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signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 2779: Independent System Operator: transmission planning.

Existing law establishes the Independent System Operator as a nonprofit, public benefit corporation to manage the transmission grid and related energy markets, as provided. This bill would require the Independent System Operator, upon approval of each transmission plan, to report to the Public Utilities Commission and to the relevant policy committees of each house of the Legislature any new use of any grid enhancing technology that is deemed reasonable by the Independent System Operator in that plan and the cost and efficiency savings of the deployment of that grid enhancing technology.
Cottie Petrie-Norris (D)
signed · California · Senate Sep 27, 2024

SB 554: Restraining orders.

Existing law authorizes the court to issue an order to restrain a person to prevent acts of domestic violence, abuse, and sexual abuse, and to provide for a separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence for a period sufficient to permit these persons to seek resolution. Existing law authorizes a person who has suffered harassment, as defined, to seek a temporary restraining order and an order prohibiting harassment. Existing law prohibits denial of the right to petition when the petitioner has vacated the household to avoid abuse, and, under certain conditions, in the case of a marital relationship. This bill would specify the jurisdictions in which the petitioner may file for a restraining order, including, among other jurisdictions, the superior court in the county where the defendant resides, where the offense occurred, or where the petitioner resides or is temporarily located. The bill would expressly state that an individual need not be a resident of the state to file a petition for a restraining order under these provisions. The bill would also declare the severability of its provisions.
Dave Cortese (D) · 4 co-sponsors
signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 846: Housing programs: rent increases.

Existing law, the Zenovich-Moscone-Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act, prohibits "affordable rent" for certain rental housing developments that receive assistance on or after January 1, 1991, from exceeding a specified percentage based on the area median income adjusted for family size appropriate for the unit and whether the household is an acutely low income household, extremely low income household, very low income household, lower income household, or moderate-income household. Existing law defines "area median income," "adjustments for family size appropriate to the unit," and "moderate-income household" for these purposes. This bill would, for an above-described rental housing development that dedicates 80% of units to lower income households, as specified, prohibit affordable rent from exceeding the rent prescribed by deed restrictions or regulatory agreements pursuant to the terms of public financing or public financial assistance for the rental housing development, if the rental housing development receives specified awards on or after January 1, 2025. The bill would also modify the above-described definitions. By altering "affordable rent," and thereby revising the duties of local government officials with respect to administering various programs and requirements that require a determination of "affordable rent," this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law establishes a low-income housing tax credit program, through which the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee allocates low-income housing tax credits aimed at providing affordable low-income housing within and throughout the state. Existing law authorizes the committee to undertake specified responsibilities in allocating the tax credit, including entering into regulatory agreements relating to projects that are allocated the tax credit. Existing law requires the committee, when allocating the tax credit, to prefer specified projects, including projects that serve lowest income tenants at rents affordable to those tenants. This bill would require the committee, on or before June 30, 2025, to adopt regulations limiting annual rent increases for tenants in properties that received an allocation of the low-income housing tax credit, prior to April 3, 2024, as specified. The bill would require the committee, on or before June 30, 2026, and annually thereafter, to assess the limit, as specified. The bill would also make a related statement of legislative findings and declarations. 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.
Mia Bonta (D)
signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 1577: Health facilities and clinics: clinical placements: nursing.

Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) in the California Health and Human Services Agency for the promotion of education and training of health professionals to address workforce shortage and distribution needs. Existing law establishes the Board of Registered Nursing within the Department of Consumer Affairs for the licensure and regulation of the practice of nursing. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities and clinics, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health. This bill would require a health facility or clinic, upon the request of a California community college or California State University with an approved school of nursing or approved nursing program, to meet with the California community college or California State University and work in good faith to meet the needs of the prelicensure nursing clinical placement needs of the California community college or California State University program, including adding additional clinical placement slots to accommodate the nursing program. The bill would require the health facility or clinic, following that meeting, to inform the department if it cannot provide additional placement slots, as specified, no later than the following January 30, and annually on or before each January 30 thereafter. The bill would require the health facility or clinic to inform the department as to the reason it cannot meet the needs of the California community college or California State University for each type of clinical rotation requested, such as obstetrics and pediatrics, among others. The bill would subject the health facility or clinic to an administrative penalty not to exceed $1,000 for failure to provide the information, as required. The bill would require the department to post the information on its internet website. The bill would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2032.
Evan Low (D)
signed · California · Senate Sep 27, 2024

SB 1493: Elections.

Existing law requires the Secretary of State to furnish copies of the state voter information guide and the full text of all measures to various persons and places, as specified. This bill would limit the initial number of copies distributed to one copy of the state voter information guide and one copy of the full text of all measures to each person or place, as specified. The bill would also allow persons or places entitled to a copy of the voter information guide and the full text of all measures, as specified, to request and receive additional copies of those documents.
Catherine Blakespear (D)
signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 598: San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance Act: regional and county expenditure plans.

Existing law, the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance Act, establishes the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) to raise, administer, and allocate funding for affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay area, as defined, and provide technical assistance at a regional level for tenant protection, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production. The act requires the executive board and the authority board of BAHFA to form an advisory committee, as specified, to assist in the development of funding guidelines and overall implementation of the program. The act authorizes the authority to impose various funding mechanisms including a parcel tax and a special tax measured by gross receipts. The act authorizes the authority to issue general obligation bonds secured by the levy of ad valorem property taxes, in accordance with applicable constitutional requirements. The act requires the executive board and BAHFA, in consultation with the advisory committee, to adopt a regional expenditure plan for the use of housing revenue that includes specified information, including a description of any specific project or program proposed to receive funding, as specified. The act requires up to 20% of the revenue received by BAHFA from any of the aforementioned funding mechanisms to be collected by BAHFA for expenditures consistent with the regional expenditure plan adopted, as specified, and to be eligible to be spent in any county in which the funding measure is in effect. This bill would prohibit the regional expenditure plan from rendering projects ineligible for funding based on the presence or absence of any city, county, or city and county land use or housing policies. Notwithstanding that provision, the bill would authorize BAHFA to use project-specific conditions to prioritize projects for funding. The act requires each county to adopt a county expenditure plan that includes specified information, including the proposed share of revenues that will be allocated to the construction of new affordable housing, affordable housing preservation, and tenant protection programs. The act requires at least 80% of the revenue received by BAHFA from any of the aforementioned funding mechanisms to be allocated to the county of origin for expenditure in that county, consistent with the adopted county expenditure plan. This bill would prohibit the authority from imposing any other conditions for a county expenditure plan to be deemed complete to allocate funds. Notwithstanding that provision, the bill would authorize the authority to enter into an agreement with a county or city that receives an allocation of county housing revenue to ensure that the authority or the county, city, or city and county take the actions necessary or incidental to implementing the above-described provisions. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Francisco Bay area.
Buffy Wicks (D)
signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 3122: Streamlined housing approvals: objective planning standards and subdivision applications.

(1) Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, authorizes a development proponent to submit an application for a multifamily housing development that is subject to a streamlined, ministerial approval process, as provided, and not subject to a conditional use permit, if the development satisfies specified objective planning standards, including, among others, that the development is subject to a requirement mandating a minimum percentage of below market rate housing based on, among other things, that (1) the locality's latest production report reflects that there were fewer units of housing issued building permits affordable to either very low income or low-income households by income category than were required for the regional housing needs assessment cycle for that reporting period and (2) the project seeking approval dedicates 50% of the total number of units, as specified, to housing affordable to households making at or below 80% of the area median income. This bill would also include as an objective planning standard that (1) the locality's latest production report reflects the requirements described above and (2) the project application was submitted prior to January 1, 2019, and the project includes at least 500 units of housing, that the project dedicates 20% of the total number of units, as specified, as affordable units, with at least 9% affordable to households making at or below 50% of the area median income and the remainder affordable to households making at or below 80% of the area median income. For these purposes, the bill would include units affordable to acutely low income and extremely low income households, as those terms are defined, as units affordable to very low income households, as that term is referenced. Existing law requires a local government or relevant local planning and permitting department if the local government's planning director or equivalent position determines that a housing development project is in conflict with any of the above-described objective planning standards to provide to the development proponent written documentation of the standards with which the development conflicts and an explanation for the reasoning within 60 days or 90 days of the submittal of the development proposal, depending on the number of housing units. This bill would also require a local government or relevant local planning and permitting department to provide to the development proponent written documentation of the standards with which the development conflicts and an explanation for the reasoning as described above within 30 days of the submittal of any development proposal that was resubmitted to address written feedback provided by the local government. Existing law authorizes a development proponent to request a modification to a development that has been approved under the streamlined, ministerial approval process if that request is submitted to the local government before the issuance of the final building permit. Existing law authorizes a local government to apply objective planning standards adopted after the development application was first submitted to the requested modification if the development is revised such that (1) the total number of residential units or total square footage of construction changes by 15% or more or (2) the development is revised such that the total number of residential units or total square footage of construction changes by 5% or more and it is necessary to impose an objective standard beyond those in effect when the development application was submitted in order to mitigate or avoid a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety. This bill would instead authorize a local government to apply objective planning standards adopted after the development application was first submitted to the requested modification if the development is revised such that (1) the total square footage of construction increases by 15% or more or the total number of residential units decreases by 15% or more or (2) the total square footage of construction increases by 5% or more or the total number of residential units decreases by 5% or more and it is necessary to impose an objective standard beyond those in effect when the development application was submitted in order to mitigate or avoid a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety. By reducing the ability of a local government to impose objective planning standards adopted after the development application was first submitted when reviewing a requested modification, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law includes as an objective planning standard that the house development and site on which it is located satisfy specified requirements, including that at least 75% of the perimeter of the development site is adjoined with parcels that are developed with urban uses. Existing law defines "urban uses" for purposes of that provision to include any current or former residential, commercial, public institutional, transit or transportation passenger facility, or retail use, or any combination of those uses. This bill would also include within the definition of "urban uses" any current or former public park that is surrounded by other urban uses, and parking lot or structure. (2) Existing law, the Subdivision Map Act, vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency and sets forth procedures governing the local agency's processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. 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. Existing law exempts from the requirements of CEQA, and requires specified public oversight timelines for, an application for a subdivision pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act that is submitted pursuant to the streamlined, ministerial approval process described above if the development is consistent with specified requirements. In this regard, existing law requires the development to consist of 10 or fewer units and to not be a public work, as specified, and to be consistent with all objective subdivision standards in the local subdivision ordinance. This bill would remove the above-described requirement that the development consists of 10 or fewer units and is not a public work, as specified, and would instead require the development to comply with specified provisions relating to the streamlined, ministerial approval process and to meet at least one of other specified requirements, including that the development has received or will receive financing or funding by means of a low-income housing tax credit. By modifying the duties of a local agency in reviewing applications for a subdivision, 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.
Ash Kalra (D)
signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 2624: Prisoners: employment: bereavement.

Existing law requires every able-bodied prisoner imprisoned in a state prison to work as many hours of faithful labor in each day and every day during their term of imprisonment as prescribed by the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in departmental rules and regulations. This bill would require a person incarcerated in the state prison to be allowed relief with pay from prison employment after the death of an immediate family member of the incarcerated person, as specified, unless the incarcerated person is employed in a position requiring emergency response and there is an exigent circumstance requiring their employment during the requested period, and if so, would require the warden or prison administrator to grant the requested relief as soon as practicable after the exigent circumstance has ended.
Marie Waldron (R)
signed · California · Senate Sep 27, 2024

SB 1210: New housing construction: electrical, gas, sewer, and water service: service connection information.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, gas corporations, sewer system corporations, and water corporations, while local publicly owned utilities, including municipal utility districts, public utility districts, and irrigation districts, are under the direction of their governing boards. This bill would, for new housing construction, require the above-described utilities, on or before January 1, 2026, to publicly post on their internet websites (1) the schedule of estimated fees for typical service connections for each housing development type, including, but not limited to, accessory dwelling unit, mixed-use, multifamily, and single-family developments, except as specified, and (2) the estimated timeframes for completing typical service connections needed for each housing development type, as specified. The bill would exempt from its provisions a utility with fewer than 4,000 service connections that does not establish or maintain an internet website due to a hardship, and would authorize the utility to establish that a hardship exists by annually adopting a resolution that includes detailed findings, as provided. To the extent that this bill would impose new requirements on certain local agencies, 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.
Nancy Skinner (D)
signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 1284: Tribal ancestral lands and waters: cogovernance and comanagement agreements.

(1) Existing law governs various interactions between the state and federally recognized Native American tribes within the state. Existing law encourages and authorizes all state agencies, as defined, to cooperate with federally recognized California Indian tribes on matters of economic development and improvement for the tribes. Existing law provides that the Legislature encourages the State of California and its agencies to consult on a government-to-government basis with federally recognized tribes and to consult with nonfederally recognized tribes and tribal organizations, as appropriate, in order to allow tribal officials the opportunity to provide meaningful and timely input in the development of policies, processes, programs, and projects that have tribal implications. Existing law provides that the Legislature encourages the state and its agencies to consult with a federally recognized tribe, at the tribe's request for a government-to-government consultation on a specified agency action, within 60 days of the request. This bill would provide that the Legislature encourages the Natural Resources Agency, and its departments, boards, conservancies, and commissions, to enter into cogovernance and comanagement agreements with federally recognized tribes. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency or a delegate to enter into cogovernance and comanagement agreements with federally recognized tribes for the purposes of shared responsibility, decisionmaking, and partnership in resource management and conservation within a tribe's ancestral lands and waters, and would require the secretary or a delegate to be the signatory for these agreements. The bill would authorize the secretary or a delegate, as provided, and within 90 days of a federally recognized tribe's request, to begin government-to-government negotiations on cogovernance and comanagement agreements with the tribe. (2) Existing law provides that 2 or more public agencies, by agreement, may form a joint powers authority to exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as specified. For purposes of cogovernance and comanagement agreements entered into pursuant to the provisions described in paragraph (1) , this bill would deem powers exercisable by any public agency that is not a federally recognized tribe to be common to a contracting federally recognized tribe.
James Ramos (D) · 1 co-sponsor
signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 1359: California Environmental Quality Act: geothermal exploratory projects: lead agency.

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 the lead agency finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Existing law 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 wells so as to permit the owners or operators of those wells to utilize all methods and practices known to the industry for the purpose of increasing the ultimate recovery of geothermal resources, as provided. Existing law requires the division to be the lead agency for all geothermal exploratory projects for purposes of CEQA, as specified, and authorizes the division to delegate its lead agency responsibility for geothermal exploratory projects to a county that has adopted a geothermal element for its general plan. Existing law requires the delegation to provide that the county complete its lead agency responsibility within 135 days of the receipt of the application for the project. This bill would delete the requirement of the delegation to provide that the county complete its lead agency responsibility within 135 days. The bill would specify, upon the request of an applicant of a geothermal exploratory project, that the county in which the project is located is to assume the responsibilities of a lead agency regardless of whether the county has adopted a geothermal element for its general plan. The bill would require the applicant to make the request to the county and the division. If a county assumes lead agency responsibility for a geothermal exploratory project, the bill would require the county and the division to confer regarding necessary information that should be included in the environmental review for the project to facilitate the division's exercise of its authority as a responsible agency. Because the bill would require a county, upon the request of an applicant, to assume the responsibilities of a lead agency under CEQA, and would, if a county assumes lead agency responsibility, require the county and division to confer, as specified, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by increasing the duties of a county. 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 declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Diane Papan (D) · 1 co-sponsor
signed · California · Assembly Sep 27, 2024

AB 1205: California State University students: California Promise: Finish in Four and Through in Two.

Existing law establishes the California Promise, which requires at least 20 campuses of the California State University to establish a California Promise program by which the campus enters into a pledge with a qualifying transfer student to support the student in earning a baccalaureate degree within 2 academic years of the student's first year of enrollment to the campus, as provided. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2026. This bill would rename the California Promise program the Finish in Four and Through in Two program, as provided. The bill would require each campus participating in the Finish in Four and Through in Two program to take specified actions to promote the program. The bill would require the Trustees of the California State University, on or before July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, until January 1, 2034, to submit a report to the Legislature that includes specified program participation information. The bill would delete an obsolete reporting requirement. The bill would delete the January 1, 2026, program repeal date, thereby extending the program indefinitely.
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D) · 1 co-sponsor
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