Existing law generally designates air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes the State Air Resources Board or the air district to adopt rules and regulations to require the owner or the operator of an air pollution emission source to take any action that the state board or the air district determines to be reasonable for the determination of the amount of air pollution emissions from that source. Existing law requires the air pollution control officer to inspect, as the officer determines necessary, the monitoring devices installed in every stationary source of air contaminants located within a jurisdiction that is required to have those devices to ensure that the devices are functioning properly. Existing law authorizes the district to require reasonable fees to be paid by the operator of that source to cover the expense of the inspection and other costs related thereto. A person who violates these requirements, or any rule, regulation, permit, or order of the state board or of a district adopted pursuant to these requirements is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a specified fine or imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.This bill would: 1) require, on or before January 1, 2027, the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility that is located within 1,500 feet of a residential area and has an original design capacity of 425,000,000 gallons or more per day to develop, install, operate, and maintain a wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system approved by the appropriate air quality management district, 2) require the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system to include equipment capable of measuring pollutants of concern, as provided, emitted into the atmosphere that the appropriate air quality management district deems appropriate for monitoring, 3) provide that it does not alter the responsibility of an owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to not exceed limits for nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emitted into the atmosphere established in existing air quality regulations, as provided, and would require source testing for these pollutants to be conducted pursuant to a protocol approved by the appropriate air quality management district, 4) require the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to collect real-time data from the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system, to maintain records of that data for at least 3 years, and to transmit that data to the appropriate air quality management district. The bill would require the air quality management district to maintain records of data from a wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system for at least 3 years, 5) in addition, require, to the extent feasible, the data generated by these systems to be provided to the public in a publicly accessible format that provides a real-time data display, and 6) also require the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility to be responsible for specified costs related to the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system, including all costs incurred by the air quality management district related to the wastewater treatment-related fence-line monitoring system and source testing at the wastewater treatment facility, and the costs associated with providing the required data to the air quality management district and the public.
I) Existing law, until January 1, 2024, increases the smog abatement fee on certain vehicles by a specified amount and requires the revenues generated by the increase to be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund and the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, increases vehicle registration fees and certain service fees for identification plates by specified amounts. Existing law requires the revenue generated by the increase in those fees to be deposited in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund and either the Air Quality Improvement Fund or the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount, as provided.This bill would: 1) extend the increases in those charges to July 1, 2035.II) Existing law, until January 1, 2024, prohibits the State Air Resources Board from enforcing any element of its clean fuels outlet regulations or other regulation that requires or has the effect of requiring suppliers, as defined, to construct, operate, or provide funding for the construction or operation of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, requires the state board to aggregate and make available certain information regarding projected leases and sales of, and the registration of, hydrogen-fueled vehicles, to evaluate, based on that information, the need for additional publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations for the actual and projected number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles, the geographic areas where fuel will be needed, and station coverage, and to report the finding of the evaluation to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission). Existing law, until January 1, 2024, requires the Energy Commission to annually allocate $20,000,000 to fund the number of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations identified by the state board, not to exceed 20% of the moneys appropriated by the Legislature from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, until at least 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations are operating in the state.This bill would: 2) extend the above-described provisions to July 1, 2035, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2036, 3) require the annual allocation described above to instead be no less than 15% of the moneys appropriated by the Legislature from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund from revenues attributable to specified sources, require the commission to make that allocation only until July 1, 2030, and would impose other specified requirements, 4) also delete the requirements that the hydrogen-fueling stations be publicly available and that there be at least 100 hydrogen-fueling stations operating in the state.III) Existing law creates the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program to provide compensation for the retirement and replacement of passenger vehicles and light-duty and medium-duty trucks that are high polluters. Existing law requires the Bureau of Automotive Repair to administer the program and the state board to adopt the guidelines for the program. Existing law requires the guidelines to ensure vehicle replacement or a mobility option be an option for all motor vehicle owners and may be in addition to compensation for vehicles retired.This bill would: 5) require the guidelines to ensure each replacement vehicle in the program be either a plug-in hybrid or zero-emission vehicle unless the state board makes a specified determination regarding either the availability of vehicles or the availability of charging and refueling capabilities in consultation with the Energy Commission, as specified.IV) Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program under the administration of the State Air Resources Board for the purpose of funding air quality improvement projects relating to fuel and vehicle technologies. The primary purpose of the program is to fund projects to reduce criteria air pollutants, improve air quality, and provide funding for research to determine and improve the air quality impacts of alternative transportation fuels and vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies.This bill would: 6) instead provide that the purpose of the program is to fund air quality improvement projects relating to zero-emission fuel and vehicle technologies and that the primary purpose of the program is to fund projects to reduce criteria air pollutants in the logistics, goods movement, off-road, warehouse, and port sectors, improve air quality in nonattainment basins, with a priority for projects located in the areas of extreme nonattainment, and improve the air quality impacts of zero-emission transportation fuels and vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies, 7) also revise the list of the types of projects eligible for funding under the program.V) Existing law establishes the Clean Transportation Program that is administered by the Energy Commission to provide financial assistance to develop and deploy innovative technologies that transform California’s fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state’s climate change policies with an emphasis on the development and deployment of technology and alternative and renewable fuels in the marketplace. Existing law authorizes the Energy Commission to make a single source or sole source award for applied research.This bill would: 8) revise and recast the Clean Transportation Program to, among other things, change the emphasis of the program to the development and deployment of zero-emission technology and fuels in the marketplace where feasible and near-zero-emission technology and fuels elsewhere, 9) require certain information regarding electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen-fueling infrastructure funded by the program to be reported to the Energy Commission, 10) additionally authorize the Energy Commission to make a single source or sole source award to public or nonpublic entities that manage a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, 11) require the Energy Commission, on and after January 1, 2025, to expend at least 50% of the moneys appropriated to the program on programs and projects that directly benefit or serve residents of disadvantaged and low-income communities and low-income Californians, 12) require the Energy Commission, for any hydrogen application scoring under the program, to provide preference to applicants with the least carbon-intensive proposed fuel, as specified, 13) also require the Energy Commission, by January 1, 2026, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board and the Department of Motor Vehicles, to propose to the Legislature alternative funding methodologies or fee structures for funding zero-emission vehicle infrastructure for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, 14) require the proposal to include an assessment of the economic equity of the alternatives.VI) Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, to develop uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards for electric vehicle chargers and charging stations by January 1, 2024, that only apply to electric vehicle chargers and charging stations installed on or after January 1, 2024, and that received an incentive from a state agency or through a charge on ratepayers. Existing law authorizes the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, to adopt tools to increase charging station uptime and to include incentives, as specified. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2035.This bill would: 15) require the Energy Commission, by January 1, 2025, to set standards for how these stations shall notify customers about the availability and accessibility of publicly available charging infrastructure, 16) also would require, rather than authorize, the Energy Commission to adopt tools to increase charging station uptime, and 17) declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program, administered by the State Air Resources Board, for the purposes of funding projects related to, among other things, the reduction of criteria air pollutants and improvement of air quality. As part of the funding plan for the Air Quality Improvement Program, existing law requires the state board to include a 3-year investment strategy for zero- and near-zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles and equipment commensurate with meeting state greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Existing law provides for the regulation of insurance by the Department of Insurance, which is under the control of the Insurance Commissioner.This bill would: 1) require the department to implement specific data collections on the availability and affordability of insurance for heavy-duty trucks and truck fleets, 2) require the department to issue a bulletin on or before February 1, 2024, to initiate the first data collection, and would require admitted insurers to respond on or before May 1, 2024, 3) require the surveys and data calls to include specified information, including, among other things, whether an insurance company offers insurance for zero-emission truck options, 4) require the information to be submitted to the commissioner and to be confidential, as specified, 5) require the commissioner to publish the information in the aggregate, and would prohibit the identification of an individual respondent or insurer, except as specified, 6) require the commissioner to establish and maintain a link on the department’s internet website that provides public access to this aggregate information, 7) require the department, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to create a consumer-focused online insurance information resource tool for the public to use to readily find information and insurance options for battery-powered, hydrogen-powered, or other zero-emission advanced truck technology to provide a “one-stop” for the public, and 8) also require the department, in consultation with the state board, to create a strategy, on or before January 1, 2025, to address insurance gaps for new heavy-duty truck technologies, as specified.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), in partnership with the State Air Resources Board, and in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Food and Agriculture, and other relevant state agencies, to develop and adopt a state plan to increase the use of alternative transportation fuels, which include hydrogen and electricity.This bill would: 1) require the Energy Commission, in coordination with the state board and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, and in consultation with local air districts and local governments, to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, conduct a study on the transitioning of retail gasoline fueling stations to provide alternative fuels, as defined, by a specified date and to convene, before initiating the study, specified state and local agencies, and other relevant stakeholders, to determine the scope of the study, 2) require the study to include an assessment of opportunities for, and barriers to, deploying alternative fueling infrastructure at retail gasoline fueling stations and identify the potential financial incentives and regulatory barriers for retail gasoline fueling stations to install, or replace gasoline fueling infrastructure with, alternative fueling infrastructure, 3) require the Energy Commission to deliver the study to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2027, and 4) repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030.
I) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives, including actions related to electric vehicles. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board (state board) and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), to prepare a statewide assessment of fuel cell electric vehicle fueling infrastructure and fuel production needed to support the adoption of zero-emission trucks, buses, and off-road vehicles at levels necessary for the state to meet the goals and requirements of Executive Order No. N-79-20 and any state board regulatory action that requires or allows zero-emission vehicles in the heavy-duty vehicle and off-road sectors. Existing law also requires the Energy Commission, working with the state board and the PUC, to prepare a statewide assessment of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure needed to support the levels of electric vehicle adoption required for the state to meet its goals of putting at least 5,000,000 zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2030, and of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.This bill would: 1) require the assessment of the fuel cell electric vehicle fueling infrastructure and fuel production to additionally include an assessment of storage and transport facilities, and the assessment of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure to additionally include electric system infrastructure and electric generation, 2) expand the scope of the latter assessment to include the electric vehicle charging infrastructure, electric system infrastructure, and electric generation needed for the state to meet the goals of Executive Order No. N-79-20 and any state board regulatory action that requires or allows zero-emission vehicles in the heavy-duty vehicle and off-road sectors, 3) require both assessments to identify any barriers to the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure and any barriers to the deployment of electric infrastructure, respectively, for medium- and heavy-duty fleets and recommendations for addressing those barriers, 4) require the Energy Commission to publish a determination regarding the adequacy of completed or planned charging or fueling sites for the 5 years following the completion of the initial statewide assessment and the findings of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure assessment, as provided, 5) also require the Energy Commission to identify any charging or fueling site deficiencies and categorize those deficiencies by refueling speed and by type of facility, as either a public facility or a private facility, 6) require the Energy Commission to update the electric vehicle charging infrastructure assessment and the determination at least once every 2 years.II) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the state board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law requires the state board, at least every 5 years, as provided, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, the Energy Commission, and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to update the state board’s 2016 mobile source strategy to include a comprehensive strategy for the deployment of medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in the state for the purpose of bringing the state into compliance with federal ambient air quality standards and reducing motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions from the medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicle sector. Existing law requires the state board to recommend reasonable and achievable goals for reducing emissions from medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles by 2030 and 2050, respectively, as part of the comprehensive strategy based on factors that include specified goals.This bill would: 7) require those goals to include the goals established in Executive Order No. N-79-20 for the transition of medium- and heavy-duty fleets to zero-emission vehicles, and 8) also require the state board’s updates to the mobile source strategy to include a strategic plan to meet the deadlines in Executive Order No. N-79-20 and would also require the state board, in developing the comprehensive strategy, to incorporate the findings of the above-described assessments.
Existing law requires every school bus, while being used for the transportation of school pupils at or below the 12th-grade level, to bear upon the front and rear of the bus a plainly visible sign containing the word “school bus” in letters not less than 8 inches in height. Existing law authorizes state funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be distributed to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for distribution to certain local educational agencies for the purchase of low- or zero-emission school buses that replace, or increase the number of, school buses in the existing school bus fleet or for retrofitting existing school buses to achieve reductions in emissions, as specified.This bill would: 1) authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school using a zero-emission school bus to transport pupils at or below the 12th-grade level to place signage on the rear of the zero-emission school bus that identifies the school bus as a clean air zero-emission bus, and 2) also authorize the Department of the California Highway Patrol to issue guidelines governing the size and placement of that signage.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations. Existing law requires the commission to require each gas corporation to provide bundled basic gas service to all core customers in its service territory unless the customer chooses or contracts to have natural gas purchased and supplied by another entity. Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to consider adopting specific biomethane procurement targets or goals for each gas corporation, as specified.This bill would: 1) revise that latter requirement to instead require the commission to consider adopting specific biomethane procurement targets or goals for each gas corporation and core transport agent, as defined, 2) if the commission adopts the biomethane procurement targets or goals, the bill require the commission to authorize a core transport agent to enter into an agreement with a gas corporation for the gas corporation to procure the core transport agent’s proportionate share of biomethane in order to satisfy the biomethane procurement targets or goals, with all costs paid for by the core transport agent and any environmental attributes allocated by the commission in a fair and transparent manner, and 3) require the commission to initially allocate each core transport agent their proportional share of the existing biomethane procurement targets established by commission Decision 22-02-025, as specified.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, specifies that, except as provided, a lead agency is not required to evaluate the aesthetic effects of a project and aesthetic effects are not considered significant effects on the environment if the project involves the refurbishment, conversion, repurposing, or replacement of an existing building that meets certain requirements.This bill: 1) extends the operation of the above provision to January 1, 2029, and 2) requires the lead agency to file a notice with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk of the county in which the project is located if the lead agency determines that it is not required to evaluate the aesthetic effects of a project and determines to approve or carry out that project.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Existing law, until January 1, 2025, exempts from the requirements of CEQA certain activities approved or carried out by the City of Los Angeles and other eligible public agencies, as defined, related to supportive housing and emergency shelters, as defined, in the City of Los Angeles. Under existing law, this exemption requires the lead agency, if it determines that an activity is not subject to CEQA and approves or carries out that activity, to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk for the County of Los Angeles.This bill would: 1) instead exempt from the requirements of CEQA certain activities undertaken by the City of Los Angeles and other eligible public agencies related to affordable housing, low barrier navigation centers, supportive housing, and transitional housing for youth and young adults, as those terms would be defined by the bill, within the City of Los Angeles and certain activities undertaken by the County of Los Angeles related to affordable housing, low barrier navigation centers, supportive housing, and transitional housing for youth and young adults within the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles and parcels owned by the County of Los Angeles within the City of Los Angeles, 2) define the Los Angeles County Development Authority as an eligible public agency, 3) broaden the definition of “supportive housing,” 4) also change the term “emergency shelter” to “low barrier navigation center” and broaden the definition of that term, 5) require the lead agency to ensure that those projects meet certain labor requirements in order for the exemption to apply, 6) repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.Because the bill would impose additional duties on local public agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program, and 7) make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA authorizes the lead agency, if the lead agency determines that a project is exempt from CEQA, to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research or the county clerk of each county in which the project is located.This bill would: 1) until January 1, 2033, exempt from CEQA certain actions taken by a public agency related to affordable housing projects, as defined, if certain requirements are met, and 2) require the lead agency, if the lead agency determines an action related to an affordable housing project is exempt from CEQA under this provision and approves or carries out the project, to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk of each county in which the project is located. By increasing the duties of a lead agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
I) Existing law, the Housing Accountability Act, prohibits a local agency from disapproving a housing development project, as described, unless it makes certain written findings based on a preponderance of the evidence in the record. The act defines “disapprove the housing development project” as including any instance in which a local agency either votes and disapproves a proposed housing development project application, including any required land use approvals or entitlements necessary for the issuance of a building permit, or fails to comply with specified time periods. Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that the lead agency proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if the lead agency finds that the project will not have that effect.This bill would: 1) until January 1, 2031 define “disapprove the housing development project” as also including any instance in which a local agency fails to make a determination of whether the project is exempt from CEQA or commits an abuse of discretion, as specified, or fails to adopt a negative declaration or addendum for the project, to certify an environmental impact report for the project, or to approve another comparable environmental document, if certain conditions are satisfied, 2) among other conditions, require a housing development project subject to these provisions to be located on a legal parcel or parcels within an urbanized area and to meet one or more of specified criteria, and to meet or exceed 15 dwelling units per acre. By imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.II) Existing law requires a petition to enforce the Housing Accountability Act to be brought pursuant to a specified procedure and be filed no later than 90 days from the effective date of a decision of the local agency imposing conditions on, disapproving of, or any other final action taken on a housing development project.This bill: 3) until January 1, 2031 provide that a local agency’s failure to make a determination that the project is exempt from CEQA, abuse of discretion, as defined, or failure to adopt, approve, or certify a negative declaration, addendum, environmental impact report, or comparable environmental review document, is deemed final for purposes of filing a petition to enforce the provisions of the act if the local agency did not make a final decision on whether to approve or disapprove a statutory or categorical exemption or a negative declaration, addendum, environmental impact report, or comparable environmental review document under CEQA, as specified, within a specified time period of the applicant’s notice.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires, among other things, a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA requires a local agency that approves or determines to carry out a project subject to CEQA to file a notice of determination with the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located, as provided. CEQA authorizes a local agency that determines that a project is not subject to CEQA to file a notice of exemption with the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located, as provided. CEQA requires the county clerk to make the notice available for public inspection and post the notice within 24 hours of receipt in the office or on the internet website of the county clerk, as specified. CEQA requires an action or proceeding challenging an act or decision of a public agency, including a local agency, on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA to be commenced within certain time periods, as specified.This bill would: 1) require a local agency to file a notice of determination with the State Clearinghouse in the Office of Planning and Research in addition to the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located, 2) authorize a local agency to file a notice of exemption with the State Clearinghouse in the Office of Planning and Research in addition to the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located, 3) require the notice, including any subsequent or amended notice, to be posted both in the office and on the internet website of the county clerk and by the Office of Planning and Research on the State Clearinghouse internet website within 24 hours of receipt, 4) specify that the posting of the notice by the Office of Planning and Research would not affect the applicable time periods to challenge an act or decision of a local agency, as described above. By imposing duties on local agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.
I) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA provides that, in certain specified actions or proceedings, the plaintiff or petitioner may elect to prepare the record of proceedings, subject to certification of its accuracy by the public agency. CEQA requires that a copy of the certified record of proceedings be lodged with the court.This bill: 1) authorizes the public agency to deny the request of the plaintiff or petitioner to prepare the record of proceedings, as provided, in which case the bill requires the public agency or the real party in interest to bear the costs of preparation and certification of the record of proceedings and would prohibit the recovery of those costs from the plaintiff or petitioner, 2) requires the court to schedule a case management conference within 30 days of the filing of an action to review the scope, timing, and cost of the record of proceedings, 3) requires that an electronic copy of the certified record of proceedings be lodged with the court.II) The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021 (Leadership Act) authorizes the Governor, before January 1, 2024, to certify projects that meet specified requirements for streamlining benefits related to CEQA, including the requirement that judicial actions challenging the action of a lead agency for projects certified by the Governor be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days after the filing of the record of proceedings with the court, and a requirement that the applicant agrees to pay the costs of preparing the record of proceedings for the project concurrent with review and consideration of the project, as specified. The Leadership Act provides that if a lead agency fails to approve a project certified by the Governor before January 1, 2025, the certification is no longer valid. The Leadership Act provides that it is repealed on January 1, 2026.This bill would: 4) extends the Governor’s authority to certify a project to before January 1, 2032, 5) expressly provides that the cost of preparing the record of proceedings for the project is not recoverable from the plaintiff or petitioner before, during, or after any litigation, 6) provides that if a lead agency fails to approve a project certified by the Governor before January 1, 2033, the certification is no longer valid, 6) repeals the Leadership Act on January 1, 2034. Because the bill extends the duties of the lead agency under the Leadership Act, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program, 7) establishes procedures for the preparation of the record of proceedings for projects that are certified by the Governor as an infrastructure project, as defined, 8) requires an action or proceeding challenging the certification of an EIR for those projects or the granting of any project approvals, including any potential appeals to the court of appeal or the Supreme Court, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the record of proceedings with the court, 9) authorizes a project applicant to apply to the Governor for the certification of a project as an infrastructure project, 10) requires the lead agency, within 10 days of the certification of a project, to provide a public notice of the certification, as provided. Because the bill imposes additional duties on a lead agency in conducting the environmental review of a certified project, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program, 11) if a lead agency fails to approve a project certified as an infrastructure project before January 1, 2033, the bill specifies that the certification is no longer valid, 12) repeals the above provisions on January 1, 2034, 13) appropriates $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Judicial Council for judicial officer training for implementation of the above provisions, and 14) declares that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts for its requirements actions taken by the Department of Housing and Community Development or the California Housing Finance Agency to provide financial assistance or insurance for the development and construction of residential housing, as provided.This bill: extends the above exemption to actions taken by a local agency not acting as the lead agency to provide financial assistance or insurance for the development and construction of residential housing, as provided.
Existing law establishes various requirements for ex parte communication between the Public Utilities Commission and interested parties for rate setting cases and catastrophic wildfire proceedings and, among other things, authorizes the commission, by order or rule, to prohibit ex parte communications. Existing law authorizes written ex parte communications by an interested person to be permitted in rate setting cases and catastrophic wildfire proceedings if copies of the communication are transmitted to all parties on the same day as the original communication, and requires the commission to establish a quiet period during the 3 business days before the commission’s scheduled vote on a decision in rate setting cases and catastrophic wildfire proceedings, during which oral and written ex parte communications are prohibited.This bill would: 1) authorize the commission, by order or rule, to prohibit oral ex parte communications, rather than all ex parte communications, in rate setting cases and catastrophic wildfire proceedings, 2) expressly authorize a written ex parte communication to occur at any time before the 3 business days before the commission’s scheduled vote on a decision without restriction during rate setting cases and catastrophic wildfire proceedings if copies of the communication are transmitted to all parties on the same day as the original communication, and 3) delete the prohibition on written ex parte communications during the quiet periods of rates setting cases and catastrophic wildfire proceedings, and would instead authorize an interested person to submit a written ex parte communication during the 3 business days before the commission’s scheduled vote on a proposed decision in a ratesetting case or catastrophic wildfire proceeding if the commission materially modifies the proposed decision during that time period, as specified.
Among other things, this bill: Existing law continues into existence the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) division within GO-Biz as the Zero-Emission Vehicle Market Development Office. Existing law requires the office to develop and adopt an equity action plan as part of the ZEV Market Development Strategy that considers optimizing for equity benefits in ZEV deployment. Existing law requires the equity action plan to include, among other things, recommendations on actionable steps and metrics to measure and improve access to ZEVs, infrastructure, and ZEV transportation options in low-income, disadvantaged, and historically underserved communities. Existing law also requires the office to assess progress towards the plan, as specified.This bill: 1) instead requires the equity action plan to include recommendations on actionable steps and metrics to measure and improve access to ZEVs, public and private charging infrastructure, and ZEV transportation options in low-income, disadvantaged, and historically underserved communities, including, but not limited to, shared vehicles and other alternatives to single-owner vehicle ownership, and 2) also requires the assessment of progress towards the equity action plan to include metrics tracking state and federal subsidies for ZEVs and different ownership structures for ZEVs.
I) Existing law authorizes state funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be distributed to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for distribution to certain local educational agencies for the purchase of low- or zero-emission school buses that replace, or increase the number of, school buses in the existing school bus fleet or for retrofitting existing school buses to achieve reductions in emissions, as specified.This bill: 1) requires, commencing January 1, 2035, 100% of all newly purchased or contracted schoolbuses of a school district, county office of education, or charter school to be zero-emission vehicles, where feasible, 2) in order to comply with that requirement, authorizes local educational agencies, as defined, to request a one-time extension for a term not to exceed 5 years if a local educational agency determines that the purchase or contracting of a zero-emission school bus is not feasible due to both terrain and route constraints, provided that certain conditions are met, 3) also, commencing January 1, 2040, authorizes frontier local educational agencies, as defined, to apply for annual extensions, through January 1, 2045, to that requirement, if the frontier local educational agency determines that the purchase or contracting of a zero-emission school bus is not feasible due to both terrain and route constraints, provided that certain conditions are met. To the extent this requirement imposes additional duties on local educational agencies in connection with federally required pupil transportation services that go beyond the requirements in federal law, the bill imposes a state-mandated local program.II) Existing law requires a continuing contract for pupil transportation services in school districts or school bus lease or rental to not exceed a 5-year term, or for a school bus lease or rental contract containing a purchase or cancel option, as specified, not to exceed a 10-year term.For the furnishing of transportation of pupils in school districts to and from school using school buses that are zero-emission vehicles and for the lease or rental of school buses that are zero-emission vehicles, the bill: 4) extends the term limit to 15 years for a continuing contract and to 20 years for a school bus lease or rental contract containing a purchase or cancel option, as specified, and 5) apply these contracting provisions to county offices of education and charter schools.
Executive Order No. N-79-20 establishes the goal of transitioning medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in California to zero-emission vehicles by 2045 for all operations where feasible and by 2035 for drayage trucks, and requires the State Air Resources Board to develop and propose medium- and heavy-duty vehicle regulations to meet that goal. Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program that is administered by the board for purposes of funding projects related to, among other things, the reduction of criteria air pollutants and improvement of air quality, and establishes the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet Purchasing Assistance Program within the Air Quality Improvement Program to make financing tools and nonfinancial supports available to operators of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets to enable those operators to transition their fleets to zero-emission vehicles.This bill would: 1) require any state regulation that seeks to require, or otherwise compel, the procurement of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles to authorize public agency utilities to purchase replacements for traditional utility-specialized vehicles that are at the end of life when needed to maintain reliable service and respond to major foreseeable events, including severe weather, wildfires, natural disasters, and physical attacks, as specified, and 2) define a public agency utility to include a local publicly owned electric utility, a community water system, a water district, and a wastewater treatment provider, as specified.
I) Existing law requires each utility to maintain records of the energy usage data of all buildings to which they provide service for at least the most recent 12 complete calendar months, and to deliver or otherwise provide that aggregated energy usage data for each covered building, as defined, to the owner, as specified. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to adopt regulations providing for the delivery to the Energy Commission and public disclosure of benchmarking of energy use for covered buildings, and specifies that this requirement does not require the owner of a building with 16 or fewer residential utility accounts to collect or deliver energy usage information to the Energy Commission.This bill would: 1) additionally specify that the requirement does not require the owner of a building with less than 50,000 square feet of gross floor space to collect or deliver energy usage information to the Energy Commission.II) Existing law requires the Energy Commission to prescribe, by regulation, lighting, insulation, climate control system, and other building design and construction standards, and energy and water conservation design standards, for new residential and new nonresidential buildings to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, as specified.This bill would: 2) require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission, and Department of Housing and Community Development, on or before July 1, 2026, to develop a strategy for using the energy usage data described above to track and manage the energy usage and emissions of greenhouse gases of covered buildings in order to achieve the state’s goals, targets, and standards related to energy usage and emissions of greenhouse gases of covered buildings, as specified, and 3) require the Energy Commission to submit the strategy and recommendations for further legislative action that would help achieve certain objectives to the Legislature on or before August 1, 2026.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to prescribe, by regulation, building design and construction standards and energy and water conservation design standards for new residential and nonresidential buildings to reduce wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, and unnecessary consumption of energy and to manage energy loads to help maintain electrical grid reliability. Existing law requires the commission to periodically review the standards and adopt revisions that it deems necessary.This bill would: 1) require the commission, beginning with the review of those regulations that is pending as of January 1, 2024, to consider revising the definition of “conditioned space, indirectly” to include sealed and unvented attics, as provided.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires the commission to enforce rules governing the extension of service by electrical corporations.This bill would: 1) require the commission to determine the criteria for timely service for electric customers to be energized, including, among other things, categories of timely electric service through energization, as specified, 2) require each electrical corporation that energized less than 35% of customers with completed applications exceeding 12 months in duration by January 31, 2023, to submit a report to the commission, as specified, on or before December 1, 2024, demonstrating that the electrical corporation has energized 80% of customers with applications deemed complete as of January 31, 2023, as specified, and 3) to improve the accuracy of projected demand and facilitate achievement of the goal of timely electric service through energization, require each electrical corporation to evaluate and update, as necessary, its existing distribution planning processes. In order to inform the commission’s determination of criteria for timely service, require the commission to annually collect certain information from each electrical corporation until new reporting requirements are established.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives. Existing law prohibits the commission from certifying a nuclear fission thermal powerplant, except for specified powerplants, and provides that a nuclear fission thermal powerplant, except for those specified powerplants, is not a permitted land use in California, unless certain conditions are met regarding, among other things, the existence of technology for the construction and operation of nuclear fuel rod reprocessing plants and of demonstrated technology or means for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste, as specified. Existing law requires the commission, beginning November 1, 2003, and biennially thereafter, to adopt an integrated energy policy report that contains an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state, presents policy recommendations based on an in-depth and integrated analysis of the most current and pressing energy issues facing the state, and includes an assessment and forecast of system reliability and the need for resource additions, efficiency, and conservation, as specified. Existing law also requires the commission, beginning November 1, 2004, and biennially thereafter, to prepare an energy policy review to update analyses from the integrated energy policy report or to raise energy issues that have emerged since the release of the integrated energy policy report, as specified.This bill would: 1) require the commission, as part of the 2027 edition of the integrated energy policy report, to include an assessment of the potential for fusion energy to contribute to California’s power supply, as specified.
Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. Existing law requires the board to assist the Governor with specified tasks, including developing and continuously improving the statewide workforce investment system.This bill would: 1) establish the Equitable Access Program to be administered by the board to prioritize employment opportunities in construction, manufacturing, technical, maintenance, operations, or reclamation activities for local residents in the Salton Sea geothermal resources area, 2) among other things, require the board, in administering the program, to provide technical assistance to, and establish a framework for, preapprenticeship, registered apprenticeship, and other training programs using the high road construction careers model or high road training partnerships model, and to monitor and track the rate residents of the Salton Sea geothermal resources area are hired on construction projects in the Salton Sea geothermal resources area that involve battery manufacturing and lithium-based technology, and 3) make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for local residents in the Salton Sea.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the commission to implement and enforce standards for the maintenance and operation of facilities for the generation and storage of electricity owned by an electrical corporation or located in the state to ensure their reliable operation.This bill would: 1) require each battery energy storage facility located in the state and subject to the requirement described above to have an emergency response and emergency action plan that covers the premises of the battery energy storage facility, as specified, 2) require the owner or operator of the facility, in developing the plan, to coordinate with local emergency management agencies, unified program agencies, and local first response agencies. To the extent the bill would impose new duties on local government agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program, and 3) require the owner or operator of the facility to submit the plan to the county and, if applicable, the city where the facility is located.
I) The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other specified mandatory elements, a housing element. That law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine whether the housing element is in substantial compliance with specified provisions of that law.Existing law, for award cycles commenced after July 1, 2021, awards a city, county, or city and county that has adopted a housing element determined by the department to be in substantial compliance with specified provisions of the Planning and Zoning Law and that has been designated by the department as prohousing based upon their adoption of prohousing local policies, as specified, additional points in the scoring of program applications for housing and infrastructure programs pursuant to regulations adopted by the department, as provided. Existing law defines “prohousing local policies” as policies that facilitate the planning, approval, or construction of housing, including, but not limited to, local financial incentives for housing, reduced parking requirements for sites that are zoned for residential development, and the adoption of zoning allowing for use by right for residential and mixed-use development.This bill would: 1) add the facilitation of the conversion or redevelopment of commercial properties into housing, including the adoption of adaptive reuse, as defined, ordinances or other mechanisms that reduce barriers for these conversions, to the list of specified prohousing local policies.II) Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards Code, which is required to be published once every 3 years.This bill would: 2) require the Department of Housing and Community Development to convene a working group no later than December 31, 2024, to identify challenges to, and opportunities that help support, the creation and promotion of adaptive reuse residential projects, as specified, including identifying and recommending amendments to state building standards, 3) require the Department of Housing and Community Development to report its findings to the Legislature no later than December 31, 2025, 4) require, if the report identifies and recommends amendments to building standards, that the Department of Housing and Community Development and the other state agencies in the working group research, develop, and consider proposing adaptive reuse building standards for adoption by the California Building Standards Commission, as specified, and 5) incorporate additional changes to Section 65589.9 of the Government Code proposed by SB 341 to be operative only if this bill and SB 341 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law, the State Contract Act, governs the bidding and award of public works contracts by specific state departments and requires an awarding department, before entering into any contract for a project, to prepare full, complete, and accurate plans and specifications and estimates of cost. Existing law, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases and requires all state agencies to consider and implement strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.This bill would: 1) require all new building and major renovation projects larger than 10,000 gross square feet undertaken by state agencies, and for which the project schematic design documents are initiated by the state agency on or after January 1, 2024, to obtain the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or “LEED” Gold or higher certification, except as provided, 2) instead require the state agency to obtain LEED Silver certification if the state agency concerned makes a finding that achieving LEED Gold conflicts with critical operational or security requirements, is demonstrably cost ineffective, or conflicts with California Building Code requirements, 3) authorize certification to an alternative equivalent or higher rating system or standard, if any, only when approved by the Director of General Services.
Existing law establishes the Atmospheric Rivers: Research, Mitigation, and Climate Forecasting Program in the Department of Water Resources. Existing law requires the department, upon an appropriation for purposes of the program, to research climate forecasting and the causes and impacts that climate change has on atmospheric rivers, to operate reservoirs in a manner that improves flood protection, and to reoperate flood control and water storage facilities to capture water generated by atmospheric rivers.This bill: 1) renames that program the Atmospheric Rivers Research and Forecast Improvement Program: Enabling Climate Adaptation Through Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations and Hazard Resiliency (AR/FIRO) Program, 2) requires the department to research, develop, and implement new observations, prediction models, novel forecasting methods, and tailored decision support systems to improve predictions of atmospheric rivers and their impacts on water supply, flooding, post-wildfire debris flows, and environmental conditions, 3) also requires the department to utilize relevant information to operate reservoirs in a manner that improves flood protection in the state and to reoperate flood control and water storage facilities to capture water generated by atmospheric rivers and other storms.
I) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. Under the act, a violation of a rule, regulation, order, emission limitation, emission reduction measure, or other measure adopted by the state board under the act is a crime. Existing law requires the state board, by December 31, 2026, to develop, in consultation with specified stakeholders, a framework for measuring and then reducing the average carbon intensity of the materials used in the construction of new buildings, including those for residential uses. Existing law requires the state board to develop, by December 31, 2028, a comprehensive strategy for the state’s building sector to achieve a 40% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of building materials, as determined from a baseline calculated using a certain 2026 report, if that report is adequate, or as specified. Existing law requires that strategy to achieve this target as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2035, provides for an interim target of 20% net reduction by December 31, 2030, authorizes the state board to adjust the interim target, as provided, and requires the established targets to begin no sooner than January 1, 2027. Existing law also requires the state board to form and maintain a technical advisory committee, as described.This bill would, among other changes: 1) eliminate the interim target of 20% net reduction, 2) require the baseline described above to be established based on either an industry average of environmental product declarations reported for the 2026 calendar year or on the most relevant, up-to-date information available, as determined by the state board, 3) require the established targets to begin to apply no sooner than January 1, 2027, and 2 years after the baseline is established, 4) delete the requirement that the state board form and maintain a technical advisory committee, and would instead require the state board to consult experts to advise the state board on methods to reduce the carbon intensity of building materials and covered projects, as specified, 5) exempt violations of these requirements from criminal penalties and authorize the imposition of specified civil penalties for those violations, 6) express the intent of the Legislature regarding the applicable civil penalties.II) Existing law requires the state board, by July 1, 2023, to develop a comprehensive strategy for the state’s cement sector to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases associated with cement used within the state as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2045.This bill would: 7) authorize the state board to establish an embodied carbon trading system, as defined and as provided, 8) authorize the state board to integrate the embodied carbon trading system into the framework for measuring the average carbon intensity of the materials used in the construction of new buildings, as described above, on or before December 31, 2026, and to implement the system on and after January 1, 2029, 9) authorize the state board to adopt rules and regulations for the credit allocation approach, the anticipated carbon price in the scheme, and trading periods, and 10) also require the state board to periodically review and update its emission reporting and compliance standard requirements, as necessary.
Existing law requires the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to conduct research on coastal cliff landslides and erosion in the County of San Diego, to be completed by January 1, 2025. Existing law requires the institution to conduct real-time measurements of land deformation to identify and analyze conditions that precede catastrophic bluff failure on 2 specified sites as a condition of receiving funds. Existing law requires the institution to provide a report to the Legislature with recommendations for developing a coastal cliff landslide and erosion early warning system based on available research no later than March 15, 2025.This bill: 1) requires those real-time measurements, and identification and analysis of those conditions, for a 3rd specified site as a condition of receiving that funding, and would extend the deadline for the research to be completed to January 1, 2026, and 2) also extend the deadline for the institution to provide the report and recommendations to the Legislature to March 30, 2026.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board (state board) as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as provided. Existing law requires the PUC and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake specified actions to advance the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives. Existing law requires various state entities responsible for the state’s energy, climate change, and air quality goals to produce various reports relating to those duties. Existing law finds and declares that the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) was organized as a nonprofit corporation at the request of the Legislature for the specific purpose of offering expert advice to the state government on public policy issues significantly related to science and technology. Existing law creates the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, known as “GO-Biz,” and requires GO-Biz to serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Existing law authorizes GO-Biz to undertake various activities relating to economic development, including the provision of prescribed information.This bill would: 1) request the CCST, in its discretion, every 3 years, to assess the infrastructure project types, scale, and pace necessary to achieve the state’s energy, climate change, and air quality goals, as specified, 2) also require GO-Biz, in consultation with the Energy Commission, the PUC, and the state board, to prepare an assessment of the barriers, challenges, and impediments limiting the deployment and development of clean energy projects, as specified, 3) require GO-Biz to submit this assessment to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2026, 4) also require the assessment to be considered and incorporated into the work carried out by the Infrastructure Strike Team convened by the Governor, and 5) declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, and prescribes the commissioner’s powers and duties, including various duties to regulate the business of insurance in this state and to enforce the execution of those laws. Existing law requires the commissioner to convene a working group to identify, assess, and recommend risk transfer market mechanisms that, among other things, promote investment in natural infrastructure to reduce the risks of climate change related to catastrophic events, create incentives for investment in natural infrastructure to reduce risks to communities, and provide mitigation incentives for private investment in natural lands to lessen exposure and reduce climate risks to public safety, property, utilities, and infrastructure.This bill would: 1) require the department, upon appropriation, to establish and administer the Climate and Sustainability Insurance and Risk Reduction Program for the purpose of achieving specified goals, including developing proof of concepts that expand insurance options, especially in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities where climate risks are currently uninsured or underinsured, 2) upon appropriation, would establish 8 climate insurance pilot projects in specified local jurisdictions to reduce physical risks from flooding and extreme heat and to reduce the protection gap in communities with high risks and low insurance uptake, 3) local jurisdictions would be required to develop and establish a specific pilot project in consultation with the department to achieve specified objectives, including prioritizing predisaster mitigation activities, 4) require the department to provide technical support for the pilot projects, 5) repeal these provisions on January 1, 2035, and 6) include a statement of legislative findings and declarations.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases and authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms in the regulation of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. The act declares the policy of the state to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2045, and to achieve and maintain net negative greenhouse gas emissions thereafter. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years. The act also requires the Natural Resources Agency, in collaboration with specified entities, including the state board, to determine on or before January 1, 2024, an ambitious range of targets for natural carbon sequestration, and for nature-based climate solutions, that reduce greenhouse gas emissions for 2030, 2038, and 2045 to support state goals to achieve carbon neutrality and foster climate adaptation and resilience. The act requires these targets to be integrated into the above-described scoping plan and other state policies. The act prohibits emissions reduction projects and actions that receive state funding from being eligible to generate credits under any market-based compliance mechanism.This bill would: 1) instead require the state board to additionally ensure that all greenhouse gas emissions reductions and removals used for any market-based compliance mechanism are in addition to any reductions and removals that would otherwise occur.
I) Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards. Existing law requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policy for water quality control.The bill would: 1) require the state board, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to adopt principles and guidelines for diversion and use of water in coastal watersheds, as specified, during times of water shortage for drought preparedness and climate resiliency, 2) require that the principles and guidelines allow for the development of locally generated watershed-level plans to support public trust uses, public health and safety, and the human right to water in times of water shortage, among other things, 3) also would require the state board, prior to adopting those principles and guidelines, to allow for public comment and hearing, as provided, 4) make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for this purpose.II) Existing law authorizes the state board to issue a cease and desist order against a person who is violating, or threatening to violate, certain requirements relating to water use. Existing law authorizes civil liability for a person or entity in violation of a term or condition of a permit, license, certificate, or registration issued by, an order adopted by, or regulations adopted by, the state board to be held civilly liable for in an amount not to exceed $500 for each day that the violation occurs.This bill would: 5) authorize the state board to issue a cease and desist order when a diversion or use violates or threatens to violate an applicable principle or guideline adopted by the state board for the diversion and use of water in specified coastal watersheds during times of water shortage, and would authorize a $500-per-day civil liability for a person who violates one of those principles or guidelines.
Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources.This bill would: 1) require a business entity that is marketing or selling voluntary carbon offsets, as defined, within the state to disclose on the business entity’s internet website specified information about the applicable carbon offset project and details regarding accountability measures if a project is not completed or does not meet the projected emissions reductions or removal benefits, as provided, 2) also require an entity that purchases or uses voluntary carbon offsets that makes claims regarding the achievement of net zero emissions or other, similar claims, as specified, to disclose on the entity’s internet website specified information, 3) require an entity that makes these claims to disclose on the entity’s internet website all information documenting how, if at all, a claim was determined to be accurate or actually accomplished, how interim progress toward that goal is being measured, and whether there is independent third-party verification of the company data and claims listed, 4) make a person who violates these provisions subject to a civil penalty of not more than $2,500 per day, as specified, for each violation, not to exceed a total amount of $500,000, which would be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the Attorney General or by a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney in a court of competent jurisdiction, and 5) additionally require that disclosures be updated no less than annually.
I) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), in consultation with specified entities, to adopt a biennial integrated energy policy report containing certain information, including an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state.This bill would: 1) require, as part of the 2025 edition of the integrated energy policy report, the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), to assess barriers to electricity interconnection and energization and provide recommendations on how to accelerate those processes, as appropriate.II) Existing law establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program that is administered by the Energy Commission for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities and requires the program to award moneys to public and private entities through various mechanisms. Existing law authorizes the Energy Commission to allocate moneys under the program for various purposes.This bill would: 2) additionally authorize the Energy Commission to allocate moneys under the program for workforce development grants in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board.III) Existing law requires the PUC to identify a diverse and balanced portfolio of resources needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply that provides optimal integration of renewable energy in a cost-effective manner. Existing law requires the PUC to adopt a process for each electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator to file an integrated resource plan and a schedule for periodic updates to the plan, and to ensure that those entities meet other specified requirements.This bill would: 3) require that the portfolio of resources ensure a reliable electricity supply that also provides optimal integration of resource diversity in a cost-effective manner, as specified, 4) require the PUC, on or before September 1, 2024, and consistent with a certain process and schedule, to determine if there is a need for the procurement of eligible energy resources, as described, would require the PUC to specify the eligible energy resources that should be procured to meet that need, and would authorize the PUC, within 6 months of making that determination, to request the Department of Water Resources to procure those specified resources that meet the portfolio of resources, as specified, 5) authorize the department to procure those resources pursuant to that request only before January 1, 2035, as provided, and 6) authorize the PUC to order the procurement of resources with specific attributes by electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators as a result of the integrated resource planning process and require the PUC to enforce any resource procurement requirements on a nondiscriminatory basis.IV) Existing law prohibits an electrical corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the PUC a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction. Under existing law, the extension, expansion, upgrade, or other modification of an existing electrical transmission facility, including transmission lines and substations, does not require a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity requires or will require its construction.This bill would: 7) require the PUC, in a proceeding evaluating the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a proposed transmission project, to establish a rebuttable presumption with regard to need for the proposed transmission project in favor of an Independent System Operator governing board-approved need evaluation if specified requirements are satisfied.V) Existing law requires each local publicly owned electric utility serving end-use customers to prudently plan for and procure resources that are adequate to meet its planning reserve margin and peak demand and operating reserves, sufficient to provide reliable electric service to its customers.This bill would: 8) authorize a local publicly owned electric utility to meet its minimum planning reserve margin through individual contractual procurement or through an aggregated or pooled portfolio of resources, as specified.VI) Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for purposes of (A) implementing projects, purchases, and contracts to carry out specified purposes, (B) constructing, owning, and operating, or contracting for the construction and operation of, contracting for the purchase of electricity from, or financing through loans, reimbursement agreements, or other contracts actions to secure resources for summer reliability or to preserve the option to extend the life of specified facilities, and (C) reimbursing electrical corporations for the value of imported energy or import capacity products that were delivered or capable of being delivered between July 1, 2022, and on or before October 31, 2023, and were procured at above-market costs or in excess of procurement authorizations set by the PUC and above the requirements needed to serve the electrical corporation’s bundled customers in support of summer electric service reliability.This bill would: 9) require the PUC, on and before June 30, 2027, if the department determines that resources it procured through the Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve Program were used in a given month to meet a load-serving entity’s identified reliability need, to annually assess a capacity payment on each load-serving entity that during that same month fails to meet its system resource adequacy requirements, as specified, 10) require the Energy Commission, on or before January 31, 2024, in consultation with the PUC, to submit a report to the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature that includes an assessment of whether each local publicly owned electric utility exceeded, met, or failed to meet its minimum planning reserve margin and specified system resource adequacy requirements, 11) upon the submission of that report, require the executive director of the Energy Commission, on and before June 30, 2027, if the department determines that resources it procured through the Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve Program were used in a given month to meet an identified reliability need, to annually assess a capacity payment on each local publicly owned electric utility in the Independent System Operator balancing area that during that same month fails to meet its minimum planning reserve margin, as specified, 12) authorize the Energy Commission to adopt regulations for this purpose, as specified, 13) establish the Load-Serving Entity Capacity Payment Account and the Local Publicly Owned Electric Utility Capacity Payment Account in the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund, and would specify that moneys in those accounts would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for certain purposes, 14) require capacity payments collected by the department from load-serving entities and local publicly owned electric utilities to be deposited into those 2 accounts, as provided, 15) require the PUC, if the PUC requests the department to procure eligible energy resources and the department elects to conduct competitive solicitations or enter into contracts for eligible energy resources, to develop and adopt procedures and requirements that govern competitive procurement by, obligations on, and recovery of costs incurred by the department, 16) require the department, in evaluating bids received through a solicitation to consider certain factors, 17) require bids for the development of an eligible energy resource project to include the bidder’s certification that certain labor requirements are met and that a skilled and trained workforce will be used to perform all construction work on the eligible energy resource project, as provided, 18) at the request of the department, authorize the PUC to require an electrical corporation to act as the agent for the department or to assist the department in conducting the solicitation, bid evaluation, or contract negotiation for new eligible energy resource procurement, 19) authorize the department to establish a schedule and mechanism for a local publicly owned electric utility to voluntarily obtain from the department eligible energy resources to be acquired by the department through its central procurement function on a contract-by-contract basis, 20) provide electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators with a voluntary option to obtain incremental eligible energy resources from the department, as provided, 21) at the request of the department, authorize the PUC to order an electrical corporation to transmit or provide for the transmission of, and distribute all electricity made available by the department, and, as an agent of the department, to provide billing, collection, and other related services on terms and conditions that reasonably compensate the electrical corporation for its services and adequately secure payment to the department, 22) establish the Eligible Energy Resource Central Procurement Fund and continuously appropriate moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, 23) by establishing a continuously appropriated fund, make an appropriation, 24) require that all moneys collected by electrical corporations, electric service providers, community choice aggregators, and local publicly owned electric utilities and remitted to the department for eligible energy resources, and all moneys paid directly or indirectly to or for the account of the department for any sale, exchange, transfer, or disposition of those resources, be deposited into the fund, 25) authorize the department, upon determining that it is necessary or desirable to issue bonds to support activities for the procurement of eligible energy resources, to issue bonds for purposes of, among other things, financing the procurement of those resources supporting the fund and other related expenses incurred by the department, as specified, 26) authorize the department to adopt regulations for purposes of administering these provisions, 27) provide that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the sum of no less than $6,000,000 from the General Fund is available in the 2024–25 fiscal year to support comprehensive, regional baseline environmental monitoring and research into the impacts of prospective offshore wind energy development in and around regions in which offshore wind energy areas have been leased by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of the United States Department of the Interior, pending future legislation, 28) provide that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, additional moneys from the General Fund will be made available for the 2024–25 fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years to support the California Coastal Commission’s coastal development permitting of prospective offshore wind energy development in and around regions in which offshore wind energy areas have been leased by the bureau, pending future legislation, and 29) state the intent of the Legislature to appropriate additional resources for environmental permitting and related needs across applicable state entities upon the submission and review of a specified assessment.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as a part of the market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, with additional moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that may be appropriated to the department, to administer a grant program to provide financial assistance to promote the in-state development of infrastructure, food waste prevention, or other projects to reduce organic waste or to process organic and other recyclable materials into new value-added products. Existing law requires the program to provide eligible financial assistance for certain activities, including recyclable material manufacturing. Existing law specifies eligible infrastructure projects for purposes of the program. Existing law requires the department to consider if and how the project may benefit disadvantaged communities in awarding a grant for organics composting or organics in-vessel digestion.This bill would: 1) expand the scope of the grant program to include providing financial assistance to promote in-state development of projects to sort and aggregate organic and other recyclable materials, as provided, or to divert items from disposal through enhanced reuse opportunities, 2) require the grant program to provide eligible financial assistance for increasing opportunities for reuse of materials diverted from landfill disposal and for recyclable material recovery, sorting, or bailing equipment for use at publicly owned facilities, 3) authorize eligible infrastructure projects for the grant program to include projects undertaken by a local government at publicly owned facilities to improve the recovery, sorting, or baling of recyclable materials to get those materials into the marketplace, the purchase of equipment and construction of facilities to help develop, implement, or expand edible food waste recovery operations, and the establishment of reuse programs to divert items from landfill disposal for reuse by members of the public, and 4) also require the department to consider if and how the project may benefit low-income communities, as defined, in awarding a grant for organics composting or organics in-vessel digestion.
Among other things:I) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), on or before June 1, 2022, to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits and to establish megawatt offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045. Existing law also requires the Energy Commission, among other things, to develop and produce a permitting roadmap that describes timeframes and milestones for a coordinated, comprehensive, and efficient permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure off the coast of California. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2027.This bill: 1) expresses the intent of the Legislature that the administration conduct an assessment of offshore wind energy permitting and related resource needs across applicable state entities, including, but not limited to, the Energy Commission, the State Lands Commission, the California Coastal Commission, and the State Coastal Conservancy, as specified, 2) also states that the outcomes of the assessment may be considered as part of a future budget. II) Existing law authorizes the California Science Center to enter into a personal services contract or contracts with the California Science Center Foundation without a competitive bidding process.This bill: 3) authorizes the Director of Finance, notwithstanding any other law and for any fiscal year, to allocate moneys to the California Science Center to mitigate the impact of future state minimum wage increases on these contracts, 4) requires the allocation to occur no sooner than 30 days, or no sooner than a lesser time as determined by the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee or their designee, after a written notification, as provided, is provided to specified chairpersons. III) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. The act requires, until January 1, 2030, the Legislative Analyst’s Office to annually report to the Legislature on the economic impacts and benefits of these greenhouse gas emissions targets. The act also establishes as policies of the state to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2045, to achieve and maintain net negative greenhouse gas emissions thereafter, and to ensure that, by 2045, statewide anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are reduced at least 85% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990. The act requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office to conduct independent analyses of the state board’s progress toward these goals every 2 years and to prepare a report detailing its review.This bill: 5) revises the requirement of the Legislative Analyst’s Office to conduct those independent analyses by, among other things, requiring the Legislative Analyst’s Office to conduct them as part of the annual report described above and to prepare an annual report detailing its review. IV) Existing law establishes the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund in the State Treasury for expenditure by certain public entities in connection with various activities relating to oil and gas operations, as specified. Existing law authorizes the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to order certain operations to be carried out on any property in the vicinity of which, or on which, is located any well or facility that the supervisor determines to be a hazardous well, an idle-deserted well, a hazardous facility, or a deserted facility, as specified. Existing law also establishes and requires the Geologic Energy Management Division to administer and manage the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account in the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund. Existing law requires moneys in the account to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to plug and abandon oil and gas wells, decommission attendant facilities, or otherwise remediate sites that the supervisor determines could pose a danger to life, health, water quality, wildlife, or natural resources, as specified. Existing law prohibits the division from expending, commencing with the 2022–23 fiscal year, more than $5,000,000 in any one fiscal year, and, in addition, the amount actually expended by the division in the preceding fiscal year, not to exceed $7,500,000, from the dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2022–23 fiscal year for the purposes of plugging and abandoning wells, decommissioning facilities, and site remediation, and the amount actually expended by the division in the preceding fiscal year, not to exceed $7,500,000, from the dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2023–24 fiscal year, only if there is a dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2023–24 fiscal year for the purposes of plugging and abandoning wells, decommissioning facilities, and site remediation.This bill: 6) among other things, authorizes the division to expend, in addition to that $5,000,000 limit and on a one-time basis, $7,500,000 for the 2024–25 fiscal year, as a match to the dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2022–23 fiscal year for the purposes of plugging and abandoning wells, decommissioning facilities, and site remediation, 7) authorizes the division to expend, in addition to that $5,000,000 limit and on a one-time basis, $7,500,000 for the 2025–26 fiscal year only if there is a dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2023–24 fiscal year for the purposes of plugging and abandoning wells, decommissioning facilities, and site remediation. V) Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency to update every 3 years the state’s climate adaptation strategy, known as the Safeguarding California Plan, and to coordinate with other state agencies to identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sectors and priority actions needed to reduce the risks in those sectors. Existing law requires, to address the vulnerabilities identified in the plan, state agencies to maximize specified objectives, including promoting the use of the plan to inform planning decisions and ensure that state investments consider climate change impacts, as well as promote the use of natural systems and natural infrastructure, when developing physical infrastructure to address adaptation. Existing law defines “natural infrastructure” for this purpose to include the conservation, preservation, or sustainable management of any form of aquatic or vegetated terrestrial open space.This bill: 8) adds “aquifers” to a list of examples of aquatic or vegetated terrestrial open spaces for purposes of this definition of natural infrastructure.VI) Existing law provides for the regulation and supervision of dams and reservoirs by the state, and requires the Department of Water Resources, under the police power of the state, to supervise the construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, maintenance, operation, and removal of dams and reservoirs for the protection of life and property, as prescribed.This bill: 9) requires the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to develop and administer the Dam Safety and Climate Resilience Local Assistance Program to provide state funding for repairs, rehabilitation, enhancements, and other dam safety projects at existing state jurisdictional dams and associated facilities that were in service prior to January 1, 2023, subject to prescribed criteria, 10) requires the department to develop and adopt program guidelines and project solicitation documents before disbursing any grant funds, 11) prohibits the department from using funds pursuant to these provisions for raising dams, increasing reservoir space, or otherwise increasing water impoundment, 12) requires a grant cost share of at least 50% for projects funded pursuant to the program, except as provided.VII) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.This bill: 13) exempts from CEQA the actions of any public agency that contracts with the United States Bureau of Reclamation, or is an entitlement holder under specified law for Colorado River water supplies, that are approved before December 31, 2026, that the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency concurs in writing are reasonably necessary to implement Colorado River water conservation agreements with the United States Bureau of Reclamation, as well as those water conservation agreements themselves.
I) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law requires the state board, by July 1, 2025, to develop, in consultation with specified stakeholders, a framework for measuring and then reducing the average carbon intensity of the materials used in the construction of new buildings, including those for residential uses. Existing law requires the framework to include a comprehensive strategy for the state’s building sector to achieve a 40% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of building materials, as determined from a baseline calculated using data reported for the 2026 calendar year, as specified. Existing law requires the strategy to achieve this target as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2035, with an interim target of 20% net reduction by December 31, 2030. Existing law requires the state board, by July 1, 2029, to evaluate the feasibility and cost impact of achieving the interim target of 20% net reduction by December 31, 2030.This bill: 1) extends the date by which the state board is required to develop the above-described framework from July 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026, and requires the framework to only measure the average carbon intensity of the materials used in the construction of new buildings, including those for residential uses, 2) requires the board to develop the comprehensive strategy for the state’s building sector to achieve a 40% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of building materials by December 31, 2028, 3) extends the date by which the state board is required to evaluate the feasibility and cost impact of achieving the interim target of 20% net reduction from July 1, 2029, to December 31, 2029.II) Existing law requires an electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee to allow a person desiring to use the station to pay by credit card or mobile technology. Existing law authorizes the State Air Resources Board to adopt interoperability billing standards for network roaming payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations, as provided.This bill: 3) requires an electric vehicle charging station that is newly installed or made publicly available to offer specified payment methods, as provided, 4) authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), by regulation that is effective no earlier than January 1, 2028, to add or subtract from the payment methods required by the bill, as appropriate in light of changing technologies, 5) vests the authority to implement and enforce those requirements on electric vehicle charging stations with the Energy Commission, and would specify that the state board has the authority to enforce the requirements on electric vehicle charging stations until the commission adopts regulations implementing those requirements.III) Existing law establishes the Energy Commission and requires the commission to be composed of 5 members. Existing law provides an annual salary for members of the Energy Commission, effective as of January 1, 1988, and prescribes a method by which it may be increased.This bill: 6) for the 2023–24, 2024–25, and 2025–26 fiscal years, provides for an additional increase of 5% to the annual compensation of the members of the Energy Commission.IV) Existing law establishes the self-generation incentive program to increase the deployment of distributed generation and energy storage systems to facilitate the integration of those resources into the electrical grid, improve efficiency and reliability of the distribution and transmission system, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, peak demand, and ratepayer costs. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to require the administration of the program for distributed energy resources until January 1, 2026. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the Energy Commission, to authorize, until January 1, 2026, the annual collection of a specified amount for purposes of the program. Existing law requires the PUC, in administering the program, to use funds appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of providing incentives to eligible residential customers, including those receiving service from a local publicly owned electric utility, and specifically requires the PUC to allocate 70% of those funds for incentives to eligible low-income residential customers who install either new behind-the-meter solar photovoltaic systems paired with energy storage systems or new energy storage systems and 30% of those funds for incentives to residential customers who install new behind-the-meter energy storage systems.This bill: 7) instead requires the PUC to allocate all of the funds appropriated by the Legislature to eligible low-income residential customers who install either behind-the-meter solar photovoltaic systems paired with energy storage systems or energy storage systems. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because a violation of an order or decision of the PUC implementing the allocation of funds would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.V) Existing law establishes the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2035. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to procure eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources to satisfy the state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Resources Development System, commonly known as the State Water Project, pursuant to that policy. Existing law authorizes the department to satisfy all or a portion of those obligations by installing zero-carbon resources or eligible renewable energy resources behind the meter on State Water Resources Development System property to service its load.This bill: 8) additionally authorizes the department to satisfy all or a portion of those obligations by connecting zero-carbon resources or eligible renewable energy resources behind the meter on State Water Resources Development System property to service its load.VI) Existing law authorizes the Department of Water Resources to reimburse an electrical corporation for the value of imported energy or import capacity products that were delivered or capable of being delivered between July 1, 2022, and on or before September 30, 2022, and were procured at above-market costs or in excess of procurement authorizations set by the PUC and above the requirements needed to serve its bundled customers in support of summer electric service reliability. Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund and continuously appropriates the moneys in the fund to the department for, among other things, those reimbursements.This bill: 9) additionally authorizes the department to reimburse an electrical corporation for the value of imported energy or import capacity products delivered or capable of being delivered between October 1, 2022, and on or before October 31, 2023, and procured as described above. By expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be used, the bill would make an appropriation.VII) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would: 10) provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.This bill: 11) declares that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
I) The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. The act, among other things, authorizes the I-Bank to make loans, issue bonds, and provide financial assistance for various types of projects that qualify as economic development or public development facilities. The Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund Act of 2020 authorizes the I-Bank, under the Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund Program, to provide financial assistance to any eligible sponsor or participating party for eligible climate catalyst projects, as defined, either directly to the sponsor or participating party or to a lending or financial institution, as specified. The act, beginning in the 2021–22 fiscal year, requires the I-Bank to adopt a climate catalyst financing plan, as specified, after meeting and conferring with authorized consulting agencies concerning specific categories of climate catalyst projects. The act establishes the Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, in the state treasury for the purpose of implementing the objectives and provisions of act.This bill: 1) beginning in the 2023–24 fiscal year, requires a climate catalyst financing plan to authorize the I-Bank to provide financial assistance and to use all financing authorities provided under the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act in its implementation of a climate catalyst financing plan, 2) additionally authorizes specified state agencies to provide consultation on climate catalyst projects to leverage federal funding available under the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, as provided, and authorizes the Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund to receive moneys from the federal government and funds sourced from federal appropriations, as specified, 3) requires use of the moneys and funds to comply with specified criteria.II) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and the State Air Resources Board, on or before December 31, 2024, to prepare a Transportation Fuels Transition Plan and requires the Energy Commission and the state board to prepare the plan in consultation with the state’s fuel producers and refiners and a multistakeholder, multiagency workgroup, which includes the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency, that is convened by the Energy Commission and the state board, as specified.This bill: 4) instead requires the Energy Commission, the state board, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the Natural Resources Agency to convene the multistakeholder, multiagency workgroup and requires the workgroup to consist of members representing specified interests and groups, including the state’s fuel producers and refiners.III) Existing law establishes the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee within the Energy Commission to advise the Energy Commission and the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight. Existing law specifies that the committee has access to all information submitted to the Energy Commission or to the division necessary to fulfill its duties.This bill: 5) instead specifies that the committee has access to aggregated or otherwise anonymized information submitted to the Energy Commission or to the division necessary to fulfill its duties under conditions as the Energy Commission determines necessary to ensure that public disclosure of specific information does not result in an unfair competitive disadvantage to the person supplying the information or adversely affect market competition.IV) Existing law creates the Demand Side Grid Support Program, and requires the Energy Commission to implement and administer the program to incentivize dispatchable customer load reduction and backup generation operation as on-call emergency supply and load reduction for the state’s electrical grid during extreme events. Existing law requires entities with generation or load reduction assets that are incentivized pursuant to the Distributed Electricity Backup Assets Program to participate in the program, and requires all energy produced as a result of the program to be settled at a relevant reference energy price.This bill: 6) deletes the requirements that those entities participate in the program and the produced energy be settled at a relevant reference energy price.V) Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to convene or continue, until August 26, 2025, an independent peer review panel to conduct an independent review of enhanced seismic studies and surveys of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, as specified. Existing law also establishes the Independent Safety Committee for Diablo Canyon until, at least, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating permit for the Diablo Canyon powerplant has ceased.This bill: 7) requires that the independent peer review panel continue until August 26, 2030, 8) requires that the Independent Safety Committee for Diablo Canyon continue until the Diablo Canyon power plant has ceased operations and make other changes related to that committee.VI) Existing law establishes the California Water Resources Development Bond Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the Department of Water Resources to provide for the acquisition, construction, and completion of certain state water facilities and for additions to the State Water Resources Development System, as specified. Existing law requires the department to procure eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources to satisfy the state agency obligations imposed on the system, as specified. The federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, among other things, authorizes specified entities, including the state and any political subdivision of the state, to elect to receive direct payments, rather than credits, for their participation in, or actions related to, certain federal incentives.This bill: 8) establishes the California Water Resources Development Bond Account within the fund, and would continuously appropriate all moneys in the account to the department to provide for the acquisition, construction, and completion of certain state water facilities and for additions to the State Water Resources Development System, as specified. By establishing a continuously appropriated account, the bill would make an appropriation, 9) requires the department, if it elects to receive a direct payment, rather than a credit, pursuant to the federal Inflation Reduction Act in connection with its procurement of eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources, as described above, to deposit those payments directly into the account, as specified, 10) requires use of the payments to comply with specified criteria.VII) Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for purposes of implementing projects, purchases, and contracts to carry out specified purposes, constructing, owning, and operating, or contracting for the construction and operation of, contracting for the purchase of electricity from, or financing actions to secure resources for summer reliability or to preserve the option to extend the life of specified facilities, and reimbursing electrical corporations for the value of imported energy or import capacity products that were delivered or capable of being delivered between July 1, 2022, and on or before September 30, 2022, and were procured at above-market costs or in excess of procurement authorizations set by the PUC and above the requirements needed to serve the electrical corporation’s bundled customers in support of summer electric service reliability.This bill: 11) authorizes the department, for activities it undertakes for the purposes described above, to obtain applicable credits pursuant to the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, 12) if the department elects for direct payment of those applicable credits, requires that those payments be deposited directly into the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund, as specified, thereby making an appropriation, 13) requires use of the payments to comply with specified criteria, 14) additionally authorizes the department to reimburse an electrical corporation for the value of imported energy or import capacity products delivered or capable of being delivered between October 1, 2022, and on or before October 31, 2023, and procured as described above. By expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be used, the bill makes an appropriation, 14) makes legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Diablo Canyon power plant, and 15)declares that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of statewide greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor and enforce compliance with the act. The act requires the state board to make available, and update at least annually, on its internet website the emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria pollutants, and toxic air contaminants for each facility that reports to the state board, as provided.This bill would: 1) require the state board, on or before January 1, 2025, to develop and adopt regulations requiring specified partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, and other business entities with total annual revenues in excess of $1,000,000,000 and that do business in California, defined as “reporting entities,” to publicly disclose to the emissions reporting organization, as defined, and obtain an assurance engagement on, starting in 2026 on a date to be determined by the state board, and annually thereafter, their scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, as defined, and, starting in 2027 and annually thereafter, their scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, as defined, from the reporting entity’s prior fiscal year, as provided, 2) require the state board to review during 2029, and update as necessary on or before January 1, 2030, these deadlines to evaluate trends in scope 3 emissions reporting and to consider changes to the deadlines, as provided, 3) require a reporting entity to obtain an assurance engagement, performed by an independent third-party assurance provider, of the entity’s public disclosure as provided. The bill would require the state board, in developing these regulations, to consult with the Attorney General, other government stakeholders, investors, stakeholders representing consumer and environmental justice interests, and reporting entities that have demonstrated leadership in full-scope greenhouse gas emissions accounting and public disclosure and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, 4) also require the state board to ensure that the assurance process minimizes the need for reporting entities to engage multiple assurance providers and ensures sufficient assurance provider capacity, as well as timely reporting implementation, as required, 5) further require the state board to contract with an emissions reporting organization to develop a reporting program to receive and make publicly available the required disclosures, 6) authorize the state board, starting in 2033 and every 5 years thereafter, to assess the global greenhouse gas accounting and reporting standards and to adopt an alternative standard if it determines that using the alternative standard would more effectively further the goals of the bill, 7) require the state board, on or before July 1, 2027, to contract with the University of California, the California State University, a national laboratory, or another equivalent academic institution to prepare a report on the public disclosures made by reporting entities to the emissions reporting organization, 8) require, in preparing the report, consideration to be given to, at a minimum, greenhouse gas emissions from reporting entities in the context of state greenhouse gas emissions reduction and climate goals, 9) require the state board to provide the report to the emissions reporting organization to post on a digital platform that would be required to be created by the emissions reporting organization, and publicly accessible, to house the state board’s report and the reporting entities’ public disclosures, 10) require the emissions reporting organization to provide the state board’s report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature, 11) require a reporting entity, upon filing its disclosure, to pay to the state board an annual fee set by the state board, as provided, 12) create the Climate Accountability and Emissions Disclosure Fund, require the proceeds of the fees to be deposited in the fund, and continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to the state board for purposes of the bill. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would create an appropriation, and 13) require the state board to adopt regulations that authorize it to seek administrative penalties for violations of these provisions, as specified.
xisting law creates within the Ocean Protection Council the California Sea Level Rise State and Regional Support Collaborative to provide state and regional information to the public and support to local, regional, and other state agencies for the identification, assessment, planning, and, where feasible, the mitigation of the adverse environmental, social, and economic effects of sea level rise within the coastal zone, as provided.This bill would: 1) require a local government, as defined, lying, in whole or in part, within the coastal zone, as defined, or within the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as defined, to develop a sea level rise plan as part of either a local coastal program, as defined, a subregional San Francisco Bay shoreline resiliency plan that is subject to approval by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as applicable, on or before January 1, 2034, as provided, 2) require local governments that receive approval for a sea level rise plan to be prioritized for funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the implementation of sea level rise adaptation strategies and recommended projects in the local government’s approved sea level rise plan, 3) require, on or before December 31, 2024, the California Coastal Commission, in close coordination with the Ocean Protection Council and the California Sea Level Rise State and Regional Support Collaborative, to establish guidelines for the preparation of the sea level rise plan, 4) also require, on or before December 31, 2024, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, in close coordination with the California Coastal Commission, the Ocean Protection Council, and the California Sea Level Rise State and Regional Support Collaborative, to establish guidelines for the preparation of the sea level rise plan, and 5) make the operation of its provisions contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
By Executive Order No. N-82-20, Governor Gavin Newsom directed the Natural Resources Agency to combat the biodiversity and climate crises by, among other things, establishing the California Biodiversity Collaborative and conserving at least 30% of the California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. Existing law requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to prepare and submit, on or before March 31, 2024, and annually thereafter, a report to the Legislature on the progress made in the prior calendar year toward achieving the goal to conserve 30% of California's lands and coastal waters by 2030.This bill would: 1) provide that it is the goal of the state to conserve at least 30% of California's lands and coastal waters by 2030
Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal, as provided. Existing law authorizes specified state agencies, including the Department of Water Resources, subject to an appropriation, to make grants and direct expenditures for interim or immediate relief in response to conditions arising from a drought scenario to address immediate impacts on human health and safety or on fish and wildlife resources or to provide water to persons or communities that lose or are threatened with the loss of water supplies.This bill would: 1) establish in the department the Urban Water Community Drought Relief program and the Small Community Drought Relief program to provide grants for similar interim or immediate drought relief, and 2) these programs, upon a specified appropriation, authorize funding for benefits in addition to drought relief, including, among other projects, projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities through water delivery system improvements for fire suppression purposes in high fire hazard severity zone communities or very high fire hazard severity zone communities, as designated by the State Fire Marshal or by a local agency.
Existing Law authorizes the Department of Transportation, subject to approval of the Secretary of Transportation, to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for administering the state-funded intercity rail service in a particular corridor, including the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, defined to mean the intercity passenger rail corridor between San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo. Existing law requires the agreements to cover an initial 3-year period after the transfer, and authorizes subsequent extensions by mutual agreement. Pursuant to this authority, the department entered into an interagency transfer agreement with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency to administer intercity passenger rail service in the LOSSAN corridor. Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds by the secretary to a joint powers board under an interagency transfer agreement based on an annual business plan for the intercity rail corridor and subsequent appropriation of state funds. Existing law requires the joint powers board to submit the annual business plan to the secretary for review and recommendation by April 1 of each year. Existing law requires the business plan to include, among other things, a report on the performance of the corridor service, an overall operating plan, short-term and long-term capital improvement programs, funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal year, and an action plan with specific performance goals and objectives.This bill would: 1) require the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, as part of the annual business plan submitted to the secretary, to include a description of the effects of climate change on the LOSSAN corridor, to identify projects planned to increase climate resiliency on the corridor, and to discuss possible funding options for those identified projects, as specified. To the extent the bill would add to the duties of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
I) The California Coastal Act of 1976 regulates development along the state’s coast. The act requires that coastal-dependent industrial facilities be encouraged to locate or expand within existing sites, and, where new or expanded coastal-dependent industrial facilities cannot feasibly be accommodated consistent with other policies of the act, they may nevertheless be permitted if (A) alternative locations are infeasible or more environmentally damaging, (B) to do otherwise would adversely affect the public welfare, and (3) (C) adverse environmental effects are mitigated to the maximum extent feasible. The act requires that oil and gas development be permitted in accordance with the requirements for coastal-dependent industrial facilities, if specified conditions relating to safety and environmental mitigation are met.This bill would: 1) prohibit new or expanded oil and gas development from being considered a coastal-dependent industrial facility, as provided, and would permit those developments only if they are found to be consistent with all applicable provisions of the act, 2) authorize the repair and maintenance of existing oil and gas facilities to be permitted in accordance with the requirements for coastal-dependent industrial facilities, but would authorize that permitting only if the repair or maintenance does not result in expansion of capacity of the facility.II) The act requires the permitting of new or expanded refineries or petrochemical facilities not otherwise consistent with the act if, among other conditions, it is found that not permitting the development would adversely affect the public welfare.This bill would: 3) prohibit new or expanded refineries or petrochemical facilities from being permitted as coastal-dependent industrial facilities, as provided, and would authorize the permitting of those facilities only if they are found to be consistent with all applicable provisions of the act, 4) authorize the repair and maintenance of existing refineries or petrochemical facilities as coastal-dependent industrial facilities only if specified conditions are met, including that there would be no expansion of capacity, 5) authorize the development of facilities for the purpose of producing low-carbon fuels at an existing refinery or petrochemical facility in accordance with the requirements for permitting coastal-dependent industrial facilities, subject to these same conditions. III) The act makes legislative findings and declarations relating to the California Coastal Commission and legislative findings and declarations relating to the ports of California, as provided.This bill would: 6) revise these legislative findings and declarations to include provisions relating to offshore wind development and offshore wind energy generation facilities.
Under existing law, a public agency, as defined, may enter into specified energy conservation contracts, including into contracts for the sale of electricity, electrical generating capacity, or thermal energy produced by the energy conservation facility, as defined, at such rates and on such terms as are approved by its governing body. Existing law authorizes a public agency to enter into an energy service contract and related facility ground lease if the governing body finds, among other things, that the anticipated cost to the public agency for thermal or electrical energy or conservation services provided by the energy conservation facility under the contract will be less than the anticipated marginal cost to the agency of thermal, electrical, or other energy that would have been consumed by the public agency in the absence of those purchases. Existing law additionally authorizes a public agency to enter into a facility financing contract and a facility ground lease upon meeting certain requirements and finding that funds for the repayment of the financing or other specified contract costs are projected to be available from revenues resulting from sales of electricity or thermal energy from the facility or other sources. Existing law authorizes a public agency to enter into contracts for the sale of electricity, electrical generating capacity, or thermal energy produced by the energy conservation facility at such rates and terms as are approved by its governing body.This bill would: 1) authorize the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority, in addition to its authority to enter into contracts described above, to enter into energy service contracts, facility financing contracts, and contracts for the sale of specified energy resources relating to green electrolytic hydrogen, as defined, for use by the authority for purposes of financing the construction and operation of passenger rail service through the Altamont Pass Corridor, and 2) make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority.
This measure would urge the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems to prioritize renewable, clean hydrogen for California, as provided.
The California Coastal Act of 1976 requires any person wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, as defined, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit, as provided. The act requires the issuance of a coastal development permit if the proposed development is in conformity with the certified local coastal program. The act provides for the certification of local coastal programs by the California Coastal Commission. The act authorizes the requirement of having to obtain a permit to be waived when immediate action by a person or public agency performing a public service is required to protect life and public property from imminent danger, or to restore, repair, or maintain public works, utilities, or services destroyed, damaged, or interrupted by natural disaster, serious accident, or in other cases of emergency, as specified. The act provides that this waiver provision does not authorize the permanent erection of structures valued at more than $25,000.This bill: 1) increases the above-described amount to $125,000.
Among other things:Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of the state highways and associated properties. Existing law authorizes the department to acquire any real property that it considers necessary for state highway purposes.This bill: 1) authorizes the department to purchase property for specified environmental mitigation purposes, to be called environmental mitigation property, and to transfer that property to specified governmental and nongovernmental entities, or to purchase the property in the name of those entities, 2) authorizes the department to create an endowment or enter into an agreement with the transferee of an environmental mitigation property or another party to provide funding for the establishment, preservation, restoration, and maintenance of the property consistent with certain permit conditions or mitigation requirements, 3) authorizes the department to enter into a cooperative agreement with certain other parties to hold, manage, and invest an endowment for an environmental mitigation property and disburse payments from the endowment to the holder of the property consistent with the fund agreement. The bill would repeal these provisions on December 31, 2033, 4) authorizes the department to purchase, exempt from specified advertising or bidding requirements, environmental mitigation credits in a mitigation credit agreement or from a mitigation bank, conservation bank, in-lieu fee program, or from another mitigation credit provider in certain circumstances, 5) authorizes the department to purchase, exempt from those same advertising or bidding requirements, environmental mitigation credits from a mitigation bank, conservation bank, in-lieu fee program, mitigation credit agreement, or from another mitigation credit provider for the purpose of fulfilling mitigation responsibilities for natural resources or for advance mitigation purposes, using an alternative solicitation method, as specified, 6) authorizes the department to enter into agreements with governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit entities for the purpose of mitigating environmental impacts caused by transportation projects or for advance mitigation purposes, 7) repeals these provisions on December 31, 2033, 8) requires, by July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter until July 1, 2033, the department to provide a written report to the relevant legislative policy and budget committees that includes specified information related to its environmental mitigation program, and 9) declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
I) Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include certain areas of study, including, among others, English, mathematics, social sciences, science, and visual and performing arts, as specified.This bill, with respect to both of the above-referenced adopted courses of study, would: 1) require the science area of study to include an emphasis on the causes and effects of climate change and methods to mitigate and adapt to climate change, 2) require that appropriate coursework including this material be offered to pupils as soon as possible, commencing no later than the 2024–25 school year. Because the bill would impose new duties on school districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program, 3) incorporate additional changes to Section 51210 of the Education Code proposed by AB 446 and SB 509 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.II) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would: 4) provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
I) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to assume the responsibilities of the United States Secretary of Transportation under the federal National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and other federal environmental laws for any railroad, public transportation, or multimodal project undertaken by state agencies, as specified. Existing law provides that the State of California consents to the jurisdiction of the federal courts with regard to the compliance, discharge, or enforcement of these responsibilities. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2025.This bill would: 1) extends the above authorization to December 31, 2033, 2) additionally authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, consistent with, and subject to the requirements of, any memorandum of understanding between the state and federal government and upon the request of a local or regional agency with the authority to implement transportation projects, to assume responsibilities under the NEPA and other federal environmental laws for any railroad, local public transportation, or multimodal project implemented by the requesting local or regional agency, 3) imposes terms and conditions similar to those with respect to the above-described authority to assume those responsibilities for projects undertaken by state agencies, including providing consent for the jurisdiction of the federal courts, as provided, 4) requires the secretary to report to the transportation policy committees of the Legislature regarding the assumption of responsibilities under the NEPA requested by a local or regional agency by December 31, 2033, 5) repeals these provisions on December 31, 2033.II) Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services to use the progressive design-build procurement process for the construction of up to 3 capital outlay projects, as jointly determined by the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance, and prescribes that process. Existing law defines “progressive design-build” as a project delivery process in which both the design and construction of a project are procured from a single entity that is selected through a qualifications-based selection at the earliest feasible stage of the project. Existing law, pursuant to the process, after selection of a design-build entity, authorizes the Department of General Services to contract for design and preconstruction services sufficient to establish a guaranteed maximum price, as defined. Existing law authorizes the department, upon agreement on a guaranteed maximum price, to amend the contract in its sole discretion, as specified. Existing law requires specified information to be verified under penalty of perjury.This bill: 6) authorizes the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Transportation (departments) to use the progressive design-build procurement process for the construction of up to 8 public works projects per department for a project that is estimated to exceed $25,000,000 in total price, and would prescribe that process, 7) requires each design-build entity, as defined, to submit specified information in a statement of qualifications that is to be verified under penalty of perjury. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program, 8) prescribes the process for the departments to determine which design-build entity offers the best value to the public for the design-build project, as defined, 9) requires the selected design-build entity to provide payment and performance bonds and errors and omissions insurance coverage, as specified, 10) pursuant to the process, authorizes the departments to contract for design and preconstruction services sufficient to establish a guaranteed maximum price, as defined, 11) upon agreement on a guaranteed maximum price, authorizes the departments to amend a contract, as specified, 12) also authorizes the departments to solicit additional proposals if the departments and the design-build entity are unable to reach an agreement on a guaranteed maximum price, 13) requires the departments to submit, on or before January 1, 2034, to the Legislature a report containing specified information regarding the public works projects, commenced before January 1, 2033, that used the progressive design-build procurement process, 14) specifies that the above provisions do not apply to procurement by the Department of Water Resources for the design or construction of through-Delta conveyance facilities of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or seawater desalination projects.III) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to improve and maintain state highways. The State Contract Act generally provides for a contracting process by state agencies for public works of improvement pursuant to a competitive bidding process, under which bids are awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, with specified alternative procurement procedures authorized in certain cases. Other existing law authorizes certain state and local agencies to engage in job order contracting, as prescribed.This bill: 15) until December 31, 2033, authorizes the Department of Transportation to use job order contracting for certain transportation and public works projects, including, among others, those related to highway maintenance, installation of storm water pollution control devices, and for facilities, systems, and traffic control devices needed to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as provided, 16) requires the department to establish a procedure to prequalify job order contractors and to prepare a set of documents for each job order contract, as provided, 17) requires the department to prepare a request for bids for job order contracts that invites job order contractors to submit sealed bids in the manner prescribed by the department, 18) also authorizes the department, notwithstanding those other procedures, to award job order contracts for contracts within a specified cost range after obtaining written bid submittals from 2 or more certified small businesses or from 2 or more disabled veteran business enterprises, as provided, 19) authorizes job order contracts to be executed for an initial contract term of no more than 12 months, with the option of extending or renewing the job order contract for 2 additional 12-month periods, as provided, 20) requires job order contractors to possess or obtain sufficient bonding and risk and liability insurance, as provided, 21) requires the department to publish, on or before July 1 of each year, until July 1, 2033, on its internet website regarding the status of all active job order contracts and those job order contracts that expired in the previous year, and to monitor job order contracts for compliance with federal and state labor laws, 22) repeals the above-described provisions relating to job order contracting on December 31, 2033, and 23) declares that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species and to add or remove species from either list if it finds, upon the receipt of sufficient scientific information, as specified, that the action is warranted. The act prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except in certain situations, including, if specified conditions are met, through the issuance of a permit commonly known as an incidental take permit. Existing law also enumerates fully protected species and prohibits the take of fully protected species, except under limited circumstances.This bill: 1) until December 31, 2033, authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue a permit under CESA that authorizes the take of a fully protected species resulting from impacts attributable to the implementation of specified projects if certain conditions are satisfied, including, among others, the conditions required for the issuance of an incidental take permit, 2) requires the department to develop a plan on or before July 1, 2024, to assess the population status of each fully protected species, 3) requires the department, on or before July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, to prepare and submit a report to certain committees of the Legislature regarding the implementation of the authorization to issue these permits for the take of fully protected species, 4) also removes the American peregrine falcon, brown pelican, and thicktail chub as fully protected species, and 5) declares that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate the disposal of hazardous waste, including used oil, and defines “used oil” for those purposes. Existing law excludes from regulation used oil that meets specified criteria, including that the used oil is not subject to regulation as either hazardous waste or used oil under federal law.This bill would: 1) provide an alternative to that criterion for exemption from regulation for used oil that is not subject to regulation as a hazardous waste under federal law and that meets certain state testing criteria.
I) Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation, under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells, as provided. Existing law requires an action for civil penalties or punitive damages authorized pursuant to specified environmental protection laws to be commenced within 5 years after discovery by the agency bringing the action, as provided.This bill would: 1) make that statute of limitations applicable to the oil and gas laws, as provided.II) Existing law requires the supervisor to order tests and remedial work that in the supervisor’s judgment are necessary to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources and for other specified reasons. A person who violates, fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with any of the oil and gas laws is guilty of a crime.This bill would: 2) provide that, in addition to any cessation requirements or other limitations contained in applicable regulations or conditions of approval, an order to undertake remedial work issued pursuant to this requirement may include an order to cease and desist specified activities that threaten to damage life, health, property, and natural resources or that violate the requirements relating to oil and gas or a regulation implementing these requirements, 3) also authorize the supervisor, after making a determination, based upon a site inspection, that a well poses a risk to life, health, property, or natural resources, to order an operator, owner, or property owner to secure a site, based on a site inspection, if certain conditions apply, 4) the order would be appealable, 5) make an operator, owner, or property owner who fails to comply subject to a civil penalty of not more than $25,000. By expanding the scope of crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.III) Existing law makes it a crime for an owner or operator, or an employee thereof, to refuse to permit the supervisor or the district deputy, or that person’s inspector, to inspect a well, or willfully hinder or delay the enforcement of the requirements relating to oil and gas. Existing law makes every person who violates, fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with specified laws relating to oil and gas, who fails, neglects, or refuses to furnish any report or record which may be required pursuant to these laws, or who willfully renders a false or fraudulent report, guilty of a misdemeanor, and subject to punishment by a fine of not less than $100, nor more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not exceeding 6 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment, for each offense. Existing law establishes the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund in the State Treasury for specified purposes, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, except as provided. Existing law also establishes, and requires the division to administer and manage, the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account in the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund. Existing law requires moneys in the account to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes.This bill would: 6) increase the fines for committing the acts described above to a minimum of $500 and not more than $5,000, 7) in addition, the bill specifically authorize the supervisor to refer violations of the oil and gas laws to a public prosecutor, as defined, or the Attorney General for prosecution, 8) also require a person found liable for one of specified civil penalties to also pay a penalty in an amount equal to the cost to plug and abandon any well associated with the violation in an amount determined by the supervisor using any reasonable method, as provided, 9) require the penalties collected pursuant to these provisions to be deposited in the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account.IV) Existing law authorizes the supervisor to impose specified civil penalties on a person who violates a legal requirement regarding the operation of an oil and gas well or production facility, which is in addition to any other penalty provided by law for the violation.This bill would: 10) specify that the civil penalty imposed by the supervisor is an administrative civil penalty, 11) also impose a civil penalty of not more than $50,000 for each separate violation of an oil and gas law or regulation, as specified, and each violation of an order issued pursuant to the oil and gas laws, or not more than $25,000 for each separate violation, or, for continuing violations, for each day that violation continues, if the person accused of the violation alleges by affirmative defense and establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that specified circumstances apply, 12) impose a civil penalty not to exceed $70,000 for intentionally or negligently violating a provision of oil and gas laws, or a permit, rule, regulation, standard, or requirement issued or promulgated pursuant to those laws, 13) authorize specified actions brought pursuant to the oil and gas laws to be commenced by a public prosecutor, the Attorney General, or an attorney for the division or the department, 14) require 50% of the civil penalties collected be paid to the agency or office prosecuting the action and 50% be deposited in the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account, 15) specify that the violator is only subject to either the administrative civil penalty imposed by the supervisor or the civil penalty imposed by the court, and not to both penalties, 16) authorize the supervisor to recover from the owner or operator all prosecution and enforcement costs incurred by the division arising from the administration and enforcement of those requirements and would require moneys recovered to be deposited into the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account, 17) also authorize the supervisor to apply to the superior court for an order enjoining acts or practices that violate the oil and gas laws, or violate a regulation, condition of approval, order, or other requirement issued, promulgated, or executed under those laws, as provided, 18) also authorize a public prosecutor or the Attorney General to apply for that injunctive order.
Existing law requires a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition, to submit to the State Oil and Gas Supervisor or a district deputy certain materials, including either an individual indemnity bond or a blanket indemnity bond in certain amounts. A violation of this law, or any related law concerning oil and gas, is a misdemeanor.This bill would: 1) require a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition, except a well as specified, to instead file with the supervisor an individual indemnity bond for the well or production facility, or a blanket indemnity bond for multiple wells or production facilities, in an amount determined by the supervisor to be sufficient to cover, in full, all costs of plugging and abandonment, decommissioning of the facility, and site restoration, as provided, 2) require the person to first submit a request to the supervisor for a determination of the amount of the bond required before completing the acquisition and prohibits the completion of the acquisition until the determination is received and the bond has been filed with the supervisor, 3) also authorize the supervisor to approve other means of financial assurance in lieu of the individual indemnity bond or the blanket indemnity bond. Because the bill would impose a new bonding requirement for the acquisition of a well or production facility, it would expand the scope of a crime and thereby impose a state-mandated local program, 3) require the Department of Conservation to post on its internet website the information on all indemnity bond determinations made by the supervisor, and to include for each determination the bond amount and calculations used, 4) authorize the supervisor to approve a deposit, as provided, other than a deposit of money or bearer bonds or bearer notes, in lieu of the indemnity bond, and 5) require the supervisor to maintain records of all transfers recognized as complete, including all materials required to be provided by the new operator, and to make those records available on the Geologic Energy Management Division’s internet website.
Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation, under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells, as provided.This bill would: 1) expressly state that the Governor shall appoint the supervisor and make the appointment of the supervisor subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to implement and administer the Distributed Electricity Backup Assets Program to incentivize the construction of distributed energy assets that would serve as on-call emergency supply or load reduction for the electrical grid during extreme events. Existing law requires the commission to also implement and administer the Demand Side Grid Support Program to incentivize dispatchable customer load reduction and backup generation operation as on-call emergency supply or load reduction for the electrical grid during extreme events. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to implement projects, purchases, and contracts to carry out the purposes of those programs. Existing law authorizes the department to construct, own and operate, or contract for specified types of electrical generation and energy storage facilities for these purposes. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of statewide greenhouse gas emissions, as provided. The act also requires the state board to adopt greenhouse gas emissions limits and emissions reduction measures by regulation, including the use of market-based compliance mechanisms.This bill would: 1) require facilities constructed by the department or under a contract with the department for purposes of the Distributed Electricity Backup Assets Program or the Demand Side Grid Support Program to comply with the regulations adopted by the state board.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, in coordination with relevant federal, state, and local agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, and requires the commission to submit the strategic plan to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature on or before June 30, 2023. Existing law requires the commission, on or before June 1, 2022, to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits and to establish megawatt offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045. Existing law requires the commission, in coordination with specified state entities, to work with stakeholders, other state, local, and federal agencies, and the offshore wind energy industry to identify suitable sea space for wind energy areas in federal waters sufficient to accommodate those offshore wind planning goals. Existing law requires the commission, in coordination with relevant state and local agencies, based on those identified sea spaces, to develop a plan to improve waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities. Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with specified state entities, to assess the transmission investments and upgrades necessary to support those offshore wind planning goals. Existing law requires the commission to develop and produce a permitting roadmap that describes time frames and milestones for a coordinated, comprehensive, and efficient permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure off the coast of California. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2027.This bill would: 1) require the commission, in consultation with the State Lands Commission, other specified state entities, and the California Coastal Commission, to develop a 2nd-phase plan and strategy for seaport readiness that builds upon the recommendations and alternatives in the strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments, as specified, 2) require the commission to submit a report on its recommendations for a seaport readiness strategy to the Governor and the Legislature on or before December 31, 2026, 3) additionally require the commission, in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board, to conduct a study on the feasibility of achieving 50% and 65% in-state assembly and manufacturing of offshore wind energy projects and specified federal domestic content thresholds for offshore wind energy projects, as provided, 4) require the commission to submit a report on the study to the Governor and the Legislature on or before December 31, 2027, and 5) repeal these provisions, including the existing law provisions described above, on January 1, 2031.
Existing law, for purposes of governing property rights, defines a “solar energy system” as specified to include any solar collector or other solar energy device whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy for space heating, space cooling, electric generation, or water heating. Existing law prescribes and limits permit fees that a city or county may charge for a residential and commercial solar energy system. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2025.This bill would: 1) extend that repeal date to January 1, 2034.
Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes. Existing law authorizes the department to lease, for up to 99 years, areas above or below state highways to public or private entities, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the department to issue certain permits for a state highway’s right-of-way necessary for telegraph, telephone, or electrical lines or of any ditches, pipes, drains, sewers, or underground structures, unless otherwise specifically provided in the instrument conveying title.This bill would: 1) require the department, in coordination with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, to evaluate the issues and policies impeding the development of land within department-owned rights-of-way for renewable energy generation facilities, energy storage facilities, and electrical transmission and distribution facilities, as specified, and 2) require the evaluation to, among other things, consider the department owning the facilities, or leasing, granting easements, or entering into joint-use agreements with public utilities or other entities for this purpose.
Among other things:I)Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency, which consists of various departments and state entities, including the California Transportation Commission and the Department of Transportation. Under existing law, the agency is under the supervision of an executive officer known as the Secretary of Transportation, who is required to develop and report to the Governor on legislative, budgetary, and administrative programs to accomplish comprehensive, long-range, and coordinated planning and policy formulation in the matters of public interest related to the agency. Existing law provides for the funding of public transit, including under the Mills-Alquist-Deddeh Act, also known as the Transportation Development Act.This bill: 1) requires the agency, on or before January 1, 2024, to establish and convene the Transit Transformation Task Force to include representatives from the department, various local agencies, academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders, 2) require the task force to solicit and develop a structured, coordinated process for engagement of all parties to develop policy recommendations to grow transit ridership and improve the transit experience for all users of those services, 3) requires the agency, in consultation with the task force, to prepare and submit a report of findings and policy recommendations based on the task force’s efforts to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before October 31, 2025, 4) requires the report to include a detailed analysis of specified issues and recommendations on specified topics, including, among others, reforming the Transportation Development Act, 5) repeals these provisions on January 1, 2028.II) Existing law establishes the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to fund transformative capital improvements that will modernize California’s intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems and bus and ferry transit systems to achieve certain policy objectives. Existing law requires the Transportation Agency to evaluate applications for funding under the program and to approve a multiyear program of projects, as specified, and requires the California Transportation Commission to allocate funding to applicants pursuant to the program of projects approved by the agency.This bill: 6) requires that moneys appropriated in the annual Budget Act from the General Fund to the Transportation Agency for purposes of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program be distributed pursuant to a population-based formula to regional transportation planning agencies instead of through a program of projects, as specified, 7) authorizes a regional transportation planning agency, subject to compliance with the requirements described below, to use those moneys to fund transit operating expenses within its jurisdiction and for the transformative capital improvements authorized under the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, as specified, 8) establishes the Zero-Emission Transit Capital Program under the administration of the Transportation Agency and would require funds appropriated under the program to be allocated to regional transportation planning agencies pursuant to a population-based formula and another formula based on transit operator revenues within the jurisdiction of those regional transportation planning agencies, as specified, 9) authorizes a regional transportation planning agency, subject to the requirements described below, to fund zero-emission transit equipment and transit operating expenditures, as specified, 10) requires the Transportation Agency to develop and administer an accountability program to govern the distribution of funds made available to the Transportation Agency for the Zero-Emission Transit Capital Program and the General Fund component of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program described above, 11) requires the Transportation Agency to adopt guidelines governing the distribution of these funding sources in consultation with specified local agencies. Under the accountability program, the bill would require a regional transportation planning agency to comply with certain requirements, including submitting a regional short-term financial plan to the Transportation Agency for approval, in order to receive moneys from these funding sources during specified fiscal years, as provided, 12) requires the Transportation Agency to support the transit goals of the accountability program by, among other things, working with the Department of Transportation and each region to identify service improvements that could further grow ridership at the regional and interregional levels, 13) as part of the accountability program, requires a regional transportation planning agency to submit a long-term financial plan to the Transportation Agency by June 26, 2026, as prescribed, 14) makes a regional transportation planning agency ineligible to receive a grant under the above-described existing Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program in the 2026–27 fiscal year, or any subsequent fiscal years, unless the Transportation Agency approves the long-term financial plan, and 15) make all these provisions subject to an appropriation of funds for these purposes in the Budget Act of 2023, 2024, 2025, or 2026.
Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation and provides that the Director of Transportation shall perform all duties, exercise all powers and jurisdiction, assume and discharge all responsibilities, and carry out and effect all purposes vested by law in the department, except as otherwise provided by law.This bill would: 1) require the director to appoint a Chief Advisor on Bicycling and Active Transportation, to serve as the department’s primary advisor on all issues related to bicycle transportation, safety, and infrastructure, as specified.
I) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, generally regulates the disposal, management, and recycling of, among other solid waste, plastic packaging containers and single-use foodware accessories. Existing law establishes the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, which covers certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food serviceware, as provided. As part of its comprehensive statutory scheme, existing law requires producers, as defined, of these covered materials to source reduce plastic covered material, to ensure that all covered material offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state on or after January 1, 2032, is recyclable or compostable, and to ensure that plastic covered material offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state achieves specified recycling rates, as provided. The act prohibits a producer from selling, offering for sale, importing, or distributing covered materials in the state unless the producer is approved to participate in the producer responsibility plan of a producer responsibility organization (PRO), as prescribed, for the source reduction, collection, processing, and recycling of covered material, except as provided. The act requires the department to establish a producer responsibility advisory board for specified purposes. The act authorizes an affected entity that asserts that specific actions taken to meet the requirements of the act are disrupting or otherwise adversely affecting the sustained operation or commercial viability of solid waste collection programs, solid waste recycling facilities, or composting facilities providing services in accordance with local solid waste handling requirements, to bring the concern and evidence supporting that assertion to the advisory board for discussion and to ask the advisory board to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the information. If the evaluation demonstrates that specific actions are disrupting or otherwise adversely affecting existing operations, the act requires the advisory board to submit the concern to the department for further analysis. The act requires the department to analyze the information provided by the advisory board and authorizes the department to offer a recommendation for resolution.This bill would: 1) instead authorize an affected entity that asserts that specific actions taken by the PRO, a producer, or an entity under contract with the PRO are not consistent with specified prohibitions and requirements of the act and are disrupting or otherwise adversely affecting the sustained operation or commercial viability of solid waste collection programs, solid waste recycling facilities, or composting facilities providing services in accordance with local solid waste handling requirements to bring that concern and supporting evidence to the advisory board, 2) delete the requirement that the board submit the concern to the department for further analysis and would instead require that the advisory board, rather than the department, offer a recommendation for resolution within 90 days of submission of the request for a preliminary evaluation, 3) thereafter authorize either party to initiate nonbinding arbitration, as specified, 4) specify the duties and the authority of the arbitrator, as described, including requiring the arbitrator to transmit the proposed decision to the department and the advisory board, 5) require the department to review the arbitrator’s proposed decision within 60 days of receipt and to make a specified determination, 6) if the arbitrator proposes a revision to an approved producer responsibility plan, require the department to publicly notice the proposed plan revision on its internet website, as provided, 7) also authorize the department, if the department makes a specified determination, to approve or reject the proposed plan revision, 8) authorize any party to request that the department conduct a de novo adjudicative proceeding within 60 days after the arbitrator delivers the proposed decision to the department and the advisory board, 9) deem the arbitrator’s proposed decision to be final and binding if no action is taken by the department or other party within 60 days of the arbitrator’s proposed decision being submitted to the department and the advisory committee, 10) require the department to include any actions taken under these provisions in a specified report submitted to the Legislature, 11) also require an approved producer responsibility plan to remain in effect and be implemented during any action taken pursuant to these new and revised procedures in response to an assertion described above, 12) also prohibit initiation of that action from delaying the approval of a proposed plan or plan amendment.II) The Act authorizes the department to adopt regulations to identify responsible end markets and to establish criteria regarding benefits to the environment and minimizes risks to public health and worker health and safety. The act sets forth definitions for purposes of the act.This bill would: 13) instead authorize the department to adopt regulations to establish standards for the PRO regarding responsible end markets for covered material and to establish criteria that prioritizes benefits to the environment and minimizes risks to public health and worker health and safety, 14) also revise and clarify certain definitions in the act, and 15) incorporate additional changes to Section 42041 of the Public Resources Code proposed by AB 1526 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1526 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law establishes various state water policies, including the policy that the use of water for domestic purposes is the highest use of water and that the next highest use is for irrigation.This bill would: 1) specify that the use of water for domestic purposes includes water use for human consumption, cooking, sanitary purposes, care of household livestock, animals, and gardens, fire suppression and other safety purposes, and a purpose determined to be a domestic purpose as established by the common law.
Existing law authorizes a public entity that supplies water at retail or wholesale within its service area to adopt, in accordance with specified procedures, and enforce a water conservation program.This bill would: 1) require a public entity, as defined, to conduct a water usage demand analysis, as defined, prior to completing, or as part of, a cost-of-service analysis conducted to set fees and charges for water service that are consistent with applicable law, 2) require a public entity to identify, within the water usage demand analysis, the costs of water service for the highest users, as defined, incurred by the public entity, and the average annual volume of water delivered to high water users, 3) also requires the costs of water service for the highest users and the average annual volume of water delivered to high water users to be made publicly available by posting the information in the public entity’s cost-of-service analysis, and 4) include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
I)Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including approval and adoption of building standards and codification of those standards into the California Building Standards Code. Existing law requires the commission to adopt specific building standards, including standards for graywater, and to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the California Building Standards Code in its entirety once every 3 years. Existing law establishes the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund, and makes the moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation, to state entities to carry out various related provisions, as specified.This bill would: 1) require the commission to research, develop, and propose building standards to reduce potable water use in new residential and nonresidential buildings, as specified, 2) require the commission to perform a review of water efficiency and water reuse standards in the California Buildings Standards Code every 3 years, commencing with the next triennial edition, and update as needed.II) Existing law establishes, within the California Environmental Protection Agency, the State Water Resources Control Board for the purposes of orderly and efficient administration of the state’s water resources. Existing law requires the board, in consultation with the commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development, to adopt regulations for risk-based water quality standards for the onsite treatment and reuse of nonpotable water in multifamily residential, commercial, and mixed-use buildings, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the board, to develop and propose for adoption any necessary corresponding building standards to support those risk-based water quality standards by a specified date. This bill would: 3) require the department, in consultation with the board, to develop and propose the corresponding building standards within 12 months of the board adopting those regulations, and 4) also make related findings and declarations.
Existing law generally requires the seller of a single-family residential property to make certain disclosures of natural hazards on a specified statement to a prospective buyer, including whether the property is located in a very high fire hazard severity zone.This bill: 1) if a single-family residential property is located within a fire hazard severity zone, requires the above-described disclosure in the natural hazard statement to specify whether the property is located in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, 2) also clarifies that the natural hazard statement is required to include a disclosure as to whether the property is located within a high fire hazard severity zone in a state responsibility area, very high fire hazard severity zone in a state responsibility area, or very high fire hazard severity zone in a local responsibility area.