, due to the special circumstances applicable only to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution, and the enactment of a special statute is therefore necessary. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing the bill's requirements with respect to an electrical corporation would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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.

If approved by the voters at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary election as Proposition 68, the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018 would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,100,000,000 for the purpose of financing a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access program. The proposed bond act requires $100,000,000 to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes relating to water recycling and prohibits the money from being used to provide financial assistance to any water recycling project used to augment water supplies by discharging recycled water into a surface water reservoir that supplies water directly to a treatment facility for a water supply system that serves domestic uses. This bill, operative only if Proposition 68 is approved by the voters at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary election, would add language to the provisions enacted by the proposition to eliminate this prohibition on using this $100,000,000 in bond funds for the purpose of water recycling for projects that augment surface water reservoirs that supply water directly to treatment facilities that serve domestic uses. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would proclaim the week of February 26, 2018, to March 4, 2018, inclusive, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.