(1) Existing law imposes an assessment on a person who purchases from a retailer a lumber product or an engineered wood product for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. Existing law requires the retailer to collect the assessment from the person at the time of sale and authorizes the retailer to retain an amount, as determined by the State Board of Equalization via emergency regulations, for any costs associated with the collection of the assessment. Existing regulations, adopted by the state board at its September 10, 2013, meeting, provide that a retailer may retain no more than a total of $735 per location as reimbursement for startup costs associated with the collection of the assessment.
This bill would codify the above regulations adopted at the September 10, 2013,
state board meeting. The bill would delete the emergency regulatory authority granted to the state board for purposes of determining the reimbursement amount.
Existing law establishes the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund in the State Treasury and requires that all revenues received from the assessments, less amounts deducted for specified refunds and reimbursements, be deposited into the fund and expended, upon appropriation, only for specified purposes including, among other things, to fund existing forest restoration grant programs.
This bill would require, with respect to the existing forest restoration grant programs funding, that priority be given to the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program administered by the Department of Fish and Wildlife and to grant programs administered by state conservancies. The bill would also,
until July 1, 2017, authorize the revenue in the fund to be used to provide loans to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for activities to address environmental damage occurring on forest lands resulting from marijuana cultivation, as provided. The bill would prohibit the use of moneys from the General Fund to repay the loans.
(2) Existing law imposes various civil penalties for a violation of specified provisions of the Fish and Game Code in connection with the production or cultivation of a controlled substance, as defined, on land under the management of specified state and federal agencies or within the ownership of a timberland production zone, as prescribed. Existing law requires all civil penalties collected to be apportioned as provided, including 40% of the funds to be distributed to the agency performing the cleanup or abatement of the cultivation or production site.
This bill, among other things, would also impose various civil penalties for a violation of those specified provisions of the Fish and Game Code in connection with the production or cultivation of a controlled substance on land that the person owns, leases, or otherwise uses or occupies with the consent of the landowner. The bill would require all civil penalties imposed or collected by a court to be apportioned as provided, including 40% to the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund.
This bill would also authorize the Department of Fish and Wildlife to impose those civil penalties administratively for those violations of the Fish and Game Code, subject to specified requirements relating to the complaint and hearing procedures, among other things. The bill would authorize the department to adopt regulations to implement these provisions and would require the penalties collected
to be apportioned in a specified manner.
(3) The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act generally requires the administrator for oil spill response, acting at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities relating to oil spill response, including emergency drills and preparedness, and oil spill containment and cleanup, and to represent the state in any coordinated response efforts with the federal government. Existing law directs the Governor to require the administrator to amend, not in conflict with the National Contingency Plan, the California oil spill contingency plan to add a marine oil spill contingency planning section containing specified elements, including an environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element. Existing law also requires the administrator to adopt and implement regulations governing the adequacy of oil spill contingency plans to be
prepared and implemented and requires the regulations to provide for the best achievable protection of coastal and marine waters. Existing law imposes various criminal and administrative civil penalties on a person who violates specified provisions of the act based on whether it was an oil spill or an inland oil spill.
This bill would generally expand the act and the administrator’s responsibilities relating to oil spills to cover all waters of the state, as defined. By expanding the scope of crimes within the act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would direct the Governor to require the administrator to amend the California oil spill contingency plan to provide for the best achievable protection of all state waters, not solely coastal and marine waters, and to submit the plan to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2017. The bill would require the regulations to provide for
the best achievable protection of all waters and natural resources of the state. The bill would deem the adoption of regulations by the administrator and the State Board of Equalization an emergency for the purposes of the amendments made by this act. The bill would authorize the emergency regulations adopted by the administrator to be in effect for 12 months or until the administrator readopts those regulations, whichever is earlier. The bill, for purposes of administrative civil penalties, would no longer distinguish between an oil spill and an inland oil spill, subjecting all persons to the oil spill provisions. The bill also would revise various definitions within that act, and would make other conforming and technical changes.
Existing law requires the administrator, upon request by a local government, to provide a program for training and certification of a local emergency responder designated as a local spill response
manager by a local government with jurisdiction over or directly adjacent to waters of the state.
This bill would make the program optional at the discretion of the administrator.
Existing law requires the administrator to offer grants to a local government with jurisdiction over or directly adjacent to marine waters to provide oil spill response equipment to be deployed.
This bill would instead authorize the administrator to offer the grants to a local government with jurisdiction over or directly adjacent to state waters.
Existing law requires the administrator, within 5 working days after receipt of a contingency plan, prepared as specified, to send a notice that the plan
is available for review to the Oil Spill Technical Advisory Committee.
This bill instead would require the administrator, within 5 working days after receipt of a contingency plan, to post a notice that the plan is available for review.
Existing law requires the administrator to establish a network of rescue and rehabilitation stations for sea birds, sea otters, and marine mammals affected by an oil spill in marine waters.
This bill instead would require the administrator to establish a network of rescue, as specified, for wildlife injured by oil spills in waters of the state, including sea otters and other marine mammals. The bill also would authorize the administrator to establish additional stations or facilities in the interior of the state for the
rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife affected by inland spills.
Existing law imposes an oil spill prevention and administration fee in an amount determined by the administrator to be sufficient to implement oil spill prevention activities, but not to exceed $0.065 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products and, beginning January 1, 2015, to an amount not to exceed $0.05 per barrel, on persons owning crude oil or petroleum products at a marine terminal. The fee is deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation, moneys in the fund are available for specified purposes.
This bill would delete the provision that would reduce the fee beginning on January 1, 2015. The bill would additionally impose this fee on a person owning crude oil or petroleum products at the time the crude oil or
petroleum products are received at a refinery, as specified, by any mode of delivery that passed over, across, under, or through waters of the state, whether from within or outside the state. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption that crude oil or petroleum products received at a marine terminal or refinery passed over, across, under, or through waters of the state, as specified. The bill would prohibit the State Board of Equalization from accepting or considering a petition for redetermination of fees or a claim for refund of fees if the claim is founded upon grounds the crude oil or petroleum products did or did not pass over, across, under, or through waters of the state, as specified. The bill would require the amendments made to these provisions by this bill to be operative 90 days after the effective date of the bill. The bill would authorize the Director of Finance to augment a specified appropriation in the Budget Act of 2014 for the reasonable costs incurred by the State Board of
Equalization related to the collection of the oil spill prevention and administration fee, as specified, thereby making an appropriation.
This bill would require every person who operates an oil refinery, marine terminal, or a pipeline to register with the State Board of Equalization.
Existing law imposes a uniform oil spill response fee on specified persons, except specified independent crude oil producers, owning petroleum products and on pipeline operators transporting petroleum products into the state by means of a pipeline operating across, under, or through the marine waters of the state, during any period that the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund contains less than a designated amount. The moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated for specified purposes, including, to pay for the costs of rescue, medical treatment, rehabilitation,
and disposition of oiled wildlife, as specified. Existing law authorizes a person to apply to the fund for compensation for damages and losses suffered as a result of an oil spill in the marine waters of the state under specified conditions.
This bill would delete the fee exception for independent crude oil producers, and would delete the provision authorizing the moneys in the fund to be used to pay for the costs of rescue, medical treatment, rehabilitation, and disposition of oiled wildlife. The bill would additionally impose the fee on pipeline operators transporting petroleum products into the state by means of a pipeline operating across, under, or through any waters of the state, thereby making an appropriation by increasing the amount of moneys deposited into a continuously appropriated fund. The bill would authorize moneys in the fund to be used to respond to an imminent threat of a spill and would additionally
authorize a person to apply to the fund for compensation for damages and losses suffered as a result of an oil spill in other waters of the state. By expanding the purposes of a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law, until June 30, 2014, provides that if a loan or other transfer of money from the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund to the General Fund pursuant to the Budget Act reduces the balance of the fund to less than or equal to 95% of the designated amount, the administrator is not required to collect oil spill response fees if the annual Budget Act requires the transfer or loan to be repaid (A) to the fund with interest calculated at a rate earned by the Pooled Money Investment Account and (B) on or before June 30, 2014.
This bill would extend that date to June 30, 2017, and would provide that
these provisions would be repealed on July, 1, 2017.
Existing law establishes the Oil Spill Technical Advisory Committee to provide public input and independent judgment of the actions of the administrator. The committee is composed of 10 members.
This bill would increase the number of members from 10 to 14 and would require the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Committee on Rules to each appoint one additional member who has knowledge of environmental protection and the study of ecosystems, and would require the Governor to appoint 2 additional members, with one having knowledge of the railroad industry and another having knowledge of the oil production industry.
(4) Existing law requires all cities and counties to collect a fee
from each applicant for a building permit, with each fee for Group R occupancies, as defined, assessed at the rate of $10 per $100,000, and all other buildings assessed at the rate of $21 per $100,000. Those fees are deposited in the Strong-Motion Instrumentation and Seismic Hazards Mapping Fund for expenditure by the Department of Conservation, upon appropriation, to pay for seismic hazards mapping and for the strong-motion instrumentation program.
This bill would increase the assessed fee for Group R occupancies to $13 per $100,000 and would also increase the assessed fee for all other buildings to $28 per $100,000. The bill would additionally authorize the department to use the moneys in the fund for the identification of earthquake fault zones in order to assist cities and counties in their planning, zoning, and building-regulation functions.
(5) Existing law authorizes the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation to regulate the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. Existing law requires the division, on or before January 1, 2015, to finalize and implement regulations specific to well stimulation treatments, as defined.
This bill would instead require the division to finalize those regulations on or before January 1, 2015, and would specify that those regulations shall become effective on July 1, 2015.
Existing law requires an operator proposing to perform a well stimulation treatment to apply to the State Oil and Gas Supervisor or a district deputy for a permit to perform the well stimulation treatment. Existing law prohibits
additional environmental review or additional mitigation measures for the well stimulation activities if the supervisor determines that activities proposed in the well stimulation permit have met the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
This bill would delete that prohibition.
Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board, on or before July 1, 2015, to adopt model groundwater monitoring criteria to assess the potential effects of well stimulation treatments. Existing law provides that monitoring is not required for oil and gas wells if the wells do not penetrate exempt aquifers, as specified.
This bill would instead provide that monitoring is not required if the wells solely penetrate those exempt aquifers.
Existing law requires the state board or a regional water quality control board, on or before January 1, 2016, to begin implementation of regional groundwater monitoring programs based on the model groundwater monitoring criteria. In the absence of the implementation of a regional groundwater monitoring program, existing law authorizes a well owner or operator to develop an area-specific groundwater monitoring program based on the model groundwater monitoring criteria subject to the approval of the state board or a regional board. Existing law requires the well stimulation permit application to contain, among other things, information on a groundwater monitoring plan for the well subject to the well stimulation treatment, which may be an existing regional groundwater monitoring program for the vicinity of the well, an existing area-specific groundwater monitoring plan for the vicinity of the well, or a well-specific monitoring plan that has been submitted to the
appropriate regional board for review. Existing law authorizes the supervisor or district deputy to approve the permit application if the application is complete.
This bill would authorize the supervisor or a district deputy, in the absence of the implementation of a regional groundwater monitoring program, to approve a well stimulation permit application prior to the approval of an area-specific groundwater monitoring program but would prohibit the commencement of well stimulation treatment pursuant to the permit until the approval of the area-specific groundwater monitoring program. Because a violation of this prohibition would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law authorizes the division to allow, until those regulations described above are finalized and implemented, well stimulation activities if
specified requirements are met, including a requirement that the division conduct an environmental impact report pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. Existing law prohibits that report from conflicting with an environmental impact report conducted by a local lead agency that is certified on or before July 1, 2015. Existing law provides the division with emergency regulatory authority to implement the above purposes. Existing law requires emergency regulations be approved by the Office of Administrative Law.
This bill would revise and recast those requirements and would delete the prohibition regarding the environmental impact report prepared by the division. The bill would prohibit the Office of Administrative Law from disapproving emergency regulations.
(6) Existing law vests with the Department of
Parks and Recreation control of the state park system, and provides funds for the support and administration of the department and specified park construction development, repair, and improvement projects. Existing law authorizes the Department of Finance to delegate to the Department of Parks and Recreation the right to exercise specified authority to plan, construct, and administer contracts and professional services for capital outlay projects, as specified. Existing law repeals this authority on January 1, 2019, unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends that date.
This bill would establish the Parks Project Revolving Fund in the State Treasury, and would require, upon the approval of the Department of Finance, except as provided, the transfer to, or deposit in, the fund of all moneys appropriated, contributed, or made available from any source, including sources other than state appropriations, for expenditure on
work within the powers and duties of the department with respect to the construction, alteration, repair, and improvement of state park facilities, as specified.
This bill would make moneys transferred from state sources for major construction available to the department without regard to fiscal years and irrespective of specified limitations for encumbrance, thereby making an appropriation.
These provisions would become inoperative on a date that is 3 years after the date the Department of Parks and Recreation’s authority to plan, construct, and administer contracts and professional services for capital outlay projects is repealed.
Existing law appropriates $20,500,000 from the State Parks and Recreation Fund to the Department of Parks and Recreation, which
is available for encumbrance for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 fiscal years and expended, as specified.
This bill would make the above moneys available for encumbrance until June 30, 2016, and for liquidation until June 30, 2018, thereby making an appropriation.
Existing law requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to develop a revenue generation program as an essential component of a long-term sustainable park funding strategy. Existing law requires the department, on or before October 1, 2012, to assign a 2-year revenue generation target to each district under the department’s control and authorizes the department to annually amend the revenue target. Existing law requires incremental revenue generated by the revenue generation program to be deposited into the State Parks and Recreation Fund. Existing law requires that revenue generated by the revenue generation program identified as being in excess of the revenue
targets be transferred to the State Parks and Revenue Incentive Subaccount and expanded for specified purposes, including for a revolving loan program.
This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, to assign a revenue generation target to each district under its control. The bill would instead require that revenue generated by the revenue generation program be deposited into the State Parks and Recreation Fund. The bill would require that the moneys transferred from the fund to the State Parks Revenue Incentive Subaccount be expended, for those specified purposes other than a revolving loan program.
Existing law establishes the California State Park Enterprise Fund and upon appropriation, makes moneys in the fund available to the Department of Parks and Recreation for specified purposes. Existing law makes the moneys in the fund available for encumbrance and expenditure until
June 30, 2014, and for liquidation until June 30, 2016. Existing law authorizes the department to deposit moneys received from private contributions and other public funding sources into the fund.
This bill would extend the time period in which moneys in the fund are available for encumbrance and expenditure to June 30, 2019, and for liquidation to June 30, 2021. The bill would instead authorize the Department of Parks and Recreation to expend moneys in the fund for capital outlay or support expenditures for revenue generation investments in state parks, as specified. The bill would require the department to prepare guidelines for districts to apply for funds for capital projects. The bill would instead authorize the department to deposit moneys received from private contributions and other public funding sources into the State Parks Revenue Incentive Subaccount.
Existing law establishes, until June 30, 2021, the State
Parks Revenue Incentive Subaccount, a continuously appropriated subaccount, and requires the Controller to transfer annually $15,340,000 from the State Parks and Recreation Fund to the subaccount. Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to expend these moneys for capital outlay projects that are consistent with the mission of the department. Existing law prohibits the Department of Parks and Recreation from expending annually more than $11,000,000 from the subaccount. Existing law makes the moneys in the subaccount available for encumbrance until June 30, 2019, and for liquidation until June 30, 2016. Existing law require the Controller, on July 1, 2026, to transfer any unexpended funds remaining in the subaccount to the State Parks and Recreation Fund.
This bill would extend the time period in which the moneys in the subaccount are available for encumbrance to June 30, 2016, and for liquidation to June 30, 2021. The bill would extend the
duration of the subaccount to June 30, 2021, and would require the Controller, on July 1, 2021, to transfer any unexpended moneys in the subaccount to the State Parks and Recreation Fund. The bill would reduce the amount of moneys to be transferred from the fund to the subaccount to $4,340,000. The bill would revise and recast provisions governing the expenditure from the subaccount to, among other things, authorize expenditures for activities, programs, and projects that increase the Department of Parks and Recreation’s capacity to generate revenue and to implement revenue generation programs, thereby making an appropriation.
Existing law establishes the State Park Contingent Fund and requires that moneys derived from gifts, bequests, or county or municipal appropriations or donations be deposited in the fund and used for the improvement or administration of state parks or the acquisition of additional lands and properties, in accordance with the terms of the gift,
bequest, appropriation, or donation.
This bill would instead require moneys from contractual agreements, donations, gifts, bequests, or local government appropriations be deposited in the fund and require that the moneys deposited also be used for the maintenance and operation of the state parks, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, donation, gift, bequest, or local government appropriation. The bill would also make various technical, nonsubstantive changes.
(7) Existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, requires a distributor of specified beverage containers to pay a redemption payment to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for each beverage container sold or transferred to a dealer, for deposit in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund
(beverage fund). Existing law annually appropriates from the beverage fund, among other things, $15,000,000, adjusted for cost of living, to the department for grants to certified community conservation corps and community conservation corps for beverage container litter reduction programs and recycling programs, subject to reduction if the department determines there are insufficient funds. Under existing law, the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 requires a retailer selling a covered electronic device in this state to collect an electronic waste recycling fee, the revenues of which are deposited in the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account. The California Tire Recycling Act imposes a California tire fee on a new tire purchased in the state and the revenue generated from the fee is deposited in the California Tire Recycling Management Fund. The California Oil Recycling Enhancement Act imposes a charge on oil manufacturers, the revenues of which are deposited in the California Used Oil
Recycling Fund for purposes of the used oil recycling program.
This bill would, upon appropriation, require the department to issue grants to the corps, as follows: (A) $4,000,000 for the 2014–15 fiscal year and $8,000,000 each fiscal year thereafter from funds in the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account for the corps to implement programs relating to the collection and recovery of covered electronic waste, (B) $2,500,000 for the 2014–15 fiscal year and $5,000,000 each fiscal year thereafter from funds in the California Tire Recycling Management Fund for grants relating to implementing programs to cleanup and abate waste tires and to reuse and recycle waste tires, and (C) $1,000,000 for the 2014–15 fiscal year and $2,000,000 each fiscal year thereafter from funds in the California Used Oil Recycling Fund for the corps for grants to implement programs relating to the collection of used oil. The bill would, instead
of the $15,000,000, as adjusted for cost of living, referenced above, provide that the amount required to be expended from the beverage fund for grants to the corps for beverage container litter reduction programs and recycling programs is $20,974,000, as adjusted for cost of living, less $15,000,000, augmented by $7,500,000 for the 2014–15 fiscal year only. The bill would make an appropriation by changing the conditions under which moneys are continuously appropriated to the corps from the beverage fund.
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to establish and implement an auditing system to ensure that information collected, and refund values and redemption payments paid, comply with the purposes of the act. The act authorizes the department to audit and investigate any action taken up to 3 years before the onset of the audit or
investigation and authorizes the department to take an enforcement action at any time within 2 years after the department discovers, or should have discovered, a violation of the act. A violation of the act is a crime and is punishable by a fine, as specified.
This bill would extend the department’s authorization to audit or investigate an action to 5 years before the onset of the audit or investigation and would expand the department’s authorization to take an enforcement action to 5 years after the department discovers, or should have discovered, a violation of the act.
(8) Existing law, the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Market Development Act, requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in accordance with the tire recycling program, to award grants for certain public agency projects that utilize
rubberized asphalt concrete, pursuant to specified conditions.
This bill would rename this act the Rubberized Pavement Market Development Act, and would instead require the department to award grants for those public agency projects that utilize rubberized pavement, in accordance with those conditions.
(9) Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, establishes the California Coastal Commission and declares that the California coastal zone is a distinct and valuable natural resource of vital and enduring interest and exists as a delicately balanced ecosystem. Existing law establishes the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission to regulate fill and development within a specified area in and along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay, and to implement a comprehensive plan for the preservation and
protection of the Suisun Marsh. Existing law establishes the State Coastal Conservancy in the Natural Resources Agency and authorizes the conservancy to acquire, manage, direct the management of, and conserve specified coastal lands and wetlands in the state. Existing law establishes the Coastal Trust Fund in the State Treasury to receive and disburse funds paid to the conservancy in trust. Existing law authorizes the conservancy to expend the moneys in the fund for purposes of the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program and for other specified purposes.
This bill would establish the California Climate Resilience Account in the Coastal Trust Fund and would continuously appropriate in the account, except as specified, to the State Coastal Conservancy, for expenditure by the State Coastal Conservancy, the California Coastal Commission, and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission for coastal zone
management planning and implementation activities to address the risks and impacts of climate change. The bill would require that funds be allocated to these 3 agencies according to a specific formula, except as specified, and would allow up to 10% of the funds to be available for administrative costs. The bill would require that funds in the account be spent solely for their specified purposes and would require, to the extent that any funds are appropriated into the account by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, those funds be segregated for purposes of accounting.
The California Coastal Act of 1976 requires a person undertaking development in the coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit in accordance with prescribed procedures. Existing law authorizes the superior court to impose civil liability on a person who performs or undertakes development that is in violation of the act or that is inconsistent with
a previously issued coastal development permit, and on a person who violates the act in any other manner.
This bill would authorize the California Coastal Commission to impose upon a person who violates the public access provisions of the act an administrative civil penalty, by a majority vote of the commissioners, upon consideration of various factors, and in an amount not to exceed 75% of the maximum civil penalty that may be imposed in the superior court. The bill would authorize the penalty to be assessed for each day the violation persists, but for no more than 5 years. The bill would prohibit a person from being subject to both this monetary civil liability imposed by the commission and monetary civil liability imposed by the superior court for the same act or failure to act. The bill would also authorizethe commission to record a lien on the property of a violator in the amount of the penalty assessed by the
commission if the violator fails to pay the penalty. The bill would prohibit the assessment of administrative penalties in certain cases if the property owner corrects the violations.
(10) Existing law establishes the California Environmental Protection Program, which provides funding for various environmental protection purposes including, among other things, projects and programs related to pollution control, land acquisitions for natural areas or ecological reserves, environmental education, and the protection and preservation of wildlife. Existing law authorizes the issuance of environmental license plates, as defined, for vehicles, upon application and payment of certain fees and requires that specified revenue derived from those fees for issuance, renewal, retention, duplication, and transfer of the environmental license plates be deposited in the California Environmental License Plate Fund in the
State Treasury, and used, upon appropriation, for specified program purposes.
This bill would additionally authorize the expenditure of moneys in the fund that are available for the program, upon appropriation, for scientific research on the risks to California’s natural resources and communities caused by the impacts of climate change.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue special commemorative collegiate reflectorized license plates upon the request of the owner of the vehicle for which the plates are issued. Existing law imposes certain additional fees for the issuance, renewal, transfer, and replacement of the plates, and requires the DMV, after deducting its costs, to deposit 50% of the fees into the Resources License Plate Fund. Under existing law, moneys in the Resources License Plate Fund are
available, upon appropriation, for the purposes of natural resources preservation, enhancement, and restoration.
This bill would abolish the Resources License Plate Fund and would transfer moneys in that fund to the California Environmental License Plate Fund effective July 1, 2014. The bill would also update a cross-reference and delete obsolete provisions.
(11) Existing law establishes the Environmental Justice Small Grant Program and authorizes the California Environmental Protection Agency to award grants to eligible community groups located in areas adversely affected by environmental pollution and hazards that work to address environmental justice issues. Existing law requires the amount of a grant shall not exceed $20,000. Existing law provides that the program is to be implemented only during fiscal years for
which an appropriation is provided for in the annual Budget Act or in another statute for the above purpose.
This bill would increase the maximum amount of a grant to $50,000. The bill would instead authorize the Secretary for Environmental Protection to expend up to $1,500,000 per year for the above purposes. The bill would authorize the boards, departments, and offices within the agency to allocate funds from various special funds, settlements, and penalties to implement the program.
(12) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to require the administration, until January 1, 2016, of a self-generation incentive program for distributed generation resources.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to authorize electrical corporations to annually collect not more than the amount authorized for the program in the 2008 calendar year through December 31, 2014.
This bill would extend the authority of the Public Utilities Commission to authorize the electrical corporations to continue making the annual collection through December 31, 2019. The bill would extend the administration of the program to January 1, 2021.
Existing law limits eligibility for incentives under the self-generation incentive program to distributed energy resources that the Public Utilities Commission, 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 further limit eligibility for incentives under the self-generation incentive program to distributed energy resource technologies that the Public Utilities Commission determines meet specified additional requirements. The bill would require the commission to determine a capacity factor for each distributed generation system energy resource technology in the program.
This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to evaluate the self-generation incentive program’s overall success and impact based on specified performance measures.
This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, on or before July 1, 2015, to update the factor for avoided greenhouse gas emissions
based on certain information. The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, in allocating moneys between eligible technologies, to consider the relative amount and cost of certain factors. The bill would require recipients of the self-generation incentive program funds to provide to the Public Utilities Commission and the State Air Resources Board relevant data and would subject them to inspection to verify equipment operation and performance.
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 a violation of the requirements of the program that would be extended under the provisions of this bill would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(13) Existing law provides compensation for reasonable advocate’s fees, reasonable expert witness fees, and other reasonable costs to public utility customers of participation or intervention in any proceeding of the Public Utilities Commission. Existing law requires an award for that compensation be paid by the public utility that is the subject of the hearing, investigation, or proceeding within 30 days. Existing law provides that an award shall be allowed by the commission as an expense for the purpose of establishing rates of the public utility. Under existing law, an existing decision of the commission establishes the intervenor compensation program fund for quasi-legislative or rulemaking proceedings funded through commission reimbursement fees collected on an annual basis from electrical, gas, telephone, and water corporations.
This bill would authorize the commission to pay to the Avondale Glen
Elder Neighborhood Association the difference between the amount received from the bankruptcy court and the amount awarded by the commission by increasing the fees collected pursuant to these provisions for the limited purpose of that specified decision.
(14) Decisions of the Public Utilities Commission adopted the California Solar Initiative administered by the state’s 3 largest electrical corporations and subject to the commission’s supervision. Existing law specifies that the financial components of the California Solar Initiative consist of, among other programs, the New Solar Homes Partnership Program, which is administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission). Existing law requires the program to be funded by charges in the amount of $400,000,000 collected from customers of those electrical corporations. If moneys from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund for the program are exhausted,
existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission, upon notification by the Energy Commission, to require those electrical corporations to continue the administration of the program pursuant to the guidelines established by the Energy Commission for the program until the above monetary limit is reached.
This bill would additionally require that the Public Utilities Commission be notified by the Energy Commission that other funding sources for the program have been exhausted before requiring those electrical corporations to continue administration of the program until the monetary limit is reached.
(15) Existing law, including the California Safe Drinking Water Act, provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Department of Public Health various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the State of
California. Existing law requires the department to conduct research, studies, and demonstration projects relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, to adopt regulations to implement the state act, and to enforce provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
The Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Law of 1997 establishes the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to provide grants or revolving fund loans for the design and construction of projects for public water systems that will enable suppliers to meet safe drinking water standards. Under that law, the department is required to undertake specified actions to implement the fund, including entering into agreements with the federal government for federal contributions to the fund.
This bill would, effective July 1, 2014, transfer to the State Water Resources Control Board the authority, duties, powers, purposes, functions,
responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the State Department of Public Health for the purposes of the administration of those drinking water programs. The bill would require the state board to appoint a deputy director, as specified, for drinking water programs.
This bill would, among other things, authorize the board, in order to administer the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, to engage in the transfer of capitalization grant funds, as specified, and to cross-collateralize revenue bonds with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund. The bill would also authorize the board to implement the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Law of 1997 through a policy handbook, as specified, and make the repeal of, or operation of, various provisions of law contingent upon the adoption of the policy handbook. The bill would make various other changes.
The Budget Act of 2003 makes available to the
State Department of Public Health $15,000,000 for encumbrance until June 30, 2016, for the purposes of providing grants of up to $500,000 per project for public water systems to address drought-related drinking water emergencies or threatened emergencies.
This bill would appropriate the unencumbered balance of the above moneys to the State Water Resources Control Board for the above purposes. The bill would require the board to make every effort to use other funds available to address drinking water emergencies before using the moneys transferred.
(16) Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. The state act
imposes various penalties for a violation of its requirements. The state act requires specified penalties be deposited into the Waste Discharge Permit Fund and separately accounted. The state act requires moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, to be expended by the state board to assist regional boards and prescribed other public agencies in cleaning up or abating the effects of waste on waters of the state or to assist a regional board attempting to remedy a significant unforeseen water pollution problem.
This bill would, until July 1, 2017, authorize up to $500,000 per fiscal year from the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, to be expended to assist the Department of Fish and Wildlife to address the impacts of marijuana cultivation on the natural resources of the state.
(17) 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.
(18) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.