Sen. Steve Knight

The Space Flight Liability and Immunity Act requires a space flight entity, as defined, to collect a signed warning statement from each participant in space flight activities. The warning statement is required to inform the participant that there is limited civil liability for bodily injury sustained as a result of the inherent risks associated with space flight activities. The act limits the liability of a space flight entity that complies with these provisions. This bill would include in the warning statement provisions a prohibition against construing those provisions to be contrary to the public policy of this state.

This measure would commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion by proclaiming June 6, 2014, as D-Day Remembrance Day and urging Governor Jerry Brown to instruct all state agencies to fly the flag of the United States and the flag of California at half-mast on that day, in recognition of the heroism and sacrifices of the participants in those landings.

This measure would honor and recognize the service and sacrifice made by members of the Armed Forces and their families on the occasion of Armed Forces Day on May 17, 2014.

Existing law requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a California Mexican American Veterans' Memorial Beautification Committee for the purpose of beautification and enhancement of a specified existing memorial on state grounds. Under existing law funds for the beautification and enhancement of the memorial are required to be provided through private contributions and through existing funds collected under the auspices of the former California Mexican American Veterans' Memorial Beautification Commission. Under existing law these funds are required to be deposited in the California Mexican American Veterans' Memorial Beautification and Enhancement Account, a continuously appropriated account within the General Fund. Existing law requires any funds remaining in the account as of July 1, 2014, to revert to the General Fund. This bill would extend the date for the reversion of funds in this account until July 1, 2016. By extending the operation of a continuously appropriated account, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing law, with specified exceptions, makes it unlawful to permit or allow a dog to pursue any bear, as defined, at any time. Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to capture a dog not under the reasonable control of its owner or handler that is pursuing any bear in violation of this prohibition or to capture or dispatch a dog inflicting injury or immediately threatening to inflict injury on any bear at any time. This bill would eliminate the authority for the department to capture a dog not under the reasonable control of its owner or handler when the dog is pursuing any bear or to capture or dispatch a dog inflicting injury or immediately threatening injury on any bear. This bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to make a specified report to the Fish and Game Commission on the status of bear populations, management, and related issues every 3 years. The bill would require the first report to be submitted on or before December 15, 2015, and would require the department, not later than December 15 of each year the report is submitted, to notify, by certified mail, the board of supervisors of each county affected by bear interactions with the general public, of public safety impacts or concerns, bear depredation permit requests, and economic impacts due to bear damage to the extent of those incidences or impacts, and of its recommendations to the commission. This bill would generally prohibit a person from using dogs to hunt, pursue, or molest bears, except when recommended to the Department of Fish and Wildlife by a vote of the board of supervisors of any affected county following a public hearing, as specified. The bill would require the commission to authorize the use of dogs under those circumstances. This bill would permit the use of one dog per hunter for the hunting of bears during open deer season, and the use of more than one dog per hunter during the open bear season except during the period when archery deer seasons or regular deer seasons are open. By imposing new duties on local public officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law permits the Department of Fish and Wildlife to authorize qualified individuals, educational institutions, governmental agencies, or nongovernmental organizations to use dogs to pursue bears for the purpose of prescribed scientific research. Existing law allows the pursuit of bears by dogs that are guarding or protecting livestock or crops on property owned, leased, or rented by the owner of the dogs if the dogs are maintained with, and remain in reasonable proximity to, the livestock or crops being guarded or protect. This bill would eliminate these authorizations. (3) Existing law authorizes the Fish and Game Commission to establish a hound tag program, imposing certain requirements on the licensure and use of hounds, as defined, to pursue mammals. For these purposes, existing law defines a hound as a dog used to pursue mammals. This bill would repeal this authorization. This bill would define a hound as a dog used to pursue bears and require a hound stamp issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to lawfully pursue bears with hounds in a county where the use of hounds to pursue or take bears has been authorized by the commission. This bill would require the amount of the fee to be determined by the commission to fully recover, but not exceed, all reasonable administrative and implementation costs of the department and commission relating to the hound stamp and the use of dogs to pursue bears. This bill would require the revenues from the fee for a hound stamp to be deposited in the Bear Report Account, which this bill would create, in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and available upon appropriation by the Legislature, to permit separate accountability for the receipt and expenditure of these funds. (4) Under existing law, except as excluded, violations of the Fish and Game Code are misdemeanors. By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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.

The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to classify personal property for differential taxation or for exemption by means of a statute approved by a 23 vote of the membership of each house. Pursuant to this constitutional authorization, this bill would, for the January 1, 2014, lien date to, and including, the January 1, 2024, lien date, exempt qualified property, as defined, for use in space flight. By imposing new duties upon local tax officials with respect to the personal property tax exemption described above, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make a legislative finding and declaration as to the public purpose served by the bill. 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. Section 2229 of the Revenue and Taxation Code requires the Legislature 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 Section 2229 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, 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.

This measure would recognize the week of March 23, 2014, to March 29, 2014, inclusive, as National Agriculture Week, and would designate March 19, 2014, as California Agriculture Day.

Existing law imposes various taxes that are administered by the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization, and the Employment Development Department. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2015, the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization, and the Employment Development Department to collaborate and focus the agencies' current and future information technology efforts to conduct a feasibility study on the development of a single Internet Web site portal that virtually consolidates the agencies to enable online, self-service access to the agencies, as provided, and to submit the study to the Legislature. This bill would also require these agencies, upon a joint determination by the agencies that a need exists to improve cost-effective services to taxpayers and an appropriation by the Legislature, to consolidate forms, applications, and other documents to reduce or eliminate the number of multiple submissions of the same information by taxpayers.

The California Constitution establishes a right of privacy. Existing statutory law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, contains provisions regulating abortions, including a requirement that the procedure be performed by a physician and surgeon. The act prohibits the state from denying or interfering with a woman's right to choose or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or if the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman. This measure, which would be known as the Parental Notification, Child and Teen Safety, Stop Predators Act, would prohibit a physician and surgeon from performing an abortion on an unemancipated minor, as defined, unless the physician and surgeon or his or her agent has delivered written notice to the parent of the unemancipated minor, or until a waiver of that notice has been received from the parent or issued by a court pursuant to a prescribed process. The measure would require the physician and surgeon performing an abortion on an unemancipated minor to report specified information to State Department of Public Health and would require the department to compile an annual statistical report with that information. The measure would impose civil and criminal liability for violation of this measure, as specified.

The Enterprise Zone Act provides for the designation of various types of economic development areas throughout the state, including, but not limited to, enterprise zones, and authorizes qualifying enterprise zones to receive certain tax and regulatory incentives. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this provision.