Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, stimulation, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. The State Oil and Gas Supervisor, or supervisor, supervises the drilling, operation, maintenance, stimulation, and abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field regarding safety and environmental damage. Existing law requires an operator, prior to performing a well stimulating treatment, as defined, on a well, to obtain approval from the supervisor or district deputy. Under existing law, a person who violates any prohibition specific to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, on or before January 1, 2015, to cause to be conducted, and completed, an independent scientific study on well stimulation treatments, including acid well stimulation and hydraulic fracturing treatments. Existing law requires the division to finalize and implement regulations regulating well stimulation treatments by January 1, 2015. This bill would revise the definition of "well stimulation treatment." The bill would require the scientific study to be conducted and completed no later than June 30, 2016, and to consider additional elements, including, among other things, evaluating various potential direct, indirect, and cumulative health and environmental effects of onshore and offshore well stimulation and well stimulation treatment-related activities, as specified. The bill would also prohibit all well stimulation treatments until (1) the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency convenes a committee to review the scientific study, as specified, (2) the Governor issues a determination that specific measures are in place to ensure that well stimulation treatments do not create adverse impacts to public and environmental health or, if the well stimulation treatments result in adverse impacts to public and environmental health, the impacts are identified and sufficiently mitigated to avoid significant adverse impacts to public and environmental health at the local, regional, or statewide level, and (3) the division prepares an environmental impact report, as provided. Because a violation of the bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the division to finalize the regulations regulating well stimulation treatments by June 30, 2015. 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.
Sponsored bills
This measure would proclaim the Legislature's support for the extension of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and would memorialize the United States Congress to promptly renew the extension of unemployment benefits.
The Medi-Cal Act establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced by 1% or 5%, and provider payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 1%, for dates of service on and after March 1, 2009, and until June 1, 2011. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments and payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 10% for dates of service on and after June 1, 2011. This bill would instead require that, to the extent permitted by federal law, this payment reduction not apply to skilled nursing facilities or subacute care units that are a distinct part of a general acute care hospital, intermediate care or other specified facilities serving developmentally disabled individuals, or specified Medi-Cal provider payments for fee-for-service benefits, including payments to pharmacies, for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011. The bill would also provide that this payment reduction shall not apply to managed health care plans for dates of service after the effective date of the bill. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would designate that January 20, 2014, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America. This measure would also recognize the anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington in connection with the advancement of civil rights.
Existing law creates the California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund (Endowment Fund) in the State Treasury, and requires moneys in the Endowment Fund to be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the annual administrative and oversight costs of the veterans cemetery, as specified, and to generate funding through interest for the veterans cemetery. Existing law requires moneys in the Endowment Fund to be invested to generate ongoing earnings to cover the estimated annual oversight and maintenance costs associated with the veterans cemetery, as provided. This bill would instead require any moneys to be allocated to the department for the nonreimbursable costs of design and construction and the annual operations and maintenance costs of the veterans cemetery for the next 10 years. This bill would allow, but not require, moneys in the fund to be invested to generate ongoing earnings to offset the estimated annual operations and maintenance costs associated with the veterans cemetery. Existing law requires the department to develop and submit a State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program application to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for the establishment of a veterans cemetery upon the Controller's determination that the Endowment Fund has adequate principal to yield sufficient investment earnings in each year for the next 10 years, from the date of the determination, to fully fund the respective year's administrative and oversight costs, and to fund the estimated costs of developing and submitting the application, as specified. This bill would instead require the department to develop and submit an application upon the Controller's determination that the Endowment Fund has adequate amounts, in addition to funding the estimated costs of developing and submitting the application, to fully fund the nonreimbursable costs of design and construction and the operations and maintenance costs for the next 10 years. This bill would require the Controller to consider the estimated revenues from specified fees expected to be deposited into the Endowment Fund in making this determination. This bill would allow any moneys, if awarded, received from the State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program to be used to reimburse the Endowment Fund for specified allowable costs as established by that program. Existing law authorizes the Director of Finance to transfer up to $1,500,000 as a loan from the General Fund to the Endowment Fund, and requires the loan to be repaid with interest, as provided. This bill would repeal that authorization, and instead make an appropriation of $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Endowment Fund for the construction of the California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord. This bill would require any amounts transferred by the Director of Finance as a loan from the General Fund to the Endowment Fund to be returned to the General Fund. This bill would make technical, conforming changes to change the references to "administrative and oversight" to "operations and maintenance." This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires health care providers and laboratories to report cases of HIV infection to the local health officer using patient names on a form developed by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law, commencing July 1, 2009, or within one year of the establishment of a state electronic laboratory reporting system, whichever is later, requires a report generated pursuant to that provision by a laboratory to be submitted electronically in a manner specified by the department. This bill would authorize both the local health officer and the department to access reports of HIV infection that are electronically submitted by laboratories pursuant to the above-described provision. Existing law authorizes state public health agency HIV surveillance staff, AIDS Drug Assistance Program staff, and care services staff to disclose personally identifying information in public health records relating to HIV or AIDS to local public health agency staff, who may further disclose the information to the HIV-positive person who is the subject of the record, or the health care provider who provides that person's HIV care, for the purpose of proactively offering and coordinating care and treatment services to that person. This bill would authorize local public health agency staff to further disclose acquired or developed information to the HIV-positive person who is the subject of the record or the health care provider who provides that person's HIV care, for that purpose. Existing law also provides specified health care coverage to individuals under the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and under federal Ryan White Act funded programs, which are administered by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law, with some exceptions, prohibits the disclosure of the results of an HIV test to any 3rd party in a manner that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of the person to whom the test results apply. Existing law also provides that public health records related to HIV or AIDS containing personal identifying information that were developed or acquired by a state or local public agency shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except as otherwise provided by law or pursuant to written authorization. This bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health, subject to specified provisions, and qualified entities, as defined, to share with each other health records involving the diagnosis, care, and treatment of HIV or AIDS related to a beneficiary enrolled in federal Ryan White Act funded programs who may be eligible for services under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , as specified. The bill would make other related changes.
(1) Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation, or the division, regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. The State Oil and Gas Supervisor, or supervisor, supervises the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field regarding safety and environmental damage. Existing law requires an operator of a well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, to obtain approval from the supervisor or district deputy. Existing law requires the owner or operator of a well to keep, or cause to be kept, a careful and accurate log, core record, and history of the drilling of the well. Within 60 days after the date of cessation of drilling, rework, or abandonment operations, the owner or operator is required to file with the district deputy certain information, including the history of work performed. Under existing law, a person who violates any prohibition specific to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would define, among other things, the terms well stimulation treatment, hydraulic fracturing, and hydraulic fracturing fluid. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, on or before January 1, 2015, to cause to be conducted, and completed, an independent scientific study on well stimulation treatments, including acid well stimulation and hydraulic fracturing treatments. The bill would require an owner or operator of a well to record and include all data on acid treatments and well stimulation treatments, as specified. The bill would require the division, in consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Air Resources Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and any local air districts and regional water quality control boards in areas where well stimulation treatments may occur, on or before January 1, 2015, to adopt rules and regulations specific to well stimulation, including governing the construction of wells and well casings and full disclosure of the composition and disposition of well stimulation fluids, and would authorize the division to allow well stimulation treatments if specific conditions are met. The bill would require an operator to apply for a permit, as specified, with the supervisor or district deputy, prior to performing a well stimulation treatment of a well and would prohibit the operator from either conducting a new well stimulation treatment or repeating a well stimulation treatment without a valid, approved permit. The bill would prohibit the approval of a permit application that is incomplete. The bill would require the division, within 5 business days of issuing a permit to commence a well stimulation treatment, to provide a copy to specific boards and entities and to post the permit on a publicly accessible portion of its Internet Web site. The bill would provide that the well stimulation treatment permit expires one year from the date that a permit is issued. The bill would require the division to perform random periodic spot check inspections during well stimulation treatments, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to notify various legislative committees on the progress of the independent scientific study on well stimulation and related activities, as specified, until the study is completed and peer reviewed by independent scientific experts. The bill would require the operator to provide a copy of the approved well stimulation treatment permit to specified tenants and property owners at least 30 days prior to commencing a well stimulation treatment. The bill would require the operator to provide notice to the division at least 72 hours prior to the actual start of a well stimulation treatment in order for the division to witness the treatment. The bill would require the supplier, as defined, of the well stimulation treatment to provide to the operator, within 30 days following the conclusion of the treatment, certain information regarding the well stimulation fluid. The bill would require the operator, within 60 days of the cessation of a well stimulation treatment, to post or cause to have posted on an Internet Web site accessible to the public specified information on the well stimulation fluid, as specified. The bill would require the division to commence a process to develop an Internet Web site for operators to report specific information related to well stimulation treatments and would require the Internet Web site to be operational no later than January 1, 2016. The bill would authorize the division to direct reporting to an alternative Internet Web site, as prescribed, and would require the division to obtain the data reported to the alternative Internet Web site and make it available to the public, as specified. The bill would provide that where the division shares jurisdiction over a well with a federal entity, the division's rules and regulations apply in addition to all applicable federal law and regulations. The bill would require a supplier claiming trade secret protection for the chemical composition of additives used in a well stimulation treatment to disclose the composition to the division, in conjunction with a well stimulation treatment permit application, as specified, but would, with certain exceptions, prohibit those with access to the trade secret from disclosing it. Because this bill would create a new crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Under existing law, a person who violates certain statutes or regulations relating to oil and gas well operations is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for each violation. This bill would make persons who violate specified provisions relating to well stimulation treatments subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not to exceed $25,000 per day per violation. (3) Existing law imposes an annual charge upon each person operating or owning an interest in an oil or gas well in respect to the production of the well which charge is payable to the Treasurer for deposit into the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund. Existing law further requires that specific moneys from charges levied, assessed, and collected upon the properties of every person operating or owning an interest in the production of a well to be used exclusively, upon appropriation, for the support and maintenance of the department charged with the supervision of oil and gas operations. This bill would allow the moneys described above to be used for all costs associated with (A) well stimulation treatments, including scientific studies required to evaluate the treatment, inspections, and any air and water quality sampling, monitoring, and testing performed by public entities, and (B) the costs of the State Water Resources Control Board and the regional water quality control boards in carrying out specific responsibilities relating to well stimulation and groundwater monitoring, as specified. This bill would require the supervisor, on or before January 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, to transmit to the Legislature and make available publicly a comprehensive report on well stimulation in the exploration and production of oil and gas resources in the state. (4) Existing law, the Groundwater Quality Monitoring Act of 2001, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to integrate existing monitoring programs and design new program elements, as necessary, to establish a comprehensive monitoring program capable of assessing each groundwater basin in the state through direct and other statistically reliable sampling approaches. This bill would require the state board, on or before July 1, 2015, to develop a groundwater monitoring model criteria, as specified, to be implemented either on a well-by-well basis or on a regional scale, on how to conduct appropriate monitoring on individual oil and gas wells subject to a well stimulation treatment in order to protect all waters designated for beneficial uses and prioritize the monitoring of groundwater that is or has the potential to be a source of drinking water. (5) 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.
The California Constitution provides that the people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business. The California Constitution requires that the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies be open to public scrutiny. The California Constitution requires that whenever the Legislature or any state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on any local government, the state shall provide a subvention of funds to reimburse the local government for the costs of the program or increased level of service. The California Constitution exempts certain mandates from the requirement to provide a subvention of funds including local agency compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) . The California Public Records Act (CPRA) provides that public records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the state or local agency that retains those records, and that every person has a right to inspect any public record, except as provided. The Brown Act requires each legislative body of a local agency to provide notice of the time and place for holding regular meetings and requires that all meetings of a legislative body be open and public. Under the act, all persons are permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, unless a closed session is authorized. This measure would require each local agency to comply with the CPRA and the Brown Act, and with any subsequent statutory enactment amending either act, enacting a successor act, or amending any successor act which contains findings demonstrating that the statutory enactment furthers the purposes of the people's right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business. The measure would specifically exempt mandates contained within the scope of those acts, and certain subsequent statutory enactments that contain findings demonstrating that the statutory enactment furthers those same purposes, from the requirement to provide a subvention of funds.
This measure would honor the University of California, Davis' great achievement in earning the number one ranking in the world for teaching and research in the areas of agriculture and forestry.
This measure would memorialize the President and Congress of the United States to support immigration reform efforts that do not hurt families by eliminating or negatively impacting the F3 and F4 visa categories, or that end the discrimination against same-sex couples. The measure would memorialize the President and Congress to take a comprehensive, bipartisan, and well-reasoned approach to immigration issues that maintains the fair and appropriate priority for family reunification, including same-sex partners.