Sen. Steve Bradford

The Enterprise Zone Act authorizes the designation of certain depressed areas in this state as enterprise zones for purposes of providing specific economic incentives within those areas. Existing law makes legislative findings and declarations related to the act. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these legislative findings and declarations.

The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions. The state board is authorized to adopt market-based compliance mechanisms, as defined, meeting specified requirements to be used for compliance with those regulations. This bill would require the state board to adopt a compliance offset protocol that meets specified criteria if the state board adopts a cap-and-trade program that allows the use of offsets for compliance under the cap-and-trade program.

The State Contract Act requires contracts awarded by the state to be publicly opened on the day named in a public notice and to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, except as specified. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to prepare and submit a written report to the Governor and Legislature that contains the commission's recommendations for actions that can be undertaken to limit utility costs and rate increases, as provided. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the Public Utilities Commission to implement these recommendations.

Existing law lists the persons who are liable to punishment under the laws of this state, including all persons who commit any crime within the state, all who commit any specified offense without this state and bring the property stolen or embezzled within the state, as specified, those without the state who cause or aid, advise or encourage, another person to commit a crime within the state, and are afterwards found therein, and perjury when committed outside of California, to the extent provided by law, as specified. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these provisions.

(1) The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species, and requires the Department of Fish and Game to recommend, and the commission to adopt, criteria for determining if a species is endangered or threatened. CESA authorizes the department to authorize the take of threatened species, endangered species, or candidate species by permit if certain requirements are met. CESA authorizes the department, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and, to the extent practicable, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Bureau of Land Management, to design and implement actions to protect, restore, or enhance the habitat of plants and wildlife that can be used to fully mitigate the impacts of the take of endangered, threatened, or candidate species (mitigation actions) resulting from certain solar thermal and photovoltaic powerplants in the planning area of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. This bill additionally would authorize the department to design and implement these mitigation actions for proposed wind and geothermal powerplants in the planning area subject to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. (2) Existing law requires the department to collect, and requires the owner or developer of an eligible project to pay, a one-time permit application fee of $75,000 to the department for deposit into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. Existing law requires the department to utilize the permit application fee to pay for all or a portion of the department's cost of processing incidental take permit applications pursuant to CESA. This bill would additionally require the department to collect, and an owner or developer of an eligible project to pay, a one-time permit application fee of $75,000 to the department for deposit into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, to pay for all or a portion of the department's cost of processing incidental take permit applications. The bill would define "eligible project" to mean an eligible renewable energy resource, as defined in the California renewables portfolio standard program. If the permit application fee is insufficient to complete permitting work due to the complexity of a project or timeline delays, the bill would authorize the department to collect an additional fee from the owner or developer to pay for its actual costs, not to exceed an additional $75,000. Existing law establishes the Renewable Energy Resources Development Fee Trust Fund as a continuously appropriated fund in the State Treasury to serve, and be managed, as an optional, voluntary method for developers or owners of eligible projects, as defined, to deposit fees sufficient to complete mitigation actions established by the department and thereby meet their requirements pursuant to CESA or the certification authority of the Energy Commission. The definition of eligible projects, for purposes of these provisions and fees, is limited to certain solar thermal powerplants and photovoltaic powerplants proposed to be constructed in the planning area subject to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. This bill would expand the definition of eligible projects to include wind and geothermal powerplants proposed to be constructed in the planning area subject to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. By expanding the purposes for which moneys in this continuously appropriated fund may be used, this bill would make an appropriation. (3) The Natural Community Conservation Planning Act authorizes the Department of Fish and Game to enter into agreements with any person or public entity for the purpose of preparing a natural community conservation plan, in cooperation with a local agency that has land use permit authority over the activities proposed to be addressed in the plan, to provide comprehensive management and conservation of multiple wildlife species. This bill would require the department to enter into one or more planning agreements with appropriate plan participants, including, but not limited to, the Energy Commission, one or more counties within the San Joaquin Valley, as defined, and other persons or public entities for the purpose of preparing one or more natural community conservation plans, if certain conditions are met with regard to the plan and the parties to the planning agreement. (4) 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 (EIR) 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. This bill, until January 1, 2014, would not require an EIR to analyze, or mitigate, where feasible, the environmental effect for an eligible renewable energy resource, including greenhouse gas emissions, not found to be significant under CEQA. The bill would authorize an applicant for a project to construct an eligible renewable energy resource that has an approved electricity purchase agreement to provide information to the lead agency regarding the environmental benefits of the project when comments may be received by the lead agency on a draft environmental impact report or negative declaration. The bill would authorize the lead agency to consider this information when making a finding under CEQA. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2014. (5) The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , and requires it to certify sufficient sites and related facilities that are required to provide a supply of electricity sufficient to accommodate projected demand for power statewide. The act grants the Energy Commission the exclusive authority to certify any stationary or floating electrical generating facility using any source of thermal energy, with a generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more, and any facilities appurtenant thereto. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to establish a process for certain applicants for certification of a solar thermal powerplant that is proposed to be constructed in the planning area subject to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, as defined, that allows the applicant to elect to pay additional fees to be used by the Energy Commission to contract with 3rd parties to assist the Energy Commission staff in performing the analysis otherwise performed by staff in determining whether or not to issue a certification. This bill would expand this process to include any applicant for certification of an eligible renewable energy resource. The bill would require the Energy Commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide $7,000,000 in grants to qualified counties for the development or revision of rules and policies, including general plan elements, zoning ordinances, and a natural community conservation plan as a plan participant, to facilitate the development of eligible renewable energy resources, and their associated electric transmission facilities, on disturbed lands, as defined. The bill would require a general plan element or zoning ordinance that is adopted or revised pursuant to a grant to be completed within 2 years of receipt of the grant and be consistent with the conservation strategies of any natural community conservation plan, if one had been approved or is under development in the county. (6) This bill would provide that it would be operative only if SB 23 of the 2011–12 Regular Session is enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2012.

(1) The Enterprise Zone Act provides for the designation and oversight by the Department of Housing and Community Development of various types of economic development areas throughout the state, including enterprise zones, targeted tax areas, local agency military base recovery areas (LAMBRAs) , and Manufacturing Enhancement Areas, collectively known as geographically targeted economic development areas, or G-TEDAs. Pursuant to these provisions, qualifying entities in those areas may receive certain tax and regulatory incentives. This bill would rename the act as the California Economic and Community Development Zone Act. This bill would delete the provisions governing Manufacturing Enhancement Areas and targeted tax areas, and make various revisions in the requirements for designating and administering enterprise zones and LAMBRAs, and G-TEDAs collectively. (2) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize a taxpayer to claim certain tax incentives for activities conducted in an enterprise zone or a LAMBRA, including a credit for a specified percentage of wages paid during the taxable year to a qualified employee, as defined, who is employed by the taxpayer during the taxable year in an enterprise zone or a LAMBRA. This bill would, with respect to employees hired before January 1, 2011, increase specified requirements for an individual to be a qualified employee for purposes of the enterprise zone hiring credits, and make other specified changes relating to the requirements for a taxpayer to take advantage of the credits. This bill would, with respect to employees hired after January 1, 2011, revise the enterprise zone hiring credit, so that the credit would be available only for a qualified employee for each of the first 3 years of employment and modify the applicable percentage amounts. This bill would impose new requirements for a taxpayer claiming this credit, including a registration requirement made under penalty of perjury. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also limit the carryover period to 15 years. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, and before January 1, 2013, impose a specified 50% overall limitation on these credits, as provided. (3) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow a credit in an amount equal to the amount of sales or use tax paid in connection with qualified property that is purchased and placed in service during the taxable year by a taxpayer engaged in a trade or business in an enterprise zone, targeted tax area, or LAMBRA, and allow unused credits to be carried over indefinitely to subsequent taxable years. This bill would require the taxpayer to register, as specified, a business in an enterprise zone, targeted tax area, or a LAMBRA before the taxpayer can claim a credit, and would limit the carryover period to 15 years. This bill would also impose a specified 50% overall limitation on these credits as provided. (4) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow deductions in the amount of net interest received by a taxpayer in payment of a debt of a person or entity engaged in a trade or business in an enterprise zone. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, and before January 1, 2013, limit the amount of these deductions to 50% of the net interest received by a taxpayer in payment of debt, as specified. (5) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow specified credits for hiring employees in a targeted tax area and manufacturing enhancement area. This bill would limit the credits to qualified employees hired by a qualified taxpayer before January 1, 2011. (6) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow a deduction for a net operating loss of a person or entity engaged in business in an enterprise zone or a LAMBRA, and any unused net operating losses to be a net operating loss carryover to other years, as specified. This bill would allow a deduction for those net operating losses only for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, but would allow any unused net operating losses to continue to be carried to other years as provided. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (8) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. (9) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.