Sen. Bob Archuleta

The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and tasks the State Water Resources Control Board with various responsibilities and duties relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. The act requires the state board to adopt primary drinking water standards for contaminants in drinking water that are based upon specified criteria, as provided. The act requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to prepare and publish an assessment of the risks to public health posed by each contaminant for which the state board proposes a primary drinking water standard. The act requires the risk assessment to contain an estimate of the level of the contaminant in drinking water that is not anticipated to cause or contribute to adverse health effects, or that does not pose any significant risk to public health, also known as the public health goal for the contaminant. The act requires the state board to consider specified criteria when it adopts a primary drinking water standard, including the public health goal for the contaminant published by OEHHA. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2025, OEHHA to prepare a public health goal for manganese, as provided. The bill would require the state board, after OEHHA publishes a public health goal for manganese, to adopt a primary drinking water standard, as defined, for manganese and to establish for that standard, and for the period before adoption of that standard, monitoring requirements for manganese, as specified. The bill would require, on or before January 31, 2024, the state board to consider establishing a notification and response level for manganese that would remain in place until the state board adopts a primary drinking water standard for manganese. The bill would authorize the state board, before adopting a primary drinking water standard for manganese, to continue to provide funding for treatment, source protection, and alternative water supplies and to continue to require community water systems to monitor manganese in their source water and within their distribution systems, as provided.

Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board, on or before June 30, 2014, and until January 1, 2024, to annually aggregate and make available specified information regarding hydrogen-fueled vehicles and, based on that information, evaluate the need for additional publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations, as specified, and report those findings to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. Existing law requires the commission to allocate $20,000,000 annually to fund the number of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations identified by the state board, not to exceed 20% of the moneys appropriated by the Legislature from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, until there are at least 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations in operation in the state. Existing law requires the commission and the state board, on an annual basis, to jointly review and report progress toward establishing a hydrogen-fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state. Existing law requires the commission and the state board to consider certain information while conducting this review and determine the remaining cost and timing to establish a network of 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations in operation in the state and whether funding from the Clean Transportation Program remains necessary to achieve this goal. This bill would delete the requirement that the state board aggregate and make available specified information and report to the commission on or before June 30, 2014. The bill would instead require the state board, on or before June 30, 2023, and annually thereafter, to determine the number of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations that are necessary to provide a publicly available hydrogen-fueling station network, taking into consideration the state board's 2020 Mobile Source Strategy and specified goals, recommendations, and data. The bill would delete the requirement that the commission allocate $20,000,000 annually to fund the number of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations identified by the state board. The bill would instead require the commission to annually allocate from the moneys annually appropriated by the Legislature from the fund an amount determined appropriate by the commission to achieve the goal established by the state board of providing a publicly available hydrogen-fueling station network and to build the number of electric vehicle or "EV" charging stations estimated by the commission its biennial statewide assessment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, as provided. The bill would require the commission to ensure that certain requirements are met regarding expenditures of the moneys allocated by the commission. The bill would require the commission and the state board, as part of their annual joint review and report, to determine the remaining cost and timing to establish a network of 200 statewide publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations, instead of 100 stations.

Under existing law, the State Department of Health Care Services is responsible for the administration and oversight of various health care programs, including those related to cancer screening and research. This bill, the California Childhood Cancer Research Fund Act, would request the Regents of the University of California to establish and administer the Childhood Cancer Research Grant Program to provide funding to various entities to support research and treatment for children impacted by cancer and the long-term effects of cancer treatment. The bill would create the Childhood Cancer Research Council composed of 7 members, including specialists in pediatric oncology, appointed by the Governor, Senate Committee on Rules, or Speaker of the Assembly, and would require the council to develop the strategic objectives and priorities of the program and make grant recommendations to the University of California in accordance with the program's goals. The bill would require the council to submit an annual report to the Legislature describing the grants made, grants in progress, program accomplishments, and future program directions. The bill would create the Andrew Hirschman Childhood Cancer Research Fund for the implementation and administration of the grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would make these provisions operative until January 1, 2028.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to gather or develop, and publish on its internet website, guidance and best practices to help building owners, the construction industry, and local governments overcome barriers to electrification of buildings and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment that include one or more specified topics. This bill would require the commission to gather or develop, and publish on its internet website, the guidance and best practices by July 1, 2023, and would require the guidance to include all of those specified topics and additional topics. The bill would require the commission to update annually the guidance and best practices. The bill would require a city, including a charter city, or county, when adopting an ordinance requiring the replacement of a fossil fuel-fired appliance with an electric appliance upon the alteration or retrofit of a residential and nonresidential building, to consider any guidance published by the commission. The bill would require the commission, upon request by a local government considering the adoption of that ordinance, to provide technical assistance to the local government. The bill would require a local government, within 60 days of adopting that ordinance, to submit to the commission a copy of the ordinance, and other specified information and would require the commission to provide written comments on the ordinance based upon the commission's guidance published at the time the ordinance is adopted. If the commission determines that the local government did not consider the guidance, the bill would require the local government to consider the guidance or portion of the guidance that the commission determines the local government did not consider, make any modification of the ordinance deemed necessary by the local government, and resubmit the ordinance and other information to the commission. The bill would specify that the commission is to implement the requirements of the bill upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

Existing law creates the California Public Broadcasting Commission in state government as an independent commission to encourage the growth and development of public broadcasting services to the people of this state. This bill would create the California Board to Fund Public Interest Media that would operate pursuant to these provisions if it is funded by an appropriation by the Legislature, private donations, or both. The bill would require the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro Tempore of the Senate, the minority leaders of the Assembly and the Senate, and the Governor to appoint individuals to the 15 member board, as specified. The bill would require the board to do various things, including encouraging independent, local public service news coverage and awarding grants to individuals or organizations. The bill would require the board to provide an opportunity for verbal and written public comment on the grant applications under its consideration. The bill would also authorize the board to accept federal grants, and gifts, donations, bequests, or grants of funds from private sources and public agencies for these purposes, to be deposited into the California Fund for Public Interest Media, which the bill would also create. The bill would require the board to report to the Governor and the Legislature annually on its activities, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.

This measure would designate the portion of State Route 91, from the Pioneer Boulevard undercrossing to the Carmenita Road overcrossing, as the First Lady Pat Nixon Memorial Highway. This measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from non-state sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

This measure would proclaim September 20, 2022, as Latino Veterans Day.

The California Constitution declares that defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy are inalienable rights, and that a person may not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or equal protection of the laws. Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, declares that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions and prohibits the state from denying or interfering with a person's right to choose or obtain an abortion before viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the person. This measure would amend the California Constitution to prohibit the state from denying or interfering with an individual's reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.

Existing law authorizes a dealer to charge the purchaser or lessee of a vehicle a document processing charge for the preparation and processing of documents, disclosures, and titling, registration, and information security obligations imposed by state and federal law. Existing law authorizes a dealer that has a contractual agreement with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to be a private industry partner to set the document processing charge at up to $85, and authorizes all other dealers to set the document processing charge at up to $70. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2024, increase the maximum document processing charge that may be imposed by a private industry partner dealer on a vehicle purchaser or lessee to $175.

(1) The Small Business Procurement and Contract Act requires state agencies to provide for small business preference in the award of contracts for goods, information technology, services, and construction, with a 5% bid preference on applicable bid specifications. The act also authorizes a state agency to award a contract for the acquisition of goods, services, or information technology that has an estimated value of greater than $5,000, but less than $250,000, to a certified small business, including a microbusiness, or to a disabled veteran business enterprise (DVBE) , as long as the agency obtains price quotations from 2 or more certified small businesses, including a microbusiness, or from a DVBE, without complying with specified competitive bidding requirements. This bill, commencing March 1, 2023, and until March 1, 2027, would authorize a state agency to award a contract for services or information technology that has an estimated value of between $5,000 and $500,000 to a certified small business, including a microbusiness, or to a DVBE, as long as the agency obtains price quotations from 2 or more certified small businesses or 2 or more DVBEs. The bill would specify that a certified small business or DVBE that utilizes this process as an alternative to the competitive bidding requirements may not also receive the small business preference or the DVBE participation incentive, as specified. (2) Under existing law, the administering agency for the California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program is the Department of General Services, except in the case of contracts for professional bond services. Existing law requires the Director of General Services to adopt written policies and guidelines establishing a uniform process for state contracting to provide a DVBE participation incentive to bidders, which all state agencies are required to use when awarding contracts. Existing law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to maintain complete records of its promotional efforts regarding the program and requires the department to perform regular, periodic surveys of newly certified DVBEs. Existing law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to appoint a California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program Advocate. This bill would require the department to establish a method an awarding department would be required to use to track and report adherence to specified goals and to provide guidance to awarding departments on how to process complaints regarding abuse of the DVBE program. The bill would also require the California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program Advocate to promote and facilitate efforts to implement the program and to establish a system to track the effectiveness of the program, as specified. The bill would additionally repeal the requirement that the department perform regular, periodic surveys of newly certified DVBEs. (3) Existing law requires a department, after completing an awarded contract for which a commitment to achieve a DVBE goal was made, to require the prime contractor that entered into a subcontract with a DVBE to certify to the awarding department that all payments under the contract have been made to the DVBE. This bill would require the awarding department to post a list of its state contracts for which certification has been received on its internet website for no less than 3 years.