Sen. Ted Lieu

Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim various days as holidays and days of remembrance. Existing law also designates certain days in each year as having special significance for purposes of encouraging schools to observe those days and conduct suitable commemorative exercises. This bill would require the Governor to annually proclaim March 30 of each year as "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day." The bill would also encourage schools to conduct exercises on March 30 of each year to recognize the contributions of those involved in the Vietnam conflict.

Under existing law, whenever a person born in this state has undergone surgical treatment for the purpose of altering his or her sexual characteristics to those of the opposite sex, a new birth certificate may be prepared reflecting the change of gender and any change of name. A petition for the issuance of a new birth certificate is permitted to be filed in the superior court of the county in which the petitioner resides. This bill would also permit the petition to be filed in the superior court of the county in which the petitioner was born.

Existing law provides that upon the conviction of a person for a violation of a specified law regarding the failure to care for animals, the court is authorized to make an order prohibiting the defendant, as a condition of probation, from owning, possessing, caring for, or having any contact with animals of any kind and to order the convicted person to immediately deliver all animals in his or her possession to a designated public entity, as specified. Existing law requires the court, in the event of acquittal or final discharge of a person arrested pursuant to these provisions, to direct the release of the seized or impounded animals, on demand, upon a showing of proof of ownership. This bill would instead require the court to make the orders above regarding ownership and forfeiture, as specified. The bill would require the owner to make additional showings in order for the court to direct the release of seized or impounded animals. Existing law provides that the cost of seizing, caring for, and treating any animal seized pursuant to specified provisions regarding the failure to care for animals shall constitute a lien on the animal and that the animal shall not be returned to its owner until the charges are paid. Existing law provides that no animal properly seized pursuant to these provisions shall be returned to its owner until, in the determination of the seizing agency or hearing officer, the animal is physically fit, or the owner can demonstrate that the owner can and will provide the necessary care. This bill would additionally apply these provisions to animals seized pursuant to a search warrant. The bill would, in the event that the owner has satisfied the lien, provide a process for the seizing agency or prosecuting attorney to file a petition seeking forfeiture of any animal, as specified. Existing law establishes various other crimes regarding cruelty to animals and the failure to care for animals. This bill would require the court, upon conviction of a person for certain of these crimes, in addition to any other sentence or penalty, to enter an order enjoining the person from owning, possessing, maintaining, having custody of, residing with, or caring for any animal within a specified period after conviction, and would make related changes. The bill would make a violation of this order a misdemeanor, as specified. The bill would provide that the court may, in the interest of justice, reduce the duration of, or, in the case of livestock owners, exempt a defendant from, these restrictions under specified circumstances. By creating a new crime and by increasing the duties of local humane officers, 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 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 proscribes animal abuse, as specified, including the failure to maintain and care for the premises and animals at pet shops. Existing law also generally provides that a pet store shall not sell, offer for sale, trade, or barter any dog or cat that is under 8 weeks of age, and may sell, offer for sale, trade, or barter a dog or cat over 8 weeks of age only if the animal is weaned. This bill would provide, in addition and with specified exceptions, that it shall be a crime, punishable as specified, for any person to willfully sell, display or offer for sale or give away as part of a commercial transaction, a live animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk. The bill would provide that a notice describing the charge and the penalty for a violation of this bill may be issued by a peace officer, animal control officer, or humane officer. By creating a new crime, 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.

The Corporation Tax Law, in specified conformity to federal income tax laws, imposes certain limitations on the use of built-in losses in conjunction with corporate reorganizations. This bill would clarify that a specified federal administrative notice relating to those limitations does not apply for purposes of California law. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution.

(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect, unless the project is exempt from the act. CEQA provides for various exemptions from its requirements. Existing law requires cities and counties to prepare, adopt, and amend general plans containing specified elements. This bill would exempt from CEQA any activity or approval, necessary or incidental to, the development, planning, design, site acquisition, subdivision, financing, leasing, construction, operation, or maintenance of a stadium complex and associated development included in the same project or approval together with any accessory roadway, utility, or other infrastructure improvement to that stadium complex and associated development, for which an application for the project or approval was submitted on or before January 31, 2009, to the City of Industry, if specified requirements are met. The bill would require the city to require the stadium complex and associated development to comply with those mitigation measures that are contained in a mitigation monitoring and reporting program that is adopted by the City of Industry in connection with the stadium complex and associated development. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of the exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill also would exempt from any legal requirement concerning the content of a general plan or consistency with a general plan, and prohibit those requirements from resulting in the invalidation of, the city's approval of, and decisions regarding, specified actions taken with respect to the stadium complex and associated development included in the same project or approval and any accessory improvements to that stadium complex and associated development. The bill additionally would provide that a consistency determination is not required by the city for any decision with respect to those actions. (2) The bill would have retroactive application. (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. (4) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution.

Existing law provides that no discovery shall occur in criminal cases except as provided by statute or as mandated by the Constitution of the United States. Under existing law, a defendant and his or her attorney are required to disclose to the prosecuting attorney any reports or statements of experts made in connection with the case, including the results of physical or mental examinations, scientific tests, experiments, or comparisons which the defendant intends to offer in evidence at the trial. This bill would allow the court to order a defendant in a criminal action or a minor in a juvenile delinquency proceeding to submit to examination by a prosecution-retained mental health expert whenever a defendant or minor, as specified, places in issue his or her mental state at any phase of the criminal action or juvenile proceeding through the proposed testimony of any mental health expert. The bill would require the prosecuting attorney to submit a list of the tests he or she proposes to have a prosecution-retained expert conduct on the defendant or minor and would require the court, upon the request of the defendant or minor, to hold a hearing to consider any objections to the proposed tests. The bill would require the court to make a threshold determination before ordering the defendant to submit to the examination that the proposed tests bear some reasonable relation to the mental state placed in issue by the defendant or minor. The bill would specify that its purpose is to respond to Verdin v. Superior Court (2008) 43 Cal.4th 1096, as specified. This bill would amend Proposition 115, an initiative statute adopted by the voters at the June 5, 1990, statewide primary election, which provides that its provisions may be amended by the Legislature by a 23 vote of the membership of each house.

Existing law requires a local agency to adopt a specified updated model ordinance regarding water-efficient landscapes or a water-efficient landscape ordinance that is at least as effective in conserving water as the updated model ordinance. Existing law allows certain water providers to take specified actions regarding water conservation. The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act provides for the creation and regulation of common interest developments. The act provides that the architectural guidelines of a common interest development shall not prohibit or include conditions that have the effect of prohibiting the use of low water-using plants as a group. This bill would, instead, provide that a provision of any of the governing documents of a common interest development shall be void and unenforceable if it prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of low water-using plants as a group, or if it has the effect of prohibiting or restricting compliance with a local water-efficient landscape ordinance or water conservation measure described above.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of long-term health care facilities, including skilled nursing facilities. Existing law creates the State Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account in the Special Deposit Fund, with the moneys in this account to be used, upon appropriation, for prescribed purposes. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2011, require skilled nursing facilities to post, in accordance with prescribed requirements, the overall facility rating information determined by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and to inform consumers regarding information available at the department's Internet Web site. A violation of these provisions would be a class B violation, as defined, with the proceeds from fines collected to be deposited into the State Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account.

The existing Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and responsibilities on the Public Utilities Commission with respect to the purchase of electricity and requires the commission to review and adopt a procurement plan and a renewable energy procurement plan for each electrical corporation pursuant to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program. The program requires that a retail seller of electricity, including electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, and electric service providers, but not including local publicly owned electric utilities, purchase a specified minimum percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, in any given year as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use customers each calendar year. Under existing law the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility is responsible for implementing and enforcing a renewables portfolio standard that recognizes the intent of the Legislature to encourage renewable resources, while taking into consideration the effect of the standard on rates, reliability, and financial resources and the goal of environmental improvement. Existing law relative to private energy producers requires every electric distribution utility or cooperative, as defined, upon request, to make available to an eligible customer‑generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer‑generators exceeds a specified amount. Existing law provides that where the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator exceeds the electricity supplied by the electric distribution utility or cooperative during a 12-month period, the eligible customer-generator is a net electricity producer and the electric distribution utility or cooperative retains any excess kilowatthours generated and the customer-generator is not owed compensation for those excess kilowatthours unless the electric distribution utility or cooperative enters into a purchase agreement with the eligible customer-generator for those excess kilowatthours. This bill would replace the definition of "electric distribution utility or cooperative" in existing law relative to private energy producers with a definition of "electric utility." The bill would require the ratemaking authority, as defined, for the electric utility to adopt, by January 1, 2011, a net surplus electricity compensation valuation to compensate a net surplus customer-generator, as defined, for the value of net surplus electricity, as defined, generated by an eligible customer-generator and delivered to the grid that is in excess of the amount of electricity that is delivered from the grid to the eligible customer-generator. The bill would require the electric utility to offer a standard contract or tariff to eligible customer-generators that includes compensation for the value of net surplus electricity. The bill would require the electric utility, upon an affirmative election by the eligible customer-generator to receive service pursuant to this contract or tariff, to either: (1) provide net surplus electricity compensation for any net surplus electricity generated in the 12-month period, or (2) allow the eligible customer-generator to apply the net surplus electricity as a credit for kilowatthours subsequently supplied by the electric utility to the surplus customer-generator. The bill would, for an electric utility that is an electrical corporation or electrical cooperative, authorize the commission to adopt requirements for providing notice and the manner by which eligible customer-generators may elect to receive net surplus electricity compensation. The bill would provide that upon adoption of the net surplus electricity compensation rate and the eligible customer-generator electing to receive net surplus electricity compensation, any renewable energy credit, as defined, for net surplus electricity belongs to the electric utility purchasing the electricity and that net surplus electricity counts toward the electric utility's renewables portfolio standard purchasing requirements. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 2827 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by AB 560, to be operative only if AB 560 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because this bill would require action by the commission to implement certain of its requirements that expand the existing obligations of electrical corporations, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a 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.