Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act authorizes a community choice aggregator, as defined, to aggregate the electrical load of interested electricity consumers within its boundaries and requires a community choice aggregator to file an implementation plan with the commission and requires that the plan include disclosures of certain information and describe other matter. The act requires a community choice aggregator to register with the commission, which may require additional information to ensure compliance with basic consumer protection rules and other procedural matters. Existing law requires that a city, county, or city and county that elects to implement a community choice aggregation program within its jurisdiction do so by ordinance, but authorizes a city, county, or city and county to request, by affirmative resolution of its governing council or board, that another entity authorized to be a community choice aggregator act as the community choice aggregator on its behalf, in which case, that other entity is responsible for adopting the ordinance to implement the community choice aggregation program on behalf of the requesting city, county, or city and county. This bill would require solicitations of customers by a community choice aggregator contain, and communication by the community choice aggregator to the public or prospective and existing customers to be consistent with, specified information and would require that the implementation plan filed by a community choice aggregator completely describe certain matter required to be disclosed under existing law. The bill would authorize the commission to require that a community choice aggregator, when registering with the commission, provide additional information to ensure compliance with basic consumer protection and other rules and other procedural matters. If a city, county, or city and county requests another entity that is authorized to be a community choice aggregator to act as the community choice aggregator on its behalf, the bill would require that the entity that is to be the community choice aggregator be in a county that is contiguous to the requesting city, county, or city and county. The bill would provide that, beginning January 1, 2015, no entity may enact an ordinance to serve as the community choice aggregator in more than 3-contiguous-counties, but may serve as the community choice aggregator for any city, county, or city and county that is outside a 3-contiguous-county area, for which it adopted an ordinance prior to January 1, 2015. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive revisions to the community choice aggregator provisions. The Joint Exercise of Powers Act authorizes the legislative or other governing bodies of 2 or more public agencies to jointly exercise by agreement any power common to the contracting parties, as specified. Existing law authorizes any group of cities, counties, or cities and counties whose governing boards have so elected to combine the loads of their programs as a community choice aggregator through the formation of a joint powers agency established pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act. This bill would prohibit a joint powers agency formed to provide electric service as a community choice aggregator from exceeding the geographical boundaries of 3-contiguous-counties, but would provide that this limitation does not apply where an ordinance authorizing community choice aggregation outside the 3-contiguous-counties was adopted prior to January 1, 2015. 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 bill would impose requirements regarding a community choice aggregator, a violation of which 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.
Sponsored bills
Existing law prescribes the minimum number of schooldays per year for public schools. This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, by December 1, 2015, to provide the Legislature with a cost-benefit analysis regarding various potential changes to the length or structure of schooldays or school years in public elementary and secondary schools with the objective of providing increased educational benefits and improved life outcomes to disadvantaged and underperforming pupils, as specified. The bill would require the Superintendent to contract with an educational institution or research organization to perform the cost-benefit analysis.
This measure would designate that January 21, 2013, be observed as the official memorial of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth, and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the Work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America. This measure would also recognize the anniversaries of the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington in connection with the advancement of civil rights.
This measure would recognize February 2013 as Black History Month, urge all residents to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents, achievements, and contributions that African Americans make to their communities.
Existing law requires a board of directors of a fire protection district to adopt a resolution making determinations and calling for an election on a proposition to incur indebtedness and to issue general obligation bonds when the board determines that it is necessary to incur indebtedness for the acquisition or construction of any real property or other capital expense or for funding or refunding of any outstanding indebtedness. Existing law authorizes the board to adopt resolutions to issue bonds for all or any part of the amount of the indebtedness if23 of voters vote in favor of the proposition to incur the indebtedness. This bill would also authorize bonded indebtedness under these provisions upon approval of 55% of the voters to fund activities involving buildings, facilities, and equipment for the direct and exclusive use of fire, emergency response, police, or sheriff personnel. The bill would become operative only if ACA 3 of the 2013–14 Regular Session is approved by the voters.
Existing law, the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, establishes a program of cooperative federalism for the regulation of telecommunications to attain the goal of local competition, while implementing specific, predictable, and sufficient federal and state mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service, consistent with certain universal service principles. Under the act, universal service is an evolving level of telecommunications services that the Federal Communications Commission is required to establish periodically, taking into account advances in telecommunications and information technologies and services. Pursuant to the act, the Federal Communications Commission has established and revised a lifeline program that is available for qualifying low-income consumers. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act establishes the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program in order to provide low-income households with access to affordable basic residential telephone service. Existing law establishes the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund in the State Treasury. This bill would recast the Moore Universal Telephone Service Act so that it would provide a household, as defined, having an eligible customer, as defined, with high-quality voice communications service at affordable rates. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to ensure that California residents have access to technologies and services and to promote technological neutrality by giving lifeline customers the ability to choose the communications provider and service that best meet their unique needs, while encouraging providers to participate in the lifeline program. The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act requires the Public Utilities Commission to annually designate a class of lifeline service necessary to meet minimum residential, as defined, communications needs, to set the rates and charges for that service, to develop eligibility criteria for that service, and to assess the degree of achievement of universal service, including telephone penetration rates by income, ethnicity, and geography. The bill would instead require the Public Utilities Commission to annually develop eligibility criteria for customers to participate in the program, assess the penetration rates for lifeline service by income, ethnicity, and geography, and to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the fiscal status of the lifeline program that includes a statement of the lifeline program surcharge level and revenues produced by the surcharge, the size of the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund, the reason for a decline or increase in the size of the fund, if applicable, an accounting of program expenses, and an evaluation of options for controlling those expenses and increasing program efficiency. The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act requires that the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service rates be set at no more than 50% of either the basic rate for measured residential telephone service or the basic flat residential telephone rate service, as applicable, exclusive of federally mandated end user access charges that are available to the residential subscriber. Existing law requires that the lifeline telephone service installation or connection charge, or both, be not more than 50% of the charge for basic residential service installation or connection. The bill would repeal these requirements and instead require that through and including December 31, 2014, the nonrecurring service charge for commencing voice service for a single voice connection for a lifeline customer be no greater than $10. Until and including December 31, 2014, the lifeline provider would be eligible for reimbursement from the fund for the difference between the nonrecurring charge paid by a lifeline subscriber and the nonrecurring charge the lifeline provider charges for identical services in the ordinary course of business to subscribers that are not eligible customers, subject to the limitation that the reimbursement can be no more than $40 per connection. Beginning January 1, 2015, the Public Utilities Commission would be authorized to annually increase the nonrecurring service charge incurred by eligible customers, and the lifeline provider connection reimbursement, by an amount in proportion to the increase, if any, to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) . The bill would authorize the commission to authorize a lifeline provider to be reimbursed pursuant to these provisions, for commencing voice service for an eligible customer, only if that provider is the customer's carrier of last resort for basic service. The bill would require that every eligible customer be given a discount of $11.85 per month, in addition to any federally supported lifeline discount provided to customers of an eligible telecommunications carrier, and would, beginning January 1, 2015, authorize the commission to annually adjust the support amount in proportion to the increase, if any, in the CPI-U. The bill would provide that an eligible customer is not entitled to any combined monthly federal and state lifeline support in excess of the customer's monthly rate. The bill would require that state lifeline support be provided only after federal lifeline support, if any, is received by an eligible customer. The bill would require that all providers participating in the California lifeline program offer lifeline service at the same rates that were in effect on July 1, 2013, through and including December 31, 2014. The bill would require every lifeline provider, on first contact by a prospective eligible customer, to inform the customer of the availability of the lifeline discount and how that customer may qualify for and obtain the discount. The bill would provide that a lifeline provider that is a prospective eligible customer's carrier of last resort for basic service remains subject to any customer notification obligations applicable to the provision of basic service. The Public Utilities Act prohibits any telephone corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the commission a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction (certificate of public convenience and necessity) . This bill would prohibit the commission from denying or revoking a certificate of public convenience and necessity applied for by or issued to a telephone corporation that provides retail or wholesale telecommunications services on the grounds that the telephone corporation also provides Voice over Internet Protocol service or any other unregulated service. 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 this bill would be a part of the act and would require action by the Public Utilities Commission to implement its requirements, and because the bill would expand the class of lifeline providers, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the scope 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.
(1) Existing law establishes the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Program, which requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to award a grant, for the purpose of purchasing or leasing agricultural career technical education equipment, to an applicant school district that operates an agricultural career technical education program and that meets specified requirements. Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to annually adopt or update a local control and accountability plan that contains specified information. This bill would continuously appropriate the sum of $4,134,000 in each fiscal year beginning with the 2015–16 fiscal year from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for purposes of funding the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Program. The bill would require the Superintendent to award a grant to a school district that, in addition to meeting the existing requirements, demonstrates how the expenditure of the grant funds will be consistent with its adopted local control and accountability plan. The bill would also express various findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to agricultural career technical education. (2) Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
Existing law allows for the civil compromise of a misdemeanor offense if the person injured by the commission of the misdemeanor appears before the court and acknowledges that he or she has received satisfaction for the injury. On payment of the costs incurred, existing law allows the court to order all proceedings stayed and discharge the defendant from prosecution. Existing law prohibits civil compromise in certain cases, including, among others, cases involving domestic violence, elder abuse, and child abuse. Existing law requires a driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the injury or death of another person to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident, among other requirements. This bill would prohibit the civil compromise of a misdemeanor that was committed in violation of the above requirement to stop the vehicle at the scene of an accident.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits a public official from making, participating in making, or in any way attempting to use his or her official position to influence a governmental decision in which the public official knows or has reason to know he or she has a financial interest. The act also imposes certain restrictions on the postgovernmental employment and activities of certain public officials. The act is administered and enforced by the Fair Political Practices Commission. Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, commonly known as the Energy Commission. Existing law prescribes certain qualifications for members of the Energy Commission, including a prohibition against receiving a substantial portion of income from specified energy-related entities in the 2 years preceding appointment to the Energy Commission. Existing law prohibits members of the Energy Commission from being employed by an electric utility or applicant or, within 2 years after the member ceases to be a member of the Energy Commission, a person who engages in the sale or manufacture of a major component of a facility. Existing law prohibits a member of the Energy Commission from holding any other elected or appointed public office or position, except as specified. Existing law prohibits persons with specified relationships to a member or employee of the Energy Commission from appearing in proceedings and other matters in which the Energy Commission is a party or has a direct and substantial interest. This bill would repeal these qualification and conflict-of-interest requirements for members and employees of the Energy Commission and recast them within the act. The bill would authorize the Fair Political Practices Commission to exempt a member or employee of the Energy Commission from the application of certain of these provisions if it finds that the member's or employee's interest is not sufficiently substantial to affect the integrity of services expected from the member or employee, as specified. A violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the definition of an existing 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 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 and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Under existing law, prosecution for specified felony sex offenses, including rape, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and acts of sexual penetration, that are alleged to have been committed when the victim was under 18 years of age, may be commenced at any time prior to the victim's 28th birthday. This bill would authorize prosecution of those crimes at any time prior to the victim's 40th birthday when the crime was committed on or after January 1, 2015, or for which the previous statute of limitations has not run as of January 1, 2015.