Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division within 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 and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field, so as to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources. Existing law requires the operator of any well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, to file with the supervisor or the district deputy a written notice of intention to commence drilling and prohibits drilling from commencing until approval is given, as provided. Existing law prohibits the division from approving any notice of intention within a health protection zone, except for approvals of notices of intention necessary for specified purposes. Existing law defines a "health protection zone" to mean the area within 3,200 feet of a sensitive receptor, which is defined to include a residence, education resource, as described, health care facility, or live-in housing, among other places, as provided. This bill would, after January 1, 2025, make an operator or owner of an oil or gas production facility or well with a wellhead presumptively, jointly and severally liable for a respiratory ailment in a senior or child, a preterm birth or high-risk pregnancy suffered by a pregnant person, and a person's cancer diagnosis if specified requirements are met, including the senior, child, pregnant person, or person diagnosed with cancer domiciled more than 24 cumulative months in a health protection zone, as defined, and was diagnosed after January 1, 2025. The bill would authorize certain affirmative defenses to be available to the operator or owner of an oil or gas production facility or well with a wellhead. This bill would authorize the Attorney General, a district attorney, a county counsel, or a city attorney to bring a civil action seeking reimbursement and reasonable interest for health care-related expenditures incurred by state or local taxpayer funded health care programs for treatment of respiratory illness suffered by seniors and children, preterm birth and high-risk pregnancies suffered by pregnant persons, and residents diagnosed with cancer. If a settlement or motion to dismiss an action brought pursuant to these provisions is brought by a person or entity that is not a public prosecutor, as described, the bill would prohibit the settlement or motion to dismiss from being effective or heard, until 30 days after a copy of the settlement or notice of motion has been served on the Attorney General and the city attorney, county counsel, and district attorney with jurisdiction over the health protection zone involved in the action. The bill would also require a civil penalty of not less than $250,000 and not more than $1,000,000 per senior, child, pregnant person, or person diagnosed with cancer to be imposed on an operator or owner of an oil or gas production facility or well with a wellhead in an action brought pursuant to these provisions. This bill would state that any waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. The bill would also state that duties and obligations imposed by these provisions are cumulative and in addition to any other duties or obligations imposed pursuant to any other law. The bill would also state that its provisions are severable.
Existing law establishes the Department of Toxic Substances Control, in the California Environmental Protection Agency, with powers and duties regarding, among other things, hazardous waste disposal, underground storage of hazardous substances and waste, and the handling and release of hazardous materials. Existing law establishes a procedure for the protection of information submitted to the department that is claimed to be a trade secret. The Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 requires a manufacturer of certain products, including specified air care products, that are sold in this state to disclose on the product label and on the product's internet website information related to chemicals contained in the product, as specified. The act prohibits the sale in this state of these products that do not satisfy these requirements. This bill would prohibit, on and after July 1, 2026, a person from selling or distributing in commerce in this state an air care product, as defined, that contains certain specified chemical ingredients, except as provided. The bill would require a manufacturer of an air care product to prepare specified technical documentation or other information and would require the manufacturer to submit to the Department of Toxic Substances Control, upon request, that documentation or other information within 28 days after the date of the request. The bill would require a manufacturer to provide a specified certification to a person who sells or offers for sale that manufacturer's air care product, upon the request of that person, or to display the certification prominently on the shipping container or on the packaging of the air care product. The bill would authorize a manufacturer to use the existing procedure established for the protection of information submitted to the department that is claimed to be a trade secret. The bill would authorize the department to adopt regulations to implement and administer these provisions.
Existing law prevents a person committed to the custody of the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a juvenile facility, or a county jail for a felony conviction from being subject to prosecution for a nonfelony offense arising out of, among other things, the operation of a motor vehicle, that is pending against them at the time of commitment. This bill would prohibit a person committed to the department, to a county facility as a ward of the juvenile court, or to a county jail for a felony conviction from being prosecuted for a nonfelony offense pending against them at the time of their commitment, except as specified.
Existing law generally governs the state procurement of materials, supplies, equipment, and services. Existing law also provides various procedures and requirements pertaining to the purchase of recycled items by the state, including minimum content requirements for recycled plastic products. Existing law requires the Department of General Services, in consultation with specified parties, to provide state agencies with information and assistance regarding environmentally preferable purchasing, including, but not limited to, the promotion of environmentally preferable purchasing and the development and implementation of a strategy to increase environmentally preferable purchasing. This bill would, with certain exceptions, prohibit state agencies from entering into, modifying, amending, or renewing a contract, on or after January 1, 2025, to purchase single-use plastic bottles, as defined, for internal use or resale and would require state agencies to take appropriate steps to replace the use of single-use plastic bottles at food service facilities with nonplastic, recyclable, and reusable alternatives, as specified. The bill would require the Department of General Services to ensure that any new, modified, or renewed agreements, contracts, or procurement undertaken by a food service facility as part of a contract or agreement with the Department of General Services comply with the bill, as specified. The bill would require state agencies to submit a report, on or before January 1, 2026, to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, confirming its compliance with these requirements. The bill would define a state agency for these purposes to include various agencies. The bill would create an exception to the above-described prohibition that would become operative only if Assembly Bill 2527 of the 2023–24 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.
Existing law defines "child abuse or neglect" for the purposes of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act to include, among other things, physical injury or death inflicted by other than accidental means and the willful harming or injuring of a child. This bill would provide that the fact that a child witnessed domestic violence or was present during a domestic violence incident does not require a mandated reporter to report child abuse or neglect. The bill would also provide that the definition of child abuse or neglect does not apply to how a child witnessing domestic violence or residing in a household where domestic violence exists is relevant to, among other things, a determination of child custody or visitation.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Board of Trustees of the California State University, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law provides for the membership of the board of trustees to include 5 specified ex officio members, 16 appointive members appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, one representative of the alumni associations, 2 student members appointed by the Governor, and a faculty member appointed by the Governor from a list of names of at least 2 persons furnished by the Academic Senate of the California State University. This bill would add a bargaining unit representative selected for a 2-year term by the California State University Labor Council to the board of trustees.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Board of Trustees of the California State University, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law provides for the membership of the board of trustees to include 5 specified ex officio members, 16 appointive members appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, one representative of the alumni associations, 2 student members appointed by the Governor, and a faculty member appointed by the Governor from a list of names of at least 2 persons furnished by the Academic Senate of the California State University. This bill would require the board of trustees to include an additional faculty member appointed by the Governor. The bill would also require each faculty member appointee to be appointed from a list of names of at least 4 persons, instead of at least 2 persons, furnished by the Academic Senate of the California State University.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, until January 1, 2031, authorizes the State Air Resources Board to adopt a regulation establishing a system of market-based declining aggregate emissions limits for sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse gases (market-based compliance mechanism) that meets certain requirements. Existing law establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sales of allowance as a part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited into the fund and requires the Legislature to appropriate moneys in the fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the state, as provided. Existing law, the California Climate Crisis Act, declares that it is the policy of the state both to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2045, and achieve and maintain net-negative greenhouse gas emissions thereafter, and to ensure that by 2045, statewide anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 85% below the 1990 levels. This bill would enact the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act of 2024 and would establish the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Program to be administered by the California Environmental Protection Agency to require fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share of the damage caused by the sale of their products during the covered period, which the bill would define as the time period between the 2000 and 2020 calendar years, inclusive, to relieve a portion of the burden from climate harms that is borne by California taxpayers. The bill would require the agency, within 90 days of the effective date of the act, to determine and publish a list of responsible parties, which the bill would define as an entity with a majority ownership interest in a business engaged in extracting or refining fossil fuel that, during the covered period, did business in the state or otherwise had sufficient contact with the state and is determined by the agency to be responsible for more than 1,000,000,000 metric tons of covered fossil fuel emissions, as defined, in aggregate, globally during the covered period. This bill would require the agency, within one year of the effective date of the act, to conduct a climate cost study to, at a minimum, quantify the total damage amount, which the bill would define as all past and future climate harms and damages to the state through December 31, 2045. The bill would require the agency to update the climate cost study, not less frequently than every 2 years, through January 1, 2046. The bill would require the agency, within 60 days of the completion of the climate cost study, to determine and assess, as provided, a cost recovery demand for each responsible party listed, which represents the responsible party's proportionate share of the total damage amount that is fairly and reasonably attributable to the covered fossil fuel emissions of the responsible party. The bill would require responsible parties to pay their cost recovery demand, as provided. The bill would require the collected cost recovery demands to be deposited in the Polluters Pay Climate Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury. The bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require moneys in the fund be expended for, among other things, qualifying expenditures, which the bill would define as expenditures for projects and programs to mitigate, adapt, or respond to the damages and costs caused to the state from climate change. The bill would require the agency to determine the initial implementation costs for the act, as provided, and would require the agency to assess an amount allocated equitably among responsible parties to cover those costs. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies, including authorizing a landlord to elect to accept reusable tenant screening reports, as specified, and prohibiting a landlord who accepts a reusable tenant screening report from charging a fee to access the report or an application screening fee. Existing law defines a reusable tenant screening report to mean a consumer report that meets specified criteria, including that it was prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer reporting agency at the request and expense of an applicant. This bill would, instead, require a landlord to accept a reusable tenant screening report if an applicant has and elects to provide a reusable tenant screening report. The bill would authorize a landlord to charge an application screening fee to cover the costs of obtaining information about the applicant if the applicant does not have or elect to provide a reusable tenant screening report. The bill would revise the above-described criteria in the definition of a reusable tenant screening report to include a consumer report that was prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer reporting agency at the request and expense of, or on behalf of, an applicant. The bill would specify that a reusable tenant screening report includes a copy of a consumer credit report provided pursuant to specified provisions if the consumer credit report meets certain criteria, as described below. (2) Existing law authorizes a landlord to hold security for any tenant who is a party to the lease or agreement, subject to specified requirements. Existing law defines security as any payment, fee, deposit, or charge that is imposed, as specified, to reimburse the landlord for costs associated with processing a new tenant or that is imposed as an advance payment of rent, used for any purpose. Existing law authorizes a landlord to claim any of the security in the amount reasonably necessary for the above-described purposes. Existing law requires the landlord to, among other things, return any remaining portion of the security to the tenant. This bill would require a landlord to, within 30 days of receiving a tenant's security, deposit the sum into an account of a bank or other financial institution regulated by the state or federal government, subject to specified requirements, including that, if the security is deposited into an interest-bearing account, any balance originating from the security that remains in the account after reimbursement to the landlord as described above, including interest accrued on that balance less any estimated taxes, is payable to the tenant, as specified. (3) Existing law authorizes a landlord or their agent to charge an applicant an application screening fee, as defined, to cover the costs of obtaining information about the applicant, including personal reference checks and consumer credit reports, as specified, when they receive a request to rent a residential property from an applicant. Existing law requires the landlord to return any amount of the screening fee that is not used for the above-described purposes if the landlord or their agent does not perform a personal reference check or does not obtain a consumer report. Existing law also requires a landlord or their agent to provide a copy of a consumer credit report obtained to the applicant who is the subject of that report if the applicant paid an application screening fee and the applicant requests a copy of the consumer credit report. This bill would require the landlord to return any amount of the screening fee within 21 days of when the fee was collected if, among other things, the landlord does not select the applicant for tenancy or if the fee collected exceeds the above-described amount. The bill would, instead, require a landlord or their agent to, within 2 business days of obtaining a consumer credit report and any other relevant information on the applicant, as described, provide a copy of the consumer credit report, as specified, and the relevant information to the applicant who is the subject of the report and information, as specified. (4) The bill would require a landlord to include in all tenancy application forms clear provisions that notify prospective applicants of various requirements imposed by the bill's provisions, including the reusable tenant screening report policy described above.
Existing law, the Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act of 1980, requires refiners, as defined, to report monthly to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , for each of their refineries, specified information, including the origin of petroleum receipts and the source of imports of finished petroleum products. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that, to the extent feasible within existing resources, the Energy Commission monitor foreign countries that export oil to California and identify on its internet website which of those countries have demonstrated human rights abuses, as documented by the United States Department of State, and which of those countries have lower environmental standards for the production of oil than California. Existing law imposes various limitations on the emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to post on its internet website information on air quality conditions and trends statewide and to develop and conduct a program of monitoring airborne fine particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5) . This bill would require the state board to annually produce an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation of oil in California, as specified, and to include that assessment on the state board's internet website. The bill would also require the Energy Commission to annually provide data collected pursuant to the Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act of 1980 to the state board for the purposes of the assessment. The bill would require the data to comply with specified confidentiality requirements. Under existing law, the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. This bill would require the division to provide a link on its internet website to air quality emissions data associated with the transportation of oil imported into the state.
Existing law, the Local Agency Public Construction Act, sets forth the requirements for competitive bidding on various types of contracts awarded by local agencies. Existing law, the State Contract Act, requires the Department of General Services to make available a report on state contracting activity containing specified information. This bill would require a participating local public entity, as defined, commencing January 1, 2026, and monthly thereafter, to compile and submit to the Office of Planning and Research prescribed information on the entity's contracting activity similar to the information required for the State Contract Act report. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research, commencing July 1, 2026, to develop and maintain a public online database and accompanying data dictionary compiling the submitted data on its internet website. Commencing January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to review the database established pursuant to the bill and, together with the participating local public entities, make recommendations to the Legislature on further transparency and reporting improvements for requiring local public entities to submit similar data, as specified. The bill would require the California State Auditor, if approved by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, to conduct an audit of the program on or before January 1, 2029. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030. By imposing additional duties on specified local public entities, the bill would create 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 Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) , which serves the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Existing law authorizes GO-Biz, until July 1, 2025, to undertake measures that are necessary or useful to prepare and submit an application to receive funding from the regional clean hydrogen hubs program established by the Secretary of the United States Department of Energy or to otherwise participate in the regional clean hydrogen hubs program. Existing law requires grants made from any funding received from the regional clean hydrogen hubs program to be used as specified. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish a renewables portfolio standard, as defined, requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total kilowatthours of those products sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, 33% by December 31, 2020, 44% by December 31, 2024, 52% by December 31, 2027, and 60% by December 31, 2030. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, authorize GO-Biz to undertake measures that are necessary or useful to prepare and submit an application to receive funding from next generation battery hub programs, as defined. The bill would require that grants made from any funding received from next generation battery hub programs under its provisions support projects in California that advance progress toward resource adequacy goals and the targets of the scoping plan and the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program. The bill would also require that grants made from any funding received from next generation battery hub programs under its provisions prioritize projects that meet any of the specified conditions, including that the project help reduce costs and increase access to batteries. Prior to the submission of any applications to receive funding from next generation battery hub programs, the bill would require a partnership entered into pursuant to the above-described provisions to adopt a community benefits plan that includes specified elements. The bill would require GO-Biz to submit a report to the relevant budget and policy committees of the Legislature on or before January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, regarding the status of any partnership entered into pursuant to the above-described provisions.
