Public resources.

(1) Existing law requires a person taking steelhead trout in inland waters, in addition to a valid California sport fishing license and any applicable sport license stamp, to have in their possession a valid nontransferable steelhead trout fishing report-restoration card issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Under existing law, the base fee for the fishing report-restoration card was $5 for the 2004 license year and is authorized to be adjusted annually pursuant to a specified index. Existing law makes a violation of the fishing report-restoration card requirements a crime. Existing law requires revenues to be deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and to be available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to monitor, restore, or enhance steelhead trout resources consistent with specified law, and to administer the fishing report-restoration card program. Existing law requires the department to report to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2021, regarding the steelhead trout fishing report-restoration card program's projects undertaken using these revenues derived pursuant to that program, the benefits derived, and its recommendations for revising the fishing report-restoration card requirement, if any. These provisions become inoperative as of July 1, 2022, and are repealed as of January 1, 2023. This bill would instead require the above-described provisions to be repealed as of January 1, 2025. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature regarding the fishing report-restoration card program's projects on or before July 1, 2023. Because this bill would extend the operation of the fishing report-restoration card requirements, the violation of which would be a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife, with the approval of the Fish and Game Commission, to, among other things, maintain, use, and administer land suitable for the purpose of establishing ecological reserves. The Budget Act of 2021 appropriated $50,000 from the General Fund to the department to rename the "Eden Landing Ecological Reserve" the "Congressman Pete Stark Ecological Reserve." This bill would rename the "Eden Landing Ecological Reserve," as specified in certain regulations, the "Congressman Pete Stark Ecological Reserve at Eden Landing." The bill would require the department to implement that name change and would provide that commission approval is not required for implementation of the name change. (3) Existing law, the Apiary Protection Act, requires an owner or a person in possession of an apiary to comply with certain requirements, including to register the number of colonies in each apiary and pay an annual apiary registration fee of $10 to the county agricultural commissioner of the county where the bees reside, as specified. Under existing law, failure to comply with any requirement under the Apiary Protection Act is a crime. Existing law also authorizes serial brand number registration and transfer fees to be paid to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, as specified. This bill would instead require the annual apiary registration fee to be an amount not to exceed $250 and paid to the secretary, and would apply the annual apiary registration fee to brokers, as defined. By extending this requirement to brokers, the violation of which would be a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the secretary to enter into contracts with counties to reimburse the counties for costs incurred by the county agricultural commissioner in the administration and enforcement of these provisions using the apiary registration fees, as specified, and would require the secretary to establish standards of performance for administration and enforcement. This bill would also require any funds collected by the secretary pursuant to the above-described provisions to be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, and would continuously appropriate these funds for administration, research, control of pests, and enforcement of these provisions, as provided. By continuously appropriating these funds, the bill would make an appropriation. (4) Existing law, added by the Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1991, creates the Department of Pesticide Regulation and authorizes the Director of Pesticide Regulation, among other things, to adopt regulations that are reasonably necessary to carry out specified provisions of law and to provide, by rule or regulation, for the issuance and renewal on a 2-year basis of licenses, certificates of registration, or other indicia of authority that the director is required or authorized to administer or enforce. Existing law requires the director to issue various types of licenses and certificates that authorize the holder of the license or certificate to engage in specified pest control activities. This bill would specifically authorize the director to adopt regulations for the issuance and renewal of licenses and certificates for pest control operations. The bill would require the director, on or after January 1, 2025, to issue and renew licenses and certificates for pest control operations for a 3-year period and would make various conforming changes for these purposes. Under existing law, applicants for licensing or certification as qualified applicators are required to elect to be examined for licensing or certification in one or more specified categories. Existing law also authorizes an applicant to elect to be trained in the handling, control, and techniques of removal of Africanized honey bees and authorizes the director to develop or approve a program to train applicants in this specialty. This bill would eliminate the specified categories and would instead authorize the director to establish the categories. The bill would also eliminate the above-described provisions relating to Africanized honey bees. This bill would also eliminate an authorization to administer an oral examination for a specified examination required to obtain a private applicator certificate. (5) Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency within state government and sets forth the duties of the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. Existing law requires the secretary to support the development of sustainable communities and by managing and awarding financial assistance in accordance with specified procedures and criteria for the preparation and implementation of green infrastructure projects that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and provide multiple benefits to specified entities, including, among others, a city, county, nonprofit organization, or special district. Existing law requires moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for allocation by the secretary pursuant to those provisions. This bill would define "special district," for purposes of those provisions, to mean an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or a special act, for the performance of governmental or proprietary functions, with limited geographic boundaries, including, but not limited to, a school district and a community college district. (6) Existing law establishes the Division of Boating and Waterways within the Department of Parks and Recreation to, among other things, study and monitor beach erosion. Existing law declares the policy of the state to bear 1 /2 the costs of required local participation for beach erosion control projects authorized by specified federal law, subject to any affected city, county, or other public agency meeting specified conditions. This bill would change that declaration to make the policy that the state shall consider bearing 1 /2 the costs of required local participation for these beach erosion control projects, subject to the same conditions. (7) Existing law authorizes, upon the approval of a county board of supervisors, a county agricultural commissioner, or other designated agency, to establish within the county a livestock pass program for the purpose of issuing identification documents granting any qualifying livestock producer or a managerial employee of the qualifying livestock producer access to the qualifying livestock producer's ranch property, or to the ranch property owned by another holder of a livestock pass with permission, during or following a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster, as provided. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal, with the involvement of the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee, to develop a curriculum for livestock producers eligible for this livestock pass program on or before January 1, 2023. This bill would extend that date to July 1, 2023. (8) Existing law requires, with exceptions, a generator of hazardous waste to pay a generation and handling fee to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, as specified. Existing law requires an operator of a hazardous waste facility to pay a facility fee for each reporting period, or any portion of a reporting period, to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration based on the size and type of facility, and limits the maximum facility fee required to be paid by a disposal facility operator that is a government agency. Existing law requires the filing with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration of an annual return with specified fee payments and a closing return upon the transfer or discontinuance of hazardous waste operations, as provided. Existing law, operative on July 1, 2022, requires a facility with a postclosure permit to pay specified facility fees based on the length of the postclosure period and the size of the facility. A violation of the hazardous waste control provisions is a crime. This bill would enact various conforming and technical changes related to those hazardous waste fee provisions. The bill would define a small, medium, and large facility for purposes of those postclosure permit facility fees. Because the bill would change the scope of a crime with respect to postclosure permit facility fees, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law appropriates to the Department of Toxic Substances Control the total sum of $822,400,000 from the General Fund and the Toxic Substances Control Account, with $500,000,000 of that total amount appropriated from the General Fund for allocation over the 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24 fiscal years, as prescribed, for, among other things, the discovery, cleanup, and investigation of contaminated properties. Existing law transfers the remaining $322,400,000 of that total amount as a loan from the General Fund to the Toxic Substances Control Account and appropriates those funds from the account for allocation over the 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24 fiscal years, as prescribed, for activities, including job training activities, related to the cleanup and investigation of properties contaminated with lead in the communities surrounding the former Exide Technologies facility in the City of Vernon. Existing law requires funds recovered from potentially responsible parties for the former Exide Technologies facility to be used to repay those loans and authorizes forgiveness of the remaining loan balance under certain circumstances. Existing law requires certain appropriated funds to be available for encumbrance for 3 fiscal years after the fiscal year in which the funds are released. This bill would instead require that all of the appropriated amounts described above be available for encumbrance for 4 years after the fiscal year in which the funds are released. By extending the date to encumber funds appropriated from the General Fund, the bill would make an appropriation. (9) Existing law, the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2021, until January 1, 2030, requires each manufacturer of mercury-added thermostats, or group of manufacturers, on or before March 1, 2022, to contract with or retain a qualified third party to develop and implement a convenient, cost-effective, and efficient program for the collection, transportation, recycling, and disposal of out-of-service mercury-added thermostats. The act requires each manufacturer, or group of manufacturers, on or before March 30, 2022, and on or before March 30 of each year thereafter until March 30, 2028, to pay to the qualified third party specified costs and pay to the Department of Toxic Substances Control an aggregate total of $400,000, as provided, which shall not exceed the department's actual and reasonable regulatory costs to administer, implement, and enforce the act. The act requires the department to deposit these moneys into the Mercury Thermostat Collection Program Fund, which the act establishes. The act prescribes the purposes for which the department can expend moneys from the fund. The act subjects the thermostats of a manufacturer that fails to make the required payments or comply with the act to a sales ban, as provided. This bill would change to September 30, 2022, and to September 30 of each year thereafter until September 30, 2028, the dates by which payments from a manufacturer, or a group of manufacturers, are required. The bill would revise the fee provisions to require a manufacturer, or group of manufacturers, to pay to the department, based on a specified calculation, an annual aggregate total not to exceed $400,000 to cover the actual and reasonable regulatory costs incurred by the department to administer, implement, and enforce the act. The bill would require each manufacturer, or a group of manufacturers, on or before September 30, 2022, to also pay to the department an amount equal to the actual and reasonable regulatory costs incurred by the department to administer, implement, and enforce the act from January 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022, inclusive. The bill, by the operation of the act, would subject the thermostats of a manufacturer that fails to make this additional payment to the sales ban. Because this bill would impose an additional payment obligation on a manufacturer, or group of manufacturers, a violation of which would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would expand the purposes for which fund moneys can be expended to include repayment of any expenditures made from any other fund to finance the department's actual and reasonable regulatory costs incurred to administer, implement, and enforce the act from January 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022, inclusive. This bill would change the repeal date of the act to January 1, 2033, but would provide that the obligations imposed by the act remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, unless otherwise provided by the act. By extending the operation of the act, a violation of which would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would abolish the fund on November 30, 2032, and require the department to reimburse to a manufacturer, or group of manufacturers, any unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund on that date. (10) The Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016, as part of the hazardous waste control laws, prohibits a person from disposing, or attempting to dispose, of a lead-acid battery at a solid waste facility or on or in any land, surface waters, watercourses, or marine waters, but authorizes a person to dispose of a lead-acid battery at certain locations. The act imposes a California battery fee on a person for specified types of replacement lead-acid batteries purchased from a dealer in the amount of $1 until March 31, 2022, and in the amount of $2 commencing April 1, 2022. The act requires a dealer to post a written notice or include on the purchaser's receipt for one of these lead-acid batteries specified language, including language stating that the dealer is required by law to charge a nonrefundable $1 California battery fee. This bill would revise the language required to be included in that notice or on the purchaser's receipt by increasing the stated amount of the California battery fee from $1 to $2. (11) Existing law authorizes the Director of Water Resources, following specified notification to the California Water Commission, to procure design-build contracts for public works projects in excess of $1,000,000 that are necessary for the construction, maintenance, or operation of elements of State Water Facilities, as defined. Existing law sets forth required procedures when procuring pursuant to this authorization. Existing law provides that the authority to perform water resources projects pursuant to these provisions is for no more than 7 projects. This bill would additionally authorize the director, following any required notification as described, to procure design-build contracts for public works projects in excess of $1,000,000 that are at the Salton Sea. The bill would also instead provide that the authority to procure design-build contracts for State Water Facilities, as defined, is for no more than 7 projects. (12) Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to annually provide a report to the Legislature detailing the department's fire prevention activities, as provided. Existing law, for purposes of the report, defines "fire prevention activities" to include fire prevention education and hazardous fuel reduction and vegetation management. This bill would revise the definition of "fire prevention activities" by specifying that "hazardous fuel reduction and vegetation management" includes fuel breaks, forest thinning, prescribed fire, reforestation, fuel treatments in the wildland-urban interface, dead fuel removal, roadside fuel reduction activities, and other activities that reasonably could be considered vegetation management. The bill would require the department, on or before December 31, 2023, to post on its internet website certain information regarding hazardous fuel reduction and vegetation management projects funded or conducted by the department for the preceding fiscal year, beginning with funding included in the 2022–23 fiscal year. The bill would require the department, on or before December 31, 2022, to develop a standardized protocol for monitoring implementation and evaluating the positive and negative ecological and fire behavior impacts from vegetation management projects undertaken by the state, as provided. The bill would expand the requirement to post certain information and the monitoring protocol to other state agencies undertaking or funding hazardous fuel reduction and vegetation management projects by December 31, 2024. (13) The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires every beverage container sold or offered for sale in this state to have a minimum refund value. Under the act, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery is required to calculate a processing fee for each beverage container with a specified scrap value, which is required to be paid by beverage manufacturers for each beverage container sold or transferred to a distributor or dealer. The act requires beverage manufacturers to annually report to the department the amount of virgin plastic and postconsumer recycled plastic used by the manufacturer for any plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value for sale in the state in the previous calendar year, as provided. The act requires the total number of filled plastic beverage containers sold by a beverage manufacturer to contain specified amounts of postconsumer recycled plastic content per year, as provided, but exempts from this requirement beverage manufacturers that have projected processing fee payments for a calendar year that are less than specified amounts. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would delete the above-described exemption and would instead exempt from the postconsumer recycled plastic content requirement beverage manufacturers that sell or transfer a specified maximum number of plastic beverage containers to a distributor, dealer, or consumer located in the state during the calendar year for which the manufacturer is required to report the amount of virgin plastic and postconsumer recycled plastic used by that manufacturer. Because this bill would change the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program to the extent that it expands the scope of an existing crime. (14) The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to annually designate convenience zones statewide and requires at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone that accepts all types of empty beverage containers and pays the refund value, if any, at one location. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund and, except for administrative costs, continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay handling fees to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The act requires the department to set the amount of the handling fee using a specified method, which includes adjusting the statewide average cost for each beverage container annually to reflect changes in the cost of living. The act authorizes the department to update the method used for calculating the handling fee if it finds that the handling fee does not accurately represent the actual cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those certified recycling centers, as provided. The act formerly required the per-container handling fee to be set until March 1, 2013, at an amount not less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2011. This bill would require the per-container handling fee to be set until June 30, 2024, at an amount that is not less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2021, and would set the cost-of-living adjustment for the 2022–23 fiscal year at 9%. The bill would delete the provision authorizing the department to update the method used for calculating the handling fee. The bill would make an appropriation by changing the terms and conditions under which the department is authorized to make payments from a continuously appropriated fund. (15) Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the State Coastal Conservancy. Existing law establishes the Climate Ready Program, administered by the conservancy, in order to address the impacts and potential impacts of climate change on resources within the conservancy's jurisdiction. Existing law requires the conservancy, when allocating specified funds, to do specified things, including prioritizing projects that use natural infrastructure in coastal communities to help adapt to climate change. This bill would delete the reference to the specified funds. (16) Existing law prohibits a person from selling or offering for sale a product, as defined, that is labeled with the term "compostable" or "home compostable" unless the product satisfies specified criteria. As part of that criteria, existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, by January 1, 2024, to determine whether it would be feasible to separate the collection of products in order to recover organic waste that is suitable for use in organic agricultural applications from the collection of products not suitable for use in organic agricultural applications, and on or before January 1, 2026, to adopt regulations to establish a bifurcated approach depending on the results of that determination. This bill would specify that the regulations the department is required to adopt on or before January 1, 2026, depending on the results of that determination, are to establish a bifurcated approach to product labeling. (17) 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 it finds that the project will not have that effect. Under existing law, the court holds that CEQA does not apply to a public agency's failure to act. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to designate a groundwater basin as a probationary basin if the state board makes a certain determination and to adopt an interim plan for the probationary basin, as specified. Existing law exempts any action or failure to act by the board to effectuate the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act from the requirements of CEQA, except for the board's adoption or amendment of an interim plan. This bill would revise the above exemption to apply to actions taken by the board to designate a groundwater basin as a probationary basin and the adoption or amendment of an interim plan. The bill would specify that the exemption is not to be interpreted to exempt from CEQA projects that would implement actions taken pursuant to an adopted interim plan. The bill would make a conforming change. (18) Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act (federal act) and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. Existing law establishes the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund program, pursuant to which state and federal funds are continuously appropriated from the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund to the state board for loans and other financial assistance for purposes related to the federal act. Existing law authorizes moneys in the fund to be used for loans that meet specified requirements and authorizes loan forgiveness to the extent authorized by a federal grant deposited in the fund to the extent authorized and funded by that grant. Existing law also authorizes moneys in the fund to be used for grants, principal forgiveness, negative interest rates, and any other type of, or variation on those types of, assistance authorized by a federal grant deposited in the fund, to the extent authorized and funded by that grant. This bill would delete the provision that authorizes loan forgiveness to the extent authorized by a federal grant deposited in the fund to the extent authorized. The bill would delete the restriction in the latter provision that authorizes as expenditures from the fund those types of financial assistance only to the extent authorized and funded by a federal grant. By deleting a restriction on the use of moneys in a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation by authorizing expenditures from the fund for a new purpose. (19) Existing law, the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1E at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, establishes the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Fund of 2006 and authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,090,000,000 for the purposes of financing disaster preparedness and flood prevention projects. The act makes $300,000,000 of that amount available, upon appropriation to the Department of Water Resources, for grants for stormwater flood management projects, as specified. Existing law appropriates $300,000,000 to the department for those purposes and makes those funds available for encumbrance until June 30, 2020, and for liquidation until June 30, 2023. This bill would instead make all funds available for liquidation until June 30, 2028, subject to certain conditions. By extending the period of time in which funds encumbered under an existing appropriation may be liquidated, the bill would make an appropriation. (20) 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 provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (21) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.