Sen. Dave Min

Existing law makes it a crime to inflict unnecessary cruelty or to abuse an animal in any manner, including, but not limited to, maliciously and intentionally maiming, mutilating, torturing, or wounding an animal. This bill would additionally make it a crime to otherwise abuse or subject a living animal to needless suffering. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that specified handling and husbandry practices widely regarded as routine, including rodeo or rodeo related events, not be presumed to constitute animal mistreatment. The bill would make animal treatment laws inapplicable to acts authorized pursuant to permits issued by a wildlife agency as part of wildlife conservation research and to traditional methods of animal testing performed for the purpose of medical research, as defined. 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.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with each council of governments, to determine each region's existing and projected housing need, as provided. Existing law requires each council of governments, or the department for cities and counties without a council of governments, to adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county and that furthers specified objectives. Existing law requires the planning agency of a city or county to provide an annual report to its legislative body, the Office of Planning and Research, and the Department of Housing and Community Development by April 1 of each year that includes, among other information, the city's or county's progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs, as described. Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, authorizes a local agency, by ordinance or ministerial approval, to provide for the creation of accessory dwelling units in areas zoned for residential use, as specified. Existing law authorizes a local agency to impose standards on accessory dwelling units that include, but are not limited to, parking, height, setback, landscape, architectural review, and maximum size of a unit. Existing law prohibits a local agency from establishing height limitations for accessory dwelling units, including height limitations that would prohibit attached accessory dwelling units from attaining a height of 25 feet, as specified. This bill would prohibit a qualifying local agency from imposing height limitations that would prohibit an attached accessory dwelling unit from attaining a height of 16 feet, as specified. The bill would define "qualifying local agency" as a local agency that the Department of Housing and Community Development has determined that the number of housing units that have been entitled by the local agency, as shown on its most recent annual progress report, is greater than the local agency's share of the regional housing need, for the low- and very low income categories, prorated for that annual reporting period.

Existing law, the California Financing Law, generally regulates commercial loans made by licensees. Existing law prohibits a covered entity, as defined, from charging specified fees in connection with a commercial financing transaction with a small business or small business owner. In this regard, existing law prohibits a fee for monitoring the small business's collateral unless the underlying commercial financing transaction is delinquent for more than 60 days. Existing law entitles a recipient to specified relief if a covered entity violates these provisions. This bill would, additionally, allow a covered entity to charge a monitoring fee to compensate the covered entity for services it provides to the small business with respect to the ongoing evaluation, tracking, and review of the small business's collateral, as specified.

This measure would declare the month of September 2023 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

This measure would proclaim the month of October 2023 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Existing law prescribes specific procedures by which political parties participate in the presidential primary, and it defines the role of the Secretary of State in overseeing the primary and general elections and the meeting of presidential electors. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to cause the names of the political parties' candidates for President and Vice President to be placed on the general election ballot after receiving from each party its certified list of nominees for electors, as specified. Existing law, including the United States Constitution, governs the qualifications of candidates for elective office, including the office of President of the United States. This bill would require the Secretary of State, before placing the name of a candidate for President or Vice President on the ballot for the general election, to determine whether the candidate satisfies the qualifications for the office described in the United States Constitution. The bill would prohibit the Secretary of State from placing on the ballot the name of any candidate who the Secretary of State determines is not eligible in accordance with these provisions. The bill would authorize a voter or candidate to challenge this determination by the Secretary of State in accordance with specified procedures. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to establish the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program, which includes establishing the direct install program to fund certain projects and remediation and safety measures to facilitate the installation of new technologies, and a statewide incentive program for low-carbon building technologies, as specified. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, require the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with gas corporations, to develop and supervise the administration of the Neighborhood Decarbonization Program to facilitate the cost-effective decarbonization of targeted natural gas zones with the intent to provide benefits that include, but are not limited to, reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollution, the maintenance of reliable, safe, and resilient energy service, and the maintenance of rate affordability for California gas customers, and with the intent to decommission gas assets in zones with the highest community burdens and those that would result in the highest projected ratepayer cost savings. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with each gas corporation, to adopt guidelines and regulations for the program, as specified. The bill would require the commission, in a new or existing proceeding, to develop the roles, responsibilities, timelines, and processes for determining whether gas service may be discontinued to one or more gas customers as a part of the program, as specified. The bill would limit the scope of the program to no more than 15 pilot projects across the state that affect no more than 1% of each gas corporation's customers. The bill would require the commission, beginning March 1, 2025, and by March 1 of each year thereafter, to submit to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature a progress report summarizing the findings of the program. The bill would require the commission, beginning January 1, 2029, to conduct a review of the efficacy of the program in providing benefits to gas customers and in assisting the state in meeting the state's climate change goals and would require the commission, on or before March 1, 2030, to submit to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature a report on the review. This bill would authorize a gas corporation to cease providing service in an area within its service territory where a pilot project authorized under the program has been implemented if the commission determines that adequate substitute energy service is reasonably available to support the energy end use of affected gas customers. The bill would require the commission to authorize a gas corporation to fully recover the undepreciated cost of a gas plant or asset if full cost recovery has not been achieved for the gas plant or asset that is decommissioned, as provided. The bill would require the commission, in determining what constitutes adequate substitute energy service and when the substitute energy service is reasonably available, to adopt guidelines necessary to ensure that the rates for substitution of service for low-income customers and renters are just and reasonable. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing the requirements of this bill would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new 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.