Today's Law As Amended


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SB-933 California Emergency Services Act: emergency powers: Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account.(2021-2022)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Article 18.5 (commencing with Section 8662) is added to Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

Article  18.5. Limitations on Emergency Powers
8662.
 This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Emergency Power Limitation Act.
8662.1.
 The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) State and local officials, including the Governor, may only exercise those police powers conferred on them by the California Constitution or by the Legislature.
(b) Because the issuance of emergency orders by state and local officials infringes on individual liberty and constitutes an exception to the Legislature’s power to enact binding rules of behavior on citizens, those emergency orders should be limited in scope and duration to the maximum extent possible.
8662.2.
 For purposes of this article:
(a) “Emergency order” means any order, regulation, decree, regulation, or similar mandate issued by the Governor or a state agency, in response to a state of emergency, or a political subdivision, in response to a state of emergency or local emergency, that binds, curtails, or infringes on the rights of private persons, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) An order or regulation of the Governor pursuant to Section 8567 or 8627.
(2) An order or regulation of a political subdivision pursuant to Section 8634.
(3) An exercise of a city’s or county’s police power pursuant to Section 7 of Article XI of the California Constitution in relation to a state of emergency or local emergency.
(b) “Local emergency” means a local emergency proclaimed by in accordance with Article 14 (commencing with Section 8630).
(c) “State of emergency” means a state of emergency proclaimed in accordance Article 13 (commencing with Section 8625).
8662.3.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, an emergency order shall be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling public health or safety purpose and shall be limited in duration, applicability, and scope.
(b) (1) Any person may bring an action to invalidate or enjoin enforcement of an emergency order that is allegedly unlawful, including an emergency order that is alleged to violate the requirements of subdivision (a). To the extent feasible, the court shall expedite proceedings in an action brought pursuant to this section.
(2) In an action brought to invalidate or enjoin enforcement of an emergency order brought pursuant to this section, the court may invalidate or enjoin enforcement of an emergency order for failure to comply with subdivision (a) if it finds that the emergency order has an unequal application or impact on analogous groups, situations, or circumstances. This paragraph shall not be construed to limit the authority of the court to invalidate or enjoin enforcement of an emergency order that it finds is not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling health or safety purpose or is unlawful for any other reason.
8662.4.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, on and after the effective date of this article, a state agency shall not issue an emergency order that infringes on an express constitutional right in a nontrivial manner.
(b) To the extent permitted by the California Constitution and this chapter, the Governor may issue an emergency order that infringes on an express constitutional right in a nontrivial manner, subject to the following limitations:
(1) If the Legislature is in session, or the Governor calls an extraordinary session relating to the applicable state of emergency pursuant to Section 3 of Article IV of the California Constitution, the emergency order shall expire within 30 days. The Governor shall provide notice to the Legislature of any emergency order subject to this paragraph as soon as is reasonably practicable following its issuance.
(2) In any other circumstance not described in paragraph (1), the emergency order shall expire within seven days.
(c) Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, if an emergency order by the Governor expires pursuant to subdivision (b), the Governor shall not reissue that emergency order or issue a new emergency order with substantially the same effect as the expired emergency order during the pendency of the applicable state of emergency. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the Governor may reissue an expired emergency order or issue an emergency order with substantially the same effect as an expired emergency order for a period of up to three days if the Governor finds that significant changed circumstances justify the reissuance of an expired emergency order or issuance of an emergency order with substantially the same effect as an expired emergency order.
(d) For purposes of this section, “express constitutional right” includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) The rights to assemble and speak.
(2) The right to travel.
(3) The freedom of religious exercise.
(4) The prohibition on the impairment of the obligation of contract.
(5) Property rights protected under the United States Constitution and the California Constitution.
(6) The freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
(7) The freedom to acquire and bear lawful firearms and ammunition.
8662.5.
 This article shall not be construed to confer additional emergency powers on the Governor, any state agency, or any political subdivision.
8662.6.
 The Legislature finds and declares that safeguarding the liberties of the residents of this state during a state of emergency or local emergency is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, this article applies to all cities, including charter cities.

SEC. 2.

 Section 8690.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:

8690.6.
 (a) The Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account is hereby established in the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties. Notwithstanding Section 13340, moneys in the account are continuously appropriated, subject to the limitations specified in subdivisions (b), (c),  (b)  and (d), (c)  without regard to fiscal years, for allocation by the Director of Finance to state agencies for disaster response operation costs incurred by state agencies as a result of a proclamation by the Governor of a state of emergency, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 8558. For the purposes of this section, “disaster response operations costs” is defined as costs that are immediate and necessary to deal with an ongoing or emerging crisis. These allocations may be for activities that occur within 120 days after a proclamation of emergency by the Governor.
(b) Funds shall be allocated from the account subject to the conditions of this section and upon notification by the Director of Finance to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house.
(c) Notwithstanding the time limit established by subdivision (a) regarding disaster response activities that may be funded through the account, upon notification by the Director of Finance to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house before the expiration of the 120-day period, extensions for allocations for activities that occur after the 120-day period may occur in up to 120-day increments. Any extensions beyond the initial 120 days shall not extend beyond the end of the fiscal year in which the Director of Finance gives notice of the first extension, or the date upon which the Budget Act for the fiscal year that follows the fiscal year during which the director gave notice of the first extension is enacted, whichever is later. Each extension of up to 120 days will occur upon notification to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house before the expiration of the initial 120-day period or the prior extension.
(d) (c)  (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account have an unencumbered balance of one million dollars ($1,000,000) at the beginning of each fiscal year. If this account requires additional moneys to meet claims against the account, the Director of Finance may transfer moneys from the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties to the account in an amount sufficient to pay the amount of the claims that exceed the unencumbered balance in the account.
(2) If additional moneys are transferred to the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account by the Director of Finance to meet claims against the account under paragraph (1), the Director of Finance shall provide proper notification to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house.
(e) (d)  Notwithstanding any other law, authorizations for acquisitions, relocations, and environmental mitigations related to activities, described in subdivision (a), shall be authorized pursuant to this section. However, these funds shall be authorized only for needs that are a direct consequence of the proclaimed emergency if failure to undertake the project may interrupt essential state services or jeopardize public health or safety. In addition, any acquisition accomplished under this subdivision shall comply with any otherwise applicable law, except as provided in the first sentence of this subdivision.
(f) (e)  Funds allocated under this section shall not be used to supplant federal funds otherwise available in the absence of state financial relief.
(g) (f)  The amount of financial assistance provided to an individual, business, or governmental entity under this section, or pursuant to any other program of state-funded disaster assistance, shall be deducted from sums received in payment of damage claims asserted against the state, its agents, or its employees, for causing or contributing to the effects of the proclaimed disaster.
(h) (g)  Any public entity administering disaster assistance to individuals shall not receive funds under this section unless it administers that assistance pursuant to the following criteria:
(1) All applications, forms, and other written materials presented to persons seeking assistance shall be available in English and in the same language used by the major non-English-speaking group within the disaster area.
(2) Bilingual staff who reflect the demographics of the disaster area shall be available to applicants.
(i) (h)  Notwithstanding any other law, funds in the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account shall not be expended for conditions in the state’s prisons, medical facilities, or youth correctional facilities resulting solely from the action or inaction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in administering those facilities.