The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature, and authorizes the Legislature, unlimited by the other provisions of the California Constitution, to confer additional authority and jurisdiction upon the commission that is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities. The Public Utilities Act provides the commission with broad authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law establishes standards that are applicable to any person, as defined, to run, place, erect, or maintain wires or cables used to conduct electricity and requires the commission to enforce these standards. Pursuant to its existing authority, the commission has adopted rules for the construction of electrical lines and the trimming of trees near electrical lines. Except as specified, existing law requires any person that owns, controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or distribution line upon any mountainous, forest-covered, brush-covered, or grass-covered land to maintain a clearance in all directions between all vegetation and all conductors that are carrying electric current, as prescribed. This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to prioritize areas in which communities are subject to conditions that increase fire hazards associated with overhead utility facilities when determining areas in which it will require enhanced mitigation measures for wildfire hazards posed by overhead electrical lines and equipment. The bill would require the commission to develop a definition of "enhanced mitigation measures" for these purposes. The bill, as part of any findings supporting a decision to approve the boundaries for those areas, would require the commission to describe how the commission incorporated the concerns of local governments, fire departments, or both in determining those boundaries.
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The California Constitution limits the maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on real property to 1% of the full cash value of the property. The California Constitution states that the 1% limitation for ad valorem taxes does not apply to ad valorem taxes or special assessments to pay the interest and redemption charges on bonded indebtedness incurred by a school district, community college district, or county office of education for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities approved by 55% of the voters if the proposition includes specified accountability requirements. Existing law requires the proceeds of the sale of the bonds, exclusive of any premium received, to be deposited in the county treasury to the credit of the building fund of the school district, or community college district as designated by the California Community Colleges Budget and Accounting Manual. This bill would prohibit the proceeds from the sale of bonds from being withdrawn by the school district or community college district for investment outside the county treasury.
This measure would congratulate the United States Women's National Soccer Team on its impressive and historic World Cup victory on July 5, 2015.
Existing law contains provisions governing the operation and financing of community mental health services for the mentally disordered in every county through locally administered and locally controlled community mental health programs. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, funds a system of county mental health plans for the provision of mental health services, as specified. The act establishes the Mental Health Services Fund, which is continuously appropriated to, and administered by, the State Department of Health Care Services, to fund specified county mental health programs, including programs funded under the Adult and Older Adult Mental Health System of Care Act. Existing law prohibits these funds from being used to pay for persons incarcerated in state prison or parolees from state prisons. This bill would clarify that the counties may use Mental Health Services Fund moneys to provide voluntary outpatient crisis stabilization services to individuals, even when individuals who are receiving involuntary services are treated at the same facility. Because the bill would clarify the procedures and terms of Proposition 63, it would require a majority vote of the Legislature.
This measure would recognize the year of 2016 as the 50th anniversary of California's community-based developmental services system, and would reaffirm the commitment of the Legislature to support this system. This measure would declare the importance of ensuring a sustainable system that protects the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities.
This measure would proclaim the month of June 2016 to be Dairy Month in California and would encourage Californians to continue to support the American dairy industry by including dairy products as part of a healthy diet.
Existing law regulates the interpretation and administration of wills, trusts, and estates. Existing law regulates the compliance of marital deduction gifts with the federal Internal Revenue Code. Existing law provides that if a marital deduction gift is made in trust, certain additional conditions apply to the marital deduction trust, including, among others, that the transferor's spouse is entitled to all of the income of the marital deduction property not less frequently than annually, as long as the spouse is alive. Existing law requires that in the case of qualified terminable interest property specified in certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, on termination of the interest of the transferor's spouse in the trust, all of the remaining accrued or undistributed income pass to the transferor's spouse, except as provided. This bill would delete the provision relating to qualified terminable interest property described above and instead require that the term income, for purposes of the marital deduction property, be construed in a manner consistent with specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, and include a unitrust payment or other allocation of income determined pursuant to a reasonable apportionment of total investment return, as specified.
Existing law regulates the characterization and division of property upon the dissolution of marriage or the legal separation of the parties. Under existing law, debt incurred by a spouse after the date of separation is generally confirmed to that spouse. Existing law similarly provides that the earnings of a spouse are separate property if the spouse is living separate and apart from the other spouse. Under existing case law, a spouse is required to be living in a separate residence in order to be considered living separate and apart from the other spouse for purposes of characterizing the earnings of the spouse. This bill would define "date of separation" for purposes of the Family Code to mean the date that a complete and final break in the marital relationship has occurred, as evidenced by the spouse's expression of his or her intent to end the marriage and conduct that is consistent with that intent. The bill would direct a court to take into account all relevant evidence in determining the date of separation.
(1) Existing law requires a department or agency that employs peace officers to establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against those officers. Existing law authorizes a department or agency that employs custodial officers to establish a similar procedure for its officers. Existing law establishes retention requirements and access privileges, as specified, for those complaints and related reports or findings. Existing law requires the department or agency to provide written notification to the complaining party of the disposition of a complaint made pursuant to those provisions within 30 days of the disposition. This bill would require that notification to include, at a minimum, the charges framed in response to the complaint, the agency's disposition with respect to each of those charges, any factual findings on which the agency based its dispositions, and any discipline imposed or corrective action taken. By increasing the duties of local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The California Public Records Act requires a state or local agency, as defined, to make public records available for inspection, subject to certain exceptions. Existing law provides that peace officer or custodial officer personnel records, as defined, and records maintained by any state or local agency relating to complaints against peace officers and custodial officers, or information obtained from these records, are confidential and prohibits the disclosure of those records in any criminal or civil proceeding except by discovery. Existing law describes exceptions to this policy for investigations or proceedings concerning the conduct of peace officers or custodial officers, or an agency or department that employs those officers, conducted by a grand jury, a district attorney's office, or the Attorney General's office. This bill would expand the scope of the exceptions to apply to, among other things, investigations or proceedings conducted by civilian review agencies, inspectors general, personnel boards, police commissions, civil service commissions, city councils, boards of supervisors, or any entities empowered to investigate peace officer misconduct on behalf of an agency, conduct audits of peace officer discipline on behalf of an agency, adjudicate complaints against peace officers or custodial officers, hear administrative appeals, or set policies or funding for the law enforcement agency. The bill would also require an entity described in those exceptions to comply with specified confidentiality provisions. This bill would require, notwithstanding any other law, certain peace officer or custodial officer personnel records and records relating to complaints against peace officers and custodial officers to be available for public inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act. The bill would provide that this information includes but is not limited to, the framing allegation or complaint, the agency's full investigation file, any evidence gathered, and any findings or recommended findings, discipline, or corrective action taken. The bill would require records disclosed pursuant to this provision to be redacted only to remove personal data or information, such as a home address, telephone number, or identities of family members, other than the names and work-related information of peace officers and custodial officers, to preserve the anonymity of complainants and witnesses, or to protect confidential medical, financial, or other information in which disclosure would cause an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that clearly outweighs the strong public interest in records about misconduct by peace officers and custodial officers, or if there is a specific, particularized reason to believe that disclosure would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the peace officer, custodial officer, or others. The bill would authorize an agency to withhold a record that is disclosable pursuant to these provisions during an investigation into the use of force until the peace officer's employing agency determines whether the use of force violated a law or agency policy or until the district attorney with jurisdiction over the use of force determines whether to file criminal charges for the use of force, whichever is later, and would prohibit an agency from withholding those records for longer than 180 days from the date of the use of force. (3) Existing law establishes discovery procedures for obtaining peace officer and custodial officer personnel files and files relating to complaints against peace officers and custodial officers. This bill would specify that those provisions do not bar or limit access in any proceeding to peace officer or custodial officer personnel records or records relating to complaints against peace officers and custodial officers, and would provide that those provisions do not require a party to a proceeding pending in a court or administrative agency to seek records through alternate means before filing a motion pursuant to the discovery provisions described above. (4) The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (5) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.