Sen. Roderick Wright

Existing law prescribes the procedures to obtain a writ of attachment and to determine the amount that may be attached. Existing federal law prohibits payments or benefits due to a disabled veteran, as specified, from being assigned or liable to attachment, levy, or seizure by or under any legal or equitable process. This bill would provide that benefits awarded to veterans for service-connected disabilities, as provided, shall be exempt from the claim of creditors, and shall not be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure, as provided, except as otherwise authorized under federal law, as specified. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to conform to existing federal law.

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction annually to compute a general-purpose entitlement for each charter school, as specified. Existing law prescribes calculations to modify that general-purpose entitlement with regard to specified pupils who attend a charter school that is established through the conversion of an existing public school within a unified school district on or after July 1, 2005. This bill would provide that those modified calculations do not apply to charter schools that convert to charter schools on or after January 1, 2010. The bill instead would provide for such charter schools to receive general-purpose funding, as specified. The bill would declare that these provisions do not preclude a charter school or unified school district from agreeing to an alternative funding formula.

Existing law provides that most felonies are punishable by a triad of terms of incarceration in the state prison, comprised of low, middle, and upper terms. Previous law that required the court to impose the middle term, unless there were circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime, was amended to provide that the choice of the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Existing provisions related to sentence enhancements involving criminal street gang activity, firearms, and sentencing generally specify that the court shall impose the middle term of a triad of sentence enhancements unless there are circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime. This bill would delete the requirement that the court impose the middle term, as specified, from those provisions and instead provide that the court, in its discretion, impose the enhancement that best serves the interests of justice. This bill would provide that these changes would be repealed on January 1, 2011. This bill would amend Proposition 21, an initiative statute adopted by the voters at the March 7, 2000, Statewide Primary Election that provides that its provisions may be amended by the Legislature by a 23 vote of the membership of each house, and therefore requires a 23 vote.

(1) Existing law establishes the Pierce's Disease Control Program in the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Pierce's Disease Management Account in the Food and Agriculture Fund. Existing law allows money in this account to be expended as specified to combat Pierce's disease and its vectors. Existing law declares that these provisions shall become inoperative on March 1, 2011. This bill would allow specified money in the account to also be expended for purposes relating to other designated pests and diseases, as provided. The bill would change the date on which the above provisions become inoperative to March 1, 2016. (2) Existing law creates in the Department of Food and Agriculture the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board, which consists of specified numbers of representatives of producers and processors, as defined, in the grape industry who are appointed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. Existing law sets forth the powers of the board and provides for an annual assessment to be paid by the processors into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund for the purposes of, among other things, research and other activities related to the transmittal of the plant killing Pierce's disease bacterium, and its vectors, particularly the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Existing law repeals these provisions on March 1, 2011. This bill would authorize the expenditure of the assessments for purposes relating to other designated pests and diseases, as provided, and would extend the repeal date of these provisions to March 1, 2016, except that this bill would make these provisions inoperative as of March 1, 2011, unless the secretary finds, in a referendum conducted by him or her, or a person designated by him or her, that a favorable vote has been given. The bill would require, no later than April 15, 2010, the secretary to establish a list of those individuals eligible to vote on the continued implementation of these provisions, as specified. The bill would also make a conforming change and other technical changes. (3) Existing law authorizes the Department of Food and Agriculture and the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board to charge expenditures for administrative purposes, as specified, in an amount not to exceed a total of 7% of the assessments collected pursuant to these provisions. This bill would increase the amount that may be charged for administrative purposes to an amount not to exceed a total of 14% of the assessments collected. Because assessments collected pursuant to these provisions are deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, which is continuously appropriated, by extending the collection of these assessments and authorizing expenditure for a new purpose, this bill would make an appropriation. (4) Existing law, operative until March 1, 2011, provides that the Secretary of Food and Agriculture shall appoint an advisory task force to advise him or her on the control and management of Pierce's disease. This bill would extend these provisions to March 1, 2016. This bill would authorize the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board, after consulting with the advisory task force and upon making specified findings, to recommend to the secretary, and would authorize the secretary to determine, that a pest or disease affecting grapes grown in California and crushed for wine, wine vinegar, juice, concentrate, or beverage brandy be designated as an other designated pest or disease, and that money should be expended on research and outreach programs for specified purposes relating to the other designated pest or disease, except as provided. The bill would also make conforming changes.

(1) Existing law until January 1, 2010, requires a person driving a vehicle on a freeway approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle that is displaying emergency lights or a stationary tow truck that is displaying flashing amber warning lights, to approach with due caution, and before passing in the lane immediately adjacent to the stationary vehicle, absent other direction by a peace officer, to move into an available lane that is not immediately adjacent to the stationary vehicle or if that lane change would be unsafe or impracticable, to slow to a reasonable and prudent speed. A violation of those requirements is an infraction. This bill would extend this provision indefinitely. The bill, except as specified, would also apply these requirements to a person driving a vehicle on a freeway that approaches a stationary marked Department of Transportation vehicle displaying flashing amber warning lights. By extending indefinitely, and expanding the scope of, an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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) 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 (EIR) 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. CEQA exempts certain specified projects from its requirements. Under existing law, every air pollution control district or air quality management district in a federal nonattainment area for any national ambient air quality standard is required to establish by regulation, a system by which all reductions in emissions of air contaminants that are to be used to offset certain future increases in the emission of air contaminants are banked prior to use. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (district) promulgated various rules establishing offset exemptions, providing Priority Reserve offset credits, and creating or tracking credits used for offset exemption or Priority Reserve projects. In Natural Resources Defense Council v. South Coast Air Quality Management District (Super. Ct. Los Angeles County, 2007, No. BS 110792) , the superior court found the promulgation of certain of these district rules to be in violation of CEQA. This bill would authorize the district to issue permits under specified circumstances, notwithstanding this court decision. The provisions of the bill would be repealed on May 1, 2012. (2) This bill would state the findings and declarations of the Legislature concerning the need for special legislation.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would prohibit the commission from requiring or permitting an electrical corporation to do any of the following: (A) employ mandatory or default time-variant pricing, as defined, with or without bill protection, as defined, for residential customers prior to January 1, 2013, (B) employ mandatory or default time-variant pricing, without bill protection, for residential customers prior to January 1, 2014, or (C) employ mandatory or default real-time pricing, without bill protection, for residential customers prior to January 1, 2020. The bill would authorize the commission to authorize an electrical corporation to offer residential customers the option of receiving service pursuant to time-variant pricing and to participate in other demand response programs. The bill would require the commission to only approve an electrical corporation's use of default time-variant pricing for residential customers, beginning January 1, 2014, if those residential customers have the option to not receive service pursuant to time-variant pricing and incur no additional charges, as specified, as a result of the exercise of that option. The bill would exempt certain customers from being subject to default time-variant pricing. (2) Existing law requires the commission to establish a program of assistance to low-income electric and gas customers, referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program, and prohibits the cost to be borne solely by any single class of customer. This bill would require the commission to establish the CARE program to provide assistance to low-income electric and gas customers with annual household incomes that are no greater than 200% of the federal poverty guideline levels, and require that the cost of the program, with respect to electrical corporations, be recovered on an equal cents-per-kilowatthour basis from all classes of customers that were subject to the surcharge that funded the CARE program on January 1, 2008. For a public utility that is both an electrical corporation and a gas corporation, the bill would require that the cost of the program be recovered on an equal cents-per-kilowatthour or per-therm basis from all classes of customers that were subject to the surcharge that funded the CARE program on January 1, 2008. (3) Existing law relative to electrical restructuring requires that the electrical corporations and gas corporations that participate in the CARE program administer low-income energy efficiency and rate assistance programs described in specified statutes, and undertake certain actions in administering specified energy efficiency and weatherization programs. This bill would require that electrical corporations, in administering the specified energy efficiency and weatherization programs, target energy efficiency and solar programs to upper-tier and multifamily customers in a manner that will result in long-term permanent reductions in electricity usage at the dwelling units and develop programs that specifically target nonprofit affordable housing providers, including programs that promote weatherization of existing dwelling units and replacement of inefficient appliances. The bill would require the commission, by not later than December 31, 2020, to ensure that all eligible low-income electricity and gas customers are given the opportunity to participate in low-income energy efficiency programs, including customers occupying apartment houses or similar multiunit residential structures, and would require the commission and electrical corporations and gas corporations to expend all reasonable efforts to coordinate ratepayer-funded programs with other energy conservation and efficiency programs and to obtain additional federal funding to support actions undertaken pursuant to this requirement. (4) Existing law relative to electrical restructuring requires the commission to authorize and facilitate direct transactions between electricity suppliers and retail end-use customers. Existing law requires the commission to designate a baseline quantity of electricity and gas necessary for a significant portion of the reasonable energy needs of the average residential customer, and requires that electrical and gas corporations file rates and charges, to be approved by the commission, providing baseline rates and requires the commission, in establishing baseline rates, to avoid excessive rate increases for residential customers. Existing law, enacted during the energy crisis of 2000–01, authorized the Department of Water Resources, until January 1, 2003, to enter into contracts for the purchase of electricity, and to sell electricity to retail end-use customers and, with specified exceptions, local publicly owned electric utilities, at not more than the department's acquisition costs and to recover those costs through the issuance of bonds to be repaid by ratepayers. That law provides that the department is entitled to recover certain expenses resulting from its purchases and sales of electricity and authorizes the commission to enter into an agreement with the department relative to cost recovery. That law prohibits the commission from increasing the electricity charges in effect on February 1, 2001, for residential customers for existing baseline quantities or usage by those customers of up to 130% of then existing baseline quantities, until the department has recovered the costs of electricity it procured for electrical corporation retail end-use customers. That law also suspends the right of retail end-use customers, other than community choice aggregators and a qualifying direct transaction customer, to acquire service through a direct transaction until the Department of Water Resources no longer supplies electricity under that law. This bill would delete the prohibition that the commission not increase the electricity charges in effect on February 1, 2001, for residential customers for existing baseline quantities or usage by those customers of up to 130% of then existing baseline quantities. The bill would authorize the commission to increase the rates charged residential customers for electricity usage up to 130% of the baseline quantities by the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index from the prior year plus 1%, but not less than 3% and not more than 5% per year. This authorization would be subject to the limitation that rates charged residential customers for electricity usage up to the baseline quantities, including any customer charge revenues, not exceed 90% of the system average rate, as defined. The bill would authorize the commission to increase the rates for participants in the CARE program, subject to certain limitations. The bill would delete the existing suspension of direct transactions in the Water Code that was adopted during the energy crisis of 2000–01, and would instead require the commission to authorize direct transactions subject to a reopening schedule that commences immediately and will phase in over a period of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years, and subject to an annual maximum allowable total kilowatthour limit established, as specified, for each electrical corporation. The bill would continue the suspension of direct transactions except as expressly authorized, until the Legislature, by statute, repeals the suspension or otherwise authorizes direct transactions. (5) Existing law requires the commission to prepare and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a written report on an annual basis before February 1 of each year on the costs of programs and activities conducted by an electrical corporation or gas corporation that has more than a specified number of customers in California. This bill would change the reporting date to April 1 of each year. The bill would require that by May 1, 2010, and by May 1 of each year thereafter, the commission also report to the Governor and Legislature with its recommendations for actions that can be undertaken during the upcoming year to limit utility cost and rate increases, consistent with the state's energy and environmental goals, including the state's goals for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The bill would require the commission to annually require electrical and gas corporations to study and report to the commission on measures that they recommend be undertaken to limit costs and rate increases. (6) 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 certain of the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. (7) 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. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act authorizes the Governor to annually award and present in the name of the State of California a Medal of Valor to one public safety officer, as defined, who is cited by the Attorney General, upon the recommendation of the board, for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. This bill would require the Governor to additionally annually award and present in the name of the State of California a Golden Shield Award to the next of kin of, or immediate family members of, every public safety officer who, while serving in any capacity under competent authority, has been killed in the line of duty.

This measure would make various statements regarding the importance of New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) to the California economy and would declare the necessity for the Legislature to utilize its vested powers to keep NUMMI in California.

This measure would make various statements regarding the importance of New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) to the California economy and would declare the necessity for the Legislature to utilize its vested powers to keep NUMMI in California.