STATE OF CALIFORNIA 
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE 
SECTIONS 14000-14406 DIVISION 12. 
CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS

Operating Statutes 

CHAPTER 1. 
FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICIES 

14000. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that every California youth should be encouraged to reach his or her full potential, but that many youths require guidance and support to reach their goals and make positive changes in their lives. 
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that conserving or developing natural resources, and enhancing and maintaining environmentally important lands and waters through the use of California's young women and men, is beneficial not only to the youth of the state by providing them with educational and work opportunities, but also is beneficial for the state's economy and its environment. 
(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that the California Conservation Corps continues to offer California a unique opportunity to meet both the goal of increasing understanding and appreciation of the environment and the goal of helping youths become productive adults. 
(d) The Legislature therefore reaffirms its intent that the corps' mission includes increasing awareness of and improving our natural resources, but more importantly, includes instilling basic skills and a healthy work ethic in California youth, building their character, self-esteem, and self-discipline, and establishing within them a strong sense of civic responsibility and understanding of the value of a day's work for a day's wages. 
(e) It is the further intent of the Legislature that corpsmembers graduate from the corps with good work habits, positive attitudes, and broadened professional horizons. It is the intent of the Legislature that the corps blend academic and job skills training with personal growth opportunities in order to develop productive youths who can make substantial contributions as California workers and citizens. 
(f) It is the further intent of the Legislature, in memory of Brien Thomas "B.T." Collins and John E. "Jack" Dugan, and on behalf of their passion, support, and commitment to the mission of the corps, to ensure that the corps is an entrepreneurial and incentive-based program with stable and predictable funding. In pursuit of that goal, it is the intent of the Legislature that all state agencies look to the corps first to perform those projects that meet the mission of the corps. 

14001. There is in the Resources Agency the California Conservation Corps, which shall be responsible for carrying out the purposes of, and implementing the findings and policies set forth in, this division. 

14002. The Legislature finds and declares that the California Conservation Corps provides an invaluable service. The Legislature supports the corps' mission to enhance the educational opportunities and employability of corps members. To further this mission local community college districts and the corps are encouraged to enter into cooperative agreements so that corps members have access to equal educational opportunities. Local community college districts are encouraged to recognize the unique needs and circumstances of the corps members and the corps' need for adequate facilities. Local community college districts should, to the extent possible, develop procedures to address these unique needs. 

14003. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the State of California has already established a model conservation corps program and that redundant federal and state programs to carry out resource protection and conservation within the state are not in the best interests of the state. Rather, it is in the best interests of the state that federal funds designated to be expended by federal agencies for this purpose be allocated, to the extent feasible, to the California Conservation Corps and local conservation corps. 
(b) If federal funds are available for youth conservation corps or community service corps programs, excluding the federal Job Corps, the California Conservation Corps is hereby designated as the program recipient for the State of California, and the corps may distribute, as appropriate, any federal funds to other corps programs within the state. The director shall have the authority to adopt, amend, and repeal policies to implement the program consistent with the federal requirements and with this division. 

14004. In memory of Brien Thomas "B.T." Collins, and on behalf of his passion, support, and commitment to the mission of the corps, the California Conservation Corps headquarters in Sacramento is hereby named the "B.T. Collins California Conservation Corps Building." 

CHAPTER 2. DEFINITIONS 
14100. Unless context otherwise requires, the definitions set forth in this chapter govern the construction of this division. 

14101. "Corps" means the California Conservation Corps. 

14102. "Director" means the Director of the California Conservation Corps. 

CHAPTER 3. PROGRAM 
14300. Young women and men participating in the corps program shall generally be engaged in projects which do the following: 
(a) Preserve, maintain, and enhance environmentally important lands and waters. 
(b) Accomplish useful and needed public works projects in both urban and rural areas. 
(c) Conserve, maintain, improve, and develop natural resources in both urban and rural areas. 
(d) Provide opportunities for public use of, or education in, the areas, projects, and resources described in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c). 
(e) Assist in emergency operations, such as natural disaster relief and the rescue of lost and injured persons. 
(f) Assist in fire prevention and suppression. 
(g) Directly contribute to the conservation of energy. 
(h) Contribute toward making public facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. 
(I) Assist departments within the Resources Agency in developing, rehabilitating, and restoring parklands, recreational facilities, and historical resources; restoring salmon and steelhead spawning, nursery, and rearing habitat; restoring and preserving wildlife habitat; and enhancing reforestation in both urban and rural areas. 

14301. The Governor shall appoint a director, who shall act as the administrative officer of the corps, and a deputy director. The appointment of the director is subject to confirmation by the Senate at the next regular or special session of the Legislature, and the refusal or failure of the Senate to confirm the appointment shall create a vacancy in the office. The director and deputy director shall be exempt from civil service, under subdivision (f) of Section 4 of Article XXIV of the California Constitution. The director shall employ, pursuant to the provisions of Article XXIV of the California Constitution and Part 2 (commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, such staff as is necessary to implement the provisions of this division. 

14302. Young women and men shall be selected for participation in the corps program on the basis of motivation for hard work, personal development, and public service, and without regard to their prior employment or educational background. Participation shall be for a period of one year, which may be extended. The corps, in conjunction with the Employment Development Department, shall place an emphasis on developing and executing plans to assist corpsmembers in obtaining employment following their participation in the corps program. 

14303. The director may employ special corpsmembers without regard to their age so that the corps may draw upon their special skills which may contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the program. Special corpsmembers may be assigned to headquarters, as well as field positions. 

14304. Projects shall be directed toward providing opportunities to the public for their education or the use of these natural resources and environmentally important public lands and waters, while at the same time providing young men and women with an opportunity for personal development in a variety of basic skills. Projects shall be undertaken in both urban and rural areas and shall be selected on the basis of the environmental and natural resource benefits each offers, the opportunities for public education or use each offers, and the on-the-job training value of each. 

14305. In order to protect the rights of corpsmembers individually and the corps as a community, the director shall adopt a corpsmember bill of rights, corpsmember grievance procedures, and search and seizure guidelines. These adopted rights, procedures, and guidelines shall serve to assist the director and corps staff in identifying problems and conflicts and resolving them with a minimum disruption of work and training, and shall be used by corps supervisors to interpret and consistently enforce policies and procedures of the corps. 

14306. To implement the provisions of this division, the director may do all of the following: 
(a) Recruit and employ corpsmembers and special corpsmembers. 
(b) Adopt criteria for selecting applicants for employment in the corps' program. 
(c) Execute contracts containing such terms and conditions as are deemed necessary and desirable for the employment of corpsmembers. 
(d) Authorize utilization of the corps for emergency projects occasioned by natural disasters, fire prevention and suppression, rescue of lost or injured persons, and any other activity or project necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this division. 
(e) Apply for and accept grants or contributions of funds from any public or private source. 
(f) Purchase, rent, or otherwise acquire or obtain necessary property, supplies, instruments, tools, equipment, and conveniences. 
(g) Execute contracts for furnishing the services of the corps to any federal, state, or local public agency; any local or statewide private organization concerned with the objectives of the corps' program, as specified in Sections 14000 and 14300; and any person, firm, partnership, or corporation concerned with these objectives. 
(h) Procure insurance. 
(I) Be reimbursed by the federal government, any state or local public agency, or any private organization for actual expenses incurred by the corps for any project undertaken for any such entity pursuant to subdivision (d) or (g) or pursuant to Section 14307. 
(j) To the extent permitted by Article VII of the California Constitution, execute contracts with any person, natural or corporate, for the purpose of implementing the objectives of the corps, as specified in Sections 14000 and 14300. 
(k) Utilize any services, material, or property of any agency of the state, and may make such agreements with any agency of the state or take such other actions as are reasonable and necessary. 
(l) Contract with public or private nonprofit entities to provide services for the corps. 
(m) Contract with the University of California, the California State University, the community college districts, and private institutions for the creation of special admission and tuition credit programs for corpsmembers. 

14307. Fire prevention, fire suppression, and disaster relief shall be a major emphasis of the program. Certain corps centers designated by the director as fire centers in locations specifically needed to assure emergency capability and readiness for firefighting and natural disaster relief shall be administered and directed jointly by the director of the corps and the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection. The director of the corps shall be responsible for setting the policies under which these centers shall be operated and shall be responsible for the recruitment, orientation, job training, project planning, and educational and other services generally provided in the corps at its base centers. The Director of Forestry and Fire Protection, and his or her designee, shall be responsible for the supervision of corpsmembers engaged in public service conservation work and for the training, supervision, and direction of corpsmembers engaged in fire prevention, fire suppression, and other emergency activities. 

14308. In carrying out this division, the director may utilize any services, materials, or property of any agency of the state and may make any agreements with any agency of the state, or take any other actions, that are reasonable and necessary. 

14310. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, corpsmembers and special corpsmembers, other than staff officers and employees, shall not receive state retirement benefits.

14311. In keeping with the corps' entrepreneurial nature and to expand the corpsmember population, the corps shall actively seek reimbursable work projects from state and nonstate entities that are in keeping with its mission. The corps shall use the following criteria in reviewing such a project offer: 
(a) The project will provide opportunities to expand corpsmember population. 
(b) The project will provide corpsmembers with education and training in employable skills. 
(c) The project will attract community support, participation, and funding. 
(d) The project conserves or enhances the state's natural resources, or has other public benefits. 

14312. (a) The Collins-Dugan California Conservation Corps Reimbursement Account is hereby created in the General Fund in the State Treasury, for support of the corps. 
(b) Funds received in payment for reimbursable work projects, excluding General Fund money, may be deposited in the Collins-Dugan California Conservation Corps Reimbursement Account. 
(c) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the money in the Collins-Dugan California Conservation Corps Reimbursement Account is hereby continuously appropriated to the corps for the following program activities: 
(1) Program expansion to hire more corpsmembers. 
(2) Enhancement of corpsmember education and educational support services. 
(3) Enhancement of equipment used by corpsmembers in projects meeting the corps' mission. 
(4) Program support when legislatively directed reimbursement targets are unmet in a given fiscal year.

14313. To assist the corps' operation as an entrepreneurial and incentive-based program, the director may seek and accept donations from private entities, foundations, or other sources outside of state government for purposes of accomplishing the corps' mission. 

14315. (a) State agencies shall use the services of the corps to the maximum extent feasible to carry out projects that promote the mission of the corps. 
(b) The corps may contract with any state agency for the performance of activities consistent with this division. 
(c) Upon appropriation by the Legislature and execution of a contract pursuant to subdivision (b), the Controller may transfer money to the Collins-Dugan California Conservation Corps Reimbursement Account from other funds under the control of the contracting state agency, including, but not limited to, the following funds and accounts: 
(1) Hazardous Waste Control Account in the General Fund. 
(2) State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund. 
(3) Transportation Planning and Development Account in the State Transportation Fund. 
(4) California Environmental License Plate Fund. 
(5) Fish and Game Preservation Fund. 
(6) Public Resources Account in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Surtax Fund. 
(7) Unallocated Account in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Surtax Fund. 
(8) Habitat Conservation Fund. 
(9) Motor Vehicle Fuel Account in the Transportation Tax Fund pursuant to Section 8352.6 of the Revenue and Taxation Code (OMV Fund). 
(10) Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund. 
(11) Integrated Waste Management Account in the Integrated Waste Management Fund. 
(12) State Parks and Recreation Fund. 
(13) Solid Waste Disposal Site Cleanup and Maintenance Account in the General Fund. 
(14) Employment Training Fund. 
(15) Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund. 
(16) California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. 
(d) Expenditures from the Collins-Dugan California Conservation Corps Fund of amounts transferred pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be limited to purposes which are consistent with the requirements of each fund or account contributing each amount to the Collins-Dugan California Conservation Corps Fund. 

14316. The Department of Finance may make a loan from the General Fund to the Collins-Dugan California Conservation Corps Reimbursement Account, in an amount not to exceed a cumulative total of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) to meet cash flow needs due to delays in collecting reimbursements. Any loan made by the Department of Finance pursuant to this section shall only be made if the corps has a valid contract or certification signed by a client agency that demonstrates that sufficient funds will be available to repay the loan. All money so transferred shall be repaid to the General Fund as soon as possible, but not later than one year from the date of the loan, with interest at the average rate earned by the Surplus Money Investment Fund. 

CHAPTER 3.2. TRAINING OF COUNTY OR CITY MEMBERS 
14350 - Establishment of program; limitation. The Director may establish a training program for members of county or city conservation corps. The program may be designed to provide the same training to members of county or city conservation corps as provided to corpsmembers of the corps and may be conducted in the same facilities. The program is authorized only to the extent that it does not adversely affect the ability of the California Conservation Corps to maintain 2000 active corpsmembers.

14351 - Contract; cost reimbursement. If the corps established a training program as described in Section 14350, the corps may contract with the county or city requesting the training, and the contract may require the corps to be fully reimbursed for all costs of the training program.

CHAPTER 3.5. NONRESIDENTIAL PROGRAM 
14400. The corps shall develop nonresidential programs in urban communities, and may develop those programs in other than urban communities, which have high concentrations of ethnic-minority youths, which have high levels of youth unemployment, and which have a need for conservation work. Expenditures for programs in other than urban communities shall not exceed 15 percent of total funding for programs under this section. 

14401. The corps shall develop procedures for recruiting high school dropouts from the neighborhoods in which these programs are located. 

14402. The corps shall give priority to providing an educational component for corpsmembers who have not completed high school. The component shall be equal in content to a high school curriculum and provide course credits leading to a high school diploma or its equivalent, such as a California high school equivalency certificate. The work of the corps shall be structured to accommodate the educational component without significantly reducing the productivity of the corps. 

14403. (a) The corps shall cooperate with, and seek the cooperation of, the Private Industry Council of the local service delivery area, designated pursuant to the federal Workforce Investment Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2801 et. seq.), to secure employment and training services for corpsmembers. 
(b) These employment and training services may include job search assistance, skills training, transitional employment, or any other services provided under the federal Workforce Investment Act which would lead to employment for the corpsmember. 
(c) Employment and training services may be provided to corpsmembers as a component of their work with the corps or upon their termination from the corps. 

14404. The corps shall assist corpsmembers who desire to return to school to develop plans to accomplish this goal. 

14405. Implementation of the educational component of the nonresidential program established pursuant to this chapter shall be contingent on the California Conservation Corps receiving sufficient funding from any source, including the federal Workforce Investment Act. 

14406. The corps may contract with public or private nonprofit agencies to provide services for a nonresidential program. The public or private nonprofit agency shall meet all of the following requirements: 
(a) The agency shall submit a proposal which demonstrates that its program is consistent with the policies of the corps and with this chapter. 
(b) The agency shall, to the extent possible, secure funding or services from the local service delivery area for necessary employment and training services. 
(c) The agency shall secure reimbursements for a significant portion of the work performed. 
(d) The agency shall secure a commitment from local educational institutions that appropriate educational services will be provided. 
(e) The agency shall maintain, to the extent possible, the funding from foundations and other public and private organizations for a nonresidential program. If the agency does not have an existing nonresidential program, it shall secure at least a 25-percent match from other public or private organizations for the program.