Sen. Nancy Skinner

Existing law authorizes a court, with the consent of the defendant and a waiver of the defendant's speedy trial right, to postpone prosecution of a misdemeanor and place the defendant in a pretrial diversion program if the defendant is suffering from sexual trauma, a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of his or her military service. Existing law authorizes the defendant to be referred to services for treatment and requires the responsible agencies to report to the court and the prosecution not less than every 6 months. This bill would authorize a court, with the consent of the defendant and a waiver of the defendant's speedy trial right, to postpone prosecution of a misdemeanor or a felony punishable in a county jail, and place the defendant in a pretrial diversion program for up to 2 years if the court is satisfied the defendant suffers from a mental disorder, that the defendant's mental disorder played a significant role in the commission of the charged offense, and that the defendant would benefit from mental health treatment. For specified offenses, the bill would condition granting diversion on the consent of the prosecution. The bill would require the defense to arrange, to the satisfaction of the court, for a program of mental health treatment utilizing existing inpatient or outpatient mental health resources. The bill would require the divertee's mental health provider to provide reports on the defendant's progress to the court, the defense, and the prosecution not less than every 3 months. By increasing the duties of local prosecutors and public defenders, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require, upon successful completion of the diversion program, that the charges be dismissed and the records of the arrest sealed, and that the arrest be deemed never to have occurred, except as provided. The bill would state findings and declarations by the Legislature regarding the need for the diversion 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 requires persons convicted of specified sex offenses and certain acts of human trafficking for purposes of committing various sex offenses or extortion, as specified, or attempts to commit those offenses, to register with local law enforcement agencies while residing in the state or while attending school or working in the state. Willful failure to register, as required, is a misdemeanor, or a felony, depending on the underlying offense. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to make available to the public information concerning registered sex offenders on an Internet Web site, as specified. Existing law requires that information to include, among other things, whether the offender was subsequently incarcerated for another felony. Existing law also authorizes a person to file an application for exclusion from the Internet Web site and establishes the requirements for exclusion. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2021, instead establish 3 tiers of registration based on specified criteria, for periods of at least 10 years, at least 20 years, and life, respectively, for a conviction of specified sex offenses, and 5 years and 10 years for tiers one and two, respectively, for an adjudication as a ward of the juvenile court for specified sex offenses, as specified. The bill would allow the Department of Justice to place a person in a tier-to-be-determined category for a maximum period of 24 months if his or her appropriate tier designation cannot be immediately ascertained. The bill would establish procedures for termination from the sex offender registry for a registered sex offender who is a tier one or tier two offender and who completes his or her mandated minimum registration period under specified conditions. The bill would require the offender to file a petition at the expiration of his or her minimum registration period and would authorize the district attorney to request a hearing on the petition if the petitioner has not fulfilled the requirement of successful tier completion, as specified. The bill would establish procedures for a person required to register as a tier three offender based solely on his or her risk level to petition the court for termination from the registry after 20 years from release of custody, if certain criteria are met. The bill would also revise the criteria for exclusion from the Internet Web site. Existing law requires all basic information stored in state or local criminal offender record information systems to be recorded in the form of specified data elements, including the disposition of the offense. This bill would require that information to include sentence enhancement data elements. Existing law establishes the Sex Offender Management Board within the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Existing law requires the board to address issues, concerns, and problems related to the community management of adult sex offenders. This bill would instead require the board to address any issues, concerns, and problems related to the community management of all sex offenders.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the commission to make certain information regarding electric service and electrical corporations available on its Internet Web site. Existing law provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and requires the ISO to make certain filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and to seek authority from FERC as needed to give the ISO the ability to secure generating and transmission resources necessary to guarantee achievement of 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 PUC, by January 15, 2019, to direct each electrical corporation to make available electronically to the public certain information, including, among other things, pricing data for electricity, on the electrical corporation's Internet Web site. The bill would require electrical corporations to provide pricing data electronically to the PUC, as provided, within 3 months after a change in its rates. The bill would require the Independent System Operator to make available electronically to the public certain information regarding the operation of the transmission grid. The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to the extent that resources are available, to develop a system for assigning a global unique identifier for buildings within the state. The bill would require electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities to track the aggregated electricity usage data of all customers in the same building for those buildings within their service territories by the global unique identifier. Because this bill would impose additional duties on local publicly owned electric utilities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 certain of the above provisions amend the Public Utilities Act, and a violation of any of those would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law prohibits an electrical corporation or a gas corporation from sharing, disclosing, or otherwise making accessible to a third party a customer's electrical or gas consumption data with certain exceptions. One of these exceptions is when the customer consents. This bill would authorize the verification of customer consent through an electronic signature authorization process and would specify the types of data eligible for release. Existing law requires each utility, upon the request and written authorization or secure electronic authorization of the owner, owner's agent, or operator of a covered building, to deliver or otherwise provide aggregated energy usage data for a covered building to the owner, owner's agent, building operator, or to the owner's account in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Existing law defines a "covered building" to be a building with certain numbers and types of utility accounts. This bill would additionally require an electrical or gas utility to provide to the owner, owner's agent, or operator of property with 2 or more buildings located on a single or adjacent parcel with same owner of record with 5 or more active utility accounts, in aggregate, upon request, aggregate energy usage data for those buildings. Because this bill would impose additional duties on local publicly owned electric utilities, 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 specified reasons.

Existing law makes it a crime, subject to specified exemptions, for a person to intentionally eavesdrop upon or record a confidential communication by means of an electronic amplifying or recording device without the consent of all parties to the confidential communication. Existing law exempts from the prohibition the recording of a confidential communication made for the purpose of obtaining evidence reasonably believed to relate to the commission by another party to the communication of certain crimes, including any felony involving violence against the person making the recording. Existing law also allows a judge to include a provision in a domestic violence restraining order permitting a victim of domestic violence to record any prohibited communication made to him or her by the perpetrator. This bill would allow a party to a confidential communication to record the communication for the purpose of obtaining evidence reasonably believed to relate to domestic violence, as specified, and the evidence so obtained would not be rendered inadmissible in a prosecution against the perpetrator for domestic violence. The bill would also authorize a victim of domestic violence who is seeking a domestic violence restraining order from a court to record specified communications made by the perpetrator for the exclusive purpose and use of providing the evidence to the court.

Existing law establishes regulations for the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes, and requires an autonomous technology manufacturer to submit an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles before an autonomous vehicle is operated on a public road. This bill would direct the Office of Planning and Research to convene an Emerging Vehicle Advisory Study Group on or before April 1, 2018, to review policies regarding new types of motor vehicles, including, but not limited to, autonomous vehicles and shared-use vehicles, and provide recommendations to the Legislature. The bill would require the Emerging Vehicle Advisory Study Group to meet at least quarterly, consult with specified institutions, include at least one member each from 4 specified state agencies, who shall be appointed by the Governor, and include 3 members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and 3 members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, as specified. The bill would require the Emerging Vehicle Advisory Study Group to provide recommendations to the Legislature, as specified, on or before April 1, 2019.

Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing federal law requires the Secretary of Agriculture to approve retail food stores to accept CalFresh benefits through online transactions if the secretary implements this program after a required demonstration project. Existing law provides for the establishment of a statewide electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system, administered by the State Department of Social Services, for the purpose of providing financial and food assistance benefits. Existing law authorizes a county to deliver CalFresh benefits through the use of the EBT system. This bill would, to the maximum extent feasible and to the extent permitted by federal law and the rules of the program providing the benefits, or pursuant to a waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture, as specified, require the EBT system to limit the purchase of food through an online transaction only to retailers that are authorized to accept CalFresh benefits by the United States Department of Agriculture and that comply with various requirements, including, providing reasonable access to return or exchange food within 4 hours of receipt of the food. The bill would also require the EBT system to prohibit the use of CalFresh benefits to pay a fee for the delivery of food purchased using CalFresh benefits and, if a fee is charged for the delivery of food, require that the recipient be informed in advance of the fee being charged and agree to pay the delivery fee with funds other than CalFresh benefits.

(1) Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to make available on its Internet Web site data concerning the emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria air pollutants, and toxic air contaminants, as specified. This bill would require the state board to develop a uniform statewide system of annual reporting of emissions of criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants for use by certain categories of stationary sources. The bill would require those stationary sources to report their annual emissions of criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants, as specified. (2) Existing law generally designates air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes the state board or an air district to require the owner or the operator of an air pollution emission source to take any action that the state board or the air district determines to be reasonable for the determination of the amount of air pollution emissions from that source. This bill would require the state board, by October 1, 2018, to prepare a monitoring plan regarding technologies for monitoring criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants and the need for and benefits of additional community air monitoring systems, as defined. The bill would require the state board to select, based on the monitoring plan, the highest priority locations in the state for the deployment of community air monitoring systems. The bill would require an air district containing a selected location, by July 1, 2019, to deploy a system in the selected location. The bill would authorize the air district to require a stationary source that emits air pollutants in, or that materially affect, the selected location to deploy a fence-line monitoring system, as defined, or other specified real-time, on-site monitoring. The bill would authorize the state board, by January 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, to select additional locations for the deployment of the systems. The bill would require air districts that have deployed a system to provide to the state board air quality data produced by the system. By increasing the duties of air districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the state board to publish the data on its Internet Web site. This bill would require the state board, by October 1, 2018, to prepare and update, at least once every 5 years, a statewide strategy to reduce emissions of toxic air contaminants and criteria pollutants in communities affected by a high cumulative exposure burden. The bill would require the state board to select locations around the state for the preparation of community emissions reduction programs, and to provide grants to community-based organizations for technical assistance and to support community participation in the programs. The bill would require an air district containing a selected location, within one year of the state board's selection, to adopt a community emissions reduction program. By increasing the duties of air districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires air districts, prior to adopting rules to meet the requirement for best available retrofit control technology or for a specified feasible measure, to take specified actions, including, among others, identifying one or more potential control options that achieve the emissions reduction objectives for the rule. Existing law also authorizes a district to establish its own best available retrofit control technology requirement based upon the consideration of specified factors. This bill would require a district that is in nonattainment for one or more air pollutants to adopt an expedited schedule for the implementation of best available retrofit control technology, as specified. The bill would require the schedule to apply to each industrial source that, as of January 1, 2017, was subject to a specified market-based compliance mechanism and give highest priority to those permitted units that have not modified emissions-related permit conditions for the greatest period of time. This bill would require the state board to establish and maintain a statewide clearinghouse that identifies the best available control technology, best available retrofit control technology for criteria air pollutants, and related technologies for the control of toxic air contaminants. (4) Existing law establishes maximum criminal and civil penalties for any person, as defined, for violations of air pollution laws from nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally establishes the maximum criminal and civil penalties at $1,000, unless otherwise specified. This bill would increase the maximum for the generally applicable criminal and civil penalties under these provisions to $5,000. The bill would annually adjust maximum penalties for violations of these laws based on the California Consumer Price Index. (5) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

(1) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years. The act authorizes the state board to adopt a regulation that establishes a system of market-based declining annual aggregate emissions limits for sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse gases, applicable from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2020, inclusive, as specified. This bill would require the state board, no later than January 1, 2018, to update the scoping plan, as specified. The bill would require all greenhouse gas rules and regulations adopted by the state board to be consistent with the scoping plan. This bill would, until January 1, 2031, extend the applicability of a regulation that establishes a system of market-based declining annual aggregate emissions limits for sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse gases to December 31, 2030. This bill would, until January 1, 2031, require the state board to include specified price ceilings, price containment points, offset credit compliance limits, and industry assistance factors for allowance allocation as part of a regulation that establishes a system of market-based declining annual aggregate emissions limits for sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse gases from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2030, inclusive. The bill, until January 1, 2031, additionally would require the state board to develop approaches to increase offset projects in the state and to make specified reports to the Legislature as part of that regulation. This bill would, until January 1, 2031, establish the Compliance Offsets Protocol Task Force, with a specified membership, to provide guidance to the state board in approving new offset protocols for a market-based compliance mechanism for the purposes of increasing offset projects with direct environmental benefits in the state while prioritizing disadvantaged communities, Native American or tribal lands, and rural and agricultural regions. This bill would, until January 1, 2031, establish the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee with a specified membership and would require the advisory committee to at least annually hold a public meeting and report to both the state board and the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies on the environmental and economic performance of a specified market-based compliance mechanism and other relevant climate policies. This bill would, until January 1, 2031, require the California Workforce Development Board, in consultation with the state board, to submit a specified report to the Legislature, no later than January 1, 2019, on the need for increased education, career technical education, job training, and workforce development resources or capacity to help industry, workers, and communities transition to economic and labor-market changes related to specified statewide greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. This bill would, until January 1, 2031, require the Legislative Analyst's Office to annually report to the Legislature on the economic impacts and benefits of specified greenhouse gas emissions targets. (2) Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing law continuously appropriates 60% of the annual proceeds of the fund for transit, affordable housing, sustainable communities, and high-speed rail purposes. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that moneys collected pursuant to the market-based compliance mechanism be appropriated in accordance with a specified order of priorities. (3) Existing law provides that the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 does not limit or expand the existing authority of air pollution control and air quality management districts. This bill instead would, until January 1, 2031, prohibit an air district from adopting or implementing an emission reduction rule for carbon dioxide from stationary sources that are also subject to a specified market-based compliance mechanism. (4) Existing law provides that the state has the primary financial responsibility for preventing and suppressing fires in areas that the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has determined are state responsibility areas, as defined. Existing law requires that a fire prevention fee be charged on each habitable structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area, to be used for specified fire prevention activities. This bill, until January 1, 2031, would suspend the fire prevention fee. The bill would declare that it is the intent of the Legislature that moneys derived from the auction or sale of allowances pursuant to the market-based compliance mechanism described under (1) replace the fire prevention fee to continue the funding of the fire prevention activities. The bill would repeal those provisions requiring the payment of the fire prevention fee on January 1, 2031. (5) Existing law, commencing July 1, 2017, provides that the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration is responsible for the administration of the Sales and Use Tax Law, which was previously administered by the State Board of Equalization. Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, and provide various exemptions from those taxes. Existing law exempts from those taxes, on and after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2022, the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, qualified tangible personal property purchased by a qualified person for use primarily in manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of tangible personal property, as specified; qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily in research and development, as provided; qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily to maintain, repair, measure, or test any qualified tangible personal property, as provided; and qualified tangible personal property purchased by a contractor purchasing that property for use in the performance of a construction contract for the qualified person, that will use that property as an integral part of specified processes. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2030, additionally exempt from those taxes qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily in the generation or production, as defined, or storage and distribution, as defined, of electric power or purchased for use by a contractor for the qualified person, as specified. The bill, on and after January 1, 2018, and until July 1, 2030, would also exempt from those taxes special purpose buildings and foundations used for the generation or production or storage and distribution of electric power. The bill, on and after January 1, 2018, and until July 1, 2030, would expand the definition of qualified person to include, among others, a person primarily engaged in the business of electric power generation. Under existing law, no later than each March 1 next following a calendar year for which these provisions provide an exemption, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration is required to provide to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee a report of the total dollar amount of exemptions taken for the immediately preceding calendar year. This bill would require the department to also provide that exemption report to the Department of Finance. The bill would require the total dollar amount, as reported by the department, with the concurrence of the Department of Finance, to be transferred from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the General Fund, as provided. This bill would also make various nonsubstantive and conforming changes and would repeal this exemption on January 1, 2031. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.