Sen. Cathleen Galgiani

Existing law establishes licensing provisions for structural pest control operators, as specified. Existing law requires an applicant for an original field representative's license to submit a written application to the registrar of the structural pest control board, as specified. This bill would make a technical nonsubstantive change to those provisions.

Existing law establishes conditional voter registration, using an affidavit of registration, whereby a person would be permitted to register to vote after the 15th day prior to an election or an election day, and cast a provisional ballot to be counted if the conditional voter registration is deemed effective. Under existing law, conditional voter registration becomes operative on January 1 of the year following the year in which the Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002. This bill would specify that conditional voter registration, as described above, would become operative on January 1, 2014.

Under existing law, a provision of a memorandum of understanding reached between the state employer and a recognized employee organization representing state civil service employees that requires the expenditure of funds does not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. This bill would approve provisions of a memorandum of understanding entered into between the state employer and State Bargaining Unit 18, the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians, that require the expenditure of funds, and would provide that these provisions will become effective even if these provisions are approved by the Legislature in legislation other than the annual Budget Act. The bill would provide that provisions of the memorandum of understanding approved by this bill that require the expenditure of funds will not take effect unless funds for those provisions are specifically appropriated by the Legislature, and would authorize the state employer and the affected employee organization to reopen negotiations on all or part of the memorandum of understanding if funds for those provisions are not specifically appropriated by the Legislature. The bill also would appropriate $1,005,000 for expenditure in the 2013–14 fiscal year for state employee compensation, as prescribed. If a Budget Act is not enacted by July 1 of each year covered by the memorandum of understanding, the bill would continuously appropriate to the Controller unspecified amounts as necessary for the payment of compensation and employee benefits until the Budget Act is enacted for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 fiscal years and would require these expenditures to be subsumed by the eventual expenditure authority approved for each fiscal year. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. Existing law exempts certain activities from CEQA, including a project for the institution or increase of passenger or commuter services on rail or highway rights-of-way already in use, including modernization of existing stations and parking facilities. This bill would provide that a project by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission and the High-Speed Rail Authority to improve the existing tracks, structure, bridges, signaling systems, and associated appurtenances located on the existing railroad right-of-way used by the Altamont Commuter Express service qualifies for this exemption from CEQA.

Existing law regulates the placement of unattended collection boxes and requires specified information, including the name, address, and telephone number of the collection box owner and operator, to be displayed on the front of each collection box. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to declare a collection box that is in violation of these provisions a public nuisance and to abate the nuisance. This bill would authorize a city or county that has adopted a local ordinance regulating or permitting the placement of unattended collection boxes, as specified, to impose a charge on the owner or operator of a collection box that is in violation of the ordinance for the reasonable costs of its removal and storage if the county or city removes the collection box under the local ordinance. The bill would require the city or county to send a written notice of removal and charge to the address displayed on the collection box 5 days prior to removal. The bill would authorize the city or county to sell or dispose of the collection box and its contents if the collection box owner or operator does not pay the charge.

Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants, including standards for off-road and nonvehicle engine categories. This bill would require the state board to amend a specified regulation that, among other things, exempts low-use vehicles, as defined, from prescribed mobile source emissions reductions, to include a vehicle operated fewer than 2,000 miles in California in any compliance year as a low-use vehicle.

Existing law authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to temporarily remove any inmate from prison or any other institution for the detention of adults under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, including, but not limited to, removal for the purpose of attending college classes. Existing law provides that, unless the inmate is removed for medical treatment, the removal shall not be for a period longer than 3 days. Existing law also authorizes the secretary to require the inmate to reimburse the state, in whole or in part, for expenses incurred by the state in connection with the temporary removal, other than for medical treatment. This bill would additionally authorize the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to temporarily remove any inmate from prison or any other institution for the detention of adults under the jurisdiction of the department for the purpose of permitting the inmate to participate in or assist with the gathering of evidence relating to crimes, and would authorize the secretary to require, except when the removal is for medical treatment or to assist with the gathering of evidence relating to crimes, the inmate to reimburse the state for its reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the temporary removal.

The Medi-Cal Act establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced by 1% or 5%, and provider payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 1%, for dates of service on and after March 1, 2009, and until June 1, 2011. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments and payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 10% for dates of service on and after June 1, 2011. This bill would instead require that, to the extent permitted by federal law, this payment reduction not apply to skilled nursing facilities or subacute care units that are a distinct part of a general acute care hospital, intermediate care or other specified facilities serving developmentally disabled individuals, or specified Medi-Cal provider payments for fee-for-service benefits, including payments to pharmacies, for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011. The bill would also provide that this payment reduction shall not apply to managed health care plans for dates of service after the effective date of the bill. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) The Economic Revitalization Act establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as "GO-Biz," to, among other duties, serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Existing law establishes the California Economic Development Fund holding funds that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, GO-Biz may use for economic development purposes, as specified. This bill would create the California Innovation Hub Program (iHub Program) within GO-Biz to create regional offices that would provide specialized counseling, training, and networking services to assist entrepreneurs establish and grow businesses for local and in-state job retention, creation, and future expansion. This bill would authorize GO-Biz, in collaboration with the Department of General Services, to identify unoccupied and underutilized real property owned or leased by the state, and use that real property to support the iHub Program, as specified. This bill would modify the California Economic Development Fund to be a continuously appropriated fund for the economic development purposes of GO-Biz, and in doing so, would make an appropriation. (2) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit for certain research and development expenses, as provided. This bill would, for taxable years commencing on and after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2019, increase the credit for research and development expenses, as provided. (3) This bill would provide that the provisions of this bill are severable. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires that the Department of Water Resources annually prepare and submit to the Legislature a report that includes a description of the progress achieved by the department with regard to meeting the goals of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program and a related implementation schedule. The department also is required annually to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report with regard to the budget for the State Water Resources Development System. This bill would require the department to conduct a statewide inventory of local regional water supply projects and post specified results of the inventory on the department's Internet Web site by July 1, 2014.