The Public Utilities Act requires the Public Utilities Commission to report annually to specified legislative committees on funding and expenditures related to certain entities and programs. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
The Vehicle License Fee Law, in lieu of any ad valorem property tax upon vehicles, imposes an annual license fee for any vehicle subject to registration in this state in the amount of 1% of the market value of that vehicle, as provided, for a specified amount of time. Existing law also, until June 30, 2011, imposes an additional tax equal to 0.15% of the market value of specified vehicles, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to the vehicle license fee, to be deposited in the General Fund and transferred to the Local Safety and Protection Account, a continuously appropriated fund. This bill would repeal the provision relating to the sunset date and repeal of the additional 0.15% tax, thereby depositing additional moneys into a continuously appropriated fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. Consistent with this authority, the commission has adopted rules for construction of underground electric supply and communication systems. Existing law declares that it is the policy of the state to achieve, whenever feasible and not inconsistent with sound environmental planning, the undergrounding of all future electric and communication distribution facilities that are proposed to be erected in proximity to any highway designated a state scenic highway. Existing law requires the commission to prepare and adopt a statewide plan and schedule for the undergrounding of electric and communications distribution facilities in accordance with this policy and the rules of the commission relating to the undergrounding of facilities. This bill would require the commission, in consultation with electrical corporations, telephone corporations, and representatives of local government, to open an appropriate proceeding to evaluate whether to amend, revise, or improve its rules for replacing overhead electrical and communications facilities with underground facilities. The bill would require the commission to submit a report relative to its evaluation to the Legislature by June 30, 2012.
Existing law relating to electrical restructuring, except as specified, prohibits a person, corporation, electrical corporation, or local publicly owned electric utility or other governmental entity other than a retail customer's existing electric service provider as of December 20, 1995, from providing partial or full electric service to a retail customer of a local publicly owned electric utility unless the customer first confirms in writing an obligation to pay, through tariff or otherwise, to the utility currently providing electric service, a nonbypassable generation-related severance fee or transition charge established by the regulatory body for that utility. Existing law, except as specified, also prohibits a local publicly owned electric utility or other governmental entity from providing partial or full electric service to a retail customer of an electrical corporation, unless the customer of that electrical corporation first confirms in writing an obligation to pay, through tariff or otherwise, to the electrical corporation currently providing electric service, a nonbypassable generation-related transition charge established by the regulatory body for that electrical corporation. Existing law further prohibits a local publicly owned electric utility or an electrical corporation from selling electric power to the retail customers of another local publicly owned electric utility or electrical corporation unless the first utility has agreed to let the 2nd utility make sales of electric power to the retail customers of the first utility. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and responsibilities on the commission with respect to the purchase of electricity and requires the commission to review and adopt a procurement plan and a renewable energy procurement plan for each electrical corporation pursuant to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program. The renewables portfolio standard program requires that a retail seller of electricity purchase a specified minimum percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, in any given year as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use customers each calendar year. Existing law defines "renewable energy credit" to mean a certificate of proof associated with the generation of electricity from an eligible renewable energy resource, issued through a specified accounting system, that one unit of electricity was generated and delivered by an eligible renewable energy resource. This bill would expand the definition of an eligible renewable energy resource to include a facility that generates, or a renewable energy credit associated with the generation of, electricity from an eligible solar energy system that receives monetary incentives pursuant to specified law.
Existing law prohibits a policy of bodily injury liability insurance covering liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle from being issued or delivered in this state to the owner or operator of a motor vehicle, or from being issued or delivered by any insurer licensed in this state upon any motor vehicle then principally used or principally garaged in this state, unless the policy contains, or has added to it by endorsement, a provision with specified coverage limits insuring the insured, the insured's heirs, or legal representative for all sums within the limits that he, she, or they are legally entitled to recover as damages for bodily injury or wrongful death from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, except as specified. Uninsured motorist coverage includes underinsured motorist coverage, as specified. Existing law prohibits the maximum liability of an insurer providing underinsured motorist coverage for bodily injury to the insured caused by one or more vehicles from exceeding the insured's underinsured motorist coverage limits, less the amount paid to the insured by or for any person or organization that may be held legally liable for the injury. This bill would eliminate the authority of the insurer to deduct the amount paid to the insured by or for any person or organization that may be held legally liable for the injury from its maximum liability in those circumstances.
Existing law requires a pupil's former school district, as defined, or private school to transfer the pupil's permanent record, or a copy thereof, upon a request from the school district, as defined, or private school where the pupil intends to enroll. This bill would require the former school district or private school to perform the transfer no later than 5 business days following the date of the request. By imposing a new requirement on school districts and other local educational entities to transfer records within 5 business days, 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, 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 states that each child is a unique person, with unique needs, and that the purpose of the educational system of this state is to enable each child to develop all of his or her own potential. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to this provision.
Existing law requires that child care be provided in 3 stages to recipients of benefits under the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. The first stage of child care begins upon the entry of a person into the CalWORKs program. The 2nd stage of child care begins when a county determines that the work or approved work activity of the recipient is stable or when a recipient is making the transition off of aid and child care is available through a local stage 2 program. The 3rd stage of child care, which is administered by programs contracting with the State Department of Education, begins when a funded child care space becomes available for the child or children of the eligible CalWORKs recipient. This bill would reappropriate $60,000,000 in unobligated balances appropriated in the Budget Act of 2009 to the State Department of Education for CalWORKs Stage 3 child care services. The bill would also require the State Department of Education to use those funds for families that were receiving, or would have been eligible to receive, CalWORKs Stage 3 child care services, before, on, or after October 31, 2010. The bill would declare that it makes appropriations for the usual and current expenses of the state, thereby taking immediate effect.
Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. This bill would adopt the regulatory philosophy and the principles of regulation, as outlined in Presidential Executive Order 12866, in order to achieve the same regulatory benefits within the state, as specified.
