California Bills

Existing law establishes the Prison Industry Authority within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and authorizes it to operate industrial, agricultural, and service enterprises that provide products and services needed by the state, or any political subdivision of the state, or by the federal government, or any department, agency, or corporation of the federal government, or for any other public use. Existing law requires state agencies to purchase these products and services at the prices fixed by the authority. Existing law also requires state agencies to make maximum utilization of these products and consult with the staff of the authority to develop new products and adapt existing products to meet their needs. 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, including certain optometric services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. This bill, for purposes of Medi-Cal reimbursement for covered optometric services, would authorize a provider to obtain eyeglasses from a private entity, as an alternative to a purchase of eyeglasses from the Prison Industry Authority. The bill would condition implementation of this provision on the availability of federal financial participation. The bill, notwithstanding the above-described requirements, would authorize a provider participating in the Medi-Cal program to obtain eyeglasses from the authority or private entities, based on the optometrist's needs and assessment of quality and value.

Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which is permitted to adjudge certain children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances until the dependent child attains 21 years of age. Existing law also authorizes the juvenile court to resume jurisdiction over a nonminor who has attained 18 years of age, but not yet attained 21 years of age, and for whom the court has dismissed dependency, delinquency, or transition jurisdiction. Existing law, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, revises and expands the scope of various programs relating to the provision of cash assistance and other services to and for the benefit of certain foster and adopted children, and other children who have been placed in out-of-home care, including children who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) , Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) , California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) , and Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) benefits. Among other provisions, the act extends specified foster care benefits to nonminor dependents up to 21 years of age, if specified conditions are met. Existing law defines a nonminor dependent for these purposes as a foster child who is a current dependent child or ward of the juvenile court, or who is a nonminor under the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to a voluntary reentry agreement, and in accordance with a transitional independent living case plan who has attained 18 years of age while under an order of foster care placement by the juvenile court and is not older than 21 years of age. This bill would, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose, require the State Department of Social Services to administer a 3-year pilot program in at least 3 counties that choose to participate to extend foster care services to nonminor dependents up to 22 years of age if the nonminor dependent is experiencing homelessness or is at reasonable risk of homelessness if they are not under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Under the pilot program, the bill would expand the jurisdiction of the juvenile court to include, as a nonminor dependent, a nonminor who is 21 years of age and who was previously under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court if the juvenile court makes a finding on the record by a preponderance of the evidence that the nonminor is experiencing homelessness or is at reasonable risk of homelessness if they are not under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, among other requirements, would expand the eligibility of foster care by revising the definition of nonminor dependent to include a foster child who meets the above-described requirements and is 21 years of age if the court makes that same finding, and would make these nonminor dependents eligible for benefits under AFDC-FC, CalWORKs, Kin-GAP, and AAP. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.

Existing law prohibits a well operator from injecting a concentrated carbon dioxide fluid produced by a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project into a Class II well for purposes of enhanced oil recovery, including the facilitation of enhanced oil recovery from another well. This bill would exclude from the definition of enhanced oil recovery for purposes of the above prohibition the incidental and unintentional residual oil produced at the surface from a Class VI well, as defined, resulting from the injection of a concentrated carbon dioxide fluid into the Class VI well during the execution of a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project. The bill would prohibit the carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project from selling, bartering, exchanging, or trading any incidental and unintentional residual oil produced at the surface and would require any oil produced from a Class VI well to be reported to the State Air Resources Board and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, within 60 days of its production. Because a violation of this reporting requirement 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.

(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency for purposes of carrying out state housing policies and programs, and creates in HCD the California Housing Finance Agency. This bill would remove the California Housing Finance Agency from within HCD. This bill would continue the existence of the California Housing Finance Agency in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. This bill would also make technical, conforming changes and would delete obsolete references. (2) Existing federal law authorizes the United States Secretary of Agriculture to extend financial assistance through multifamily housing direct loan and grant programs to serve very low, low-, and moderate-income households, including, among other programs, Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Loans, which are mortgages to provide affordable rental housing for very low, low-, and moderate-income families, elderly persons, and persons with disabilities. Existing law establishes a low-income housing tax credit program pursuant to which the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee provides procedures and requirements for the allocation, in modified conformity with federal law, of state insurance, personal income, and corporation tax credit amounts to qualified low-income housing projects that have been allocated, or qualify for, a federal low-income housing tax credit and farmworker housing. Existing law requires not less than 20% of the low-income housing tax credits available annually to be set aside for allocation to rural areas. Existing law defines "rural area" for purposes of the low-income housing tax credit program as an area, which, on January 1 of any calendar year, satisfies any number of certain criteria, including being eligible for financing under the Section 515 program, or successor program, of the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development. This bill would expand the above-described criteria relating to Section 515 eligibility to instead include eligibility for financing under a multifamily housing program, as specified, or successor program, of the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Existing law also includes in the definition of "rural area" an unincorporated area that adjoins a city having a population of 40,000 or less, provided that the city and its adjoining unincorporated area are not located within a census tract designated as an urbanized area by the United States Census Bureau. This bill would revise the definition of "rural area" to include an unincorporated area that adjoins a city having a population of 40,000 or less, provided that the unincorporated area is not located within a census tract, block group, or block designated as an urban area by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial census. The bill would also include in the definition of "rural area" an unincorporated area that does not adjoin a city, provided that the unincorporated area is not located within a census tract, block group, or block designated as an urban area by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial census. (3) Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. The law requires HCD to determine whether the housing element is in substantial compliance with specified provisions of that law. Existing law requires HCD to designate jurisdictions as prohousing pursuant to emergency regulations adopted by HCD, as prescribed. Existing law awards jurisdictions that are in substantial compliance with specified provisions and that are prohousing additional points or preference in the scoring of applications for specified state programs, including, among others, the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program. Existing law requires the Department of Finance to annually publish the list of programs that must award prohousing jurisdictions additional points or preferences on its internet website. This bill would instead require HCD to publish the list of programs that must award prohousing jurisdictions additional points or preferences on its internet website. Existing law also requires the Department of Finance to annually publish on its internet website a list of programs, if any, where eligibility for funding is contingent upon the jurisdiction having adopted a housing element that has been found to be in substantial compliance with the requirements of the Planning and Zoning Law. This bill would instead require HCD to publish that list of programs. (4) Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. Existing law defines terms for these purposes, including, among others, "surplus land" to mean land owned in fee simple by any local agency for which the local agency's governing body takes formal action in a regular public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and is not necessary for the agency's use. Existing law defines "exempt surplus land" to mean, among other things, surplus land that a local agency is exchanging for another property necessary for the agency's use and surplus land that a local agency is transferring to another local, state, or federal agency for the agency's use. Existing law provides that an agency is not required to follow the requirements for disposal of surplus land for "exempt surplus land," except as provided. The Planning and Zoning Law requires the planning agency of a city or county to provide an annual report to HCD by April 1 of each year that includes, among other information, the city's or county's progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs, as described. This bill would provide, until January 1, 2034, that land that is subject to a sectional planning area, as described, is not subject to the above-described requirements for the disposal of surplus land if specified conditions are met. The bill would require the agency to include in its annual report the status of development, as prescribed. The bill would authorize HCD to request additional information from the agency regarding land disposed of pursuant to these provisions. The bill would require a local agency, at least 30 days prior to declaring land "exempt surplus land" under these provisions, to notify HCD of its findings, as specified, and would require HCD to notify the local agency if the department has determined that the local agency is in violation. The bill would make a local agency that disposes of land in violation of these provisions liable for a civil penalty, as specified. (5) Existing law requires the housing element of a city's or county's general plan to include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development. If the inventory of sites does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the needs of groups of all households pursuant to specified law, existing law requires the local government to rezone sites within specified time periods and that this rezoning accommodate 100% of the need for housing for very low and low-income households on sites that will be zoned to permit owner-occupied and rental multifamily residential use by right for specified developments. Existing law, the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022, until January 1, 2033, deems a housing development project an allowable use on a parcel that is within a zone where office, retail, or parking are a principally permitted use if specified conditions are met, including requirements relating to density, public notice, comment, hearing, or other procedures, site location and size, consistency with sustainable community strategy or alternative plans, prevailing wage, and a skilled and trained workforce. Existing law authorizes a local agency to exempt a parcel from the act if the local agency makes specified written findings. The act authorizes a local agency to reallocate the residential density from an exempt parcel pursuant to these provisions only if the site or sites chosen by the local agency are suitable for residential development and are subject to an ordinance that allows for development by right. This bill would additionally require the exempted parcel or parcels to be subject to an ordinance that allows for development by right for a local agency to reallocate the residential density from an exempt parcel pursuant to the provisions described above. The bill would additionally require all development contractors and subcontractors to be registered and the development proponent to provide notice of all contracts for the performance of the work to the Department of Industrial Relations, as specified. (6) Existing law establishes, among various other programs intended to address homelessness in this state, the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care, cities, counties, and tribes in 4 rounds, which are to be administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness. Existing law, in order to receive a round 3 or round 4 program allocation, requires an applicant to submit an application to the council that includes outcome goals that set definitive metrics for, among other things, reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness, reducing the number of persons who become homeless for the first time, and increasing the number of people exiting homelessness into permanent housing. Existing law requires, except as provided, 18%, or $180,000,000, of the funds allocated for rounds 3 and 4 of the program to be set aside for awarding bonus funds to recipients that have met their outcome goals. This bill would require those bonus funds for rounds 3 and 4 that have not been awarded by July 1, 2023, to be reallocated for distribution under round 5 of the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program, which the bill would establish for the purpose of creating and implementing regionally coordinated plans that organize and deploy the full array of homelessness programs and resources comprehensively and effectively. By reallocating round 3 and round 4 funding to round 5, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require the council to administer round 5 of the program, as specified. The bill would require the council to leverage the programmatic and administrative expertise of relevant state departments and agencies. The bill would authorize the council to designate and reimburse a state agency or department to administer programs and related functions as it considers necessary. To be eligible for a round 5 base program allocation, this bill would require a jurisdiction that is not a tribe to apply as part of a region and to be signatory to a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan that has been approved by the council. The bill would require the council to approve a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan when the council determines that the plan meets all of the specified requirements, including identification and analysis of the specific roles and responsibilities of each participating jurisdiction in the region, as provided. The bill would require participating jurisdictions to collaborate to complete the regionally coordinated homelessness action plan and to engage in a public stakeholder process that includes at least 3 public meetings before completing the plan. The bill would require participating jurisdictions to invite and encourage specified stakeholders to partake in the public process, including people with lived experience of homelessness. The bill would require a qualifying jurisdiction or continuum of care participating in the regionally coordinated homelessness action plan to post on its internet website the proposed, approved, and amended regionally coordinated homeless action plan. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the bill would require that the funds to administer the program, except as provided, be made available in the 2023–24 fiscal year for implementing round 5 of the program, as specified. The bill would prohibit a program recipient from using funding from the program to supplant existing local funds for homelessness services under penalty of disallowance or reduction, or both, of future program funds, as determined by the council. The bill would prohibit the use of more than 5% of appropriated funds to cover state administrative costs. The bill would require a program recipient to use at least 10% of the funds allocated for services for homeless youth populations and require moneys allocated pursuant to its provisions to be expended in compliance with Housing First. The bill would require the council to make an application for round 5 base program allocations available no later than September 30, 2023, and would require applications to be due no later than 180 days from the date applications are made available. To receive a round 5 base program allocation, the bill would require an applicant to submit an application to the council in the form and manner prescribed by the council, including a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan. The bill would require the applicants from each region to submit a single, regional application from their shared region. Within 30 days of the application deadline, the bill would require the council to either approve the application or return it to the applicant with written, detailed comments and request one or more amendments, as specified. On or before January 31, 2026, the bill would require a grantee to submit to the council an updated regionally coordinated homelessness action plan that shall include updates on the metrics and corresponding key actions carried out, as applicable. The bill would require a recipient to contractually obligate not less than 75%, and to expend not less than 50%, of the initial round 5 program allocations made to it no later than June 30, 2026. The bill would authorize the council to request additional information from applicants, as needed, to meet other applicable reporting or audit requirements and to monitor the expenditures and programmatic activities of an applicant, as the council considers necessary, to ensure compliance with round 5 program requirements. The bill would authorize the council to, as it considers appropriate or necessary, request the repayment of round 5 program funds from an applicant, or pursue any other remedies available to it by law for failure to comply with program requirements. The bill would require any remaining amounts of round 5 base program allocation funds not expended by June 30, 2028, to revert to, and be paid and deposited in, the General Fund. The bill would declare allowable uses of round 5 base program allocation funds, including, among others, permanent housing. The bill would authorize applicants to request, in a form prescribed by the council, approval to utilize round 5 funding on allowable expenditures outside of the state's intended priorities. The bill would authorize a county to accept or deposit into the county treasury funds from any source for the purpose of administering a project, proposal, or program under this chapter. Existing law establishes the Multifamily Housing Program administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Existing law requires assistance for projects under the program to be provided in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for eligible costs of specified types of development, as provided. Existing law requires that specified funds appropriated to provide housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and who are inherently impacted by or at increased risk for medical diseases or conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other communicable diseases be disbursed in accordance with the Multifamily Housing Program for specified uses. This disbursement scheme is referred to as Homekey. This bill would specify that cities and counties that are eligible for round 5 are eligible, separately, for supplemental Homekey funding if they satisfy specified conditions, including having a housing element at the time program applications must be submitted. The bill would specify the distribution of funds, upon appropriation of the Legislature, including that $100,000,000 be made available for the 2023–24 fiscal year, as specified, and that $260,000,000 be made available for the 2024–25 fiscal year, as specified. The bill would require the council to award supplemental program funding upon the jurisdiction receiving its round 5 base allocation award. The bill would require the council to, on or before November 1, 2024, make an application available for supplemental Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program funding. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, generally governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. The bill would, among other exemptions, exempt the council from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act in administering round 5 of the program. (7) Under existing law, the Employee Housing Act requires that buildings used for human habitation, and buildings accessory thereto, comply with the building standards in the California Building Standards Code relating to employee housing, as defined. The Employee Housing Act requires HCD to adopt regulations that it determines are necessary for the administration and enforcement of the Employee Housing Act and to establish a schedule of fees to pay for the cost of administration and enforcement of the Employee Housing Act. The Employee Housing Act sets certain minimum permit fees and authorizes HCD to increase any fees in the schedule if necessary. This bill would authorize HCD to, instead, adjust fees if necessary. Under the bill, any fee adjustment would be deemed a change in regulation for purposes of the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would establish in the State Treasury the Employee Housing Regulation Fund. The bill would require HCD to deposit moneys collected pursuant to the Employee Housing Act in the fund. The bill would require moneys deposited in the fund to be available, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, to HCD for expenditure in carrying out the Employee Housing Act. The bill would require HCD to set fees with the primary objective that the aggregate revenue deposited in the fund, on an annual basis, not exceed the costs of HCD's activities mandated by the Employee Housing Act. The bill would prohibit the total money contained in the fund on June 30 of each fiscal year from exceeding the operating expenses and statewide general administrative costs that HCD needs to enforce the Employee Housing Act for one year. The bill would require HCD, if the total moneys contained in the fund exceeds this amount, to make appropriate reductions in the schedule of fees. (8) Existing law, the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, authorizes a development proponent to submit an application for a multifamily housing development that meets specified objective standards and affordability and site criteria, including being located within a zone where office, retail, or parking are a principally permitted use, and makes the development a use by right and subject to one of 2 streamlined, ministerial review processes. Existing law authorizes a local government to exempt a parcel from these provisions before a development proponent submits a development application if specified requirements are met, including that the local government makes written findings that development of the parcel would lead to no net loss of the total potential residential density in the jurisdiction, as specified. This bill would instead authorize a local government to exempt a parcel from the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 by an ordinance adopted to implement the act before a development proponent submits a development application and if specified requirements are met. The bill would modify the required written findings to include, among other things, that the substitution of a parcel for reclassified parcels would result in no net loss of the total realistic and demonstrated potential residential capacity, as specified, and the local government has completed all rezonings required for the 6th revision of its housing element. (9) Existing law establishes the Department of General Services (DGS) in the Government Operations Agency for purposes of, among other things, planning, acquiring, constructing, and maintaining state buildings and property. Executive Order No. N-06-19 required DGS to create a digitized inventory of all state-owned parcels that are in excess of foreseeable needs, as provided, and required DGS, in consultation with HCD, to issue requests for proposals on individual parcels and accept proposals from certain developers of affordable housing, as provided. Existing law requires DGS to develop, in consultation with HCD, no later than September 1, 2023, a set of criteria to consistently evaluate state-owned parcels for suitability as affordable housing sites. Existing law requires, on or before July 1, 2024, and every 4 years thereafter, DGS to, among other things, conduct a review of all state-owned property and identify state-owned parcels that are potentially viable for affordable housing based on those criteria. Existing law also requires, on or before July 1, 2024, and every 4 years thereafter, DGS to update the digitized inventory created pursuant to Executive Order No. N-06-19 of all excess state land, as defined, suitable for affordable housing identified by its review. This bill would instead require DGS to update the digitized inventory of all excess state land suitable for affordable housing after the conclusion of its review of all state-owned property. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, DGS to update the digitized inventory with any state parcels newly determined or declared excess that are suitable for affordable housing, as specified. Existing law establishes, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Excess Sites Local Government Matching Grants Program, to be administered by HCD. Existing law requires HCD to allocate grants of up to $10,000,000 to development partners selected under an Executive Order No. N-06-19 program to enter a ground lease with the state to create affordable housing on excess state-owned property. Existing law requires a selected developer that receives a grant under the program to submit a report, in a form and manner prescribed by HCD, by December 31 of the year following the receipt of those funds, and annually thereafter until December 31, 2024, containing specified information, and requires a recipient of grant moneys under the program to expend their funds no later than June 30, 2024. This bill would remove the December 31, 2024, date to extend those report provisions indefinitely. The bill would also remove the requirement that a recipient of grant moneys under the program expend their funds no later than June 30, 2024. (10) Existing law establishes the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019, which requires HCD, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature, to establish and administer a grant program to allocate those funds to eligible applicants, as defined, to fund capital improvement projects that are an integral part of, or necessary to facilitate the development of, a qualifying infill project, qualifying infill area, or catalytic qualifying infill area, as those terms are defined, pursuant to specified requirements. Existing law requires HCD to administer a competitive application process for capital improvement projects for large jurisdictions, as defined. Existing law requires HCD, in its review and ranking of applications for the award of capital improvement project grants, to rank affected qualifying infill projects and qualifying infill areas based on specified priorities. This bill would instead require HCD to rank only qualifying infill areas based on those specified priorities in its review and ranking of applications for the award of capital improvement project grants. The bill would make other nonsubstantive changes. (11) Existing law requires the Governor to establish the Interagency Council on Homelessness, and requires the council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California, and promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Existing law requires the council to create a data system, known as the Homeless Data Integration System, to collect local data through Homeless Management Information Systems with the ultimate goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs. Existing law prohibits a state public agency from disclosing any personal information in a manner that would link the information disclosed to the individual to whom it pertains except under specific circumstances. Existing law also exempts health information and personally identifying information in the Homeless Data Integration System from public inspection or disclosure under the California Public Records Act. This bill would authorize the council to share Homeless Data Integration System data with a state agency or department that is a member of the council. Existing law requires the Interagency Council on Homelessness to regularly seek guidance from and, at least twice per year, meet with an advisory committee. Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires a quorum of any state body that is an advisory board, advisory commission, advisory committee, advisory subcommittee, or similar multimember advisory body to be in attendance at the designated primary physical meeting location and provides that members of the state body participating remotely shall not count toward establishing a quorum. Existing law requires members of the council to serve without compensation but authorizes members of the council who are, or have been, homeless to receive reimbursement for travel, per diem, or other expenses, as specified. This bill would authorize the members of the advisory committee to participate remotely in advisory committee meetings, including meetings held with the council, and would provide that those members are not required to be present at the designated primary physical meeting location. This bill would authorize members of the council, the advisory committee, or a working group who are, or have been, homeless to receive per diem, reimbursement for travel, or other expenses, as specified. (12) Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would contain findings in compliance with this requirement. (13) 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. (14) 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including residential property insurance. Existing law prohibits a residential property insurance policy from being issued or renewed in this state unless it complies with certain requirements. This bill would prohibit an admitted insurer that offers residential property insurance from refusing to offer or sell residential property insurance to an applicant whose property meets specified best practices for wildfire building hardening and property-level mitigation.

Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , an initiative measure, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities. Existing law establishes the California Cannabis Tax Fund as a continuously appropriated fund consisting of specified taxes, interest, penalties, and other amounts related to commercial cannabis activity. Each fiscal year, AUMA requires the Controller to make specified disbursements from the fund, including amounts to the Board of State and Community Corrections for making grants to local governments to assist with law enforcement, fire protection, and other local programs addressing public health and safety associated with the implementation of AUMA. AUMA prohibits the board from making grants to local governments that ban both indoor and outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation, or ban retail sale of cannabis or cannabis products. This bill would require the Board of State and Community Corrections to prioritize local governments whose programs seek to address the unlawful cultivation and sale of cannabis. The bill would also authorize the board to make grants to local governments that ban both indoor and outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation, or ban retail sale of cannabis or cannabis products. AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions with a 23 vote of both houses to further its purposes and intent, except as specified. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of AUMA.

Existing law generally requires a person who interprets in a court proceeding to be a certified court interpreter, except as specified. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to designate languages requiring certification programs and requires the Judicial Council to adopt and publish guidelines, standards, and procedures to determine which certification entities will be approved to test and certify interpreters. This bill would create, until January 1, 2030, the California Court Interpreter Workforce Pilot Program to be administered by the Judicial Council to develop training and increase the number of eligible applicants for employment as court interpreters. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before September 1, 2024, to select a minimum of 4 counties, including the County of Los Angeles, to participate in the pilot program, and would require the Judicial Council to select up to 10 applicants per superior court in the program. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2025, to establish an application form and procedure for participation in the pilot program and would require the Judicial Council to begin accepting applications to the program beginning December 1, 2025. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2025, in collaboration with participating courts and designated labor organizations representing court interpreters in a county, to develop a court interpreter training program. The bill would require the training program to include, among other things, options for appropriate training to prepare for the applicable interpreter exam authorized by the Judicial Council. The bill would require participants to agree to work for the courts for at least 3 years after successfully passing all required examinations and enrollment with the Judicial Council as a court interpreter. The bill would authorize courts to require participants to pay back the costs of training, coursework, and exam fees on a prorated basis based on the length of employment if under 3 years, except as specified. The bill would also create the California Interpreter Workforce Development Plan fund to, upon appropriation, be used by the Judicial Council for the purpose of the pilot program, including paying for the costs of training, coursework, and up to 3 interpreter exam fees for applicants.

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 establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA. Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plan, except as specified. This bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt a rule of court to establish procedures requiring actions or proceedings brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification of an environmental impact report, or the granting of any project approvals, for groundwater recharge projects, as described, except as provided, that implement a groundwater sustainability plan or an interim groundwater sustainability plan, as described, that would require the actions or proceedings, including any appeals, to be resolved within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court. The bill would also include a related statement of legislative intent.