| 2009 Legislative Proposals |
Below is an update on Assemblymember Huffman's legislation package for 2009 organized by issue area.
More Information on These Bills
Click here for 2008 Legislative Proposals
Promoting Fiscal and Election Reform:
ACA 9 (Huffman): Local Revenues Vote Threshold
Gives more control to voters to decide how to fund local services, including public schools, local police, firefighters, community libraries and parks by lowering the vote threshold for approval of local taxes from 2/3 to a supermajority (55%).
AB 1326 (Huffman): County Voter Registration
Ensures all individuals that register to vote are able to vote on election day by allowing the individual or county elections official to go to the Superior Court to force a voter registration if the individual’s application was mishandled, lost or deliberately not submitted to the county.
AB 1322 (Huffman): Independent Expenditure Reform
Money plays an increasing role in political campaigns and political organizations with vague and sometimes misleading titles make it difficult for voters to know who is really behind some of those campaigns. AB 1322 mandates more prominent disclosure for independent expenditure-funded campaign ads so voters can be better informed about the special interests behind campaign messages.
Preserving Water Resources:
AB 39 (Huffman): Delta Vision
Declares the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to implement the Delta Vision Strategic Plan to protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a sustainable ecosystem that would continue to support environmental and economic functions that are critical to the people of California.
AB 49 (Feuer/Huffman): Urban Water Use Efficiency
Growing population, local and regional water shortages, climate change, and the need to protect California’s fish and wildlife make it imperative that the State manage its water resources as efficiently as possible. AB 49 requires establishes requirements for urban and agricultural water use efficiency. For urban areas the bill requires the state to achieve a 20% reduction in per capita water use by 2020 for urban water use which will allow current water supplies to last longer and reduce the impacts on the state’s economy and ecosystems caused by severe water shortages and droughts. The 20% reduction is estimated to result in an additional 1.7 million acre of water by 2020 which is significantly more than the average annual yield of most surface storage reservoirs. For agricultural areas, the bill requires agricultural water suppliers to prepare water management plans and implement appropriate conservation measures in order to increase the efficiency use of water.
AB 1187 (Huffman): Water Supply Reliability Bond
The state is in a water and ecosystem crisis due to reduced rainfall, court-ordered water restrictions, contaminated and over-drafted groundwater basins, and an increasing population. Funding is needed to for water and ecosystem projects to address the conflicts in the Delta, provide regional water supplies, promote new water supplies statewide such as water conservation and recycled water, and to restore impacted fisheries and watersheds. AB 1187 authorizes $10 billion in general obligation bonds in part repaid by a new water user fee. Funding would be available for projects to increase water supply reliability statewide and in the Delta including ecosystem and water management projects.
AB 883 (Huffman): Department of Fish And Game Reform
States the intent of the Legislature to enhance the effectiveness, accountability and capacity of the Department of Fish and Game to fulfill its public trust mission to protect, conserve and manage California's fish and wildlife resources for the benefit of the people of California.
AB 1232 (Huffman): Marin Sewer Agencies
Recent sewage spills into Richardson and San Francisco Bay over the past two years resulted in serious impacts to the environment and costly fines for the sanitation districts and their customers. These spills are primarily the result of long-overdue repair and replacement of wastewater infrastructure in small and under-funded systems. AB 1232 authorizes the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) in Marin County to require reorganization or consolidation of small waste water agencies if those agencies have had recent illegal spills and the LAFCO has previously made findings that reorganization would provide improved efficiencies and cost savings. This bill will help address the issues of small sanitation districts which lack the funds to make necessary improvements to outdated, unreliable pipes.
Promoting Energy Efficiency and Conservation:
AB 228 (Huffman): Energy Efficient Outdoor Lights
Major outdoor lighting for areas such as parking lots, shopping centers, roads and freeways consume huge amounts of electricity. Most of these lights are inefficient, outdated technologies and waste money and precious energy resources. This bill will establish energy efficiency standards for outdoor lighting to promote the use of greener, money-saving lights.
AB 234 (Huffman): Federal Stimulus Funds for Energy and Water Efficiency Projects
California is expected to receive at least $300 million for energy efficiency programs from the federal economic stimulus package -- titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Water use requires significant amounts of energy. Approximately 20% of the electricity consumed in California is due to water delivery, treatment and use. AB 234 promotes this nexus and requires the California Energy Commission to maximize the benefits of the federal stimulus funds by directing funding where appropriate to water conservation projects that also save energy.
AB 881 (Huffman): Sonoma Greenhouse Gas Pilot Program
Creates the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority to coordinate local government activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the County by 25% below 1990 levels by 2015.
AB 920 (Huffman): Solar Net Metering
Provides incentives for green energy by allowing homeowners with residential solar and wind renewable energy systems to be paid by their electric utility for any excess power generated at their home.
Improving Public Health and Safety:
AB 75 (Huffman): Medi-Cal Reimbursement to Hospitals
Protects small district hospitals that provide services in underserved communities, such as Sonoma Valley Hospital and Petaluma Valley Hospital, from a devastating 10% Medi-Cal rate cut by correcting a drafting error in the 2008-09 Budget Trailer Bill on Health.
AB 523 (Huffman): Marin General Hospital
Provides a two-year extension to current seismic safety retrofit deadlines for Marin General Hospital, from 2013 to 2015, to allow the hospital to meet those requirements. Existing law requires hospital buildings to meet strict seismic safety guidelines to ensure that they are able to operate safely in the event of a major earthquake.
AB 455 (Huffman): Gang Violence Prevention
Requires the California Conservation Corps to include a minimum of 5% young adults at risk of gang involvement, current gang members, or former gang members. This bill is a two-year bill.
AB 1220 (Huffman): Behind The Wheel Practice
One out of every four fatal vehicle accidents involves individuals between the ages of 16 to 24 years of age. Research shows that practice behind the wheel dramatically reduces crash rates for new drivers. This bill requires new drivers 16 to 24 years of age to submit to the DMV a driving log, certifying that they have completed 50 hours of supervised driving practice upon application for a driver’s license. This bill is the winning submission for Assemblymember Huffman’s Third Annual “Oughta be a law…or not” contest.
AB 1260 (Huffman): Acupuncture Board Reform
Enacts needed reform relating to the California Acupuncture Board. Specifically, AB 1260 revises the quorum requirement for the board from five to four members.
AB 1284 (Huffman): Residential Treatment Facilities
Provides notice to cities and counties of license applications for residential alcohol and drug abuse treatment facilities if those proposed facilities will be adjacent to existing facilities. Allows cities and counties to raise objections or concerns with clusters of treatment facilities in residential neighborhoods that may impact local traffic or public safety.
AB 1437 (Huffman): Egg-Safety Act
Proposition 2, which was overwhelmingly passed by California voters in November 2008, established animal welfare standards for eggs processed in California. This bill will require all eggs sold in California to meet those standards, which ensure egg-laying hens are able to stand up, turn around, and spread their wings.
Preventing San Quentin Prison Expansion:
AB 1359 (Huffman): Condemned Inmate Housing
To provide common sense, cost-effective strategies to alleviate the extreme expense and current inadequate conditions for condemned inmate housing at San Quentin, this bill allows the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to house condemned inmates, subject to certain conditions, at any state prison facility with level IV maximum security housing.
AB X3 22 (Huffman): San Quentin
De-authorizes the construction of a new Condemned Inmate Complex at San Quentin by eliminating the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s budget of $356 million for the complex.
Protecting California’s Natural Resources:
AB 231 (Huffman): Climate Protection Trust
To help the state combat global warming to the fullest extent possible, this bill collects fees imposed by the state Air Resources Board on greenhouse gas emission polluters and establishes guidelines for how those funds can be spent on pollution reduction programs.
AB 489 (Huffman): Fisheries – Landing Fees
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has suffered from a critical lack of funding to support its fish and wildlife programs, including the commercial fishing program. This shortage in funding has seriously impaired DFG’s ability to effectively manage and protect these public trust resources. AB 489 converts the landing fees paid by fish processors form the current per pound tax rates to a rate imposed on the sale price of the fishery landing at the dock (referred to as an ad valorum fee). This change would allow for a more equitable fee structure because those fishermen and women that are receiving more money for their fish sold would be paying a higher amount of fees, and those receiving less money pay less in fees. The fee would initially be set at 1.5% of the sales price, and then increase to 3% starting in 2013. Based on prior year history of fishing sales, this change could generate approximately $2 million more annually for DFG management of commercial fisheries. The majority of the landing fees have not been adjusted since 1986.
AB 708 (Huffman): Poaching of Fish and Wildlife
The illegal taking of fish and wildlife, including the egregious poaching of migratory birds, deer, bear, fish, and abalone, poses a serious threat to California’s wildlife species and biodiversity. Poaching cases are on the rise and California is particularly impacted because the current fines and penalties have proved insufficient to serve as an effective deterrent. AB 708 will establish minimum mandatory fines, and authorize the department of fish and Game to permanently revoke a hunting or fishing license if a person is convicted of egregious poaching of fish and wildlife. These changes will help provide a serious deterrent to this illegal activity.
AB 1173 (Huffman): Fluorescent Light Recycling
Although the overall environmental benefits of using fluorescent lighting include reducing electricity consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, the total net amount of mercury, and dependency on fossil fuels, each fluorescent bulb still contains mercury. This bill creates a free and convenient program for consumers to properly dispose of fluorescent lights by requiring fluorescent lamp manufacturers who receive energy efficiency money from the Public Goods Charge (PGC) fund to implement a fluorescent lamp recycling program or contribute to a fluorescent lamp recycling program. Manufacturers may only receive PGC funds if they provide lamps that meet the Energy Star version 4.0 qualifications. Retailers who receive PGC funds will be required to provide the public with a convenient in-store collection point.
AB 1343 (Huffman): Paint Take Back
Leftover paint poses a significant environmental and cost burden to local governments and the state. Post-consumer paint is the single largest source of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) generated in California, representing 35% of the HHW collected by local government HHW programs. This bill requires manufacturers to take responsibility for establishing and financing a safe and reliable system for the recovery and proper management of leftover paint generated by consumers in this state.
Supporting Local Government:
AB 1034 (Huffman): Marin County Retirement Board
Permits the Marin County Employee Retirement Association to become a special district with executive management employed directly by the newly created special district.
AB 1407 (Huffman): Districts of Choice
Extends the Public School District of Choice program for five more years, to 2015, to allow students to enroll in the public school of their choice regardless of school district boundaries. Students select attendance at public schools outside their residential school district boundaries for a variety of reasons, such as interest in a unique educational program, desire for continuity of program as students move out of homelessness and district boundaries, and matters of geography when a district boundary line prevents attendance at the school closer to home. |
