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/A-/ Legislative Bill Action ............................................................... The following are summaries of just a few of the legislative bills that are currently being acted upon by the League of California Cities. For more information about these and other bills, please visit the League website to access information about legislation, policy issues and related develop- ments. You can track information on bills (www.cacities.orglbillsearch), locate legislators and legislative committees, send letters to legislators or the media through the online Advocacy Center (www.cacities.org/advocacycenter), research League policy positions, access useful related links, and much more. TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS AB 20 (Leslie) Disabled persons: Access: Technical Violations. A8 20 would preclude commencement of an action of damages against a public facility for a de minimus deviation from a code or regulation that has no significant impact on a disabled person's right to the goods and services provided by the facility. This bill would instead provide that the remedy for a technical violation is injunctive relief and the recovery of attorney's fees. Although many cities have sent letters of support for this bill, the author has decided to make this a two-year bill in order to work on concerns from various parties to this bill. The League will continue to work with the author when this issue returns next session. In the Senate, similar legislation, S8 855 (Poochigian) Special Access: Uability, which would establish notice requirements for an alleged ag- grieved party to follow before bringing an action against a business for an alleged violations, failed to pass out of Senate Judiciary this week. Recon- sideration was granted to S8 855, so the League will continue to monitor it. Staff: P. Anthony. Thomas; Status: Two-year bill; Position: Sup- port. S8 372 (Margett) Vehicles: Size, Weight, and Load: Local Authorities: Issuance of Variance Permits. S8 372 restates existing law regarding what a local authority can charge for an oversized load permit. The League has not taken a position but reminds cities to check on the fees they charge for oversized load variance permits. S8 372_would prohibit a local government from imposing additional charges for an oversized load variance permit if those charges are for services within the scope of the local authority's ordinary duties. Existing law authorizes a local authority to charge a fee of up to $16 for a daily use permit and $90 for an annual permit if the fee is established by ordinance or resolution after notice and hearing. However, local authorities may not charge more for their permits than Caltrans charges for its permits. In addition to the permit fee, a local authority may charge for special services needed for especially large or heavy loads, including engineering investi- gations, escorts, and tree trimming. According to the sponsor of the bill, some cities and counties in Southern California are charging additional fees beyond the permit fee for such, things as accepting permit applications by fax or by paying the permit fee by credit card. If you have any concerns about S8 372, please contact Genevieve Morelos at amorelos@cacities.ora. Staff: Liisa Lawson Stark; Status: SenFlr; Position: Review and Comment. ENVIROMENTAL SB 1059 (Escutia) Transmission Lines. Local Land Use Preemption. S8 1059 is sched- uled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 16. All cities are requested to send letters of opposition (unless amended) to members of the Committee. As currently drafted, S8 1059 would authorize the state to impose upon local governments trans- PAGE 8/PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Website .. www.cacities.org