Existing law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to disburse funds, appropriated to the department for the purpose of supporting county veterans service officers pursuant to the annual Budget Act, on a pro rata basis, to counties that comply with certain conditions. This bill would authorize the department, in conjunction with the California Association of County Veterans Service Officers, no later than July 1, 2015, to develop an allocation formula based upon performance standards that encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by county veterans service officers, and, if that allocation formula is developed, the bill would require those moneys appropriated for support of county veterans service offices in the annual Budget Act to be allocated in accordance with that formula, as specified.
Sponsored bills
Existing law prohibits the management of hazardous waste except in accordance with the hazardous waste control laws and prohibits the disposal of hazardous waste except at a disposal site or at a facility of an owner or operator who holds a valid hazardous waste facilities permit or other grant of authorization from the Department of Toxic Substances Control to use and operate the site or facility. Existing law defines the term "disposal" for purposes of the hazardous waste control laws as including the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of a waste into or on any land. This bill would exclude, from the definition of the term "disposal" under those laws, the onsite movement of soil at an active outdoor sport shooting range, as defined, if this movement is done to facilitate the removal and recycling of spent ammunition materials existing on the site as a result of the normal use of the shooting range and the residual soil is replaced within the area from which it was originally removed.
(1) Existing law prohibits a permanent school employee from being dismissed except for one or more specified reasons. Existing law authorizes a governing board of a school district to suspend without pay for a specific period of time on grounds of unprofessional conduct a permanent certificated employee, or, in a school district with an average daily attendance of less than 250 pupils, a probationary employee, as provided. Existing law additionally authorizes the governing board of a school district to immediately suspend a permanent employee for specified reasons, as provided. This bill would, among other things, add egregious conduct, as defined, to the list of specified reasons for which a permanent employee may be dismissed. The bill would also revise the reasons for which the governing board of a school district is authorized to immediately suspend a permanent employee. (2) Existing law establishes a Commission on Professional Competence for each dismissal or suspension hearing requested by an employee, consisting of one member selected by the governing board, one member selected by the employee, and an administrative law judge as the 3rd member. Existing law requires in a dismissal or suspension proceeding against a permanent employee, if a hearing is requested by the employee, that the hearing be commenced within 60 days from the date of the employee's demand for a hearing. Existing law prescribes various procedures for the hearing, including, among others, a prohibition against the use of evidence of any nature relating to matters occurring more than 4 years prior to the filing of a notice in a decision relating to the termination or suspension of any employee. This bill would instead require, for specified charges, that a commission on professional competence to be comprised of only an administrative law judge, and that the matter be submitted for decision within 12 months from the date of the employee's demand for a hearing, as provided. For those same charges, the bill would authorize testimony to be given or evidence introduced relating to matters that occurred more than 4 years before the date of the filing of the notice unless it is not relevant, and would provide for the allocation of costs for the hearing and any appeals by requiring, among other things, that the employee pay for the costs of the hearing if the administrative law judge determines that the employee's decision to demand a hearing was a frivolous tactic that wasted public resources. (3) Existing law authorizes a governing board of a school district to give notice to a permanent employee of its intention to dismiss or suspend him or her for specified causes at the expiration of 30 days from the date of service of the notice, unless the employee demands a hearing. Existing law prohibits that notice from being given between May 15 and September 15 in any year. This bill would instead authorize the governing board of a school district to give the notice at any time of year, except as specified, provided that a notice of dismissal or suspension given outside of the instructional year of the schoolsite where the employee is physically employed is in writing served upon the employee personally. The bill would provide that a notice of the governing board of the school district to an employee of its intention to dismiss or suspend the employee, together with written charges filed or formulated pursuant to those procedures, is sufficient to initiate a hearing, as prescribed, and would prohibit the governing board of the school district from being required to file or serve a separate accusation. The bill would, if an employee demands a hearing, authorize the governing board to either rescind its action or schedule a hearing on the matter. The bill also would, for specified charges, authorize the governing board to rescind the notice at any time before the matter is submitted for decision. (4) Existing law prohibits information of a derogatory nature to be entered into an employee's personnel records unless the employee is given an opportunity to review and comment on that information. This bill would, notwithstanding that provision, prohibit, among other things, the governing board of a school district or its authorized representative from amending, renewing, or entering into an agreement that requires the removal from a school employee's records any evidence of credible complaints, substantiated investigations, or discipline relating to the school employee's commission, or alleged commission, of egregious conduct or other misconduct, as specified. (5) Existing law provides that a certificated employee may be charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense or an optional leave of absence offense for certain sex offenses or certain offenses involving controlled substances other than marijuana, mescaline, peyote, or tetrahydrocannabinols. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to immediately place a certificated employee on compulsory leave of absence if the employee is charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense and authorizes the governing board to immediately place the employee on compulsory leave of absence if the employee is charged with an optional leave of absence offense. This bill would additionally authorize a certificated employee to be charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense for the commission of a violent or serious felony, as specified. The bill would also add controlled substances offenses involving marijuana, mescaline, peyote, or tetrahydrocannabinols to the lists of mandatory and optional leave of absence offenses, as specified. Because this bill would increase the number of employees subject to immediate placement on compulsory leave of absence, thereby increasing the duties of school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) This bill would also make conforming changes and numerous nonsubstantive changes, and would delete obsolete references. (7) 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 these statutory provisions.
(1) Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, provides for the planning and regulation of a development and requires any person undertaking development in the coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit issued by the California Coastal Commission in accordance with prescribed procedures. This bill would require a city or county, including a charter city or charter county, to apply for a coastal development permit to remove or restrict the use of a beach fire ring, as defined, and would require that application to include specified information. The bill would not affect the applicability of a specified provision relating to ambient air quality standards, emission standards, or air pollution control programs or facilities established by the State Air Resources Board or an air pollution control or air quality management district. The bill would not prohibit the City of Newport Beach from distributing charcoal free of charge for use in a beach fire ring within 700 feet of a residence. By increasing the duties of local officials with respect to the California Coastal Act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The bill would declare these provisions to be declaratory of existing law. (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, 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law establishes goals that apply to the overall dollar amount expended each year by an awarding department, as defined, to facilitate the participation of disabled veteran business enterprises in state contracts, and establishes the California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program for this purpose. Existing law requires the Department of General Services to make available a report on contracting activity containing specified information, including the level of participation, by agency, of disabled veteran business enterprises in statewide contracting, including the dollar values of contract award in specified categories. This bill would require the contracting activity report, with respect to disabled veteran business enterprise participation, commencing with the 2015–16 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, to include the dollar amounts expended annually on contracts pursuant to the program, and would require an awarding department to report those expenditures to the Department of General Services. The bill would require the awarding department, for each disabled veteran business enterprise that contracts directly with an awarding department as a prime contractor, to report expenditures based on the amounts paid during the fiscal year, and to maintain accounting records and other supporting documentation sufficient for the verification and audit of the reported payments. The bill would require the awarding department, for each disabled veteran business enterprise that works as a subcontractor to a prime contractor, to report expenditures based on a joint certification from both the prime contractor and the disabled veteran business enterprise subcontractor, attesting to the amounts paid to the disabled veteran business enterprise under each contract, and to maintain signed certifications for the verification and audit of the reported payments. The bill would require the Department of General Services, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, to develop, before July 1, 2015, a joint certification form to be used by awarding departments.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Pursuant to its existing authority, the commission issued Electrical Rule 21 establishing operational and metering requirements for a generation facility to be connected to an electrical corporation's distribution system. Existing law relative to private energy producers requires every electric utility, as defined, to develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, as defined, upon request for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined. The existing definition of an eligible customer-generator requires that the generating facility use a renewable source of energy, as specified, and have a generating capacity of not more than one megawatt. Existing law requires that every electric utility ensure that requests for an interconnection agreement from an eligible customer-generator are processed in a time period not to exceed 30 working days from the date it receives a completed application form from the eligible customer-generator for an interconnection agreement. This bill would require the commission to determine criteria that would allow an independent generation facility, as defined, to apply for interconnection to the utility electric distribution grid under the fast track review process, as defined under Rule 21. Under existing law, a violation of an order, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a failure of an electric utility to process an interconnection request from an independent generation facility pursuant to Rule 21 would be a 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.
(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 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 also requires, in an action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with its requirements, that the grounds for noncompliance shall have been presented by any person to the public agency during the public comment period or prior to the close of the public hearing on the project before the filing of the notice of determination. CEQA requires a person bringing an action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with its requirements to have objected to the project during the public comment period or prior to the close of the public hearing on the project before the filing of the notice of determination. This bill would require that the alleged grounds for noncompliance shall have been presented to a public agency prior to the close of the public hearing on the project if the grounds for noncompliance were not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence during the public comment period or if no public comment period was provided by CEQA. The bill would limit the standing of a person objecting to the project prior to the close of the public hearing on the project before the filing of notice of determination to an action or proceeding challenging a project for which no public comment period was provided by CEQA. (2) CEQA, until January 1, 2016, precludes an organization formed after the approval of a project from maintaining an action unless a member of the organization has objected to the approval of the project orally or in writing and presented the grounds of noncompliance to the public agency. Existing law, on and after January 1, 2016, precludes an organization formed after the approval of a project from maintaining an action unless a member of the organization has objected to the approval of the project orally or in writing. This bill would extend the preclusion in effect until January 1, 2016, indefinitely.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a hiring credit for qualified taxpayers who hire qualified employees, as defined, within enterprise zones and local agency military base recovery areas, subject to specified criteria and requirements. Those laws require that a taxpayer obtain a certification from the Employment Development Department, as permitted by federal law, the local county or city Job Training Partnership Act administrative entity, the local county GAIN office or social services agency, or the local government administering a specified area or zone that provides that a qualified employee meets the specified eligibility requirements. Existing law authorizes any local entity formerly authorized to issue a certification that provides that a qualified employee, qualified disadvantaged individual, or qualified displaced employee meets specified eligibility requirements, to continue to accept applications for certification and to issue the certifications up to but no later than January 1, 2015. This bill would instead authorize those local entities to continue to accept applications for the certification up to but no later than January 1, 2015, and would provide that a local entity has until January 1, 2016, to issue the certifications. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Orange County Water District Act, prescribes the powers of the Orange County Water District. Existing law grants the district the power to perform actions useful or necessary to replenish the underground water basin within the district, or to augment and protect the quality of the common water supplies of the district. The act authorizes the district to conduct any investigations of the quality of the surface and groundwaters within the district that the district determines to be necessary and appropriate to determine whether those waters are contaminated or polluted. The act authorizes the district to expend available funds to perform any cleanup, abatement, or remedial work required under the circumstances which, in the determination of the board of directors, is required by the magnitude of the endeavor or the urgency of prompt action needed to prevent, abate, or contain any threatened or existing contamination of, or pollution to, the surface or groundwaters of the district, and requires the person causing or threatening to cause that contamination or pollution to be liable to the district to the extent of the reasonable costs actually incurred. This bill would require the district, when cleaning up or containing contamination or pollution, abating the effects of the contamination or pollution, or, in the case of threatened contamination or pollution, taking other removal or remedial action described above, to provide prior notice of the action to a regional water quality control board and the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to meet and confer with agencies and any responsible party, as provided, and to comply with the requirements of the National Contingency Plan, as prescribed. Among other things, bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the district adopt a policy to address the process for groundwater remediation projects and that the district enter into a memorandum of understanding between it, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana region, and the Orange County Health Care Agency to establish a process of review of the district's proposed groundwater remediation projects. The bill would declare that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution. 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 these statutory provisions.
The Personal Income Tax Law conforms to specified provisions of the federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, relating to the exclusion of the discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness, as defined, from a taxpayer's income if that debt is discharged after January 1, 2007, and before January 1, 2010, as provided. The federal Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 extended the operation of those provisions to debt that is discharged before January 1, 2013. This bill would extend the operation of the exclusion of the discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness to debt that is discharged on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2014. The bill would become operative only if SB 391 is enacted and takes effect. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.