Existing law requires, until January 1, 2011, the Department of Motor Vehicles to reexamine a driver upon receipt of a report from a local health officer indicating that the driver suffers from disorders characterized by lapses of consciousness, and upon receipt of a report from certain family members stating that the driver cannot safely operate a motor vehicle, the reexaminations to include a demonstration of the person's ability to operate a motor vehicle. Existing law requires, until January 1, 2011, the department, before issuing or renewing any license, to check its records for these reports. This bill would make the above requirements permanent, except for the requirement that the department reexamine a person's qualifications to operate a motor vehicle upon receipt of a report from a local health officer, which the bill would extend only until January 1, 2012. The bill would also make conforming changes.
Sponsored bills
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires the PUC to require the state's 3 largest electrical corporations, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison, to identify a separate electrical rate component to fund programs that enhance system reliability and provide in-state benefits. This rate component is a nonbypassable element of local distribution and collected on the basis of usage. Existing PUC resolutions refer to the nonbypassable rate component as a "public goods charge." The public goods charge moneys are collected to support cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities, public interest research and development not adequately provided by competitive and regulated markets, and renewable energy resources. The existing Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) . The act requires the commission to certify sufficient sites and related facilities that are required to provide a supply of electric power sufficient to accommodate projected demand for power statewide. The act requires the commission to transmit a copy of an application for certification of a site and related facility to, among other entities, each federal and state agency having jurisdiction or special interest in matters pertinent to the proposed site and related facilities and to the Attorney General. This bill would require an applicant to inform the United States Department of Defense of a proposed project and that an application will be filed with the commission if the site and related facility specified in the application is proposed to be located within 1,000 feet of a military installation, or lies within special use airspace or beneath a low-level flight path, as defined. Existing law establishes the Renewable Resource Trust Fund as a fund that is continuously appropriated, with certain exceptions for administrative expenses, in the State Treasury, and requires that certain moneys collected to support renewable energy resources through the public goods charge are deposited into the fund and authorizes the Energy Commission to expend the moneys pursuant to the Renewable Energy Resources Program. The program states the intent of the Legislature to increase the amount of electricity generated from eligible renewable energy resources per year so that amount equals at least 20% of total retail sales of electricity in California per year by December 31, 2010. This bill would revise the Renewable Energy Resources Program to state the intent of the Legislature to increase the amount of electricity generated from eligible renewable energy resources per year, so that amount equals at least 33% of total retail sales of electricity in California per year by December 31, 2020. The bill would revise certain terms used in the program, and revise certain eligibility criteria for a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined, pursuant to the program. (2) Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature, in establishing the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (RPS program) , to increase the amount of electricity generated per year from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, to an amount that equals at least 20% of the total electricity sold to retail customers in California per year by December 31, 2010. The RPS program requires that a retail seller of electricity, including electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, and electric service providers, 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. The RPS program requires the PUC to implement annual procurement targets for each retail seller to increase its total procurement of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources by at least an additional 1% of retail sales per year so that 20% of its retail sales of electricity are procured from eligible renewable energy resources no later than December 31, 2010. Existing law requires the PUC to make a determination of the existing market cost for electricity, which PUC decisions call the market price referent, and to limit an electrical corporation's obligation to procure electricity from eligible renewable energy resources, that exceeds the market price referent, by a specified amount. This bill would express the intent that the amount of electricity generated per year from eligible renewable energy resources be increased to an amount that equals at least 20% of the total electricity sold to retail customers in California per year by December 31, 2013, and 33% by December 31, 2020. The bill would require the PUC, by January 1, 2012, to establish the quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to be procured by each retail seller for specified compliance periods, sufficient to ensure that the procurement of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources achieves 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, and 33% of retail sales by December 31, 2020, and that retail sellers procure not less than 33% of retail sales in all subsequent years. The bill, consistent with the goals of procuring the least-cost and best-fit eligible renewable energy resources that meet project viability principles, would require that all retail sellers procure a balanced portfolio of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as specified. The bill would require the PUC to waive enforcement of the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirement if the PUC finds that the retail seller has demonstrated certain conditions exist that are beyond the control of the retail seller and will prevent compliance, and has taken all reasonable actions under its control to achieve compliance. The bill would require the PUC to direct each electrical corporation to annually prepare a renewable energy procurement plan containing specified matter and require, to the extent feasible, that the plan be proposed, reviewed, and adopted by the commission as part of, and pursuant to, a general procurement plan process. The bill would require the commission to direct all retail sellers to prepare and submit an annual compliance report. The bill would delete the existing market price referent provisions, and instead require the PUC to establish a limitation for each electrical corporation on the procurement expenditures for all eligible renewable energy resources used to comply with the renewables portfolio standard. The bill would require that by January 1, 2016, the PUC report to the Legislature assessing whether each electrical corporation can achieve a 33% renewables portfolio standard by December 31, 2020, and maintain that level thereafter, within the cost limitations. The bill would provide that, if the cost limitation for an electrical corporation is insufficient to support the projected costs of meeting the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements, the electrical corporation is authorized to refrain from entering into new contracts or constructing facilities beyond the quantity that can be procured within the limitation, unless eligible renewable energy resources can be procured without exceeding a de minimis increase in rates, consistent with the electrical corporation's general procurement plan. The bill would delete an existing requirement that the PUC adopt flexible rules for compliance for retail sellers. The bill would revise the definitions of certain terms for purposes of the RPS program, would revise certain provisions applicable only to an electrical corporation with 60,000 or fewer customer accounts in California that serves retail end-use customers outside of California, and would add provisions applicable to certain smaller electrical corporations. The bill would authorize an electrical corporation to apply to the PUC for approval to construct, own, and operate an eligible renewable energy resource, and would require the PUC to approve the application if certain conditions are met, until electrical corporation owned and operated resources provide 8.25% of the corporation's anticipated retail sales. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the PUC to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. (3) Under existing law, the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility is responsible for implementing and enforcing a renewables portfolio standard for the utility that recognizes the intent of the Legislature to encourage renewable resources, while taking into consideration the effect of the standard on rates, reliability, and financial resources and the goal of environmental improvement. This bill would repeal this provision, and instead generally make the requirements of the RPS program applicable to local publicly owned electric utilities, except that the utility's governing board would be responsible for implementation of those requirements, instead of the PUC, and certain enforcement authority with respect to local publicly owned electric utilities would be given to the Energy Commission and State Air Resources Board, instead of the PUC. By placing additional requirements upon local publicly owned electric utilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law requires the Energy Commission to certify eligible renewable energy resources, to design and implement an accounting system to verify compliance with the RPS requirements by retail sellers, and to develop tracking, accounting, verification, and enforcement mechanisms for renewable energy credits, as defined. This bill would require the Energy Commission to design and implement an accounting system to verify compliance with the RPS requirements by retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities. The bill would require the Energy Commission, among other things, to adopt regulations specifying procedures for enforcement of the RPS requirements that include a public process under which the Energy Commission is authorized to issue a notice of violation and correction with respect to a local publicly owned electric utility and for referral to the State Air Resources Board for penalties imposed pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 or other laws if that act is suspended or repealed. This bill would revise the definition of renewable energy credit. The bill would require the Energy Commission, by June 30, 2011, to study and provide a report to the Legislature that analyzes run-of-river hydroelectric generating facilities, as defined, in British Columbia, including whether these facilities are, or should be, included as renewable electrical generation facilities for purposes of the Renewable Energy Resources Program administered by the Energy Commission or eligible renewable energy resources for purposes of the RPS program. (5) Existing law requires the PUC to prepare and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a written report annually before February 1 of each year on the costs of programs and activities conducted by an electrical corporation or gas corporation that have more than a specified number of customers in California. This bill would require the PUC to prepare and submit to the policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, annually before February 1 of each year, a report on (A) all electrical corporation revenue requirement increases associated with meeting the renewables portfolio standard, (B) all cost savings experienced, or costs avoided, by electrical corporations as a result of meeting the renewables portfolio standard, (C) all costs incurred by electrical corporations for incentives for distributed and renewable generation, (D) all cost savings experienced, or costs avoided, by electrical corporations as a result of incentives for distributed generation and renewable generation, (E) specified costs for which an electrical corporation is seeking recovery in rates that are pending determination or approval by the PUC, (F) the decision number of each PUC decision in the prior year authorizing an electrical corporation to recover costs incurred in rates, (G) any changes in the prior year in load serviced by an electrical corporation, and (H) the efforts each electrical corporation is taking to recruit and train employees to ensure an adequately trained and available workforce. (6) The bill would require the PUC, by July 1, 2011, to determine the effective load carrying capacity of wind and solar energy resources on the electrical grid. The bill would require the PUC to use those values in establishing the contribution of those resources toward meeting specified resource adequacy requirements. (7) The Public Utilities Act prohibits any electrical corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the PUC a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction, termed a certificate of public convenience and necessity. This bill would require the PUC to issue a decision on an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity within 18 months of the filing of a completed application under specified circumstances. (8) Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Game in the Natural Resources Agency, and generally charges the department with the administration and enforcement of the Fish and Game Code. This bill would require the department to establish an internal division with the primary purpose of performing comprehensive planning and environmental compliance services with priority given to projects involving the building of eligible renewable energy resources. (9) The existing restructuring of the electrical industry within the Public Utilities Act provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) . Existing law requires the ISO to ensure efficient use and reliable operation of the transmission grid consistent with achieving planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the American Electric Reliability Council. Pursuant to existing law, the ISO's tariffs are required to be approved by the FERC. This bill would require the ISO and other California balancing authorities to work cooperatively to integrate and interconnect eligible renewable energy resources to the transmission grid by the most efficient means possible with the goal of minimizing the impact and cost of new transmission facilities needed to meet both reliability needs and the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements, and to accomplish this in a manner that respects the ownership, business, and dispatch models for transmission facilities owned by electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, joint power agencies, and merchant transmission companies. (10) This bill would appropriate $322,000 from the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account to the PUC for additional staffing to identify, review, and approve transmission lines reasonably necessary or appropriate to facilitate achievement of the renewables portfolio standard. (11) 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.
Under existing law, the right to water or to the use of water is limited to that amount of water that is reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served, and does not extend to the waste, unreasonable use, unreasonable method of use, or unreasonable method of diversion of water. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board to take appropriate actions to prevent the waste, unreasonable use, unreasonable method of use, or unreasonable method of diversion of water. This bill would require the board, by January 1, 2012, to adopt regulations to identify unreasonable uses of water during various periods of water shortage, as specified, and would set forth related legislative findings and declarations.
The existing restructuring of the electrical industry within the Public Utilities Act provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) as a public benefit corporation, with a 5-member independent governing board of directors appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. Existing law requires the ISO to ensure efficient use and reliable operation of the transmission grid consistent with achieving planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the North American Electric Reliability Council. This bill would require the independent governing board of directors to annually select a representative of the ISO to appear before the appropriate policy committees of the Senate and Assembly to report on the activities of the ISO.
Existing law provides that the state is divided into agricultural districts in which 50 or more persons, who are residents of a district, may form a district agricultural association for the purpose of holding fairs for exhibiting all of the industries and industrial enterprises, resources, and products of the state and constructing, maintaining, and operating recreational and cultural facilities. This bill would require the 22nd District Agricultural Association (district) to develop, manage, and maintain a minimum 100-foot wide greenway zone at a specified location, a specified section of which would be required to be completed by January 1, 2012, as specified, for the purpose of protecting, enhancing, and restoring the overall environmental quality of the San Dieguito River and adjacent wetlands. The district also would be required to develop a public access trail in the greenway zone, as specified. The district would be required to submit its plan for implementation of the greenway zone to the California Coastal Commission at any time prior to, but no later than, the date the district applies for a coastal development permit, if required, for the replacement of an existing exhibit hall. Construction of certain sections of the greenway zone would be required to be completed prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued for a new exhibit hall, except that the maintenance period may still be incomplete. The bill would require the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority to maintain and manage the section of the Coast to Crest Trail located in the greenway zone. Because this bill would require a higher level of service from a local governmental entity, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the greenway zone to be permanently dedicated to the use and enjoyment of the public, so that if the district ceases to exist or sells the property, the greenway zone and public access trail remain as a condition of the sale to a local municipal government, or by transferring title of the greenway zone to the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority or to the Department of Fish and Game. 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.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services for certain manmade disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property. This bill would establish the Local Government Mutual Aid Enhancement Program in the agency, and would require funds, as specified, deposited in the Emergency Response Fund, to be allocated to the program upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would require the Secretary of California Emergency Management to allocate funds to specified entities, for the purpose of enhancing or sustaining fire and rescue disaster mutual aid capacity to combat the effect of all hazard disasters, as provided. This bill would also require the secretary, in consultation with specified entities, to develop a strategy, as provided, for the enhancement of mutual aid, and would require each fire and rescue operational area to submit a 3-year strategy for the enhancement of fire and rescue disaster mutual aid, as specified, to the secretary. (2) Existing law provides that the Insurance Commissioner, in cooperation with insurers, the Office of Emergency Services, and other emergency service agencies, shall establish procedures for the coordination of efforts between insurers and their representatives and those of emergency response agencies. This bill would create the Emergency Response Fund in the State Treasury. Insureds would be required to pay a special purpose surcharge on commercial and residential fire and multiperil insurance policies, including policies with combined property and liability coverage, issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2010, as specified. Funds from this surcharge would be available for appropriation by the Legislature to fund emergency activities, as defined, of the California Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Military Department. Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year would be retained and carried forward to the next fiscal year. This bill would require insurers collecting the surcharge to make a specified disclosure on the policy declarations page, billing statement, or a separate document accompanying the declarations page or billing statement. This bill would also require the Department of Insurance, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and other state agencies and departments to cooperate and provide information to the California Emergency Management Agency as necessary to implement this act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides that the state is divided into agricultural districts in which 50 or more persons, who are residents of a district, may form a district agricultural association for specified purposes, including holding fairs and constructing, maintaining, and operating recreational facilities. Existing law provides that District 22 is the County of San Diego. Existing saw authorizes the Director of General Services to dispose of surplus state property, subject to specified conditions, including that the net proceeds of the sale be paid into the Deficit Recovery Bond Retirement Sinking Fund Subaccount, which is a continuously appropriated fund. This bill would create District 22a, which would consist of all of that real property that is a portion of District 22 that is owned by the 22nd District Agricultural Association, which includes that real property commonly known as the Del Mar Race Track and Fairgrounds located in the City of Del Mar and certain other property in the City of San Diego, and would prescribe certain matters applicable to officers of the 22nd District Agricultural Association and the District 22a Agricultural Association. The bill would, among other things, authorize the Department of General Services to sell all of the real property that comprises District 22a and related personal property to the City of Del Mar; require the net sale proceeds to be deposited into the District 22a Disposition Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury; and require the department to report annually to the Legislature on the status of the purchase price balance. This bill would require District 22a to be abolished and all funds in the District 22a Disposition Fund to be transferred to the General Fund, upon sale of all property that comprises District 22a, and ultimately be deposited into the Deficit Recovery Bond Retirement Sinking Fund Subaccount, a continuously appropriated fund thereby resulting in an appropriation. This bill would also authorize the City of Del Mar to enter into an agreement with the Department of General Services to purchase all of the real property that comprises District 22a and any related personal property, for $120,000,000, as prescribed. The bill would authorize the city to issue revenue bonds, as specified, to finance a portion of the property purchase. The bill would require the city, if it exercises its authority to purchase the property, to establish a nonprofit corporation to manage the operation and maintenance of the property, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Constitution conditions the imposition of a special tax by a city, county, or special district upon the approval of 23 of the voters of the city, county, or special district voting on that tax, and prohibits these entities from imposing an ad valorem tax on real property or a transactions or sales tax on the sale of real property. This measure would alternatively condition the imposition, extension, or increase of a parcel tax, as defined, by a school district, community college district, or county office of education upon the approval of 55% of its voters voting on the proposition, if the proposition meets specified requirements. This measure would also make conforming changes to related provisions.
Existing law defines marriage as a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary. This bill would instead define the term civil marriage as a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, established pursuant to a State of California marriage license issued by the county clerk, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary. The bill would also make conforming related changes by changing certain references to marriage to civil marriage. Existing law enumerates persons who are authorized to solemnize a marriage, including, but not limited to, any priest, minister, rabbi, or authorized person of any religious denomination. The bill would specify that no priest, minister, rabbi, or authorized person of any religious denomination, or his or her religious denomination, would be required to solemnize a marriage that is contrary to the tenets of his, her, or its faith. The bill would state that any refusal to solemnize a marriage under that provision shall not affect the tax exempt status of any entity.
This measure would urge various state and private entities to withhold financial support of Arizona businesses in response to recent Arizona state laws relating to illegal immigration.