Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , to authorize electrical corporations to collect moneys for the self-generation incentive program (SGIP) at 2008 calendar year levels through December 31, 2014. Existing law requires the PUC to require electrical corporations to administer the SGIP, until January 1, 2016. Existing law limits eligibility for SGIP incentives to distributed energy resources that the PUC, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, determines will achieve reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. This bill would state legislative findings and declarations regarding the use of waste products from forest thinning and fire prevention activities to generate electricity at biomass facilities. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to establish an incentive program to compensate producers and collectors of biomass material associated with forest fuel reduction and fire prevention activities that are delivered to eligible biomass facilities, as defined, for use as a fuel source.
Sponsored bills
Existing law provides for protection, care, and assistance for people of the state, and the promotion of the welfare and happiness of all people in the state by providing appropriate aid and services to the needy and distressed. Programs established for this purpose include CalWORKs, which provides cash assistance and other social services to needy families, using federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds, and CalFresh, whereby nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Counties administer the CalWORKs and CalFresh programs. This bill, the Social Services Modernization Act of 2012, would require a final operational state plan submitted by any department administered by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services state agency to a federal agency in the context of providing public social services to be electronically available on the relevant department's Internet Web site, as specified. This bill would, pending approval of any necessary federal waivers, require the State Department of Social Services to promulgate regulations to authorize applicants for and recipients of aid to electronically access notices and communications pertaining to eligibility and benefit issuance, as specified. The bill would authorize applicants and recipients to opt out of receiving electronic notice, and would provide for the confidentiality of an applicant's or recipient's electronic information, as specified. This bill would prohibit a county from requiring an applicant or recipient for public benefits to verify information provided to the county, except when the verification is required by federal law, or is necessary to determine eligibility for aid or to compute the amount of aid. If the verification is inconsistent with other verified information, this bill would require a county eligibility worker to provide to the applicant or recipient a notice of action specifying the type of verification required to verify eligibility, as specified. This bill would require county human services departments to maximize use of electronic means of verifying applicant and recipient information, and would require the state to work with counties to develop a protocol enabling statewide use by applicants and recipients of public social services programs of a specified electronic database developed to verify eligibility information for the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This bill would provide that the identity of, or certain information relating to, an applicant or recipient shall be considered to be verified under prescribed circumstances. This bill would revise procedures relating to public social services application and recertification interviews to require these interviews to be conducted in person, by telephone, or by other electronic means, to promote administrative efficiency and reduce costs to applicants and recipients. Existing law, with certain exceptions, requires every individual, as a condition of eligibility for aid under the CalWORKs program, to participate in welfare-to-work activities. This bill would deem an adult CalWORKs recipient to be in compliance with existing welfare-to-work requirements if he or she meets the minimum federal welfare-to-work requirements. The bill would provide that a person satisfying these requirements would be eligible for specified support services, and would not be subject to sanction for failure or refusal to comply with program requirements, as specified. Existing law prohibits an applicant from being granted public assistance, as specified, until he or she is personally interviewed by the county welfare department or state hospital staff. This bill would no longer require these interviews to be conducted personally, and would require the county to conduct the interview on the same day of the initial application, to the extent it is cost effective and administratively possible for the department. This bill would apply these provisions to applicants for CalFresh benefits. Existing law requires a county welfare department, to the extent provided by federal law, to provide CalFresh benefits on an expedited basis to certain households. This bill would require the department, to the extent allowed by federal law and any federal waivers secured by the department, to postpone expedited service interviews that have been attempted and require that the interviews be conducted at the same time as the interview for issuance of regular CalFresh benefits, as specified, and to issue expedited service to any applicant who meets expedited service eligibility requirements and whose identity has been verified, as specified. Existing law requires county welfare departments to provide transitional CalFresh benefits to households terminating their participation in the CalWORKs program, to the maximum extent allowable by federal law. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to implement the above requirement so as to maximize continued enrollment of eligible recipients, pursuant to a specified federal regulation. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement the bill by means of all-county letters or similar instructions, by January 1, 2013. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would declare that no appropriation would be made for purposes of implementing the bill. Because this bill would increase duties of counties administering public social services programs, 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, 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 these statutory provisions.
This measure would declare the Legislature's endorsement of S. 97 and H.R. 3034, and would urge the United States Congress to enact the San Francisco Bay Restoration Act at the earliest possible time.
(1) Existing law, the Sex Offender Registration Act, requires persons convicted of specified sex offenses to register with local authorities for life while residing, located, attending school, or working in California. Willful failure to register, as required, is a misdemeanor, or a felony, depending on the underlying offense. Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of various community care and child care facilities by the State Department of Social Services. This bill would prohibit a person required to register under the act from residing, except as specified, working, or volunteering in, among other places, foster homes or facilities licensed by the State Department of Social Services or a county child welfare services agency. Violation of this prohibition would be a misdemeanor. The bill would also authorize a juvenile court to waive this prohibition if the residence involved is that of a noncustodial parent, relative, or nonrelative extended family member who receives the placement of a child who is or may be declared a dependent of the court and the court finds that placing the child in that residence is in the child's best interest. This bill would require specified officials who register a person under the act to make a specified determination regarding the registration, notify the person when his or her registered residence or place of employment would be prohibited by the bill, and take appropriate law enforcement action, or make a specified notification, including notifying the county child welfare agency and the Department of Social Services, as specified, if the person registers at a prohibited residence or place of employment. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to, by January 1, 2014, provide specified public officers and persons or entities that register a person who is required to register with the addresses or other equivalent data of, among other things, foster homes or facilities that serve children under 18 years of age and that are licensed by the department or a county child welfare agency. This bill would also require specified investigators of the State Department of Social Services to compare the residence and employment addresses of persons required to register under the act against the addresses of certain facilities, including, among others, foster homes or facilities licensed by the department or a county child welfare agency. The bill would require investigators to immediately, or as soon as practicably possible, make a report, as specified, to the appropriate county child welfare agency and the State Department of Social Services if those addresses match. (2) Existing law, the California Child Day Care Act, requires the Director of Social Services to annually publish and make available certain lists covering all licensed child day care facilities, other than small family day care homes, as defined, and the services for which each facility has been licensed. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to prevent the use of lists containing names, addresses, and other identifying information of small family day care homes, except for specified purposes, including, among others, providing the names and addresses of these small family day care homes to certain state agencies, programs, organizations, or plans. This bill would include a local law enforcement agency among the agencies that may receive lists containing the names, addresses, and other identifying information of small family day care homes, as specified. This bill would create a new crime and impose additional duties upon local officials, thereby creating 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 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.
Existing law requires the administrator for oil spill response to charge a nontank vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each application to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in an amount based on the administrator's costs related to regulating nontank vessels. Existing law authorizes the use of revenue derived from the fee for specified purposes relating to oil spill prevention. This bill would, until January 1, 2018, limit the fee to an amount not to exceed $3,500 per nontank vessel, but would allow the administrator to annually adjust the maximum fee based on the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index. The bill would authorize the administrator, on and after January 1, 2018, to charge the fee in amount based on the administrator's costs related to regulating nontank vessels. The bill would allow the revenue derived from the fees to be spent for those specified purposes related to oil spill prevention.
This measure would declare the month of October 2012 as Dwarfism Awareness Month.
This measure would recognize August 8, 2012, as "Are You Dense?" Day 2012, to raise awareness of the risks associated with breast density and the potential benefits of other screening tools to supplement mammography.
Existing law establishes several developmental centers within the jurisdiction of the State Department of Developmental Services. This bill would permit the real property within the grounds of a developmental center, as specified, that is determined to no longer meet the needs of the state for directly serving persons with developmental disabilities to be made available for lease and be leased, to generate revenue for deposit into the Californians with Developmental Disabilities Fund, which the bill would create. The bill would require moneys in this fund to be made available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for purposes of serving persons with developmental disabilities.
This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to pursue a comprehensive approach to stem the trafficking of illicit United States firearms and ammunition into Mexico, that includes, among other things, enhanced collaboration among local, state, and federal agencies, the allocation of a permanent source of federal funding to sustain local and state law enforcement operations to combat firearms and ammunition trafficking and other border-related crimes, the redirection of federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) , United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and United States Customs and Border Protection resources towards this effort, reenactment of a strong federal assault weapons ban, and stronger federal authority to crack down on corrupt gun dealers.
This measure would declare that the Legislature recognizes the importance of engaging with young people to influence decisions that affect their quality of life and well-being, and that the Student and Youth Bill of Rights serves as a framework to guide and inform the youth of the state in organizing and advocating policy issues on their own behalf.