The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The act authorizes the state board to include use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law imposes limitations on any link, as defined, between the state and another state, province, or country for purposes of a market-based compliance mechanism by, among other things, prohibiting any state agency, including the state board, from taking any action to create such a link unless the state agency notifies the Governor, and the Governor issues specified written findings on the proposed link that consider the advice of the Attorney General. This bill would prohibit the Governor's written findings on the proposed link from being subject to judicial review. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would require the moneys in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to be used for specified purposes. The bill would require the Department of Finance, in consultation with the state board and any other relevant state entity, to develop, as specified, a 3-year investment plan that includes specified analysis and information and to submit the plan to the Legislature, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Finance to submit a report no later than March 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, to the appropriate committees of the Legislature containing specified information. This bill would make its provisions contingent on the enactment of other legislation, as specified.
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Existing law establishes the University of California, and provides for its administration by the Regents of the University of California. Existing law, known as the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, contains provisions relating to employer-employee relations between the State of California and the employees of state institutions of higher education, including the various campuses of the University of California and the California State University, as well as the Hastings College of the Law. These provisions assign major responsibilities for implementation to the Public Employment Relations Board. Under the act, an "employee" or "higher education employee" is defined as any employee of the Regents of the University of California, the Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, or the Trustees of the California State University. The act further provides that the board may find student employees whose employment is contingent on their status as students are employees only if the services they provide are unrelated to their educational objectives, or that those educational objectives are subordinate to the services they perform and that coverage under this chapter would further the purposes of the act. This bill would provide that student employees whose employment is contingent upon their status as students are employees or higher education employees for purposes of the act. In so doing, the bill would also delete the condition that students are employees or higher education employees only if the services they provide are unrelated to their educational objectives, or that those educational objectives are subordinate to the services they perform and that coverage under this chapter would further the purposes of the act.
Existing federal law authorizes any authorized immigration officer to issue an immigration detainer that serves to advise another law enforcement agency that the federal department seeks custody of an alien presently in the custody of that agency, for the purpose of arresting and removing the alien. Existing federal law provides that the detainer is a request that the agency advise the department, prior to release of the alien, in order for the department to arrange to assume custody, in situations when gaining immediate physical custody is either impracticable or impossible. This bill would prohibit a law enforcement official, as defined, from detaining an individual on the basis of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold after that individual becomes eligible for release from criminal custody, unless, at the time that the individual becomes eligible for release from criminal custody, certain conditions are met.
(1) Existing law requires that a female inmate have the right to summon and receive the services of a physician and surgeon of her choice in order to determine whether she is pregnant and, if determined to be pregnant, is entitled to receive needed medical services, as specified. Existing law requires the posting of these rights in a conspicuous place to which all female inmates have access. Additionally, existing law requires pregnant inmates who are transported to a hospital outside the prison for the purpose of childbirth to be transported in the least restrictive way possible and, upon arrival at the hospital, prohibits shackling by the wrists, ankles, or both, unless deemed necessary for safety, when the inmate is in active labor as determined by the attending physician. This bill would prohibit a pregnant inmate, as defined, in labor, in recovery, or after delivery, from being restrained by the use of leg irons, waist chains, or handcuffs behind the body. The bill would prohibit, in these circumstances, restraint by the wrists, ankles, or both, unless deemed necessary for the safety and security of the inmate, the staff, or the public. The bill would require the standards established by the Board of State and Community Corrections to require that pregnant inmates to be advised, orally or in writing, of standards and policies governing pregnant inmates. (2) Existing law requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to establish minimum standards for local correctional facilities, which include standards governing pregnant inmates. This bill would require the board, at the next biennial meeting after the enactment of this measure, to adopt standards regarding the restraint of pregnant women and to review local facilities' compliance. (3) Existing law requires that a female ward of the juvenile court or a female who has been committed to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities, who is pregnant, have the right to summon a physician and surgeon of her choice to determine if she is pregnant and to receive medically necessary care if she is found to be pregnant, as specified. Existing law prohibits a pregnant ward or pregnant juvenile inmate from being shackled by the wrists, ankles, or both, while in labor, requires pregnant inmates who are transported to a hospital outside the facility for the purpose of childbirth to be transported in the least restrictive way possible, and prohibits shackling by the wrists, ankles, or both, unless deemed necessary for safety, when the female is in active labor. This bill would prohibit a ward who is known to be pregnant or in recovery after delivery from being restrained by the use of leg irons, waist chains, or handcuffs behind the body, including while being transported to a hospital outside the facility. The bill would prohibit, in these circumstances, restraint by the wrists, ankles, or both, unless deemed necessary for the safety and security of the inmate, the staff, or the public.
Existing law prohibits the transfer of any tissues, as defined, into the body of another person by means of transplantation, unless the donor of the tissues has been screened and found nonreactive for evidence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) , agents of viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV) , syphilis, and human T lymphotrophic virus (HTLV) , except as provided. Existing law requires that all donors of sperm be screened and found nonreactive under the above provisions, except as provided. This bill would except sperm donated by a sexually intimate partner of the recipient, as defined, from second or repeat testing under these requirements if the recipient is informed of the testing requirements and signs a written waiver, as specified. This bill would exclude a physician and surgeon from liability for any cause of action based solely upon the use of sperm from a sexually intimate partner of the recipient when the physician and surgeon provides insemination or assisted reproductive technology services and has obtained the informed consent of the recipient, who waives 2nd or other repeat testing of the sexually intimate partner and acknowledges and accepts the risks of using sperm from a sexually intimate partner who has not undergone repeat testing, as described. The bill would exclude a physician and surgeon from disciplinary action because the physician and surgeon used sperm in these conditions in providing insemination or assisted reproductive technology services. The bill would exclude a physician and surgeon owned and operated tissue bank from disciplinary action for providing these insemination or assisted reproductive technology services. The bill would also provide that some of its provisions do not create a duty for a physician and surgeon to use sperm from a sexually intimate partner of the recipient in providing insemination or assisted reproductive technology services if the physician and surgeon determines that the insemination or services do not meet specified guidelines for providing insemination or assisted reproductive technology services. This bill would replace references to advanced reproductive technologies and advanced reproductive technology services with assisted reproductive technologies and assisted reproductive technology services.
Existing law requires that any building with a dwelling unit maintain certain characteristics in order to be tenantable, including the maintenance of adequate heating and hot water systems that conform to the standard of quality set by applicable law. This bill would require that these provisions would not be interpreted to prohibit a tenant or owner from qualifying for energy savings assistance programs for repair or replacement of heating or hot water systems.
Existing law provides for the regulation of insurers by the Department of Insurance, including insurers issuing policies of long-term care insurance. Existing law regulates the marketing or solicitation of long-term care insurance policies and, in that regard, requires specified disclosures to prospective applicants or enrollees. Existing law requires the Insurance Commissioner to annually prepare a consumer rate guide for long-term care insurance and to include specified information. This bill would require an insurer of long-term care insurance to clearly post on its Internet Web site and provide written notice at the time of solicitation that a specimen individual policy form or group master policy and certificate form for each policy form offered by the insurer is available upon request and to provide that form within 15 calendar days upon request. This bill would require the annual consumer rate guide to include a specimen outline of coverage for each product currently marketed by each insurer listed in the rate guide. Existing law requires the premium rate schedules for all individual and group long-term care insurance policies issued in this state to be filed with, and receive the prior approval of, the Insurance Commissioner before the policy may be offered, sold, issued, or delivered to a resident of this state. Existing law requires an insurer of long-term care insurance to submit to the Insurance Commissioner for approval all proposed premium rate schedule increases and to include specified information with the rate application, including, but not limited to, certification by an actuary as to specified matters. Approval of all premium rate schedule increases is subject to specified criteria. This bill would provide that if the premiums in any rate revision filing calculated pursuant to those criteria produce a lifetime expected loss ratio that is less than the highest lifetime expected loss ratio for the policy form in the initial filing or for requested premium rates in any filing made after January 1, 2013, the insurer would be required to reduce the premiums in that filing such that the current lifetime expected loss ratio is equal to or greater than the highest filed loss ratio, as specified. The bill would set forth criteria for calculating the margin in the determination of a lifetime expected loss ratio. Existing law prohibits an approval for an increase in the premium schedule from being granted unless the actuary performing the review for the Insurance Commissioner certifies that if the requested premium rate schedule increase is implemented and the underlying assumptions, which reflect moderately adverse conditions, are realized, no further premium rate schedule increases are anticipated. This bill would eliminate those provisions and, instead, authorize an insurer to request a premium rate schedule increase that is lower than the rate increase necessary to provide the required certification or a series of premium rate schedule increases with a present value of not more than the rate increase necessary to provide that certification. The bill would authorize the Insurance Commissioner to approve this request if, in his or her opinion, accepting the lower premium rate schedule increase or increases is in the best interest of California policyholders, and other conditions are satisfied, as specified. For long-term care insurance policies, the bill would also prohibit an insurer from justifying a rate increase prior to approval by the Insurance Commissioner based upon asset investment yield rate changes, except as specified, and would require all of the experience on all similar long-term care policy forms issued by an insurer and its affiliates and retained within the affiliated group to be pooled together and used as the basis for determining whether an increase is reasonable or shall be approved under specified provisions. The bill would require similar long-term care policy forms to be classified into benefit classifications of nursing facility and residential care facility only, home care only, or comprehensive long-term care benefits.
(1) Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to specify the maximum amount of vinyl chloride that may be found in landfill gas. Existing law prohibits a gas producer from knowingly selling, supplying, or transporting to a gas corporation, and a gas corporation from knowingly purchasing, landfill gas containing vinyl chloride in a concentration exceeding the maximum amount determined by the PUC. Existing law requires a person who produces, sells, supplies, or releases landfill gas for sale offsite to a gas corporation to sample and test, bimonthly, the gas at the point of distribution for chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. Existing law requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to evaluate the environmental and health risks posed by various hazardous substances. This bill would require OEHHA, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and the California Environmental Protection Agency, to compile a list of constituents of concern that could pose risks to human health and that are found in biogas, as defined, at concentrations that significantly exceed the concentrations of those constituents in natural gas. The bill would require OEHHA to determine the health protective levels for that list, as specified, and would require the state board to identify realistic exposure scenarios and the health risks associated with those scenarios, as specified. The bill would require the state board to determine the appropriate concentrations of those constituents, as specified. The bill would also provide that actions taken pursuant to the above-described requirements do not constitute regulations and are exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would further require the PUC to adopt, by rule or order, (1) standards for biomethane that specify the concentrations of constituents of concern that are reasonably necessary to protect public health and ensure pipeline integrity and safety, as specified, and (2) requirements for monitoring, testing, reporting, and recordkeeping, as specified. The bill would require a gas corporation, as defined, to comply with those standards and requirements. The bill would require the PUC to require gas corporation tariffs to condition access to common carrier pipelines on the applicable customer meeting those standards and requirements. The bill would also prohibit a person and a gas corporation from knowingly engaging in specified transactions involving common carrier pipelines and biogas collected from a hazardous waste landfill, as defined. (2) The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and requires it to prepare an integrated energy policy report on or before November 1, 2003, and every 2 years thereafter. The act requires the report to contain an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state, including, but not limited to, supply, demand, pricing, reliability, efficiency, and impacts on public health and safety, the economy, resources, and the environment. This bill would require the Energy Commission to hold public hearings to identify impediments that limit procurement of biomethane in California, including, but not limited to, impediments to interconnection. The bill would require the Energy Commission to offer solutions to those impediments as part of the above-mentioned report. (3) This bill would require the PUC to adopt policies and programs that promote the in-state production and distribution of biomethane. (4) Existing law allows the PUC to set heating and purity requirements for biomethane injected into a gas pipeline. Existing law allows gas corporations to impose tariffs on biomethane injected into their pipelines. This bill would require the PUC to adopt pipeline access rules that ensure that each gas corporation provides nondiscriminatory open access to its gas pipeline system to any party for the purposes of physically interconnecting with the gas pipeline system and effectuating the delivery of gas. (5) This bill would become operative only if this bill and AB 2196 of the 2011–12 Regular Session are both enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2013. (6) 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 this bill would require action by the PUC to implement certain of its requirements, a violation of which would be a crime, these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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.
(1) Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of the state highway system. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations regarding the meaning of urban heat island effect (UHIE) . The bill would require the California Environmental Protection Agency to develop a definition for the term UHIE and, upon completion of an UHIE index, develop a standard specification for sustainable or cool pavements. (2) The California Building Standards Law requires any building standard adopted or proposed by a state agency to be submitted to, and approved or adopted by, the California Building Standards Commission prior to codification. This bill would require the commission, in the next triennial adoption process of the California Green Building Standards Code to consider incorporating a standard specification for sustainable or cool pavements that this bill would require the Department of Transportation to develop in the Cool Pavements Handbook as additional strategies for Heat Island Effect: Hardscape Alternatives in the California Green Building Standards Code.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. The existing California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (RPS program) requires a retail seller of electricity, as defined, and local publicly owned electric utilities to purchase specified minimum quantities of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, for specified compliance periods. The specified minimum quantities of electricity products are based upon a percentage of the utility's total retail sales of electricity in California. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to (1) certify eligible renewable energy resources, (2) design and implement an accounting system to verify compliance with the renewables portfolio standard by retail sellers, (3) establish a system for tracking and verifying renewable energy credits (RECs) that verifies the generation and delivery of electricity associated with RECs, and (4) certify the eligibility of RECs associated with deliveries of electricity to a local publicly owned electric utility. Under existing law the Energy Commission administers the Renewable Energy Resources Program (RER program) with the near-term objective of increasing the quantity of electricity generated by renewable electrical generation facilities, as defined, while protecting system reliability, fostering resource diversity, and obtaining the greatest environmental benefits for California residents, and with the long-term goal of obtaining a fully competitive and self-sustaining supply of electricity generated from renewable resources. Under existing law, the RPS program's definition of an eligible renewable energy resource incorporates, by reference, the RER program's definition of a renewable electrical generation facility. This bill would amend the RER program's definition of a renewable electrical generation facility to provide that if the RPS program eligibility of a facility is based on the use of landfill gas, digester gas, or another renewable fuel delivered to the facility through a common carrier pipeline, the transaction for the procurement of that fuel, including the source of the fuel and delivery method, shall meet certain conditions, as specified. This bill would impose certain requirements with respect to the eligibility of biomethane under the RPS program. The bill would specify that certain biomethane procurement contracts executed by a retail seller or local publicly owned electric utility prior to March 29, 2012, count in full toward the RPS program's procurement requirements under the rules applicable to eligible renewable energy resources contracts at the time the procurement contracts were executed, if specified conditions are met. The bill would, with respect to contracts executed prior to March 29, 2012, but subsequently extended or modified, as specified, and with respect to contracts executed after that date, impose certain requirements on the RPS eligibility of biomethane, as specified. With respect to biomethane that is used by an onsite generating facility, and biomethane that is used offsite and delivered to the generating facility through a dedicated pipeline, the bill would specify that the use of that biomethane counts towards the RPS program's procurement requirements if that use satisfies all applicable requirements established by the Energy Commission. With respect to biomethane that is delivered to a generating facility through a common carrier pipeline, the bill would, among other things, require: (1) the biomethane to be injected into a common carrier pipeline that physically flows within California or toward the generating facility for which the biomethane was procured under the original contract; (2) that the source of biomethane did not inject biomethane into a common carrier pipeline prior to March 29, 2012, or the source commenced injection of sufficient incremental quantities of biomethane after March 29, 2012, to satisfy the contract requirements; and (3) that the seller or purchaser of the biomethane demonstrates that the capture and injection of biomethane into a common carrier pipeline directly results in at least one of 3 specified environmental benefits to California. The bill would also prohibit specified parties to a biomethane procurement contract from making representations asserting that the procurement contract results in greenhouse gas reductions, as specified, unless the environmental attributes associated with the biomethane are transferred to the purchaser, as specified. This bill would become operative only if this bill and AB 1900 of the 2011–12 Regular Session are both enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2013.