Sen. Jim Nielsen

Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. Under existing law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as the head of the department, is authorized to employ any expert, technical, legal, clerical, and other employees as may be necessary to carry out his or her powers and duties, as provided. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes and correct an obsolete reference.

Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources, from time to time, to make inspections of dams and reservoirs at state expense for the purpose of determining their safety. This bill would repeal those provisions and instead would require the department to inspect dams, reservoirs, and appurtenant structures once per fiscal year with the exception of low hazard potential dams which the bill would require to receive inspections at least every 2 fiscal years, as specified. The bill would require the owner of a dam to operate critical outlet and spillway control features on an annual basis and to demonstrate their full operability in the presence of the department every 3 years or as directed by the department. The bill would provide that the dam inspection reports are public records subject to the California Public Records Act and would authorize the department to withhold from public release sensitive data, images, or other information, as prescribed, if the department includes in the public release a statement of findings that the withheld information would disclose a dam's vulnerability or pose a security threat. The bill would require the Division of Safety of Dams, in consultation with independent, national dam safety and dam safety risk management organizations to, on or before January 1, 2019, and every 10 years thereafter, propose amendments to its dam safety inspection and reevaluation protocols to incorporate updated best practices, including risk management, to ensure public safety. The bill would require the department to provide on its Internet Web site the dam safety inspection and reevaluation protocols, notice of the Division of Safety of Dams' intent to update the protocols, a schedule for the update, and any updates to the protocols. The bill would require the department to report to the Governor and the Legislature on amendments developed pursuant to these provisions and to notify dam owners and the Legislature of the division's intent to update dam safety inspection and reevaluation protocols prior to amending the protocols. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , enacted by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, regulates the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana, also known as cannabis, for nonmedical purposes by persons 21 years of age and older. AUMA prohibits a marijuana product from being appealing to children or easily confused with commercially sold candy or foods that do not contain marijuana. AUMA requires, prior to delivery or sale at a retailer, marijuana and marijuana products to be labeled and placed in a resealable, tamper-evident, child resistant package, and prohibits packages and labels from being attractive to children. This bill would specify that a package or label of cannabis or cannabis products is deemed to be attractive to children if the package or label has specific characteristics, including, among others, displaying a name resembling the name of any candy, snack food, baked good, or beverage commercially sold without cannabis. (2) AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend, by a majority vote, certain provisions of the act to implement specified substantive provisions, provided that the amendments are consistent with and further specified purposes and the intent of the act. This bill would declare that its provisions implement specified substantive provisions of AUMA. The bill would also declare that its provisions further specified purposes and the intent of the act.

Existing law requires the Department of Justice to present a report to the Governor annually containing the statewide criminal statistics of the preceding year. Existing law also requires specified local agencies, including chiefs of police and sheriffs, to report statistical data to the department at the time and in the manner the department prescribes. This bill would require that report to include statistics on child molestation, as defined, in the same format and within existing Table 1 and Table 2 that report on the number, rate per 100,000 population, and percentage change in other violent crimes, including rape.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services through fee-for-service or managed care delivery systems. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law provides that federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services, as defined, are covered benefits under the Medi-Cal program, to be reimbursed, to the extent that federal financial participation is obtained, to providers on a per-visit basis. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would increase the Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for services provided by qualified providers in counties with both a population density under 300 persons per square mile and a total population under 500,000 persons.

Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to implement and administer various programs designed to improve forests and grasslands and prevent and suppress fires in state responsibility areas, as defined. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to create the Safe Forests and Grasslands Act of 2018 to improve the health of the state's forests and grasslands, reduce wildlife fuel, provide for bioenergy production, and reduce uncontrolled fires in state responsibility areas.

Existing law provides for a Veterans' Home of California system within the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Existing law requires that each home or homesite in that system have an administrator, as specified, located at that home or homesite. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this provision.

Existing law generally protects employees who disclose illegal or improper workplace activities by prohibiting interference with, and retaliation for, making such disclosures. Existing law provides procedures for a person to file a complaint alleging violations of legislative ethics. Existing law also authorizes each house of the Legislature to adopt rules for its proceedings and to select committees necessary for the conduct of its business. This bill would impose criminal and civil liability on a Member of the Legislature or legislative employee, as defined, who interferes with, or retaliates against, a legislative employee's exercise of the right to make a protected disclosure, which is defined as a good faith allegation made by a legislative employee to specified entities that a Member of the Legislature or a legislative employee has engaged in, or will engage in, activity that may constitute a violation of law, including sexual harassment, or a violation of a legislative standard of conduct. The bill would also impose civil liability on an entity that interferes with, or retaliates against, a legislative employee's exercise of the right to make a protected disclosure, as specified. By creating new crimes, 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 bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law prohibits an entity from substantially diverting or obstructing the natural flow of, or substantially changing or using any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake, or from depositing certain material where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, without first notifying the Department of Fish and Wildlife of that activity, and entering into a lake or streambed alteration agreement if required by the department to protect fish and wildlife resources. This bill would require the department, on or before December 31, 2018, and periodically thereafter, to upgrade the information on its Internet Web site regarding lake or streambed alteration agreements, to update its "Frequently Asked Questions" document and other appropriate sources of information regarding the lake and streambed alteration program, and to provide guidance on its Internet Web site to facilitate members of the public in obtaining individualized guidance regarding the lake and streambed alteration program, as specified.

Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, including residential facilities, adult day programs, foster family homes, community treatment facilities, and others, by the State Department of Social Services. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.