(1) Existing law requires every person who sells for use in this state a pesticide product that has been registered by the Director of Pesticide Regulation to pay to the director applicable assessments, except as specified. Existing law requires the revenue collected from these assessments to be deposited in the Department of Pesticide Regulation Fund with an amount equal to the revenue derived from 7.6 mills per dollar of sales for all pesticide sales for use in this state to be distributed to the counties as reimbursements for costs incurred in the administration and enforcement of pesticide regulations.
This bill would require the Director of Pesticide Regulation to pay from that revenue in the fund an amount not to exceed the revenue derived from 0.5 mill per dollar of sales for all pesticide
sales for use in this state to counties in nonattainment areas to assist those counties in the administration and enforcement of restrictions on the use of field fumigants, as specified. The bill would specify how those funds are to be apportioned based on certain criteria. By authorizing money in the Department of Pesticide Regulation Fund to be used for a new purpose, the bill would make an appropriation.
(2) Existing law requires specified state agencies to prepare and submit to the Secretary for Environmental Protection, in a standardized format as determined by the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA), specified information relating to the state agency’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including a list of measures adopted and implemented by the agency to meet any GHG emission reduction targets, as defined, and a status report on GHG
emissions reduced as a result of these measures. The Cal-EPA is required to provide that information on its Internet Web site in the form of a state agency greenhouse gas emission reduction report card.
This bill would require the Cal-EPA to include an estimate of the department’s own greenhouse gas emissions and an explanation of changes in the emissions as compared to the previous year’s emissions. The bill would require the Cal-EPA, on or before January 10 of each year, to submit to the Legislature a comprehensive budget display, including funding proposals and base funding in the proposed Governor’s Budget for state agencies implementing climate solutions to meet the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets established pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The budget display would also be required to include a 5-year work plan summary for each department showing how staff and contracting resources will be allocated to achieve
specified deliverables.
(3) Existing law requires all money in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund to be available, upon appropriation, to the Department of Boating and Waterways, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the State Water Resources Control Board for, among other things, boating-related facility development, boating safety programs, and regulatory activities.
This bill would make money in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund available, upon appropriation, to the Department of Fish and Game and the Department of Food and Agriculture for activities addressing boating-related spread of invasive species.
(4) Existing law requires the State Fire
Marshal to charge state agencies, departments, and programs for fire and life safety building code inspections rendered by the State Fire Marshal. Existing law requires the Controller, at the request of the State Fire Marshal, to transfer the amount of the charges for services rendered from the agency’s appropriation to the appropriation for the support of the State Fire Marshal’s office.
This bill would additionally require the State Fire Marshal to charge local agencies and private entities for fire and life safety building code inspections and related fire and life safety activities rendered by the State Fire Marshal. The State Fire Marshal would be required to charge local government and private entities for the amount sufficient to recover the costs of the services provided.
(5) Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal, or his or her authorized representative, to inspect every jail or place of
detention for persons charged with or convicted of a crime, except as specified.
This bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to charge and collect a fee for that inspection from the local government, as specified.
(6) Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal, the chief of any city or county fire department or district providing fire protection services, and their authorized representatives, to enforce in their respective areas building standards relating to fire and panic safety adopted by the State Fire Marshal and published in the State Building Standards Code and other regulations that have been formally adopted by the State Fire Marshal for the prevention of fire or for the protection of life and property against fire or panic. Existing law authorizes the State Fire Marshal to enforce the building standards and other regulations of the State Fire Marshal in areas outside of corporate
cities and districts providing fire protection services and in corporate cities and districts providing fire protection services upon request of the chief fire official or the governing body.
Existing law requires every city or county fire department or district providing fire protection services that is required to enforce building standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal and other regulations of the State Fire Marshal to annually inspect all structures, as specified, for compliance with those building standards and regulations. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or district that inspects a structure pursuant to that provision to charge and collect a fee for the inspection from the owner of the structure in an amount, as determined by the city, county, or district, sufficient to pay its costs of that inspection.
This bill would
authorize a city, county, or district that inspects a structure to also charge a fee for related fire and life safety activities. This bill would additionally authorize a State Fire Marshal who inspects a structure for compliance with building standards and regulations to charge and collect a fee for the inspection and related fire and life safety activities from the owner of the structure in an amount, as determined by the State Fire Marshal, sufficient to pay the costs of that inspection and related fire and life safety activities.
The bill would provide that the Legislature finds that any costs that may result from these provisions are not unique to local agencies or school districts and there is no mandate contained in these provisions that will result in costs incurred by a local agency or school district for a new program or higher level of service which require reimbursement pursuant to specified constitutional and statutory provisions.
(7) The Environmental Cleanup and Fee Reform Act of 1997, creates the Toxic Substances Control Account in the General Fund. Specified charges imposed on corporations handling hazardous materials are required to be deposited in that account. Under existing law, the funds in the Toxic Substances Control Account may be appropriated to the Department of Toxic Substances Control for specified purposes, including the payment of the costs of removal and remedial action incurred by the state in response to a release of hazardous substances. The funds may also be appropriated to the office of the Attorney General for the support of the Toxic Substance Enforcement Program in the office of the Attorney General, in carrying out provisions authorizing the recovery of the state’s expenses in responding to, and overseeing, releases of hazardous substances. Existing law prohibits these expenditures from being subject to an interagency or interdepartmental
agreement.
This bill would instead authorize the funds in the Toxic Substances Control Account to be appropriated to the department, for allocation to the office of the Attorney General, pursuant to an interagency agreement or similar mechanism and would delete the prohibition regarding subjecting the expenditure of those funds to an interagency or interdepartmental agreement. The bill would additionally authorize the funds in the account to be appropriated to the department for funding the California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program, and the funds would be authorized to be appropriated by the Legislature to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the State Department of Public Health, for the purposes of carrying out their duties under the California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program.
(8) Existing law requires that the revenues from specified fees and
charges imposed upon the management of hazardous waste be deposited in the Hazardous Waste Control Account in the General Fund and the money in that account is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Toxic Substances Control for, among other things, the regulation of hazardous waste. The funds are also available for appropriation to the office of the Attorney General for the support of the Toxic Substance Enforcement Program in the office of the Attorney General, to carry out the purposes of the hazardous waste control laws. Existing law requires that the expenditures from the Hazardous Waste Control Account for support of state agencies other than the department be subject to an interagency or interdepartmental agreement between the department and the state agency, but prohibits expenditures of funds appropriated to the office of the Attorney General for the support of the Toxic Substances Enforcement Program from being subject to an interagency or interdepartmental
agreement.
This bill would instead authorize the funds in the Hazardous Waste Control Account to be appropriated by the Legislature to the department for allocation to the office of the Attorney General for those purposes, and would delete the prohibition regarding subjecting those expenditures to an interagency or interdepartmental agreement.
The bill would also delete obsolete provisions.
(9) Existing law, the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act, imposes liability for hazardous substance removal or remedial actions and requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt, by regulation, criteria for the selection and for the priority ranking of hazardous substance release sites for removal or remedial action under the act. The
act requires that various funds be deposited in the Toxic Substances Control Account in the General Fund, including money received by the federal government pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA). The act authorizes the department to expend the funds in the account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to pay for, among other things, removal and remedial actions related to the release of hazardous substances.
Existing law provides for the creation of the Federal Trust Fund for the deposit of federal moneys.
The federal Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (brownfield law) of 2002 amended various provisions of CERCLA to, among other things, provide financial assistance for grants and loans to fund brownfield remediation.
This bill would create the Revolving Loans Fund in the
State Treasury and would continuously appropriate the moneys in that fund to the department. The bill would require that certain moneys be deposited in the fund, including moneys transferred to the fund from the Federal Trust Fund that are received pursuant to the brownfield law. The bill would require the department to expend the moneys in the Revolving Loans Fund only for the purposes authorized by the federal brownfield law, including providing financial assistance to provide loans and issue subgrants for response actions to eligible brownfield sites, as defined.
(10) Existing law, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1B at the November 7, 2006, general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds for various transportation-related purposes, including
reducing emissions and improving air quality in trade corridors. The State Air Resources Board is required to allocate the funds to be used for air quality purposes pursuant to specified requirements. No project can be funded unless the project is sponsored by an applicant, which is defined as a local public entity involved in the movement of freight through trade corridors of the state or involved in air quality improvements associated with goods movement.
This bill would provide that for the purposes of administering a loan or loan guarantee program only, an applicant may include any state agency. The bill would make a conforming change.
(11) Existing law grants primary authority for the control of air pollution from vehicular sources to the State Air Resources Board. Existing law requires the state board, in
conjunction with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to develop and administer a program to provide grants to encourage the purchase or lease of a new zero-emission vehicle.
This bill would require the state board to select projects for zero-emission vehicle leases or purchases and zero-emission vehicle infrastructure for the purpose of implementing any program to encourage the use of zero-emission vehicles through a competitive grant process that includes a public bidding process.
(12) Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program, administered by the State Air Resources Board, to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, air quality improvement projects related to fuel and vehicle technologies. The program is limited to competitive grants. Projects required to be
undertaken pursuant to state or federal law or district rules or regulations are not eligible for funding.
Existing law creates the Air Quality Improvement Fund and provides that moneys in the fund may be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement the Air Quality Improvement Program.
This bill would, notwithstanding these provisions, require the state board to expend funds appropriated by the Legislature to it from the Air Quality Improvement Fund in the Budget Act of 2008, not used to implement the Air Quality Improvement Program, to provide financial assistance to owners and operators of on-road heavy-duty diesel-fueled motor vehicles for costs associated with early compliance with specified regulations, thereby making an appropriation. Funds would be required to be expended for low interest or zero interest loans or grants. The state board would be required to report to the Legislature on the
implementation of these provisions.
(13) Existing law prohibits the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation from expending, through the 2009–10 fiscal year, more than $1,000,000 in any one fiscal year for the purpose of hazardous or idle-deserted wells. The division is prohibited from expending, commencing with the 2010–11 fiscal year, more than $500,000 in any one fiscal year for the purpose of hazardous or idle-deserted wells.
This bill, instead, would authorize the division to expend, commencing on July 1, 2008, up to $2,000,000 in any one fiscal year through the 2011–12 fiscal year, and up to $1,000,000 commencing with the 2012–13 fiscal year. The Department of Conservation, on October 1, 2011, would be required to report to the Legislature on the number of orphan wells remaining, the estimated
costs of abandoning the orphan wells, and a timeline for future orphan well abandonment with a specific schedule of goals.
(14) The Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (bond act), an initiative bond act that was approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, among other things, makes $180,000,000 in bond funds available to the Department of Fish and Game (department) for bay-delta and coastal fishery restoration projects. Of those funds, up to $45,000,000 is available for appropriation for coastal salmon and steelhead fishery restoration projects that support the development and implementation of species recovery plans and strategies for salmonid species listed as threatened or endangered under state or federal law.
Existing law appropriates $5,293,000 of the $45,000,000 available from the bond act to the department for the purposes of coastal salmon and steelhead fishery restoration projects, including the Coastal Salmonid Monitoring Plan. Under existing law, the department is permitted to allocate not more than $2,520,000 for the purposes of the Coastal Salmonid Monitoring Plan.
Existing law requires a specified process to be applied to the expenditure of these funds, except funds allocated by the department to the Coastal Salmonid Monitoring Plan.
This bill would instead, exempt from these procedures the expenditure of funds annually appropriated for the Coastal Salmonid Monitoring Plan and would make conforming changes.
(15) The California Coastal Act establishes the Coastal Access Account in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund. The act requires that the money in the account be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, to the State Coastal Conservancy for grants to public agencies and private nonprofit entities or organizations for the development, maintenance, and operation of new or existing facilities that provide public access to the shoreline of the sea, as specified. The act also requires that any coastal development permit fees collected by the commission be deposited into the fund.
This bill would instead require that those fees be deposited into the Coastal Act Services Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury, to be administered by the commission. The bill would require that the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, be expended by the commission in accordance with
specified provisions of the act to enforce the act and to provide services to local government, permit applicants, public agencies, and the public participating in the implementation of the act, as specified.
The bill would also require the transfer of $500,000, adjusted annually as specified, from the Coastal Act Services Fund to the Coastal Access Account, which the bill would create in the fund for grants to provide public access to sea shorelines.
(16) Existing law, the Natural Heritage Preservation Tax Credit Act of 2000, requires the Wildlife Conservation Board to implement a program under which a donor of qualified property, upon approval of the board, may receive a tax credit for a portion of the value of property that is donated to a department, as defined, a local government, or a nonprofit organization
designated by a local government or a department, in order to protect wildlife habitat, open space, and agricultural land. The act establishes the Natural Heritage Preservation Tax Credit Reimbursement Account in the General Fund to receive bond fund moneys from a local government or a department that is authorized to expend the moneys to acquire property under the act. Upon appropriation, the moneys in the account are required to be used to reimburse the General Fund for tax credits claimed, under the act.
This bill would appropriate the sum of $5,870,782 for transfer from the Natural Heritage Preservation Tax Credit Reimbursement Account to the General Fund, and would eliminate the requirement that funds from the account be transferred to the General Fund upon appropriation. The bill would instead require the Controller to transfer moneys received in the account to the General Fund, within 60 days of receipt of the funds and notification to the Legislature.
(17) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities and can establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. In a proposed decision in a rulemaking, the PUC has proposed the establishment of a California Institute for Climate Solutions (CICS).
This bill would prohibit the PUC from executing an order to establish the CICS and from adopting or executing any similar order or decision establishing a research program for climate change unless expressly authorized by statute. The bill would provide that it does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(18) Existing law requires the PUC to publish the complete text of each of its orders and decisions within a reasonable time, not to exceed one
year after issuance. The PUC also implements and maintains various programs relating to the energy needs of the state.
This bill would require the PUC, by January 10 of each year, to report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, on all sources and amounts of funding and actual and proposed expenditures related to specified entities or programs established by the commission.
(19) Existing law creates the Electricity Oversight Board to fulfill various responsibilities, including overseeing the Independent System Operator and the Power Exchange, and to investigate any matter relating to the wholesale market for electricity to ensure that the interests of California’s citizens and consumers are served, protected, and represented. The board has the power to
sue and be sued, and is required to appoint an attorney to advise the board and to represent the board in any state or federal proceeding or action.
This bill would, until January 1, 2010, require the Attorney General to represent the Department of Finance and to succeed to all rights, claims, powers, and entitlements of the Electricity Oversight Board in any litigation or settlement to obtain ratepayer recovery for the effects of the 2000–02 energy crisis. The bill would prohibit the Attorney General from expending the proceeds of any of settlements of those claims, except as specified.
(20) Existing law continuously appropriates General Fund moneys to the Colorado River Management Account for the purpose of implementing the California Plan developed by the Colorado River Board of California. The Safe Drinking Water,
Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative bond act approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, and resource protection program, including $100,000,000 in interregional and unallocated funds made available to the Department of Water Resources, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, for specified projects that implement an integrated regional water management plan or its equivalent, to be expended directly, or be granted by the department to address, multiregional needs or issues of statewide significance.
This bill would delete that continuous appropriation. The bill would recognize that an appropriation may be made in the annual Budget Act, in lieu of those General Fund moneys, of those interregional and
unallocated bond funds, or another state funding source, for the same purposes as the deleted appropriation.
(21) Under existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards exercise the regulatory functions of the state in the field of water quality. Under the act, persons who fail to file, in a timely manner, a prescribed discharge monitoring report are subject to a mandatory minimum penalty of $3,000 under specified circumstances. Funds derived from the imposition of that penalty are deposited in the Waste Discharge Permit Fund for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, by the state board to respond to significant water pollution problems.
This bill would make an appropriation by requiring those penalties to be deposited in the continuously appropriated State Water Pollution Cleanup
and Abatement Account of the State Water Quality Control Fund for that described purpose.
(22) Existing law, the California Bay-Delta Authority Act, establishes in the Resources Agency the California Bay-Delta Authority. The act requires the authority and the implementing agencies to carry out programs, projects, and activities necessary to implement the Bay-Delta Program, defined to mean those projects, programs, commitments, and other actions that address the goals and objectives of the CALFED Bay-Delta Programmatic Record of Decision, dated August 28, 2000, or as it may be amended. The act requires the authority to develop policies and make decisions at program milestones, and to provide direction to achieve balanced implementation, integration, and continuous improvement in all program elements. The act assigns each implementing agency the responsibility for
implementing one or more program elements, including the watershed program element.
This bill would include the Department of Conservation among the agencies that are the implementing agencies for the watershed program element.
(23) Under existing law, the Department of Water Resources operates the State Water Project and exercises other functions relating to the state’s water resources.
This bill would require the department to use 8 specified limited-term positions exclusively for conducting studies on options for conservation and restoration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, consistent with the recommendations of the Delta Blue Ribbon Task Force. The bill also would prohibit those positions from being used for environmental studies, or documentation, except for
specified studies required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.
(24) 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 the Legislature finds that with regard to certain provisions there is no mandate contained in the bill that will result in costs incurred by a local agency or school district for a new program or higher level of service which require reimbursement pursuant to these constitutional and statutory provisions.
(25) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.