Sen. Steve Choi

This measure would urge the United States Food and Drug Administration and related entities to discourage vaping, the recreational use of electronic cigarettes by youth and adults, and the purchase of vaping products and electronic cigarettes and to educate the public about the health risks of vaping and the recreational use of electronic cigarettes.

This measure would call on the United States Congress and the President of the United States to take appropriate measures to facilitate stability in the Korean region, build goodwill that is conducive to peace in the Korean Peninsula, and minimize potential negative impacts to the South Korean economy, ensuring that the trade relationship between the State of California and South Korea can continue to flourish.

This measure would proclaim January 23, 2020, as Maternal Health Awareness Day, to draw attention to the efforts that have improved maternal health in California and to highlight the need for continued improvement of maternal health for all women.

This measure would respectfully urge the United States Congress to pass, and the President of the United States to sign, legislation that would immediately end the military survivor's compensation offset known as the Widow's Tax.

Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that each resident of California who has the capacity and motivation to benefit from higher education should have the opportunity to enroll in an institution of higher education and to continue with that higher education, as provided. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in this statement of the intent of the Legislature.

Existing law establishes various sexual assault offenses, including the offense of rape. Under existing law, rape is defined as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, under certain circumstances, including where the act is accomplished against a person's will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the person or another. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Existing law establishes the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, which requires the Public Utilities Commission to implement annual procurement targets for the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, for all retail sellers, as defined, and requires local publicly owned electric utilities to adopt and implement a renewable energy resources procurement plan to achieve the targets and goals of the program. Eligible renewable energy resources include small hydroelectric generation facilities of 30 megawatts or less that meet specified criteria. Existing law states that it is the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2045. This bill would revise the definition of an eligible renewable energy resource for the purposes of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program to include all hydroelectric generating facilities in operation as of January 1, 2021, and nuclear electric generating facilities and would make conforming changes. This bill would suspend the requirements of the program and the state policy that are applicable to retail sellers. The bill would terminate the suspensions if the commission makes unspecified factual determinations and issues an order reinstating those requirements. The bill would require the commission to determine the amount saved by an electrical corporation due to the suspension and would require the electrical corporation to expend that amount to improve its transmission and distribution infrastructure to minimize the risk of wildfire ignition. The bill would require the commission to require retail sellers to maintain their procurement levels of bioenergy products under the agreements in effect as of December 31, 2020, for the duration of the suspension. The bill would prohibit electrical corporations from increasing the salaries of, or providing bonuses to, their executive officers during the suspension of the program's requirements. 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 because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the 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.

This measure would designate the month of January 2020 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month in California.

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, with jurisdiction over all public utilities. Under the California Constitution, the commission consists of 5 members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate, a majority of the membership concurring, for staggered 6-year terms. This measure would provide that the commission instead consists of 4 members elected from distinct Public Utilities Commission districts for staggered 4-year terms. The measure would subject members of the commission to certain provisions of the California Constitution that are applicable to other state officers, including those provisions related to recall, compensation, impeachment, conflicts of interest, elections, and redistricting.