(1) Existing law regulates the execution and acceptance of a grant of an open-space easement, as defined, that was entered into before January 1, 1975. The execution and acceptance of a grant of an open-space easement constitutes a dedication to the public of the open-space character of the lands for the term specified. Existing law provides that the easement and covenant run for a term of not less than 20 years. Existing law authorizes an open-space easement to contain a covenant against the extraction of natural resources or other activities that may destroy the unique physical and scenic characteristics of the land, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. (2) The Open-Space Easement Act of 1974 authorizes any county or city that has an adopted open-space plan to accept or approve a grant of an open-space easement, as defined, on privately owned lands lying within the county or city in a specified manner for a term not less than 10 years. Existing law authorizes a grant of an open-space easement to be accepted only if the governing body, by resolution, makes specified findings, including a finding that the preservation of the land as open space is consistent with the general plan of the county or city and that it is important to the public for a specified purpose. This bill would expand the purposes for which a governing body may approve a grant of an open-space easement, as specified. (3) Existing law, the Open-Space Easement Act of 1974, requires the clerk of the governing board of a city or county, upon acceptance or approval of a grant of an open-space easement, as defined, to record the easement in the office of the county recorder and file a copy of the easement with the county assessor, as specified. Existing law requires the county recorder in each county to develop and maintain, within the existing indexing system, a comprehensive index of conservation easements and notice of conservation easement on lands within that county. This bill would require an easement accepted or approved pursuant to existing law to be recorded consistent with the existing indexing system maintained by a county recorder.
Sponsored bills
Existing law provides that, in addition to any other remedy authorized by law, when a spouse is convicted of attempting to murder the other spouse or of soliciting the murder of the other spouse, the injured spouse shall be entitled to 100% of the community property interest in his or her retirement and pension benefits, and a prohibition of specified support or insurance benefits from the injured spouse to the convicted spouse. Existing law defines "injured spouse" for these purposes. Under existing law, a family court is required to consider specified factors in ordering spousal support, including the criminal conviction of an abusive spouse. This bill would expand the above-described provisions to apply when a spouse is convicted of a specified violent sexual felony against the other spouse, and would require the court to consider the convicted spouse's criminal conviction for a violent sexual felony in ordering spousal support, as specified. The bill would also require the court to order the attorney's fees and costs to be paid from the community assets if warranted by economic circumstances. Under the bill, the injured spouse, as defined, would not be required to pay any of the convicted spouse's attorney's fees out of his or her separate property. The bill would further, at the request of the injured spouse, define the date of the parties' legal separation as the date of the incident giving rise to the conviction, or earlier if the court finds that the circumstances justify an earlier date, for community property purposes.
(1) The Planning and Zoning Law provides that if a state or local agency requires a person to transfer to that agency an interest in real property to mitigate the environmental impact of a project or facility, that agency may authorize specified entities to hold title to, and manage that interest in, real property, as well as any accompanying funds, provided those entities meet specified requirements. Existing law requires that if accompanying funds, as defined, are conveyed at the time the property is protected, then the holder of those accompanying funds must meet specified requirements. Existing law requires a state or local agency to exercise due diligence in reviewing the qualifications of a special district or nonprofit organization to effectively manage and steward land, water, or natural resources, as well as the accompanying funds. This bill would use the term "endowment" instead of "accompanying funds." This bill would authorize an agency, in connection with the provisions described above, to also permit a governmental entity, as defined, to hold title to, and manage that interest in, real property, as well as any endowment. This bill would remove the requirement that a state or local agency exercise due diligence in reviewing the qualifications of a special district or nonprofit organization to effectively manage the endowment. This bill would also modify the requirements that the holder of an endowment must meet, and would provide that those requirements also apply to endowments that are secured at the time the property is protected. This bill would state that specified provisions of this bill relating to the requirements on a holder of an endowment do not apply to funds held for the long-term management and stewardship of property pursuant to specified acts if certain requirements are met. (2) Existing law, for purposes of these provisions, defines the term "mitigation agreement" to mean a written agreement between a public agency, the project proponent, and the special district, nonprofit organization, for-profit entity, or other entity that holds the property. This bill would instead define the term "mitigation agreement" to mean either a written agreement between the project proponent and the entity qualified to hold the property and the endowment, which is submitted to the state or local agency for the purpose of obtaining any permit, clearance, or mitigation approval from that state or local agency, or a written agreement between the project proponent and the entity qualified to hold the property, including any agreement with an entity qualified to hold the endowment, which is submitted to the state or local agency for the purpose of obtaining any permit, clearance, or mitigation approval from that state or local agency. (3) Existing law authorizes a state or local agency, if that agency authorizes specified entities to hold property pursuant to these provisions, to require an administrative endowment from the project proponent to cover reasonable costs to the agency. This bill would revise that provision to authorize a state agency to require the project proponent to pay a one-time fee that does not exceed the reasonable costs of the agency in reviewing qualifications of potential holders of the property and approving those holders. The bill would also authorize a local agency to require a project proponent to pay a one-time fee that does not exceed the reasonable costs of the agency in reviewing qualifications of the parties to the mitigation agreement, approving those holders, and any regular oversight over those holders to ensure that the holders are complying with all applicable laws. (4) Existing law provides that if a state or local agency, in the development of its own project, is required to mitigate an adverse impact upon natural resources, that agency may take any action it deems necessary to meet its mitigation obligations, including, among others, transferring an interest in the property to specified entities and providing funds to specified entities to acquire land or easements to satisfy the agency's mitigation obligations. This bill would expand those provisions to authorize a state or local agency to transfer an obligation to restore and enhance property to specified entities and to provide funds to specified entities to implement a restoration or enhancement project. This bill would additionally authorize a state or local agency to hold an endowment in an account administered by an elected official. (5) Existing law generally requires that the accompanying funds described above be held by the agency that requires the mitigation or by the special district or nonprofit organization that holds the property. Existing law excepts certain situations from this requirement, including, among others, if the accompanying funds are held by another entity pursuant to a natural community conservation plan or a safe harbor agreement that is executed on or before January 1, 2012. This bill would require that, in order to qualify for that exception, the implementation agreement would be required to meet certain requirements. This bill also would modify the exceptions to that requirement by adding some and removing others, including, among other changes, adding exceptions that would authorize a community foundation, as defined, or a congressionally chartered foundation to hold an endowment if specified conditions are met. This bill would authorize a state or local agency to allow the endowments to be temporarily held in an escrow account until a specified date, after which time the bill would require the state or local agency to transfer the endowments to the entity that will permanently hold them. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing board. Existing law, relative to private energy producers, requires every electric utility, as defined, to develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer generators, as defined, upon request for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined. An electric utility, upon request, is required to make the contract or tariff for net energy metering available to eligible customer-generators on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. With one exception, existing law requires that each net energy metering contract or tariff be identical with respect to rate structure, all retail rate components, and any monthly charges, to the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned if the customer did not use a renewable electrical generation facility, except that eligible customer-generators shall not be assessed standby charges on the electrical generating capacity or the kilowatthour production of a renewable electrical generation facility. This bill would prohibit the commission from adopting any new demand charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge, interconnection charge, or other fixed charge that applies only to customers receiving electric service pursuant to a net energy metering contract or tariff.
Existing law requires the board of supervisors of each county, following each decennial federal census, and using that census as a basis, to adjust the boundaries of any or all of the supervisorial districts of the county so that the districts are as nearly equal in population as possible, and comply with applicable federal law, and specifies the procedures the board of supervisors must follow in adjusting those boundaries. This bill would establish the Independent Redistricting Commission in the County of San Diego. The bill would require the clerk of the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Diego to select, at random, the members of the commission from persons interested in, and qualified to serve on, the commission. The bill would require the county to provide reasonable staffing and logistical support to the commission. The bill would require the commission to hold at least 7 public hearings, and would require the commission to adjust the boundaries of the supervisorial boundaries of the county, as specified. The bill would require the commission to adopt a redistricting plan, as specified, and would provide that the plan become effective 30 days following submission to the clerk of the board. The bill would subject the plan to referendum. By increasing the duties on local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the unique circumstances facing the County of San Diego. 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 establishes the political party organizations of the Democratic Party of California, the California Republican Party, the American Independent Party of California, and the Peace and Freedom Party of California. Existing law requires the members of a county central committee of each of those parties be elected in each county at every statewide direct primary election. This bill would delete the requirement that those members be elected at every statewide direct primary election and instead would permit those members to be elected at every presidential primary election. This bill would specify that a county central committee of any of those parties, in accordance with specified rules and regulations, may select its members at any time by holding a caucus or convention, or by using any other approved method of selection. If a county elections official finds that the number of candidates nominated for a political party's county central committee does not exceed the number to be elected, existing law requires that the designation of the office and the names of the candidates not be printed on the party's ballot, unless a petition is filed indicating that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the office. In lieu thereof, existing law requires the county board of supervisors to declare elected those candidates who have been nominated, and states that those candidates are entitled to receive certificates of election in the same manner as other candidates elected to the committee. This bill would delete the exception for petitions indicating a write-in campaign will be conducted and would delete the provision relating to candidates' entitlements to receive certificates of election. Existing law requires that a candidate for membership on a county central committee must be affiliated with the political party of that committee for not less than 3 months immediately prior to presenting his or her declaration of candidacy, and requires that the candidate must not have been affiliated with any other political party within 12 months prior to filing a declaration of candidacy. This bill would permit a county central committee to establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on the committee must be affiliated with the party of that committee, or must not have been affiliated with any other political party. Existing law requires a candidate for membership on a county central committee to file nomination forms, as specified. Existing law requires that the nomination forms be made available on the 113th day prior to a direct primary election and be delivered no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 88th day prior to the direct primary election. This bill would instead require that the nomination forms for candidates for county central committees be available 158 days prior to the primary election. This bill would provide that its provisions are severable.
The Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law and the Diesel Fuel Tax Law impose state excise taxes at specified rates per gallon on the removal, entry, sale, delivering, or specified use of motor vehicle fuel and diesel fuel respectively, and the Use Fuel Tax Law imposes a state excise tax on the use of other fuel at specified rates. The Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law requires certain persons who have paid a tax for motor vehicle fuel, as specified, to be reimbursed and repaid the amount of the tax. This bill would make the provision requiring reimbursement and repayment of the motor vehicle fuel tax applicable to any person who buys and uses tax-paid motor vehicle fuel for the purpose of producing a blended fuel that will be used to operate motor vehicles upon the public highways of the state that is taxed under the Use Fuel Tax Law, if the person has submitted or submits the refund application request on or after January 1, 2011, and can show that the applicable California use fuel tax has been paid on the blended fuel produced by the person. This bill would also state that the Legislature finds and declares that this act serves multiple public purposes. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Under existing law, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development approves, establishes minimum guidelines for, and performs onsite visitations for specified types of evaluation of health workforce projects. Existing law also requires the office to collect and make public the data an approved project generates. Existing law prohibits the office from approving a project for beyond a specified period unless a specified determination is made. This bill would require the office to extend the duration of Health Workforce Pilot Project No. 171 through January 1, 2014, to provide the sponsors of the project an opportunity to achieve publication of the data collected during the project in a peer-reviewed journal, among other specified purposes.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. This bill would provide that if the federal government acts to reinstate benefits to discharged veterans, as specified, who were denied those benefits solely on the basis of sexual orientation pursuant to any federal policy prohibiting homosexual personnel from serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, the state shall reinstate to those veterans any state-offered benefits, as provided. This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide Internet resources, Internet links, and print materials, as provided, regarding, or created by, veterans' legal services organizations that specialize in military discharge upgrades.
This measure would (1) designate a specified bridge on State Highway Route 15 in San Diego County as the Chelsea King Memorial Bridge, and (2) designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 78 as the Amber Dubois Memorial Highway. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing these special designations and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.