Existing law authorizes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation to require an operator of an oil and gas well to provide, in addition to specified types of required indemnity bonds, an additional amount of security acceptable to the division based on the division's evaluation of the risk that the operator will desert its well or wells and the potential threats the operator's well or wells pose to life, health, property, and natural resources, as provided. Existing law requires the division to consider specified factors in evaluating the risks that the operator will desert its well or wells and the potential threats the operator's well or wells pose to life, health, property, and natural resources. Existing law prohibits this additional security from exceeding the lesser of the division's estimation of the reasonable costs of properly plugging and abandoning all of the operator's wells and decommissioning any attendant production facilities, or $30,000,000. A person who violates or fails to comply with this provision, or any related law concerning oil and gas, is guilty of a crime. This bill would instead prohibit this additional security from exceeding the lesser of the division's estimation of the reasonable costs of properly plugging and abandoning all of the operator's wells and decommissioning any attendant production facilities, or a maximum amount of additional security based on the total number of active and idle wells under the control of the operator pursuant to a specified schedule, as provided. The bill would prohibit the division from increasing the amount of additional security required of an operator that had an additional security agreement approved by the division as of January 1, 2027, until 3 years after the effective date of the agreement, as provided. The bill would explicitly extend these additional security requirements to a person who acquires the right to operate or control a well or production facility, as provided. The bill would establish that compliance with these additional security requirements by either the operator of record or the person who acquires the right to operate or control a well or production facility constitutes compliance for both parties, and would prohibit the division from requiring duplicative security, as provided. Existing law authorizes the above-described additional amount of security to be an indemnity bond, specified forms of deposit, or any other means of equally effective financial assurance approved by the division, including a demonstration of self-insurance pursuant to a specified process. This bill would, as a condition of obtaining division approval of self-insurance or a corporate guarantee, require an additional security agreement between the operator and the division that includes, among other things, an enforceable schedule for the plugging and abandonment of wells and decommissioning of production facilities consistent with an operator's idle well management plan, as provided. The bill would also require the operator, as part of that additional security agreement, to immediately notify the division if the operator is unable to satisfy the financial criteria, and would make a failure to make this notification a violation subject to civil and criminal penalties, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the division to reevaluate whether self-insurance or a corporate guarantee continues to constitute an equally effective means of financial assurance at least once every 3 years, or upon a material change in the financial condition of the operator or guarantor entity, whichever occurs first. The bill would require an operator approved for self-insurance or a corporate guarantee who the supervisor subsequently determines to be out of compliance with an approved idle well management plan, or specified operators out of compliance with idle well fee requirements, to provide other financial assurance within 90 days of that determination, as provided. Existing law also requires a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility to file with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor an individual indemnity bond or a blanket indemnity bond in an amount determined by the supervisor to be sufficient to cover, in full, all costs of plugging and abandonment, decommissioning the facility, and site restoration, as provided. Under existing law, an operator may, in lieu of this bonding requirement and with the written approval of the supervisor, provide the required security through an equally effective means of financial assurance, including specified types of deposits, an irrevocable letter of credit, or a fully funded trust fund, and excluding self-insurance or corporate guarantees, as provided. This bill would repeal the exclusion of self-insurance or corporate guarantee, as described above. The bill would additionally authorize an operator to, in lieu of the bonding requirement and with the written approval of the supervisor, provide the required security through specified means of financial assurance, including pursuant to the above-described process for obtaining division approval for self-insurance or a corporate guarantee applicable to existing operators, as provided. Existing law authorizes the supervisor or a district deputy to order the plugging and abandonment of a well or the decommissioning of a production facility that has been deserted. If the supervisor determines that the current operator, as determined by the records of the supervisor, does not have the financial resources to fully cover that cost of plugging and abandonment of the well or the decommissioning of a production facility that has been deserted, existing law makes immediately preceding operators responsible for that cost. Existing law authorizes the supervisor to continue to look seriatim to previous operators until an operator is found with sufficient financial resources to cover the cost, except as provided. This bill would exempt from the above-described requirement to file with the supervisor, upon acquiring the right to operate a well or production facility, an individual indemnity bond or a blanket indemnity bond sufficient to cover all costs of plugging and abandonment, decommissioning the facility, and site restoration, (1) an operator, or a person who acquires the right to operate or control a well or production facility, who has complied with an idle well management plan or fee schedule, and specified reporting requirements, as provided, if the operator of record has obtained and maintained additional security approved by the division, as provided, and (2) a person who has acquired the rights to a well or production facility for the sole purpose of plugging and abandoning that well or decommissioning the production facility for purposes of redevelopment, as defined, or to satisfy the above-described obligations of previous operators, as provided. The bill would explicitly state that a person who has acquired the rights to a well or production facility for the sole purpose of plugging and abandoning that well or decommissioning the production facility for the purposes of redevelopment or to satisfy the obligations of previous operators is subject to the state oil and gas laws as an operator, until a determination by the supervisor that the well has been properly plugged and abandoned or the production facilities have been decommissioned, or that additional work related to abandoning the well is not practical or would pose greater environmental or safety risk, as provided. Upon this determination by the supervisor, the bill would require the supervisor to release the bond, and would release the acquiring person from any further obligation or liability for the well or facility. The bill would require a person who, before an acquisition for the sole purpose of plugging and abandoning the well or decommissioning the production facility, was responsible as an owner or operator of the well or production facility and subject to orders related to remediation issued by the supervisor to remain responsible for the well or production facility and any unfunded costs associated with plugging and abandonment of the well or decommissioning of the facility, as provided. The bill would prohibit the use of a well or production facility acquired for the sole purpose of plugging and abandoning the well or decommissioning the production facility from being used for oil or gas production, injection, gas storage, or any associated operation. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a person acquiring the rights to a well or production facility for the sole purpose of plugging and abandoning that well or decommissioning the production facility for the purpose of redevelopment, before completing the acquisition, to submit to the supervisor a declaration, under penalty of perjury, that the acquisition is for the sole purpose of plugging and abandoning the well or decommissioning the production facility for the purpose of redevelopment, a description of the redevelopment plan, and a plugging and abandoning work plan, as provided. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require an acquiring person who submits the declaration to commence plugging and abandonment or decommissioning operations within 24 months of the date of acquisition, and would authorize the supervisor to grant a 12-month extension, as provided. The bill would require the supervisor to require an acquiring person who fails to commence operations within this time period to file financial assurance, as provided. The bill would require a person acquiring the rights to a well or production facility pursuant to these provisions to provide annual updates on the plugging and abandonment work plan. If the supervisor determines that the acquiring person is not capable of plugging the wells within these timeframes, the bill would require the acquiring person to post specified financial assurance and would require the supervisor to notify the previous operator who is responsible for the plugging and abandonment. The bill would establish that no more than 100 wells or associated production facilities may be included, on an annual basis, in this alternative financial security program, as provided. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2028, and quarterly thereafter, require the division to post on its internet website specified information related to well transfers, wells and production facilities acquired for the sole purpose of plugging and abandoning or decommissioning, and a description of wells located in or within one mile of a disadvantaged community. The bill would require the supervisor and Director of Conservation to annually attend specified legislative hearings to report on well transfer activity, implementation and status of financial assurance for indemnification, and the above-described provisions related to redevelopment of oil and gas wells, and would require the division, on or before January 1, 2032, to prepare and submit a related report to the relevant legislative policy and budget committees in both houses of the Legislature, as provided. 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. This bill would make the operation of its provisions contingent upon the enactment of AB 2461 of the 2025–26 Regular Session.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is in part governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing federal law, enacted on July 4, 2025, sets forth various changes to Medicaid eligibility with regard to community engagement reporting, redeterminations, retroactive coverage, and cost sharing, among other factors, for certain Medicaid populations pursuant to a specified implementation timeline. This bill would require the department to establish a data dashboard that provides data on applications, enrollment, redeterminations, disenrollments, and terminations, with certain objectives in consideration, related to the impact of the above-described federal law on Medi-Cal eligibility and enrollment, as specified. The bill would require the dashboard to track and report on the specific data for work or community engagement requirements and exemptions. The bill would require the department, commencing no later than January 1, 2028, to operationalize the dashboard and to post the information on a monthly basis in a downloadable format. The bill would require the department to undertake efforts to conduct outreach about work or community engagement requirements, more frequent redeterminations, and changes to retroactive eligibility to impacted Medi-Cal beneficiaries, and to conduct listening sessions, as specified. Under the bill, beneficiary outreach and education would be coordinated across public social services programs to help minimize barriers to administrative disenrollments. The bill would require a Medi-Cal managed care plan to establish and conduct an outreach and education plan for its enrollees about the work or community engagement guidelines set forth in federal law based on guidance provided by the department. The bill would require the outreach and education plan to address certain information on Medi-Cal eligibility, the right to appeal or reinstate Medi-Cal coverage, and resources, and to meet certain cultural and linguistic appropriateness standards. Existing law requires a county to undertake outreach efforts to beneficiaries receiving Medi-Cal benefits in order to, in part, facilitate the Medi-Cal redetermination process. Existing law authorizes a county to collaborate with community-based organizations in implementing this provision. This bill would incorporate the requirements of the above-described federal law into the Medi-Cal redetermination facilitation process. The bill would require a county to make a good faith effort to collaborate with community-based organizations, as specified. The bill would require the county outreach efforts to meet cultural and linguistic appropriateness standards. By creating new duties for counties relating to Medi-Cal outreach, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the department to encourage and facilitate efforts by managed care plans to report updated beneficiary contact information to counties. When a managed care plan obtains a beneficiary's updated contact information, existing law requires the plan to ask the beneficiary for approval to provide the beneficiary's updated contact information to the appropriate county. If the managed care plan does not obtain that approval, existing law requires the county to attempt to verify that the information that it receives from the plan is accurate, as specified, before updating the beneficiary's case file. This bill would remove the requirement for the managed care plan to ask the beneficiary for approval for purposes of providing the contact information to the county. The bill would remove the requirement for the county to make the verification attempt and would remove a related provision on the method of contact. The bill would require the department to share, or require each county to share, beneficiary redetermination data with applicable managed care plans to aid in managed care plans' efforts to assist beneficiaries with retaining Medi-Cal coverage, as specified. To the extent the bill creates new duties for counties relating to the sharing of Medi-Cal redetermination data, it would impose a state-mandated local program. 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, 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.
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 in the state. Existing law requires the operator of a well to file a written notice of intention to commence drilling or written notice of intention to abandon a well with, and prohibits any drilling or abandonment, respectively, until approval is given by, the supervisor or district deputy. Under existing law, if the supervisor or district deputy fails to give the operator written response to the notice of intention to commence drilling or to the notice of intention to abandon a well within 10 working days from the date of receipt, that failure to respond is considered an approval, as specified. Under existing law, if operations to commence drilling or to abandon a well have not commenced within 24 months of receipt of the notice by the supervisor or the district deputy, the notice is deemed canceled, as provided. This bill would instead require the supervisor or district deputy to provide the operator, within 10 working days of the receipt of notice of intention to commence drilling or notice of intention to abandon a well, respectively, a written determination stating whether the notice of intention is complete. The bill would provide that if a supervisor or district deputy fails to provide this written determination the notice of intention to commence drilling or notice of intention to abandon a well, respectively, is required to be deemed complete. The bill would require, if the supervisor or the district deputy determines the notice of intention to commence drilling or notice of intention to abandon a well, respectively, is not complete, the supervisor or the district deputy to provide a written list that specifically identifies each item that is missing or deficient and to make a good faith effort to provide that information in a single document, as specified, in addition to the written determination that the notice of intention is not complete. The bill would authorize the operator to cure any deficiencies and to resubmit the notice of intention to commence drilling or notice of intention to abandon a well, respectively, and would require the supervisor or deputy to provide a written determination stating whether the resubmitted notice of intention is complete within 10 working days. The bill would require, if the supervisor or district deputy provides a written determination that a notice of intention or a resubmitted notice of intention to commence drilling or notice of intention to abandon a well, respectively, is complete, or if a notice of intention to commence drilling or notice of intention to abandon a well, respectively, is deemed complete due to a failure of the supervisor or district deputy to provide the written determination of completeness within 10 working days as described above, the supervisor or the district deputy to approve or deny the notice within 30 working days from the date of the determination of completeness. The bill would provide that if the supervisor or district deputy fails to approve or deny a notice of intention to commence drilling or notice of intention to abandon a well, respectively, within 30 working days, that failure is to be considered an approval, provided that all necessary environmental and technical reviews by the supervisor or district deputy are complete. The bill would also require, if the notice of intention to commence drilling or notice of intention to abandon a well, respectively, is denied by the supervisor or district deputy, within 30 working days from the date of a written determination of completion, the supervisor or the district deputy to include in the denial a rationale for why the notice was denied. The bill would instead provide that if operations to commence drilling or to abandon a well, respectively, have not commenced within 24 months of receipt of approval of the notice by the supervisor or the district deputy, the notice is deemed canceled, as provided.
Existing law makes every person who contacts or communicates with a minor, or attempts to contact or communicate with a minor, as specified, with intent to commit certain offenses, including any lewd or lascivious act, involving the minor, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, as provided. This bill would make any adult person who recruits, induces, coerces, or persuades a minor to commit an illegal act against another minor, or to solicit physical harm, sexual conduct, or images of an intimate body part, from another minor, or who utilizes a minor as a conduit of communication to facilitate any such acts guilty of a crime punishable either as a misdemeanor or a felony. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
Existing law makes it a crime to operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and sets forth the penalties for a violation of these provisions. Under existing law, if a person is convicted of a driving under the influence violation and the offense occurs within 10 years of one or more separate driving under the influence violations that resulted in convictions, the offense is subject to escalating fines, suspensions, and other sanctions. This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon an appropriation from the Legislature, to provide, as appropriate, a summary of the penalties for specified violations involving alcohol or drugs on specified vehicle registration materials and with each driver's license, and license renewal, as specified. The bill would require the department's summary to include, among other things, the financial consequences of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs, and annual updates to DUI-related statutes.
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 from its requirements certain projects. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, exempt from CEQA critical fuels reduction projects that address extremely flammable species, are conducted in communities located in high fire threat districts or very high fire hazard severity zones, and remove specified nonnative species or common species. The bill would require projects exempt from CEQA pursuant to this exemption to comply with the best management practices under the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan, as provided. The bill would require a lead agency carrying out a project exempt from CEQA pursuant to this exemption to consult with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, as provided, and to, within 90 days of project completion, submit a notice of project completion and a final compliance determination regarding the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and the Secretary for Environmental Protection, as provided. The bill would require, on or before March 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to, in consultation with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, submit a report to the Legislature with specified information summarizing the implementation of these provisions during the preceding calendar year. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
Existing law, the California Values Act, requires the Attorney General, by October 1, 2018, in consultation with the appropriate stakeholders, to publish model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law at public schools, public libraries, health facilities operated by the state or a political subdivision of the state, courthouses, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement facilities, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, the Division of Workers' Compensation, and shelters and ensure that they remain safe and accessible to all California residents, regardless of immigration status. The act requires all public schools, health facilities operated by the state or a political subdivision of the state, and courthouses to implement the model policy or an equivalent policy. This bill would require the Attorney General, on or before October 30, 2027, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Legislature and the Governor, and post on its internet website, a report that includes, among other things, a summary of all immigration enforcement incidents and activities occurring on or after September 1, 2025, conducted by a person at a designated location that have been reported by the designated location or a person who witnessed the activity to the Attorney General, as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to request representatives of a designated location to furnish any reported immigration enforcement incidents and activities as part of compiling its annual report and would authorize the Attorney General to issue civil penalties or conduct other enforcement activity to ensure compliance with these provisions. The bill would prohibit the report from including any personally identifiable information regarding an individual stopped, detained, or arrested by an individual conducting an immigration enforcement activity. The bill would define "designated location" to mean schoolsites, health care provider entities, shelters, polling places, state courthouses, public transportation access points, and state and local government property. The bill would define "immigration enforcement" for these purposes to mean an effort to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of a federal civil or criminal immigration lawsuit. To the extent the bill would impose duties on locals, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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, 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.
Existing law generally regulates various business activities and practices related to consumer rights. Existing law requires law enforcement and state and local governments to interact with and report on federal action against individuals based on their perceived or actual immigration status in various specified manners. This bill would require a large retail store doing business in this state, as defined, to provide the Attorney General with copies of specified documentation related to immigration enforcement activity, as defined, that occurs on the large retail store's premises, including copies of any video footage, upon receipt of an administrative subpoena, as specified. The bill would exempt documentation submitted as described above from the California Public Records Act. The bill would require the large retail store to preserve the documentation described above, as specified. The bill would also require the large home improvement retailer to disclose on the retailer's internet website certain information, including any policies and practices the large home improvement retailer maintains that relate to immigration enforcement activity on its premises, as specified. The bill would also require the large retail store to provide the county in which the immigration enforcement activity occurred with access to the above-described documentation, as specified. In connection with that requirement, the bill would require every county board of supervisors to select that appropriate agency in the county to have the authority to access that documentation. By imposing new duties on counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the Attorney General or a county counsel to bring an action for injunctive relief for a violation of the above provisions. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030. The bill would make related findings and declarations and would declare the severability of its provisions. The bill would 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. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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, 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.
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 prohibits a public utility from changing a rate or altering a classification, contract, practice, or rule that would result in a new rate, except upon a showing before the commission and a finding by the commission that the new rate is justified and the public utility notifying its customers of the rate change. This bill would require an electrical corporation or gas corporation proposing to change a rate or to alter a classification, contract, practice, or rule that would result in a new rate to include in its proposal certain information, as provided. The bill would require the commission, in approving the rate change, to take into account, and make specific findings related to, wildfire risk reduction efforts taken by the electrical corporation. Existing law requires the commission, by May 1 of each year, to prepare and submit a written report to the Governor and the Legislature that contains the commission's recommendations for actions to limit electrical corporations' and gas corporations' utility costs and rate increases or to substantially reduce monthly electricity and natural gas utility bills, and that considers how the adoption of decarbonization policies may impact the total energy costs borne by consumers. This bill would require that report to additionally include, for each electrical corporation and gas corporation, comparisons for each of the previous 5 years presented by each functional category of operations, across all operations of the corporation, of certain expenditures of the corporation, as specified. The bill would require the commission to make all source data used to produce the report available to the public in an electronic format on its internet website. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
The Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act requires the State Department of Public Health to establish and develop a program to reduce the availability of tobacco products to persons under 21 years of age through specified enforcement activities. In addition to the primary enforcement responsibility assumed by the department, existing law authorizes other state and local governmental agencies to conduct inspections and assess penalties for violations of the act, as specified, and encourages state and local enforcement agencies to share the results of inspections and coordinate with the department when enforcing the act. In this regard, existing law authorizes an enforcing agency to assess specified civil penalties against any person, firm, or corporation that sells, gives, or in any way furnishes to another person who is under 21 years of age any tobacco, cigarettes, or cigarette papers. Existing law, upon the assessment of a civil penalty for the 3rd, 4th, or 5th violation, requires the department to notify the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) , and requires the CDTFA to assess civil penalties and suspend or revoke a license issued under the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003. This bill, effective July 1, 2027, would prohibit a new retail location for a retailer of cigarettes or tobacco products from being located within a 600-foot radius of a school or a daycare center unless the local jurisdiction specifies a radius greater than 600 feet. The bill would also prohibit a retailer of cigarettes or tobacco products from possessing, storing, owning, or selling nitrous oxide or paraphernalia relating to the consumption of nitrous oxide. The bill would authorize an enforcement agency to assess civil penalties for a violation of those provisions. The bill would authorize the CDTFA to then assess a civil penalty and suspend or revoke a license for a violation of those provisions. The bill would exempt a grocery store, as defined, from the bill's provisions and would define other terms relating to the bill's provisions. The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to issue a license to a retailer to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products upon receipt of a completed application and payment of certain fees, unless an exception applies. This bill, on and after July 1, 2027, would include among those exceptions an application for a new license for a retail location within 600 feet of a school or daycare center or a greater radius established by the local jurisdiction, as specified. The California Constitution provides for the establishment of the State Board of Equalization, which, before July 1, 2017, had primary responsibility for most of the state's duties, powers, and responsibilities regarding the administration of taxes and fees. Existing law, on July 1, 2017, transferred to the CDTFA various duties, powers, and responsibilities of the State Board of Equalization, including administration of the STAKE Act, as specified. This bill would change references in the provisions of the STAKE Act amended by this bill from the "State Board of Equalization" to the "California Department of Tax and Fee Administration" to reflect the transfer of the board's duties, powers, and responsibilities to the CDTFA.
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, among others, the product is labeled in a manner that distinguishes the product from a noncompostable product upon reasonable inspection by consumers and to help enable efficient processing by solid waste processing facilities. This bill would instead require the product to be labeled in a manner that distinguishes the product from a noncompostable product upon reasonable inspection by consumers and by solid waste processing facilities during receiving and processing. The bill would require a plastic product that meets certain ASTM standard specifications regarding the compostability of plastics to be labeled with the word "compostable," as specified. This bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to conduct a study evaluating the health effects of degraded compostable plastics and their additives, as provided. The bill would require the office to provide biennial status updates, which may include a compilation of the study findings into a report, and to post the final report on its internet website.
Existing law authorizes a court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant suffering from a mental disorder, on an accusatory pleading alleging the commission of a misdemeanor or felony offense, to allow the defendant to undergo mental health treatment. Existing law prescribes specified criteria for a defendant to be eligible for pretrial diversion and for a court to consider whether the defendant is suitable for pretrial diversion. Existing law authorizes a court to require the defendant to make a prima facie showing that they will meet the minimum requirements of eligibility for diversion and that the defendant and the offense are suitable for diversion and authorizes the court, if that showing is not made, to summarily deny diversion and grant alternate relief. This bill, if the court intends to summarily grant diversion or any other relief, would require the court to conduct an additional hearing if requested by either party. By increasing the duties on local prosecutors, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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, 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.
