Bill Text: CA SB123 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Environmental and land use court.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-03 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB123 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB123-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 123 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 4, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
JANUARY 18, 2013
An act to add Article 2 (commencing with Section 69540) to Chapter
5 of Title 8 of the Government Code, to amend Section 21191 of
the Public Resou rces Code, and to amend Section 5106 of
the Vehicle Code, relating to courts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 123, as amended, Corbett. Environmental and land use court.
Existing
(1) Existing law establishes a
statewide system of courts with a superior court of one or more
judges in each county. Existing law requires the presiding judge of
each superior court to distribute the business of the court among the
judges, and to prescribe the order of business, subject to the rules
of the Judicial Council.
This bill would, commencing July 1, 2014, require the Judicial
Council to direct the creation of an environmental and land use
division within 2 or more superior courts within each of the
appellate districts of the state to process civil proceedings brought
pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act or in specified
subject areas, including air quality, biological resources, climate
change, hazards and hazardous materials, land use planning, and water
quality. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by rule of
court, to identify statutes in those specified areas that would be
within the jurisdiction of the environmental and land use court
division. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by rule of
court, to establish appropriate standards and protocols for the
environmental and land use court division to accomplish the
objectives of consistency, expediency, and expertise, including
educational requirements and other qualifications for specialized
judges assigned to the division.
(2) Existing law authorizes the issuance of environmental license
plates, as defined, for vehicles, upon application and upon payment
of certain fees. Existing law requires all revenue derived from the
fees for issuance, renewal, retention, duplication, and transfer of
the plates to be deposited in the California Environmental License
Plate Fund in the State Treasury.
Existing law requires the Legislature to make an annual
appropriation to the Judicial Council for the general operations of
the trial courts based on the request of the Judicial Council, which
is submitted to the Governor and the Legislature.
This bill would increase the fees for the issuance, renewal,
retention, duplication, and transfer of environmental license plates
by $10. The bill would create the Environmental and Land Use Court
Support Account within the California Environmental License Plate
Fund. The bill would, notwithstanding the above-described provisions
pertaining to the annual appropriation to the Judicial Council or any
other law, authorize the Controller to transfer $10 of each fee
collected for an environmental license plate on or after January 1,
2014, to the Environmental and Land Use Court Support Account for the
exclusive use, upon appropriation by the Legislature, of the
Judicial Council to supplement funding for the operation of the
environmental and land use court division. The bill would also make
conforming changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 2 (commencing with Section 69540) is added to
Chapter 5 of Title 8 of the Government Code, to read:
Article 2. Environmental and Land Use Court
69540. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) According to the World Resources Institute report entitled,
"Greening Justice: Creating and Improving Environmental Courts and
Tribunals" (2009), the number of courts and tribunals specializing in
environmental issues doubled during the past decade, prompted by
increasingly complex regulations and growing concerns about natural
resources.
(2) Environmental issues are often complex and fragmented, and
conflicting aspects of environmental management and protection have
made it difficult for governments, developers, communities, and
advocacy groups to achieve consistent and long-range sustainable
development. This has resulted in pressures to streamline and
rationalize the adjudication and enforcement process and increase
access to justice around the world.
(3) California's environmental and land use court cases should be
decided by specialized judges trained in environmental and land use
law, and whose decisions would be documented and published.
(4) It is important to continue California's commitment to
ensuring an unbiased judicial selection process.
(5) The creation of an environmental and land use court can
maximize both judicial competence and the speed of decisionmaking,
allowing litigants to have their cases heard and an effective remedy
delivered quickly.
(b) Accordingly, it is the intent of the Legislature to establish
an environmental and land use division within the superior courts
selected by the Judicial Council to expedite civil proceedings within
the jurisdiction of the division, with more consistent rulings and
better outcomes for all parties of interest.
69542. (a) The Judicial Council shall direct the creation of an
environmental and land use division within two or more superior
courts within each of the appellate districts of the state to process
all civil proceedings subject to this article.
(b) A civil proceeding subject to this article may be filed at a
superior court within the county in which the claim arises, but the
civil proceeding shall be transferred to the nearest superior court
within the same appellate district that has established an
environmental and land use division pursuant to this article.
(c) Both of the following shall be subject to this article:
(1) A civil proceeding brought pursuant to the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(2) A civil proceeding brought in any of the following subject
areas:
(A) Air quality.
(B) Biological resources.
(C) Climate change.
(D) Hazards and hazardous materials.
(E) Land use planning.
(F) Water quality.
(d) The Judicial Council shall, by rule of court, identify those
statutes within the subject areas identified in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) that are within the jurisdiction of the environmental
and land use court division.
69544. The Judicial Council shall, by rule of court, establish
appropriate standards and protocols for the environmental and land
use court division to accomplish the objectives of consistency,
expediency, and expertise identified in Section 69540, including
educational requirements and other qualifications for specialized
judges assigned to the division.
69546. Notwithstanding Section 77202, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, the Judicial Council may use funds from the
Environmental and Land Use Court Support Account within the
California Environmental License Plate Fund exclusively to supplement
funding for the operation of the environmental and land use court
division established in this article, including funding for judges,
staff attorneys, and other court support staff, an annual training
program covering the legal issues within the jurisdiction of the
division, and general operating costs of the division.
69545. 69548. This article shall
become operative on July 1, 2014.
SEC. 2. Section 21191 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
21191. (a) The California Environmental License Plate Fund, which
supersedes the California Environmental Protection Program Fund, is
continued in existence in the State Treasury, and consists of the
moneys deposited in the fund pursuant to any provision of law. The
Legislature shall establish the amount of fees for environmental
license plates, which shall be not less than forty-eight dollars
($48) for the issuance or thirty-eight dollars ($38) for the renewal
of an environmental license plate.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 77202 of the Government Code or any
other law, in addition to, and in furtherance of, the purposes
specified in subdivisions (a), (b), (d), and (e) of Section 21190,
the Controller shall transfer ten dollars ($10) of each fee collected
pursuant to Section 5106 of the Vehicle Code on or after January 1,
2014, to the Environmental and Land Use Court Support Account, which
is hereby created within the California Environmental License Plate
Fund, for use, upon appropriation by the Legislature, by the Judicial
Council to supplement funding for the operation of the environmental
and land use court division established in Article 2 (commencing
with Section 69540) of Chapter 5 of Title 8 of the Government Code,
as specified in Section 69546 of the Government Code. The amount
transferred pursuant to this section shall be subject to a
proportionate reduction for the reimbursement of costs of the
Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subdivision (c).
(b)
(c) The Controller shall transfer from the California
Environmental License Plate Fund to the Motor Vehicle Account in the
State Transportation Fund the amount appropriated by the Legislature
for the reimbursement of costs incurred by the Department of Motor
Vehicles in performing its duties pursuant to Sections 5004, 5004.5,
and 5022 and Article 8.5 (commencing with Section 5100) of Chapter 1
of Division 3 of the Vehicle Code. The reimbursement from the
California Environmental License Plate Fund shall only include those
additional costs which are directly attributable to any additional
duties or special handling necessary for the issuance, renewal, or
retention of the environmental license plates.
(c)
(d) The Controller shall transfer to the post fund of
the Veterans' Home of California, established pursuant to Section
1047 of the Military and Veterans Code, all revenue derived from the
issuance of prisoner of war special license plates pursuant to
Section 5101.5 of the Vehicle Code less the administrative costs of
the Department of Motor Vehicles in that regard.
(d)
(e) The Director of Motor Vehicles shall certify the
amounts of the administrative costs of the Department of Motor
Vehicles in subdivision (c) to the Controller.
(e)
(f) The balance of the moneys in the California
Environmental License Plate Fund shall be available for expenditure
only for the exclusive trust purposes specified in Section 21190,
upon appropriation by the Legislature. However, all moneys derived
from the issuance of commemorative 1984 Olympic reflectorized license
plates in the California Environmental License Plate Fund shall be
used only for capital outlay purposes.
(f)
(g) All proposed appropriations for the program shall
be summarized in a section in the Governor's Budget for each fiscal
year and shall bear the caption "California Environmental Protection
Program." The section shall contain a separate description of each
project for which an appropriation is made. All of these
appropriations shall be made to the department performing the project
and accounted for separately.
(g)
(h) The budget the Governor presents to the Legislature
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 12 of Article IV of the
California Constitution shall include, as proposed appropriations for
the California Environmental Protection Program, only projects and
programs recommended for funding by the Secretary of the Natural
Resources Agency pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 21193. The
Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall consult with the
Secretary for Environmental Protection before making any
recommendations to fund projects pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 21190.
SEC. 3. Section 5106 of the Vehicle
Code is amended to read:
5106. (a) Except as provided in Section 5101.7, in addition to
the regular registration fee or a permanent trailer identification
fee, the applicant shall be charged a fee of forty-eight
dollars ($48) fifty-eight dollars ($58) for
issuance of environmental license plates.
(b) In addition to the regular renewal fee or a permanent trailer
identification fee for the vehicle to which the plates are assigned,
the applicant for a renewal of environmental license plates shall be
charged an additional fee of thirty-eight dollars ($38)
forty-eight dollars ($48) . An applicant with a
permanent trailer identification plate shall be charged an annual fee
of thirty-eight dollars ($38) forty-eight
dollars ($48) for renewal of environmental license plates.
However, applicants for renewal of prisoner-of-war special license
plates issued under Section 5101.5 shall not be charged the
additional renewal fee under this subdivision.
(c) When payment of renewal fees is not required as specified in
Section 4000, the holder of any environmental license plate may
retain the plate upon payment of an annual fee of
thirty-eight dollars ($38) forty-eight dollars ($48)
. The fee shall be due at the expiration of the registration
year of the vehicle to which the environmental license plate was last
assigned. However, applicants for retention of prisoner-of-war
special license plates issued under Section 5101.5 shall not be
charged the additional retention fee under this subdivision.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 9265, the applicant for a duplicate
environmental license plate or a duplicate, replacement commemorative
1984 Olympic reflectorized license plate shall be charged a fee of
thirty-eight dollars ($38) forty-eight
dollars ($48) .
