For more information about any specific bill, visit www.leginfo.ca.gov.

AB 1 – Children's Health Insurance

Nearly 763,000 children in California currently lack health insurance coverage, which translates into almost 7% of all California children.  Approximately 447,000 of these uninsured children are already eligible for the state-sponsored health insurance programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.  Additionally, more than 87,000 children are enrolled in 18 different local Children’s Health Initiatives (CHI’s).  CHIs are local efforts that combine public and private funding to provide health insurance coverage to children who are not eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families.  While CHIs are an excellent model for covering all children, most counties do not have them, and they are dependent on county general funds, foundation funding and/or private donations.  Most of this funding has been given on a short-term basis, thereby making it difficult to sustain programs in the counties that have CHIs.  Recognizing the importance of insuring all California children, AB 1 extends coverage to all children through California’s highly acclaimed public insurance programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.  AB 1 proposes increasing eligibility for these programs to all children in the state up to 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).  AB 1 also creates a Healthy Families “buy-in” program whereby families above 300% of FPL can pay full cost to enroll their children in Healthy Families.  Finally, the bill proposes a series of simplification strategies to Medi-Cal and Healthy Families to make the programs as efficient and accessible as possible, thereby maximizing enrollment and retention of eligible children..

AB 14 – Civil Rights Act of 2007

AB 14 amends 51 provisions in current law which prohibit discrimination against individuals who are members of specified categories.  These categories are also known as "protected classes."  The list of protected classes varies from statute to statute.  These variances have created deficiencies in protection for Californians, in addition to creating confusion for those charged with implementing and complying with these laws.  AB 14 increases or clarifies protections for various protected classes in a variety of situations such as jury service, the issuance of credit cards, voter registration programs, delivery of emergency services, awarding of public contracts, food stamp eligibility and the use of public beaches.  Sponsored by Equality California and the California State Conference of the NAACP, AB 14 amends existing nondiscrimination provisions in California law to be consistent with the provisions in the Unruh Civil Rights Act and Government Code Section 11135, which prohibit discrimination in business establishments and state funded programs and activities.  AB 14 is the fourth bill in a series of nondiscrimination bills authored by Assemblymember Laird and signed into law, including AB 2900 (2004), AB 1400 (2005), and AB 2800 (2006).

AB 110 – Needle Exchange

Current State Department of Health Services policy allows state HIV prevention and education funds to be used for costs associated with authorized needle exchange programs, except for the purchase of sterile hypodermic needles and syringes.  The available sources of funding for the purchase of sterile needles and syringes have been decreasing.  AB 110 would (1) clarify current state policy to make clear that local public agencies may use state HIV prevention and education funds to support authorized clean needle and syringe exchange programs, and (2) grant local agencies the authority to purchase sterile hypodermic needles and syringes for authorized clean needle and syringe exchange programs, a policy currently prohibited by the state. AB 110, co-sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance Network and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, continues an effort started in 2005 by Assemblymember Laird to support local needle exchange programs.

AB 156 – Flood Control

In 1911, the federal and state governments adopted a flood control plan for the Sacramento Valley that included a system of “project” levees and bypasses.  In the 1986 flood, one of these levees failed.  In the subsequent Paterno case, the appellate court determined that the state was liable because the levee was not properly constructed and maintained.  AB 156 would: (1) require the Department of Water Resources to prepare a status report on these levees; (2) require local levee districts to provide certain information relevant to the status report; (3) require the department to annually notify each landowner protected by a project levee of the flood risk and to suggest that the landowner purchase flood insurance; (4) allow the department to develop a mitigation bank for levee work; (5) require the department to establish a schedule of when it will map areas for flood risk; and (6) require a local levee safety plan to be prepared as a condition of an area receiving state funding for levee enlargements.

AB 715 – Water Conservation: Toilet & Urinal Efficiency

Under existing law, new toilets sold or installed in the state may not use more than 1.6 gallons per flush.  AB 715 would provide that new “dual-flush” toilets may not use more than 1.6 gallons-solid and 1.1 gallons-liquid per flush.  Standard toilets may not use more than 1.3 gallons per flush.  The bill would also change the maximum amount of water used by new urinals from 1.0 gallons per flush to 0.5 gallons per flush.  The bill also establishes a process for waterless urinals to be authorized under the Plumbing Code.  By the tenth year, the state is expected to save over 8 billion gallons of water per year, surpassing the total amount of bottled water Americans consumed in all of 2005.

AB 739 – Urban Stormwater Runoff

Urban stormwater runoff is a significant source of pollution to coastal and other water bodies. Anything that can be washed into the state's water bodies--such as oil and fluids from cars, and fertilizer and pesticides from lawns--contributes to stormwater pollution.  Stormwater has been regulated by the state since 1987 by requiring the adoption of “best management practices” to reduce pollution.  However, there is no comprehensive monitoring and reporting system in place that can demonstrate that the program is effectively protecting the water quality.  AB 739 would require the State Water Resources Control Board to develop and implement a framework that will assess the effectiveness of the stormwater management program in order to ensure the program is improving water quality.  The bill also defines the priorities for expenditure of the stormwater funds in Proposition 84 and Proposition 1E.

AB 740 – Commercial Vessel Invasive Species

Aquatic invasive species significantly impact California’s marine ecosystem and coastal economies. Hull maintenance and cleaning of commercial vessels is necessary to remove the attached invasive species.  AB 740 would reduce the introduction of invasive species into California’s coastal waters through increased regulation of large commercial vessels entering California ports.  Specifically, the bill would expand the current ballast water regulatory program to include cleaning and maintenance of the vessel hulls. 

AB 1058 – Green Buildings

In 2005, California had approximately 12.9 million existing housing units and over 211,000 new units were constructed.  The construction of a 2,000 square foot home generates three to five tons of waste material, California residences use 5.6 million acre-feet of applied water annually, and the residential sector accounts for roughly 31% of the electricity consumed in the state.  Green building practices efficiently utilize energy, water, and materials throughout the building life cycle; enhance indoor air quality; and incorporate environmentally-preferable products.  AB 1058 would require the California Environmental Protection Agency to develop a set of voluntary residential green building best practices with a specified working group.  That working group will also develop minimum standards for submission to the California Building Standards Commission for inclusion in the Building Code.  Additionally, the entities involved in formation of the best practices and standards are required to consider relevant existing initiatives.  Beginning July 2011, a review of the best practices will be conducted to enable revisions to the minimum standards.  By July 1, 2013, all residential buildings in California will be required to exceed the minimum standards created in this bill.  

AB 1060 – Food Stamp and CalWORKS Red Tape Reduction Act

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that two million Californians (68% of whom are children) are eligible for food stamps, but are not receiving them.  Sponsored by the California Food Policy Advocates, AB 1060 aims to increase access to food by directing the state to move from a 3-month reporting system to a 6-month reporting system for food stamps and CalWORKS.  Since over 84% of CalWORKS recipients receive food stamps, continuing to align the reporting systems makes sense for recipients and government.  Additionally, taking this action would not only align programs, it would also reduce administrative errors and remove millions of pages of paperwork from the food stamp process in California.

AB 1066 – Coastal Sea Level Rise

Coastal California and the San Francisco Bay have witnessed persistent sea level rise over the past century (roughly 4-8 inches or 10-20 cm).  The California Climate Change Center projects up to a 3 foot sea level rise by the end of this century.  Some of the impacts associated with sea level rise along the coast include water quality problems, coastal flooding, coastal erosion, beach loss, cliff failure and saltwater intrusion.  AB 1066 would increase state and local coastal preparedness for impacts from sea level rise associated with climate change.  Specifically, the bill would establish a state agency working group to assess sea level rise impacts and plan for how the state should to adapt and mitigate to the impacts; and requires the Ocean Protection Council and the California Climate Change Center to provide the best available scientific information to state and local agencies, including future projections for sea level rise.

AB 1130 – Above-Ground Petroleum Storage Tanks

In 1990, the state established a program to establish requirements for above-ground petroleum storage tanks and to carry out a state inspection of those tanks.  AB 1130 would transfer the inspection program to those local safety agencies which inspect below-ground storage tanks, hazardous materials storage, and hazardous waste disposal.  The shift of the program should reduce total costs and improve safety by having better trained inspectors.

AB 1216 – Public School Alignment and Accountability

California's schools are subject to differing federal and state accountability systems.  The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires that a school that fails two years in a row to make Adequate Yearly Progress static achievement score targets shall be identified as a Program Improvement school subject to a series of sanctions.  Under the state's Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP), schools that are ranked below average on the Academic Performance Index develop a plan of improvement with the assistance of an external evaluator and implement that plan with the help of state funding.  The state's High Priority School Program incorporates the II/USP schools into a more comprehensive reform strategy.  Sponsored by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, AB 1216 would improve this coordination and integration of state and federal accountability systems by allowing schools that rank in deciles six through ten to exit the II/USP grant program.  The bill would also sunset the II/USP program on January 1, 2010. 

AB 1220 – Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act: Borrowing Authority

The Office of Spill Prevention and Response within the Department of Fish and Game was established in 1990 to create an oil spill prevention system, an oil spill response capability, and a financial method to pay for oil spill cleanup.  Fees on oil importation, export and refining are used to maintain an oil spill reserve account of $54 million.  In addition to the account, the law was intended to authorize the State Treasurer to borrow additional funds if needed in response to an oil spill.  In reviewing the law, the Attorney General's office concluded that the State Treasurer would be unable to borrow the necessary funds.  Sponsored by the State Treasurer, AB 1220 would amend current law to provide that any state bonds issued by the State Treasurer for the cleanup of oil spills would be backed by fees on oil importers, exporters, and refiners.  By correcting the error in existing law, this bill assures that funds will be available for the cleanup of oil spills.

AB 1222 – Mandates Process

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for increased costs if the Legislature passes a law, or the administration issues an executive order or adopts regulations.  Currently, the Commission on State Mandates serves as a quasi-judicial agency in making the determination whether or not a reimbursable state mandate was created based on test claims filed by a local agency or school district.  Unfortunately, the existing process to determine whether a mandate exists and the amount to be subvened is lengthy, often taking five years or more to be resolved through the process provided for in existing law.  AB 1222 would establish a streamlined alternative mandate determination process; create an alternative process for establishing a mandate reimbursement methodology; clarify an existing reimbursement methodology; and enhance existing claiming requirements for certain mandates.  The goal of this measure is to establish a process to ease some mandate determinations and accelerate settlement of claims with local governments, which will allow the Commission on State Mandates to focus its resources on the more complicated claims that it is asked to consider, provide timely information to the Legislature regarding local costs of state requirements, and provide more timely reimbursement of local governments. 

AB 1230 – Charter Schools: Public Health

Existing law requires that school districts must provide for the testing of the sight and hearing of each pupil enrolled in the schools of the district and a scoliosis screening to each female pupil in 7th grade and each male pupil in 8th grade.  Currently, these provisions do not apply to California's charter schools.  Sponsored by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, AB 1230 would require charter schools to provide the pupil sight and hearing test and the scoliosis screening.

AB 1280 – Fisheries Management

Currently, traditional fishery management in California and much of the nation can be characterized as a “race for fish” in which fishers catch as much fish as possible, as fast as possible.  This race results in an unprofitable and depleted fishery--which hurts both the fishers and the fishery.  Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) provide an opportunity to explore innovative approaches to shift from the traditional model.  FMPs are currently required under the Marine Life Management Act, however the implementation and funding for the Act is significantly delayed.  AB 1280 aims to end the delay by increasing funding available for FMPs.

AB 1283 – First Time Homebuyers

Under current law, redevelopment agencies are required to set aside 20% of redevelopment funds for low and moderate income housing.  For homeownership programs operated by redevelopment agencies, existing law generally limits the percentage of income that low and moderate income homeowners may pay toward their mortgage to 30% and 35% respectively.  Because of the higher housing costs, the Legislature has authorized redevelopment agencies in Santa Cruz County, as well as the Contra Costa County and Monterey County redevelopment agencies to allow a higher percentage of income to be paid toward the mortgage--up to 40%.  This provision was set to sunset on January 1, 2008.  Sponsored by the County of Santa Cruz, AB 1283 extended this valuable tool of homeownership programs by five years to January 1, 2013.
Signed by the Governor.  Chapter 62, Statute of 2007.

AB 1396 – Coastal Trail

For over 30 years, federal, state, and local governments, as well as private entities, have supported the development of the Coastal Trail (Trail).  The Trail is envisioned to stretch 1,300 miles along the entire California Coast.   At this time the trail is only 40% complete.  The complexity of planning the Trail necessitates ongoing and increasing attention and resources.  AB 1396 requires Caltrans to participate in the development of the Trail, and to annually report to California’s resource agencies on surplus properties for sale in the coastal zone. The bill also requires regional transportation planning agencies to include provisions for the Trail in coastal transportation plans.

AB 1404 – Water Measurement

Currently, water use information reported by local entities is collected by 3 different state agencies.  AB 1404 is intended to fill critical data gaps to enable more effective water management planning and investment decisions at the state and regional levels, and to demonstrate the effects of water conservation measures.  The bill requires state agencies to develop a coordinated database of urban and agricultural water use, and requires agricultural water suppliers to report their water use information to the state.  AB 1404 will streamline the water use reporting system to reduce the burden on those reporting the information and allow for a more useful data system.

AB 1420 – Urban Water Conservation

Increased compliance with water conservation measures in urban areas is estimated to result in an annual water savings of approximately 300,000 acre feet statewide.  Currently, state law requires 14 conservation measures (referred to as demand management measures) to be included in a local water supplier’s Urban Water Management Plan.  Examples of the conservation measures include retrofit toilet programs, school education and water system audits. AB 1420 requires, as a condition of eligibility for state water management grants, that urban water suppliers implement the water conservation measures in order to increase water use efficiency in urban areas. 

AB 1438 – DeLaveaga Park

In 1899, the Legislature authorized a National Guard “camp of instruction” in Santa Cruz and authorized the state to accept donations of land.  The City of Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County donated a portion of the DeLaveaga property to the state for the military's “camp of instruction.”  In 1967, when the city was adding a golf course to the property, the state and city signed a Lease Exchange Agreement that proposed the transfer of land, which allowed the city to place several holes of the course on state-owned land.  Forty years have passed without the Lease Exchange-prescribed transfer occurring.  AB 1438 would preserve the ongoing use of the Armory Site for military purposes, provide direction for future uses of the land, and facilitate the immediate transfer of recreational land to the City.

AB 1492 – Yield-to-Bus

During a typical eight-hour shift, a transit driver may pull in and out of traffic several hundred times.  In congested areas such as the City of San Jose and Santa Cruz County, absent the assistance provided by the yield-to-bus system, drivers and passengers may face major delays.  Previous law, established in 1999 and sunset in 2004, established a yield-to-bus demonstration program for the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (Metro).  This yield-to-bus program required motorists to yield the right-of-way to a public transit bus when the bus was attempting to merge with traffic after the bus has exited completely from the traffic lane to board or disembark passengers at a designated bus stop.  To signal motorists, the bus driver activated a “yield right-of-way sign” that is illuminated by a flashing light installed on the left-rear of the bus.  Sponsored by VTA and Metro, AB 1492 would re-establish the yield-to-bus safety measures. 

AB 55 – Electronic Health Technology

In order to protect the integrity of the practice of medicine by eliminating improper influence on physicians, current state and federal “anti-kickback” statutes prohibit the giving and acceptance of any form of consideration by physicians.  However, Congress created a “safe harbor” exception to this law for electronic health hardware.  AB 55 will broaden California law to conform to federal law and regulations, enabling California physicians better access to e-prescribing and EHR technology.

AB 2174 – Eosinophilic Disorder

Eosinophilic disorders and short bowel syndrome affect all age groups, especially children, and can lead to severe food allergies that require the consumption of very expensive formulas.  This bill would require public and private health plans and insurance policies to provide coverage for the use of amino acid-based elemental formulas, regardless of delivery method, for the diagnosis and treatment of eosinophilic disorders and short bowel syndrome.  Prescribing physicians would be required to issue a written order stating that the use of the formula is medically necessary.  The goal of this bill is to enable patients with these debilitating conditions access to life-saving formulas.

AB 2175 (Laird-Feuer) – Water Conservation

Climate change, growing population, local and regional water shortages, and the need to protect California’s fish and wildlife make it imperative that the State manage its water resources as efficiently as possible.  Increased implementation of urban and agricultural water conservation is estimated to significantly reduce water demands in future years.   AB 2175 shifts water conservation from a voluntary program and requires increased water conservation by establishing water savings targets for urban and agricultural water suppliers to meet by 2020.

AB 2270 (Laird-Feuer) – Water Recycling

Water recycling is a key component of water management and water supply reliability in California. Recycled water provides additional water supplies that are a cost effective and reliable method of helping meet California’s water needs. Existing law establishes a statewide recycling goal of 700,000 acre-feet of water by 2000 and 1 million acre-feet by 2010. In 2005, based on the California Water Plan, the State is 20 years behind in reaching its recycling goals.  AB 2270 would promote recycled water use by setting and then tracking progress of recycled water targets, and removing barriers for recycled water use.  One such barrier occurs when the salt level of recycled water is too high for groundwater recharge use or irrigation purposes. To address this, AB 2270 increases local agency authority to regulate salt-based water softeners—each one of which can discharge into a community waste treatment system a pound of salt per day.

AB 2300 – Medi-Cal Gateway to School Meals

Most children participating in the Medi-Cal program are eligible for free or reduced price school meals, yet some are not enrolled.  Many others are enrolled, but have had to fill out substantial paperwork at school to prove that they qualify for a free or reduced price meal, despite having already provided extensive information to the Medi-Cal program.  AB 2300 would create an automatic enrollment system, known as “direct certification,” for children enrolled in Medi-Cal but not in the school meal program, thereby increasing participation of eligible children in the school meal program.  The bill would address the paperwork process by allowing the State to utilize Medi-Cal data to verify eligibility of families in the school meals program.  AB 1385 (Laird, 2005) created a similar school meal program certification system for children in the CalWORKs or food stamps programs.

AB 2432 – Climate Change Research

The Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program, housed within the California Energy Commission, was created to research and develop environmentally sound, safe, reliable and affordable energy services that benefit utility ratepayers. AB 2432 bill would authorize PIER to conduct climate change research and would encourage additional coordination between PIER and other state agencies to increase the usefulness of research, in order to better ensure funding for research and demonstration projects is effectively directed at addressing the most critical climate change issues faced by planners.

AB 2440 – Medi-Cal Drug Reimbursement

Every year, there are significant delays by the state in updating procedure and diagnostic codes associated with reimbursements to providers for drugs and services provided to Medi-Cal patients. Often, providers cannot afford to offer these drugs to their patients without prompt reimbursement.  This is often the case for oncologists whose patients benefit from costly cancer drugs that must be administered in a timely manner.  AB 2440 requires the state to update these codes within 60 days of the updates published nationally, and if the state fails to do so, the state shall utilize the national updates, thereby ensuring access to life-saving treatments.

AB 2455 – State Resource Land Acquisitions

Reports in 2004 from the California Performance Review and in 2007 by the Legislative Analyst’s Office reviewed the state agency acquisition and appraisal process for natural resource lands and raised concerns regarding inefficient administrative procedures and unnecessary delays, as well as concerns about independent review of land appraisals.  AB 2455 sets appraisal standards for acquisition of state conservation lands in order to ensure the efficient and effective use of state bond dollars to achieve public benefits, as well as encourage public confidence in the process.

AB 2466 (Laird-Huffman) – Renewable Energy/Aggregate Net Metering

This bill allows local government entities to credit renewable energy produced on one site owned by the local entity against their electricity usage on other facilities also owned by the local entity.  This will allow local governments to maximize their renewable energy generation potential.

AB 2472 – DeLaveaga Park Land Exchange

In 1899, the Legislature authorized a National Guard “camp of instruction” in Santa Cruz and authorized the State to accept donations of land.  The City of Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County donated a portion of the DeLaveaga property to the State for the military’s “camp of instruction.”  In 1967, when the City was adding a golf course to the property, the State and City signed a Lease Exchange Agreement that proposed a transfer of land, which allowed the City to place several holes of the course on state-owned land.  Forty years have passed without the Lease Exchange-prescribed transfer occurring.  AB 2472 would preserve the ongoing use of the site for military purposes, provide direction for future uses of the land, and facilitate the immediate transfer of recreational land to the City.

AB 2532 – Fishery Management

California’s current “race for fish” (in which fishers catch as much fish as possible, as fast as possible) results in an unprofitable and depleted fishery—which hurts both the fishers and the fishery.  Existing law requires the development of Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) to promote sustainable fisheries.  Currently the development of FMPs is significantly delayed due to lack of resources and the comprehensive scope of the information required to complete an FMP. AB 2532 would authorize an alternate management protocol to enable the State to make incremental improvements toward sustainable fishery management when a fully FMP has yet to be completed.  The bill also promotes the increased participation of fishery groups in fishery management.

AB 2595 – Public Records Protection and Recovery

Existing law provides that it is a crime to steal, destroy or alter public records.  However, existing law does not address what happens when a public record is no longer in public custody and is either in private hands or the marketplace.  An example would be historic documents from prison registers that have been found for sale on private online auctions.  AB 2595 would establish a procedure by which the Secretary of State, on behalf of the California State Archives, could recover official governmental records that are found in possession of non-governmental entities or persons.  Recovery of public documents is important to ensuring open government and preserving government accountability.

AB 2654 – Civil Rights Act of 2008

Under current law, there are hundreds of provisions that prohibit discrimination against individuals who are members of specified categories that are known as “protected classes.”  The lists of protected classes have varied from statute to statute, and these variances have created deficiencies in protection for Californians, in addition to creating confusion for those charged with implementing and complying with these laws.  Four previous bills authored by Assemblymember Laird and signed into law by the Governor updated and made consistent 108 of these outdated provisions.  AB 2654 covers 13 additional provisions, which apply to insurance and government programs.  The bill would make these nondiscrimination provisions consistent with the provisions in the Unruh Civil Rights Act or Government Code Section 11135, which are the most comprehensive.    

AB 2678 (Núñez-Laird) – Time-of-Sale Energy Audits

This bill would require the California Energy Commission, by July 2010, to develop requirements for energy audits of residential and commercial buildings at the time of sale.  In setting such requirements, the Commission would be required to consider the ability to require mandatory energy efficiency efforts, the cost of establishing these requirements, the availability of financing for energy efficiency improvements, and the expected value of such requirements.  The Commission must also consult with specified groups and hold public hearings prior to adoption of any requirements. 

AB 2763 – Invasive Pest Planning Act of 2008

This bill would enact the Invasive Pest Planning Act of 2008 as a means to appropriately plan for harmful invasive animals, plants, insects and diseases that could arrive in California.  The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to develop a list of harmful “invasives” that could arrive in California.  For those on the list, CDFA would develop a written assessment of how to respond, including if the response calls for the use of pesticides, and a discussion of health and environmental impacts.  The department would also be required to seek input from state and local health officials, and hold public hearings.

AB 2844 – Food Stamp & CalWORKS Red Tape Reduction

The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that two million Californians (68% of whom are children) are eligible for food stamps, but are not receiving them.  AB 2844 would increase access to food by directing the state to move from a 3-month reporting system to a 6-month reporting system for food stamps and CalWORKS.  Since over 84% of CalWORKS recipients receive food stamps, continuing to align the reporting systems makes sense for recipients and government.  Additionally, taking this action would align programs, reduce administrative errors, remove millions of pages of paperwork from the food stamp process in California, and save the state millions of dollars.

AB 2921 – Williamson Act Improvements

This bill would revise provisions of the Williamson Act, which allows a landowner to pay lower property taxes in exchange for retaining the land in agriculture use or as open space.  The bill would (1) specify that the State can collect a portion of certain payments to terminate a contract, (2) allow landowners transferring their contracts to new lands to include protections for habitat or waterways on the new lands, and (3) clarifies that it is the issuance of a “building” permit that is used to determine whether a contract is in material breach, rather than other permits.

AB 2930 – Natural Heritage Preservation Tax Credit Extension

This bill would extend the Natural Heritage Preservation Tax Credit, which provides tax credits to landowners who gift environmental property to the State.  The bill would also allow cities and counties to use the tax credit mechanism for the purchase of open space or recreational lands, provided the State’s General Fund is reimbursed.

AB 2945 – Wilderness Land Designations

This bill would allow state agencies that own designated state wilderness lands to use the same “minimal approach” to management as the federal government has in its very successful federal wilderness program.

AB 2990 – Underground Petroleum Storage Tanks

This bill would have the State Water Resources Control Board establish a task force to make recommendations to require removal and/or replacement of single-walled, underground petroleum tanks as a means to prevent pollution of groundwater from gasoline and diesel fuels.  All tanks installed after 1984 were required to be double-walled.

AB 3033 (Núñez-Laird) – UC-State Contracts

This bill requests the University of California and the State Department of General Services to develop a standard-format state-university research contract in order to save costs and time.

ACR 117 – Light Brown Apple Moth

This Assembly Concurrent Resolution calls on the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and other relevant state departments to address unresolved health, scientific and efficacy issues surrounding the State’s Light Brown Apple Moth eradication plans.

AJR 54 – State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

This Assembly Joint Resolution calls on President Bush and the U.S. Congress to rescind a directive that restricts California’s authority to cover children under SCHIP.  The resolution comes in response to a directive from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that asserted that states must comply with restrictions that would impair the ability of California to provide health care coverage to children with SCHIP funds under the State’s Healthy Families Program and any expansion above current levels.  If the directive is implemented this year, approximately 34,000 California children could lose their health insurance.