Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, participating counties, and the State Public Works Board to acquire, design, and construct local jail facilities approved by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) . Existing law authorizes the State Public Works Board to issue revenue bonds, notes, or bond anticipation notes in the amounts of $445,771,000 and $774,229,000, in 2 phases, to finance the acquisition, design, and construction, and a reasonable construction reserve, of approved local jail facilities, as specified. The funds derived from those revenue bonds, notes, or bond anticipation notes are continuously appropriated for the purposes described above. This bill would decrease the authorization for revenue bonds, notes, or bond anticipation notes in the first phase from $445,771,000 to $365,771,000 and increase the authorization of the 2nd phase from $774,229,000 to $854,229,000. Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a participating county, and the board to acquire, design, renovate, or construct a local youthful offender rehabilitative facility, approved by the BSCC, or a site or sites owned by, or subject to a lease or option to purchase held by, a participating county. Existing law authorizes the issuance of up to $300,000,000 in revenue bonds, notes, or bond anticipation notes to finance the acquisition, design, renovation, or construction, and a reasonable construction reserve, of approved local youthful offender rehabilitative facilities. This bill would, in the event that a county that has been conditionally awarded financing later determines that participating with other counties in a shared regional facility would provide an improved solution to the county's needs and the needs of other counties, authorize the county to apply to the BSCC for redirection of the conditional award to another county that will be the lead county for the regional facility, in conjunction with the original county and, potentially, other counties. The bill would authorize the board to redirect the conditional award, prior to any approval and establishment of the project, if certain determinations are made by the BSCC.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, as part of the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, under the direction of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, in the California Department of Aging. Existing law provides for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program under which funds are allocated to local ombudsman programs to assist elderly persons in long-term health care facilities and residential care facilities by, among other things, investigating and seeking to resolve complaints against these facilities. Existing law requires the office to solicit and receive funds, gifts, and contributions to support the operations and programs of the office. This bill would create the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Improvement Act Account, and require the office to deposit those funds into the account. The bill would, upon appropriation, require those funds to be used for the purpose of supporting the operations and programs of the office. Under existing law, anyone who willfully interferes with a lawful action of the office is subject to a civil penalty of no more than $1,000, to be assessed by the Director of Aging, who is required to initiate the action, upon request of the office, to collect the penalties. This bill would increase the maximum civil penalty amount to $2,500 for each incident, and would instead require the director to initiate an action if the penalty is not paid within 30 days of the assessment. The bill would provide that each instance of willful interference may be reported to local law enforcement and the appropriate licensing agency as an act of isolation, as defined. This bill would create the Access to Facilities Account, and require those penalties to be deposited into the account to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be available to the office to fund the training costs, and to reimburse the travel expenses, of local ombudsman programs throughout the state.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. 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. Under existing law, the local government renewable energy self-generation program authorizes a local government to receive a bill credit to be applied to a designated benefiting account for electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable generating facility, as defined, and requires the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account. This bill would enact the Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program. The program would require a participating utility, defined as being an electrical corporation with 100,000 or more customers in California, to file with the commission an application requesting approval of a green tariff shared renewables program to implement a program enabling ratepayers to participate directly in offsite electrical generation facilities that use eligible renewable energy resources, consistent with certain legislative findings and statements of intent. The bill would require the commission, by July 1, 2014, to issue a decision concerning the participating utility's application, determining whether to approve or disapprove the application, with or without modifications. The bill would require the commission, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to approve the application if the commission determines that the proposed program is reasonable and consistent with the legislative findings and statements of intent. The bill would require the commission to require that a participating utility's green tariff shared renewables program be administered in accordance with specified provisions. The bill would repeal the program on January 1, 2019. (2) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of the bill would require action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. (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.
(1) The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 requires a party bringing an action or proceeding alleging that a lead agency's approval of a project certified by the Governor as an environmental leadership development project is in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act to file the action or proceeding with the Court of Appeal with geographic jurisdiction over the project and requires the Court of Appeal to issue its decision within 175 days of the filing of the petition. The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 requires the lead agency to concurrently prepare the record of proceeding for the leadership project with the review and consideration of the project. The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 provides that the above provision does not apply to a project for which a lead agency fails to certify an environmental impact report on or before June 1, 2014. The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 is repealed by its own terms on January 1, 2015. This bill would instead require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2014, to adopt a rule of court to establish procedures applicable to actions or proceedings seeking judicial review of a public agency's action in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting project approval that requires the actions or proceedings, including any appeals therefrom, be resolved, within 270 days of the certification of the record of proceedings. The bill would extend the operation of the judicial review procedures unless the lead agency fails to certify an environmental impact report for an environmental leadership project on or before January 1, 2016. The bill would provide that the above provisions do not apply to a project if the Governor does not certify the project as an environmental leadership development project prior to January 1, 2016. Because this bill would extend the time period for which a lead agency would be required to concurrently prepare the record of proceeding with the review and consideration of the environmental leadership development projects, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the lead agency, within 10 days of the Governor's certification, to issue, at the applicant's expense, a specified public notice, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 on January 1, 2017. (2) The California Environmental Quality Act, commonly known as 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 or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA. This bill would provide that aesthetic and parking impacts of a residential, mixed-use residential, or employment center project, as defined, on an infill site, as defined, within a transit priority area, as defined, shall not be considered significant impacts on the environment. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and submit to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, and the secretary to certify and adopt, revisions to the guidelines for the implementation of CEQA establishing criteria for determining the significance of transportation impacts of projects within transit priority areas. This bill would, except for specified circumstances, exempt from CEQA residential, employment center, and mixed-use development projects meeting specified criteria. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of this exemption, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the public agency, in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting approvals for a specified entertainment and sports center project located in the City of Sacramento, including the concurrent preparation of the record of proceedings and the certification of the record of proceeding within 5 days of the filing of a specified notice, to comply with specified procedures. Because a public agency would be required to comply with those new procedures, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2014, to adopt a rule of court to establish procedures applicable to actions or proceedings seeking judicial review of a public agency's action in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting project approval that requires the actions or proceedings, including any appeals therefrom, be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the certification of the record of proceedings. The bill would provide that the above provisions are inoperative and repealed on January 1 of the following year if the applicant fails to notify the lead agency before the release of the draft environmental impact report for public comment that the applicant is electing to proceed pursuant to the above provisions. (3) Existing law requires the development, adoption, and updating of a congestion management program for each county that includes an urbanized area, as defined. The plan is required to contain specified elements and to be submitted to regional agencies, as defined, for determination of whether the program is consistent with regional transportation plans. The regional agency is then directed to monitor the implementation of all elements of each congestion management program. The required elements include traffic level of service standards for a system of designated highways and roadways. Existing law defines "infill opportunity zone" for purposes of the above-described provisions and exempts streets and highways in an infill opportunity zone from the level of service standards specified in the above-described provisions and instead requires alternate level of service standards to be applied. Existing law prohibits a city or county from designating an infill opportunity zone after December 31, 2009. This bill would revise the definition of "infill opportunity zone," as specified. The bill would authorize the designation of an infill opportunity zone that is a transit priority area within a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy adopted by an applicable metropolitan planning organization. (4) Existing law terminates the designation of an infill opportunity zone if no development project is completed within that zone within 4 years from the date of the designation. This bill would repeal this provision. This bill would make findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Sacramento. (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.
(1) Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to enter into contracts or other agreements with nonprofit conservation groups, as specified, for the management and operation of department-managed lands, defined to include public shooting grounds, state marine recreational management areas, ecological reserves, and wildlife management areas. Existing law states that it is the policy of the state to maintain sufficient populations of all species of wildlife and native plants and the habitat necessary to insure their continued existence at the optimum levels possible to insure, among other things, the policy to perpetuate native plants and all species of wildlife for their intrinsic and ecological values, as well as for their direct benefits to humanity. The California Constitution establishes the Fish and Game Commission and provides for the delegation to the commission of powers relating to the protection and propagation of fish and game, including the conservation and enhancement of bird habitat. This bill would authorize the department to lease department-managed lands for agricultural activities, as specified. The bill would authorize, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the moneys collected from those agricultural leases to be used to support the management, maintenance, restoration, and operations of department-managed lands. The bill would require the department to annually provide an opportunity for licensed hunters to comment and make recommendations on the public hunting programs, including anticipated habitat conditions in the hunting areas on Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas, as defined under the commission's regulations, through public meetings or other public outreach. In complying with these provisions, the bill would authorize the department to hold regional meetings on its hunting programs for several different wildlife areas. (2) The California Endangered Species Act requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species, and requires the department to recommend, and the commission to adopt, criteria for determining if a species is endangered or threatened. Under the act, an interested person may petition the commission to add a species to, or remove a species from, either the list of endangered species or the list of threatened species, and existing law requires the commission to consider the petition at a meeting, as prescribed. This bill, until January 1, 2017, would establish an alternate process for the review of a petition, including public hearings and public comment. (3) The California Endangered Species Act also provides, until January 1, 2014, that the accidental take of candidate, threatened, or endangered species resulting from acts that occur 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 make a technical change to these provisions and extend this exception to January 1, 2020. The bill would define "accidental" for these purposes. (4) The California Endangered Species Act, until January 1, 2014, provides for the development and implementation of a recovery strategy pilot program for coho salmon. This bill would extend these provisions to January 1, 2017. (5) Existing law regulates water transfers and, among other things, allows a permittee or licensee to temporarily change the point of diversion, place of use, or purpose of use due to a transfer or exchange of water or water rights if the transfer would only involve the amount of water that would have been consumptively used or stored by the permittee or licensee in the absence of the proposed temporary change, would not injure any legal user of the water, and would not unreasonably affect fish, wildlife, or other instream beneficial uses. This bill would, when agricultural lands are being idled in order to provide water for transfer and an amount of water is determined to be made available by that idling, require landowners to be encouraged to cultivate or retain nonirrigated cover crops or natural vegetation to provide waterfowl, upland game bird, and other wildlife habitat, as specified. (6) Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to prepare a water transfer guide which is required to include specified information. This bill would revise the contents of the water transfer guide to include fish and wildlife issues related to the transfer of water in preparing or revising the water transfer guide.
Under existing law, the Legislature finds and declares that the agricultural and seafood industries are vitally important elements of the state's economy. Existing law provides for various commissions and councils to promote the marketing and production of agricultural or seafood commodities. This bill would create the Olive Oil Commission of California in the state government with a prescribed membership, and would specify the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the commission board of directors. The commission board of directors would be authorized to, among other things, conduct research for specified purposes and recommend to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture olive oil grades and labeling standards. The bill would authorize the commission to levy an annual assessment, not to exceed a specified amount or the reasonable costs of achieving the purposes of these provisions, on producers, as defined, and would authorize the commission to expend those funds for purposes of implementing the bill, thereby making an appropriation. The bill, except as necessary to conduct an election, would not become operative until the producers of olive oil vote in favor of the bill's provisions, as prescribed. The bill would also provide for the suspension of the operation of its provisions and for concluding the operations of the commission under certain circumstances. The bill would authorize the commission to levy a civil penalty, as specified, on a person for rendering or furnishing false reports, secreting, destroying, or altering records, failing to furnish a report, or failing or refusing to furnish to the commission information concerning the name and address of persons from whom olive oil is received. The bill would authorize the commission to bring certain civil actions to enforce the bill's provisions.
(1) Existing law requires an operator of an oil or gas well, or a well located on submerged lands under ocean waters, who engages in the drilling, redrilling, deepening, or in any operation altering the casing, of any well to file with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor an indemnity bond in an amount based on the depth of the well or a blanket indemnity bond in a specified amount, but permits the operator, with the approval of the supervisor, to make certain deposits in lieu of the bond. This bill would instead require the amount of the indemnity bond to be $25,000 for each well that is less than 10,000 feet deep, and $40,000 for each well that is 10,000 or more feet deep. The bill would also require the bond to be filed with the supervisor at the time of the filing of the notice of intention to perform work on a well, as specified. The bill would authorize an operator operating 20 or more wells at any time to file a blanket indemnity bond to cover the operation of all the operator's wells, in lieu of an individual indemnity bond for each well, in an amount of $400,000, which would not include bonds or fees required for idled wells, $200,000, for an operator having 50 or fewer wells in the state, which would not include bonds or fees required for idled wells, or $2,000,000, which would include bonds or fees required for idled wells. The bill would increase the amount of the blanket indemnity bond required to be filed by an operator operating one or more wells located on submerged lands under ocean waters to $1,000,000. (2) Existing law requires any person who engages in the operation of a class II commercial wastewater disposal well to file an indemnity bond with the supervisor for $50,000. This bill would raise the amount of the required bond to $100,000.
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 urge the United States Congress to pass legislation that reflects the value and intent set forth in the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, as introduced, in order to ensure the modernization and preservation of the United States Postal Service.