(1) Existing law prohibits the dumping of waste matter upon a road or highway or in other locations, as specified. A violation of this prohibition, generally, is an infraction punishable by specified fines that escalate for subsequent convictions. Under existing law, the dumping of commercial quantities of waste, as defined, is punishable as a misdemeanor and also includes escalating fines. Under existing law, each day that waste is placed, deposited, or dumped in violation of these provisions is a separate violation. This bill would repeal that latter provision making each day a separate violation. The bill would increase the fine for the dumping of commercial quantities of waste from not less than $3,000 nor more than $6,000 to not less than $4,500 nor more than $8,000 for the 2nd conviction and from not less than $6,000 nor more than $10,000 to not less than $8,000 nor more than $10,000 for the 3rd and any subsequent convictions. The bill would increase the fine for the dumping of commercial quantities of waste by a business that employs more than 10 employees from not less than $3,000 nor more than $10,000 to not less than $6,000 nor more than $10,000 for the 2nd conviction and from not less than $6,000 nor more than $20,000 to not less than $15,000 nor more than $25,000 for the 3rd and any subsequent convictions. (2) Existing law establishes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery and vests the department with all of the authority, duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the former California Integrated Waste Management Board, except as specified. This bill would require the department to be the lead state agency to act as a resource for cities and counties to address illegal dumping and would require the department to create an internet website with resources to help cities and counties combat, prevent, and clean up illegal dumping, as specified.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including every common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, as specified. Existing law requires each state agency, including the commission, to provide the Director of General Services with an annual report on late payment penalties that were paid by the agency, as provided. This bill would require the commission to annually submit a report to the Legislature with information related to the payment of invoices, as provided.
Existing law, the California Refinery and Chemical Plant Worker Safety Act of 1990, requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to promote worker safety through implementation of training and process safety management practices in refineries, chemical plants, and other appropriate facilities, including by adopting process safety management standards and regulations. The act defines "process safety management" and other terms for its purposes. The act also requires an employer to develop and maintain written safety information, emergency action plans, operating procedures, procedures to manage changes, and inspection and testing programs. This bill would require an employer, in consultation with employees and employee representatives, to develop, implement, and maintain a written plan to effectively provide for employee participation in all process safety management elements. The bill would also require, on or before April 1, 2027, an employer, in consultation with employee and employee representatives, to develop and implement stop work procedures and procedures for reporting and responding to hazards, as specified. The bill would require an employer to document specific information relating to a partial or complete shut down of an operation or process and reports of hazards. The bill would provide how employees who are and who are not represented by an authorized collective bargaining agent participate in the development of these plans and procedures.
Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Natural Resources Agency. Under existing law, the department has jurisdiction over the conservation, protection, and management of fish, wildlife, native plants, and habitat necessary for biologically sustainable populations of those species. This bill would require the department to develop and make publicly available a roadmap that evaluates whether, and under what conditions, reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable, and the extent to which the ecological functions once provided by the grizzly bear may be restored through human-mediated landscape restoration, including through reintroduction of the species. The bill would also require the department, by June 30, 2030, to submit the roadmap document to relevant budget and policy committees of the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst's Office, and the Fish and Game Commission. The bill would prohibit reintroduction of the grizzly bear in the state until the department or others have carried out various actions, including, among other things, completion of the roadmap, determinations, based on the best available science, that establishment of a self-sustaining grizzly population in the state is biologically viable, and a consultation with California Native American tribes and engagement with communities, as specified. The bill would make implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation, except as specified.
Existing law authorizes specified peace officers, including, among others, police officers, probation officers, and members of the California National Guard, in the performance of the officers' duties, to display a steady or flashing blue warning light visible from the front, sides, or rear of their emergency vehicles. This bill, the Agent Joshua Byrd Memorial Act, would authorize the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to, upon an appropriation from the Legislature, install a blue warning light on an emergency vehicle operated by a parole officer. The bill would additionally authorize parole officers to display the blue warning light from their emergency vehicles if they complete a 4-hour classroom training course regarding the operation of emergency vehicles that is certified by the Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training.
Existing law regulates the voting procedures for military or overseas voters to register to vote, to apply for voting ballots, and to vote. Existing law requires, among other things, unvoted voting materials to be electronically transmitted to a military or overseas voter. This bill would require the Secretary of State to promulgate regulations to facilitate the secure return of ballots from military or overseas voters delivered through secure methods.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Education in state government, and vests the department with specified powers and duties relating to the state's public school system. Existing law declares the policy of the state to ensure that all local educational agencies work to reduce violence, improve pupil safety at schools, and improve the connections between pupils and supportive adults, schools, and communities. This bill would require the department, in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, to establish and administer the Violence Prevention, Pupil Wellness, and School Safety Grant Program to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, award grants to eligible school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools for evidence-based violence prevention, pupil wellness, and public safety initiatives, as specified. The bill would require the department to consult with representatives of the office, local educational agencies, county behavioral health departments, community-based organizations, and public safety agencies when it develops guidelines for the program. The bill would require each grant recipient to submit findings to the department on the effectiveness of its activities funded by the grant and would require the department to use those findings to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2029, evaluating the effectiveness of the grant program and providing recommendations regarding violence prevention, pupil wellness, school safety, and behavioral health investments.
The California Constitution establishes the Fish and Game Commission and provides for the delegation to the commission of powers relating to the protection and propagation of fish and game. Existing law places the Fish and Game Commission in the Natural Resources Agency. This bill would require the commission to, on or before January 1, 2028, adopt regulations, as provided, to increase opportunities to fish, and to hunt big game, wild pigs, upland game birds, and migratory game birds, for resident youth with life-threatening illnesses. The bill would require the commission, in adopting those regulations, to ensure reasonable accommodations for participants in accordance with federal and state disability are incorporated into the regulations and to consider authorizing special hunts, as prescribed. The bill would authorize the commission to include in the regulations additional reasonable accommodations consistent with safe, ethical, and science-based wildlife management practices. The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to, on or before January 1, 2032, prepare and submit a report to the relevant legislative policy and budget committees in both houses of the Legislature and to the commission, as provided. The bill would make the implementation of its provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2033.
Existing property tax law provides, pursuant to a requirement of the California Constitution, that the property tax base year value of real property that is substantially damaged or destroyed by a disaster, as declared by the Governor, may be transferred to a comparable property located within the same county that is acquired or newly constructed, or to replacement property reconstructed on the site of the damaged or destroyed property, within 5 years after the disaster as a replacement property. This bill would authorize the county board of supervisors of any county proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of emergency, or otherwise determined or declared by the Governor to be in a state of disaster, on or after January 1, 2026, but before January 1, 2031, to extend both of the above-described time periods to transfer by up to 3 years. The bill would apply to the determination of base year values for lien dates occurring on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2034. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law declares that it is the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to access sufficient affordable and healthy food. Existing law establishes various food assistance programs, including, among others, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. This bill would establish the Office of Food Security and Affordability, an independent public entity not affiliated with another state agency or department, to be administered by a Director of Food Security and Affordability. The bill would require the director to be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The bill would require the office to collaborate with appropriate state agencies or departments to, among other things, coordinate statewide outreach for food insecurity programs and establish best practices for food banks and emergency food providers, as specified. The bill would create the Food Security and Affordability Fund for the receipt and deposit of moneys from federal, state, local, or private sources, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the office to use those moneys to implement and administer these provisions. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2037.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to prepare a statewide strategy to reduce emissions of toxic air contaminants and criteria air pollutants in communities affected by a high cumulative exposure burden that includes an assessment and identification of those communities. Existing law requires the statewide strategy to be updated at least once every 5 years. Existing law requires the state board, based on the assessment and identification, to select locations around the state for preparation of community emissions reduction programs. Existing law requires the assessment and identification to prioritize disadvantaged communities, as defined. Existing law requires the regional air quality management district or the regional air pollution control district encompassing the location selected by the state board, within one year of selection, to adopt a community emissions reduction program to achieve emissions reductions for the location selected using cost-effective measures, as provided. Existing law requires the state board to provide grants to community-based organizations for technical assistance and to support community participation in the implementation of the statewide strategy. Under this existing regulatory authority, the state board provides grants to development and implement local community emissions reduction plans. This bill would revise the definition of "disadvantaged community" to include a disadvantaged unincorporated community. By expanding the definition of "disadvantaged community," the bill would expand the duties of districts in the preparation of community emissions reduction programs, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the local community emissions reduction plans to be submitted to the state board for review and approval and would require the state board or the relevant air district to enforce those plans, as provided. The bill would specify that a steering committee formed by an air district to assist it in the development and implementation of a community emissions reduction program remains active until the emissions objectives identified in the program are achieved as determined by the air district or 2 3 "?> a majority of the members of the committee vote to disband the committee. The bill would require members of the steering committee to meet certain requirements. The bill would specify eligible uses for the grants provided. This bill would require the state board, on or before June 30, 2027, and annually thereafter, to report to the appropriate subcommittees of the budget committee of the Legislature about the progress the state board has made to implement the statewide strategy and the community emissions reduction programs, as provided. The bill would require the Secretary for Environmental Protection to periodically convene representatives of agencies and departments within the California Environmental Protection Agency with jurisdiction over pollution sources included in a community emissions reduction program to ensure coordination among those agencies and departments to address concerns raised about those pollution sources. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law authorizes a court to order a ward who is 14 years of age or older, and who meets certain criteria, to be committed to a secure youth treatment facility, operated by the county of commitment, for a period of confinement. Existing law authorizes the court, upon a motion from the probation department or the ward, to order that the ward be transferred from a secure youth treatment facility to a less restrictive program, such as a halfway house, a camp or ranch, or a community residential or nonresidential service program if the court determines that the ward has made substantial progress toward the goals of the individual rehabilitation plan. Existing law requires the court to consider the recommendations of the probation department on the proposed change in the placement. This bill would generally require the court, when determining whether to place a ward in a particular less restrictive program that includes congregate residential care, to consider certain information, including, among other things, whether the program has specified insurance policies, and to state on the record the reason for placing a ward in a particular less restrictive program that includes congregate residential care. The bill would require program providers to provide that information to the probation department for the purpose of providing it to the court. By imposing additional duties on probation departments, 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.
