Existing law, the Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995, requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee an environmental farming program to provide incentives to farmers whose practices promote the well-being of ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their habitat. The act requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to convene the Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming, as prescribed, for the purpose of providing advice to the secretary on the implementation of the Healthy Soils Program and the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program and assistance to federal, state, and local government agencies on issues relating to the impact of agricultural practices on air, water, and wildlife habitat, as specified. This bill would additionally require the panel to assist government agencies to incorporate the conservation of natural resources and ecosystem services practices into agricultural programs. The bill would require the department, with advice from the panel, to establish and administer the California Environmental Farming Incentive Program, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require the program to support on-farm practices seeking to optimize environmental benefits while supporting the economic viability of California agriculture by providing incentives, educational materials, and outreach to farmers or ranchers who want to pursue adopting management practices that contribute to wildlife habitat and result in on-farm activities that provide multiple conservation benefits, as prescribed. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the panel, to determine priorities for the program and give priority to specified projects, such as those that benefit socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. The bill would create the California Environmental Farming Incentive Program Fund in the State Treasury, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, authorize the department to expend funds for purposes of the program. The bill would require the department to provide funds for incentives to private landowners, nonprofit organizations, the University of California Cooperative Extension, or local agencies, including resource conservation districts, for activities that support the program and implementation of on-farm practices. Existing law requires the department to establish a technical assistance grant program to provide funds to technical assistance providers, as defined, to provide assistance to Healthy Soils Program, alternative manure management practices programs, and State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program applicants, as prescribed. This bill would include the California Environmental Farming Incentive Program as a program that the technical assistance grant program may provide funds to provide assistance for applicants. The bill would revise the definition of technical assistance for the purpose of the grant program.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Office of Systems Integration to implement a statewide automated welfare system for specified public assistance programs. Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that representatives from the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Health Care Services, the Office of Systems Integration, the Interim Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) consortia, and counties meet with advocates, clients, and other stakeholders at least quarterly to review the development status of the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) project and to engage with stakeholders to discuss current and planned functionality changes, among other topics. This bill would additionally require those entities to discuss and recommend how the public-facing elements of CalSAWS may allow users to initiate applications for other health and human services benefits serving low-income Californians, including, but not limited to, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) , and other programs that are in substantial use, as specified, in order to minimize the burdens of the overall enrollment processes for eligible individuals and households to receive health and human services benefits. Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with the State Department of Public Health and appropriate stakeholders, to develop and submit to the Legislature a community outreach and education campaign to help families learn about, and apply for, CalFresh. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to oversee a state and local accountability partnership to increase CalFresh participation and retention, to foster continuous quality improvement in the administration of the CalFresh program, and establish specified statewide goals for CalFresh participation and improvement. The bill would require the department to take specified actions to support counties in increasing and retaining CalFresh participants so that counties can achieve the statewide participation goals, including, among others, maintaining a dynamic and publicly available CalFresh data dashboard. The bill would require county human services agencies to work with the department to increase CalFresh participation and retention rates and identify the most effective actions to increase access to, and participation in, CalFresh. The bill would encourage counties to implement cost-effective actions that can be implemented within existing resources or at the expense of the county, but would prohibit counties from being required to implement specific improvements that require additional funds unless the state provides the county with those additional funds. By imposing new requirements on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires each county welfare department, to the extent permitted by federal law, to exempt a household from complying with face-to-face interview requirements for the purpose of determining eligibility at initial application and recertification. This bill would, to the extent permitted by federal law, give an individual the option to apply, report, and recertify for CalFresh in person, by mail, online, or by telephone, and permit an individual to complete the interview requirement and client signature by telephone. The bill would authorize counties to implement any method of telephonic or electronic signature that is supported by county business practice and technology. The bill would require the department, with the input of stakeholders, to develop and execute a plan of support for counties that have not already implemented a telephone-based application and renewal process and to provide technical assistance or resources. The bill would require the application process to satisfy specified criteria, including simple, user-friendly language and instructions. The bill would require certain counties to comply with these provisions beginning on or before January 1, 2022, and require the remaining counties to comply with the provisions beginning on or before January 1, 2023. By imposing new duties on counties, 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, 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 establishes the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, which is administered by the State Air Resources Board. The program authorizes the state board to provide grants to offset the incremental cost of eligible projects that reduce emissions from covered vehicular sources. The program also authorizes funding for a fueling infrastructure demonstration program and for technology development efforts that are expected to result in commercially available technologies in the near-term that would improve the ability of the program to achieve its goals. This bill, until January 1, 2023, would add as an eligible project under the program a used heavy-duty truck exchange, as specified. The bill would require, on or before December 31, 2020, that the state board hold a public workshop on the heavy-duty truck exchange and develop a plan to help air pollution control and air quality management districts add a heavy-duty truck exchange as an eligible project under the program.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act generally prohibits a manufacturer, winegrower, distiller, bottler, or wholesaler, among other licensees, or agents of these licensees, from paying a retailer for advertising. The act creates a variety of exceptions from this prohibition, including permitting specified licensees to purchase advertising space and time from, or on behalf of, an on-sale retail licensee that is an owner, manager, or major tenant of certain stadiums, parks, entertainment complexes, and arenas, subject to specified conditions. This bill would also allow beer manufacturers, winegrowers, rectifiers, distilled spirits manufacturers, craft distillers, or distilled spirits manufacturer's agents to purchase advertising space and time in connection with an on-sale retail licensed premises, subject to specified conditions, including that the licensed premises is operated as an integral part of an opera house located in the City of Napa, as described. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Napa.
This measure would declare August 7, 2019, as Purple Heart Day in California.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and activities. Among other things, the act requires specified disclosures in advertisements regarding the source of the advertisement. The act defines "advertisement" for these purposes to mean a general or public communication that is authorized and paid for by a committee for the purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate or candidates for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures. The act also requires certain advertisements paid for by certain committees to disclose the names of the top contributors, which is defined for these purposes to mean the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. This bill would require a person who makes payments of $10,000 dollars or more for "electioneering communications" or "issue lobbying communications" to make specified disclosures in connection with those communications. The bill would define "electioneering communication" to mean any public communication that clearly identifies a candidate for elective state office, but does not expressly advocate for the election or defeat of the candidate, and that is disseminated, broadcast, distributed, or published during a specified period before an election. It would define "issue lobbying communication" to mean any public communication that clearly refers to and reflects a view on the subject matter, description, or name of one or more clearly identified pending state legislative or administrative actions, and that meets other specified criteria. The bill would also require a person who makes payments for electioneering or issue lobbying communications to disclose the names of the persons providing the funding for those payments, as specified, and to maintain records to verify the accuracy of the required disclosures. Because a violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, 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 Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would recognize the third week of May 2019, and the third week of May every year thereafter, as Privacy Awareness Week.
(1) Existing law, the California Endangered Species Act, prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except in certain situations. Under the act, the Department of Fish and Wildlife may authorize the take of listed species pursuant to an incidental take permit if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity, the impacts are minimized and fully mitigated, and the issuance of the permit would not jeopardize the continued existence of the species. The act requires the department to adopt regulations for the issuance of incidental take permits. Existing law also provides that a violation of the Fish and Game Code is a crime. The act also provides, until January 1, 2020, that the accidental take of candidate, threatened, or endangered species resulting from an act that occurs on a farm or a ranch in the course of otherwise lawful routine and ongoing agricultural activities is not prohibited by the act. This bill would extend this exception to January 1, 2024, and would limit this exception to an act by a person acting as a farmer or rancher, a bona fide employee of a farmer or rancher, or an individual otherwise contracted by a farmer or rancher. The bill would also require a person, when an accidental take is known to occur under these provisions, to report the take to the department within 10 days. By creating a new reporting requirement, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The California State Safe Harbor Agreement Program Act establishes a program, until January 1, 2020, to encourage landowners to manage their lands voluntarily, by means of state safe harbor agreements approved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to benefit endangered, threatened, or candidate species without being subject to additional regulatory restrictions as a result of their conservation efforts. This bill would make these provisions permanent. By making the provisions of the act permanent, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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.
Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing law, households are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits to the extent permitted by federal law. Existing federal law provides that students who are enrolled in college or other institutions of higher education at least half time are not eligible for SNAP benefits unless they meet one of several specified exemptions, including participating in specified employment training programs. Existing state law provides that, for the purposes of determining eligibility for CalFresh, certain educational programs, as determined by the State Department of Social Services, be considered employment training programs, thereby qualifying a student participating in one of those programs for an exemption, unless prohibited by federal law. Existing law requires the department to maintain and regularly update a list of programs that meet the employment training exemption set forth in the federal regulation. Existing law also requires the department to issue and maintain instructions for county human services agencies to verify exemptions to the CalFresh student eligibility rules for students who participate in these programs, as specified. This bill would additionally require the department, on or before January 1, 2021, to create a standardized form to be used by community colleges and universities to verify that a student is approved and anticipating participation in state or federal workstudy for the purpose of assisting county human services agencies in determining the student's potential eligibility for CalFresh. The bill would require community colleges and universities to distribute the form to all students approved for state or federal workstudy and to provide information required to complete that form. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on county human services agencies and community colleges, it would constitute 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, 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.