Existing law, the Cobey-Porter Saline Water Conversion Law, states the policy of this state that desalination projects developed by or for public water entities be given the same opportunities for state assistance and funding as other water supply and reliability projects, and that desalination be consistent with all applicable environmental protection policies in the state. The law provides that is it the intention of the Legislature that the Department of Water Resources undertake to find economic and efficient methods of desalting saline water so that desalted water may be made available to help meet the growing water requirements of the state. This bill would establish a goal to desalinate 300,000 acre-feet of drinking water per year by the year 2025 and 500,000 acre-feet of drinking water per year by the year 2030.
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Existing law establishes the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, administered by the Student Aid Commission, under which any person enrolled in an eligible institution of postsecondary education, as defined, or any person who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, is eligible to enter into an agreement for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to a prescribed procedure upon becoming employed as a teacher in an eligible school, as defined, if he or she satisfies certain conditions. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to restore the funding for the Assumption Program of Loans for Education to its 2011–12 fiscal year level. The bill would require the commission to award 7,200 new warrants for the assumption of loans under the program in the 2017–18 fiscal year. The bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission for the funding of warrants for the assumption of loans under the program for the 2017–18 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 the completion of, an environmental impact report 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. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would exempt from the provisions of CEQA a project, or the issuance of a permit for a project, that consists of the inspection, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or removal of, or the addition of an auxiliary lane or bikeway to, existing transportation infrastructure and that meets certain requirements. The bill would require the public agency carrying out the project to take certain actions.
(1) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, before commencing the acquisition of real property for a new schoolsite in an area designated in a city, county, or city and county general plan for agricultural use and zoned for agricultural production, to make certain findings, including that the school district will attempt to minimize any public health and safety issues resulting from the neighboring agricultural uses that may affect the pupils and employees at the schoolsite. This bill would require a rural school district to make an additional finding that the school district has provided notice to the planning commission having jurisdiction and that the planning commission has approved the acquisition of the property for the schoolsite or for an addition to the present schoolsite in accordance with specified provisions. (2) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district before acquiring title to property for a new schoolsite or for an addition to a present schoolsite, to give the planning commission having jurisdiction notice in writing of the proposed acquisition. Existing law requires the planning commission to investigate the proposed site and within 30 days after receipt of the notice to submit to the governing board of the school district a written report of the investigation and its recommendations concerning acquisition of the site. Existing law prohibits the governing board of the school district from acquiring title to the property until the report of the planning commission has been received, and prohibits, if the report does not favor the acquisition of the property for a schoolsite, or for an addition to a present schoolsite, the governing board of the school district from acquiring title to the property until 30 days after the commission's report is received. This bill would prohibit, if the report does not favor the acquisition of the property for a schoolsite, or for an addition to a present schoolsite, and the property is designated in a city, county, or city and county general plan for agricultural use and zoned for agricultural production, the governing board of the school district from acquiring title to the property. In that case, the bill would require the governing board of the school district and the planning commission having jurisdiction to meet to review and consider specified issues to determine the need for and appropriate location of the schoolsite or addition to the present schoolsite, and would require the governing board of the school district to provide notice of the time and place of that meeting, as specified. The bill would provide that these provisions only apply to rural school districts. By imposing additional duties on school districts and planning commissions, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district, by a 23 vote of its members, to render a city or county zoning ordinance inapplicable to a proposed use of school district property, except if the proposed use is for nonclassroom facilities. This bill would prohibit the governing board of a rural school district from exercising this authority for property that is designated in a city, county, or city and county general plan for agricultural use and zoned for agricultural production if a specified report from the planning commission with jurisdiction does not favor the acquisition of the property for a schoolsite, or for an addition to a present schoolsite. This bill also would require the governing board of a school district to comply with the findings requirements discussed in paragraph (1) above, before using this authorization to render a city or county zoning ordinance inapplicable to a proposed use of school district property. (4) 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, until January 1, 2020, requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to annually compile a list of names of Vietnam veterans to be added to the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the State Capitol, as specified, and requires the department to form a specified committee to review and consider requests from the public to include names on the memorial, as specified. Existing law authorizes the names on the list to be added to the memorial if specified requirements are met, including the availability of adequate private funding. The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the official state Vietnam veterans war memorial. This bill would extend the provisions relating to the listing of names on the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the existence and operation of the committee to January 1, 2023. The bill would provide for the establishment of an "In Memory" plaque to be affixed to the memorial to honor those veterans who died as a result of subsequent illness or injury, including physical or mental injury, as specified, that can reasonably be presumed to have resulted from military service during the Vietnam War. The bill also would require the department to maintain a public, searchable "Honor Roll" database to honor those veterans, as specified. The provisions of the bill relating to the "In Memory" plaque and the "Honor Roll" database would become inoperative and be repealed on January 1, 2023. This bill would revise the eligibility criteria for the name of a deceased Vietnam veteran to be listed on the memorial or in the database, including, but not limited to, requiring the deceased veteran to have been born or raised in, or a resident of, California, as specified. The bill would require the committee to determine whether an individual's name is to be listed on the memorial or in the database, as specified. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the committee, to identify the names of any California veterans listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. or the Vietnam veterans "In Memory Honor Roll" maintained by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and to include those names on the state's Vietnam Veterans Memorial or in the "Honor Roll" database, as appropriate. The bill would prohibit the removal of any name from the memorial or database.
Existing property tax law establishes a veterans' organization exemption under which property is exempt from taxation if, among other things, that property is used exclusively for charitable purposes and is owned by a veterans' organization. This bill would provide that the veterans' organization exemption shall not be denied to a property on the basis that the property is used for fraternal, lodge, or social club purposes, and would make specific findings and declarations in that regard. The bill would also provide that the exemption shall not apply to any portion of a property that consists of a bar where alcoholic beverages are served. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The California Prompt Payment Act requires a state agency that acquires property or services pursuant to a contract with a business, including any approved change order or contract amendment, to make payment to the person or business on the date required by contract and within 45 days of receipt of an undisputed invoice or be subject to a late payment penalty, as provided. The act applies to all state agencies. This bill would require state agencies to pay an undisputed invoice from a certified disabled veteran business enterprise that is also a small business, as defined, within 30 days of initial receipt. The bill would require a state agency to submit a claim on an undisputed invoice to the Controller for payment within 15 calendar days of the agency's receipt. If an agency fails to submit a correct claim schedule within 15 days of receiving an invoice, and payment is not made within 30 days of receipt, the bill would require the agency to pay penalties from its funds, as specified. The bill would create similar penalties and procedures to be applied to the Controller if the Controller fails to make payment within 15 days of receipt of a correct claim schedule and payment is not made within 30 days of agency receipt of an undisputed invoice.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs and requires the department to develop a transition assistance program to assist veterans successfully transition from military to civilian life and complement the transition program offered by the United States Department of Defense. This bill would, until July 1, 2023, require the department to create a task force to study the health of California women veterans comprised of members with specified qualifications. The bill would prohibit task force members from receiving compensation or reimbursement of expenses for their service. The bill would require the task force to study the health care needs of women veterans in the state, as specified. The bill would also require the task force to submit 2 reports to the Governor and the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature that includes the task force's findings and recommendations. The bill would require the task force, when conducting its study and preparing its reports, to consult with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Managed Health Care, and representatives of county veterans service offices.
This measure would proclaim the period of October 23, 2017, to October 31, 2017, inclusive, as Red Ribbon Week and would encourage all Californians to help build drug-free communities and to participate in drug prevention activities.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law establishes, among other funds related to telecommunications, the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in the State Treasury. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the CASF to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies, as provided in specified decisions of the commission and in the CASF statute. Existing law requires the commission to give priority to projects that provide last-mile broadband access to households that are unserved by an existing facility-based broadband provider. Existing law establishes that the goal of the program is, no later than December 31, 2015, to approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households. Existing law authorizes the commission to collect a surcharge for deposit into the CASF not to exceed $315,000,000 in total and authorizes the surcharge until 2020. Existing law establishes 4 accounts, the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account, the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account, the Broadband Infrastructure and Revolving Loan Account, and the Broadband Public Housing Account, within the CASF and specifies the amount of moneys to be deposited into each account. This bill would revise the goal of the program to provide that its goal is to approve funding by December 31, 2022, for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households in each consortia region, as identified by the commission on or before January 1, 2017. The bill would eliminate the Broadband Infrastructure and Revolving Loan Account and would require the transfer of the remaining unencumbered moneys in that account as of January 1, 2018, and the deposit of moneys collected that would be owed to that account into the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account. The bill would establish within the CASF the Broadband Adoption Account and would require specified amounts of moneys to be deposited into this new account, the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account, and the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account. The bill repeals the current authorization to collect up to $315,000,000 for deposit in the CASF at a rate of up to $25,000,000 per year through the 2020 calendar year, and instead would authorize the commission to collect $330,000,000 for deposit into the CASF beginning January 1, 2018, and continuing through the 2022 calendar year. The bill would revise the eligibility requirements for projects and project applicants for grants funded from the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account. The bill would make moneys from the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account available to facilitate the deployment of broadband infrastructure by assisting infrastructure grant applicants in the project development or grant application process. The bill would require recipients of those moneys to conduct an annual audit and to submit to the commission an annual report regarding activities funded by those moneys. The bill would make available moneys in the Broadband Adoption Account to specified entities for digital literacy training, public education, and outreach programs to increase broadband adoption by consumers. Existing law requires the commission to conduct and report to the Legislature, by April 1, 2021, a final financial audit and a final performance audit of the CASF. This bill would require the commission to conduct and report to the Legislature, by April 1, 2020, an interim financial audit and an interim performance audit. The bill would delay the date for the submission of the final audits to April 1, 2023. Existing law requires the commission to annually report specified information relative to the CASF to the Legislature. Existing law repeals these reporting requirements on January 1, 2022. This bill would revise the information specified for inclusion in the report. The bill would repeal these reporting requirements on January 1, 2024. The bill would require the commission to identify unserved areas and delineate the areas in the annual reports. The bill would require the commission to consult regional consortia, stakeholders, and consumers regarding priority areas and cost-effective strategies to achieve the broadband access goal through public workshops conducted at least annually no later than April 30 of each year. 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 a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, this bill 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.