Sen. Andreas Borgeas

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs, among other things, the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law specifies which code sections constitute the Administrative Procedure Act. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to those provisions.

Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulates the application, issuance, and suspension of alcoholic beverage licenses. Existing law establishes specified types of alcoholic beverage licenses and prescribes the rights and duties of the respective licensees. Existing law prohibits a person without the appropriate license from exercising a privilege or performing any act for which the license is required, and a violation of this prohibition is a misdemeanor or a felony, as specified. Existing law authorizes a licensed craft distiller to manufacture and produce distilled spirits, subject to specified conditions, including that the licensee manufacture no more than 150,000 gallons of distilled spirits per fiscal year and sell no more than 2.25 liters of prepackaged containers of the licensee's spirits per day per consumer. This bill would additionally authorize a licensed craft distiller to sell and ship distilled spirits directly to a California resident, who is at least 21 years of age, for the resident's personal use and not for resale, under specific conditions. This bill would also authorize a person currently licensed in another state as a craft distiller, or licensed in a similar manner, that obtains a distilled spirits direct shipper permit to sell and ship distilled spirits directly to a California resident, who is at least 21 years of age, for the resident's personal use and not for resale, under similar conditions. The bill would make a knowing violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. The bill would establish a new license type for a distilled spirits direct shipper permit (Type 89) and would set an application fee of $100 and an annual renewal fee of $25. By expanding the scope of an existing crime and creating a new crime, this 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.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law requires electrical corporations, by December 1, 2016, to collectively procure, through financial commitments of 5 years, their proportionate share of 125 megawatts of cumulative rated generating capacity from bioenergy projects commencing operation prior to June 1, 2013. Existing law additionally requires a local publicly owned electric utility serving more than 100,000 customers to procure their proportionate shares of 125 megawatts of cumulative rated generating capacity from those kinds of bioenergy projects subject to terms of at least 5 years. This bill would make a nonsubstantive revision to a definition applicable to the above-described requirements for the procurement of generating capacity from bioenergy projects.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in conformity with federal income tax law, generally define "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provide various exclusions from gross income. Existing law, in conformity with the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) , and its subsequent amendments in the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act and the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, among other things, excludes any amounts of covered loans forgiven under the CARES Act from gross income for purposes of the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law. Existing law reduces the amount of any credit or deduction otherwise allowed under the Personal Income Tax and the Corporation Tax Law for any amount paid or incurred by the taxpayer upon which this exclusion is based by the amount of the exclusion allowed. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. Existing federal law, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, prohibits reductions in tax deductions, denials of basis adjustments, and reductions in tax attributes for federal income tax purposes based on the exclusion from gross income provided in the federal CARES Act and its subsequent amendments. This bill would exclude, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, from gross income any advance grant amount, as defined, issued pursuant to specified provisions of the CARES Act or the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and covered loan amounts forgiven pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. This bill would adopt specified provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, prohibiting any reduction in tax deductions, denials of basis adjustments, and reductions in tax attributes based on the exclusion from gross income provided for any loan amount forgiven in modified conformity with the federal CARES Act and its subsequent amendments. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, would additionally exclude from gross income grant allocations to small businesses that provide economic relief caused by COVID-19, such as the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grants Program. This bill would provide findings to comply with the additional information requirement for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would also make findings and declarations related to a gift of public funds. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency, and local governments to proclaim a local emergency, when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist, and authorizes the Governor or the local government to exercise certain powers in response to that emergency. Existing law grants immunity to the state and its political subdivisions for any claim based upon the exercise or performance, or the failure to exercise or perform, a discretionary function or duty on the part of a state or local agency or any employee of the state or its political subdivisions in carrying out the California Emergency Services Act. Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, headed by the State Public Health Officer, and sets forth its powers and duties, including the administration of provisions relating to the prevention and control of communicable disease. Existing law authorizes the department to adopt and enforce regulations requiring strict or modified isolation, or quarantine, for any of the contagious, infectious, or communicable diseases, if in the opinion of the department the action is necessary for the protection of the public health. On March 4, 2020, the Governor proclaimed a state of emergency in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Pursuant to specified provisions relating to the prevention and control, the State Public Health Officer ordered all individuals living in the state to stay home or at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors, as outlined in the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's guidance on the essential critical infrastructure workforce. Pursuant to authority under specified provisions of the California Emergency Services Act, the Governor issued Executive Order No. N-33-20 requiring all residents to immediately heed those state public health directives. This bill, the Religion is Essential Act, would, during a state of emergency or local emergency, require the Governor or the local government to deem religious services to be an essential service and to be necessary and vital to the health and welfare of the public. The bill would prohibit the state and local government from taking a discriminatory action against a religious organization, as those terms are defined, and would require the state and local government to permit a religious organization to continue operating and engaging in religious services during a state of emergency to the same or greater extent that other organizations or businesses that provide essential services that are necessary and vital to the health and welfare of the public are permitted to operate. The bill would prohibit the state and local government from enforcing any health, safety, or occupancy requirement that imposes a substantial burden on a religious service unless the state or local government demonstrates that applying the burden to the religious service is essential to further a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. This bill would authorize a religious organization to assert a violation of these provisions as a claim against the state or a local government in a judicial or administrative proceeding or as a defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding, as specified. The bill would entitle a religious organization that successfully asserts a claim or defense to certain relief, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations. By imposing additional duties on a local government in the exercise of emergency powers, this 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law establishes the Craft Distillers Act of 2015, which, among other things, authorizes the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to issue a craft distiller's license to manufacture distilled spirits. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the provision naming the act.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) program to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians. Existing law provides that the goal of the program is to, no later than December 31, 2022, approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households, as provided. This bill would continue the date to achieve the goal of the CASF program to no later than December 31, 2032. Existing law authorizes the commission to collect a sum not to exceed $330,000,000 to implement the CASF program through the imposition of a surcharge that is collected through the 2022 calendar year. This bill would extend the collection of the surcharge until the full sum of $330,000,000 is collected. Existing law establishes the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account in the CASF to provide grants for the deployment of infrastructure capable of delivering access to unserved households, as provided. Existing law requires the commission, in administering that account, to annually offer an existing facility-based broadband provider the opportunity to demonstrate that it will deploy broadband or upgrade existing facilities to a delineated unserved area within 180 days. Existing law prohibits the commission from approving funding for a project to deploy broadband to a delineated unserved area if the existing facility-based broadband provider demonstrates to the commission, in response to the commission's annual offer, that it will deploy broadband or upgrade existing broadband service throughout the project area. This bill would repeal that requirement and prohibition. The bill would expand eligibility for grants from that account to include additional households and would require projects awarded grants from that account to deploy infrastructure capable of providing broadband access at increased speeds, as specified. Under existing law, a local governmental agency is eligible for a grant from that account only if the project is for an unserved household or business, and no other eligible entity applied after the commission has conducted an open application process. This bill would repeal that provision. 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 certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's 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 bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law allows, after the death of a person who commenced an action or proceeding, the decedent's personal representative or, if none, the decedent's successor in interest to continue a pending action or proceeding that does not abate, as specified. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to that provision.

Existing law imposes limits on the size, weight, and load of vehicles that may be operated on the highway and authorizes the Department of Transportation and local authorities, with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions, to issue permits to operate the vehicles exceeding the specified size, weight, and load limits. This bill would, no later than July 1, 2022, require the department to develop a pilot program for the purpose of issuing a special permit to the operator of a vehicle, combination of vehicles, or mobile equipment permitting the hauling of raw milk in excess of 80,000 pounds if the vehicle, combination, or equipment meets specified criteria. The bill would require an application for the permit to contain specified information, including a description of the vehicles to be operated under the permit. The bill would state that a permit is valid for one year and may be canceled by the department for specified reasons including the failure of the applicant to maintain any of the conditions required for the application. The bill would state that the holder of a permit is not authorized to operate outside of designated corridors identified by the department. The bill would require the department to submit a report to the Legislature, as specified. The bill would require the department to conduct a study focused on specific issues, including air pollution emission reductions and fuel consumption, and provide results to the appropriate legislative policy committees. The bill would authorize the department to charge a fee, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.

Existing law requires the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to a person, other than that driver, or in the death of a person to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident and provide specified personal information to the injured person or the occupants of the other vehicle and to any traffic or police officer at the scene of the accident. Under existing law, if a vehicle accident results in permanent, serious injury or death, a person who violates the requirement to stop is subject to punishment by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years, or in a county jail for not less than 90 days nor more than one year, or by a specified fine, or both the imprisonment and fine. Existing law authorizes the court, in the interests of justice and for other reasons stated in the record, to reduce or eliminate the minimum imprisonment or fine requirements. This bill would instead make a person who fails to immediately stop, as required, at the scene of an accident that resulted in a permanent, serious injury subject to punishment by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years, or in a county jail for not less than 90 days nor more than one year, and a specified fine, and if the accident resulted in death, the violation of those requirements would be punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 4, or 6 years, or in a county jail for not less than 90 days nor more than one year, and a specified fine.