Chapter 248 of the Statutes of 2025 (AB 8) revised the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law to prohibit industrial hemp raw extract from being incorporated into food, food additives, beverages, or dietary supplements unless the industrial hemp raw extract is comprised of cannabidiol (CBD) or cannabinol (CBN) isolate with a purity level greater than 99% and does not contain any tetrahydrocannabinols or synthetic cannabinoids. AB 8, beginning January 1, 2028, revises and recasts various provisions in conformity with that prohibition. Among those conforming changes, AB 8 excludes CBD isolate from the definition of "cannabis concentrate" for purposes of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, which imposes various penalties for the unlawful possession or sale of cannabis concentrate. This bill, beginning on January 1, 2028, would also exclude CBN isolate from that definition of "cannabis concentrate." AB 8 revised certain Cannabis Tax Law enforcement provisions by establishing a presumption that a product that contains or purports to contain a cannabinoid is a cannabis product, as specified. AB 8 authorized this presumption to be rebutted by evidence showing either that the product complies with the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law provisions regulating industrial hemp or that it meets the definition of industrial hemp as defined in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act. This bill would make organizational and clarifying changes to those presumption provisions. The bill would consolidate and make other clarifying changes to definitional provisions of the Cannabis Tax Law revised by AB 8. The Cannabis Tax Law authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency to seize cannabis or cannabis products from a person who possesses, stores, owns, or has made a sale of those cannabis or cannabis products under certain circumstances. AB 8 expanded the seizure authority under the Cannabis Tax Law to include a circumstance in which the product is possessed, stored, offered for sale, or sold by an unlicensed person or at an unlicensed premises, and is presumed to be a cannabis product for containing or purporting to contain a cannabinoid, including a synthetic cannabinoid, as defined. This bill would remove that AB 8 provision and, instead, would expand that seizure authority to include a circumstance in which the cannabis or cannabis product is possessed, stored, offered for sale, or sold at an unlicensed premises. AB 8 revised the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) to subject industrial hemp that enters the licensed market under MAUCRSA or is used in a cannabis product to the regulatory requirements of cannabis or cannabis products under MAUCRSA, including identification in a track and trace program established by the Department of Cannabis Control for reporting the movement of cannabis and cannabis products throughout the distribution chain, as specified. MAUCRSA, as revised by AB 8, requires the track and trace program to include an electronic software tracking system to capture data and track movement of cannabis through the commercial supply chain from cultivation to sale. This bill would specify that the data captured and movement tracked includes cultivation, harvest, processing, manufacturing, distribution, inventory, sale, and delivery. AB 8 revised the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 (act) to prohibit a person that is engaged in the business of selling cigarettes or tobacco products from possessing, storing, owning, or making a retail sale of cannabis, cannabis products, or a product presumed to be cannabis, and makes a violation of that prohibition subject to a specified fine and license suspension or revocation, as applicable. The act authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to seize cannabis or cannabis products that were possessed, stored, owned, or sold at retail by a person in violation of that prohibition. The act also makes a violation of its provisions a crime, as specified. This bill would expand the above-described prohibition on making a retail sale of cannabis, cannabis products, or a product presumed to be cannabis to, instead, prohibit a person that is engaged in the business of selling cigarettes or tobacco products from making any sale of cannabis, cannabis products, or a product presumed to be cannabis. By expanding the scope of a crime under the act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also expand the department's seizure authority to include the seizure of cannabis, cannabis products, or a product presumed to be cannabis that a person sells in violation of the prohibition, as expanded by the bill. Existing law requires all moneys collected pursuant to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to be deposited in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund and makes all moneys in the fund available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, solely for the purpose of implementing, enforcing, and administering the act, including the seizure and destruction of cigarettes and tobacco products. This bill would revise that funding provision to specify that the purpose of implementing, enforcing, and administering the act includes the seizure and destruction of any product seized pursuant to the act. The bill would make clarifying changes, including to the definitions of cannabis and cannabis product for purposes of those provisions. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, as added by Proposition 9, the Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy's Law (Marsy's Law) , at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, requires a law enforcement agency investigating a criminal act and an agency prosecuting a criminal act to, at the time of initial contact with a crime victim, during followup investigation, or as soon thereafter as deemed appropriate, provide or make available to the victim a "Marsy Rights" card that contains the constitutional rights of crime victims without charge or cost to the victim. Marsy's Law provides that its provisions shall not be amended by the Legislature except by a statute passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal, 34 of the membership of each house concurring. Marsy's Law also provides that the Legislature may amend its provisions to expand the scope of its application, to recognize additional rights of victims of crime, or to further the rights of victims of crime by a statute passed by a majority vote of the membership of each house. Existing law requires a law enforcement agency investigating a criminal act and an agency prosecuting a criminal act to, at the time of initial contact with a crime victim, during followup investigation, or as soon thereafter as deemed appropriate by investigating officers or prosecuting attorneys, inform each victim of the rights they have under applicable law relating to the victimization and provide each victim without charge or cost a "Victim Protections and Resources" card. Existing law requires the Attorney General to design and make available in PDF or other imaging format this card with specified information on the card, including information about federal immigration relief available to certain victims of crime. Commencing no later than January 1, 2028, this bill, the Defending Immigrant Victims Act, would require a law enforcement agency investigating a criminal act and an agency prosecuting a criminal act, at the time of initial contact with a crime victim, during followup investigation, or as soon thereafter as deemed appropriate by investigating officers or prosecuting attorneys, to inform each victim, the victim's next of kin if the victim is deceased, or the victim's parent or guardian if the victim is a minor of the rights they may have under applicable law relating to immigration relief. The bill would require a law enforcement agency and a prosecuting agency to provide a victim an "Immigrant Victims Rights and Resources" card that would provide specified information pertaining to the victim's rights, including a statement explaining how to consult an immigration attorney to help determine eligibility for immigration relief. The bill would require the Attorney General, by January 1, 2028, to design the card and make it available in English, Spanish, and any other language in which the "Marsy Rights" card is currently translated, and in a PDF or other imaging format, to law enforcement agencies and agencies prosecuting crimes, as specified. Because this bill would result in additional duties on local law enforcement and prosecuting agencies in informing victims, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make a conforming change. 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 requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards and procedures for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Under existing regulations, the requirements for the initial issuance of an emergency career substitute teaching permit include, among other requirements, verification by an employer that the applicant has completed at least 90 days of substitute teaching in each of the 3 years immediately preceding the date of the application either in the school district or, if the county office of education assigns substitute teachers, in one or more school districts in the county, as provided. This bill would require the commission to accept, as an alternative to verification of 90 days of substitute teaching described above, verification that the substitute teacher has received at least 5 hours of professional development, an orientation training, and an assigned teaching mentor program, as provided. The bill would authorize a holder of an emergency career substitute teaching permit who was issued the permit based on the alternatives pursuant to these provisions to serve up to 70 cumulative days in a single classroom, including for special education teachers. The bill would require, the first time a permitholder who was issued a permit issued pursuant to these provisions has their permit renewed, the permitholder to provide verification of 30 hours of professional development, as provided. The bill would require a permit issued or renewed pursuant to these provisions to be valid for 12 months. The bill would require a local educational agency to follow specified procedures before assigning a substitute who holds a career substitute permit and to annually report specified information to its governing board or governing body and additional information to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing related to those assignments.
Existing law establishes the sovereignty of the state. This bill would require the state government to support California Native Americans to maintain cultural and linguistic traditions, practice ecosystem stewardship, and engage in good faith government-to-government consultations with all California Native American tribes regarding policies that may affect tribal communities. Existing law establishes various state water policies, including the policy that the use of water for domestic purposes is the highest use of water and the human right to water. Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to act upon all applications for a permit to appropriate water. This bill would declare that it is the established policy of the state to recognize and address the inequities, as described, inflicted upon all California Native American tribes through financial assistance, protection of tribal beneficial uses, consultation on water projects, plans, and policies, and incorporation of indigenous knowledge to restore and protect ecosystems. The bill would require specified state agencies, including the State Water Resources Control Board, regional water quality control boards, and the Natural Resources Agency, to incorporate this policy when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, permits, or grant criteria to address identified inequities. The bill would require those state entities to identify and offer financial assistance to the tribes consistent with existing legal and policy requirements for financial assistance programs. If there is a dispute between a California Native American tribe and one of those state agencies over the implementation of that policy, the bill would require that matter to be brought before the Governor's Office of Tribal Affairs for mediation before the state agency action is challenged in court and would specify procedures and timelines for mediation, as provided. Existing law authorizes the board to conduct investigations and to issue information orders in administering water rights, as provided. The bill would require the state board, in furtherance of an investigation and upon request, to consult with a tribe whose ancestral territory includes the water body or water bodies at issue for the claimed riparian or appropriative right.
Existing law establishes a specialized license plate program and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue specialized license plates, also referred to as environmental license plates, on behalf of a sponsoring state agency if the agency receives 7,500 applications for that plate within a 12-month period, among other requirements. Existing law authorizes a person who is the registered owner or lessee of a vehicle to apply to the department for specialized license plates. Existing law imposes a fee, in addition to the regular registration fee, for the issuance, renewal, retention, transfer, and duplication of specialized license plates. Existing law requires that all revenue derived from these fees be deposited in the California Environmental License Plate Fund. This bill would require the Arts Council to apply to the department to sponsor "The Lowrider" specialized license plate program, as specified. The bill would require the design of the plate to reflect lowrider culture and heritage. The bill would require the council to consult with a nonprofit entity for plate design consultation, stakeholder engagement, publicity, and community outreach. The bill would authorize the council to accept and use donated or licensed artwork from a nonprofit entity for these purposes, and to use funds from nonprofit or private sources to augment implementation. The bill would require the department, after deducting its administrative costs, to deposit additional revenue derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer, and substitution of the plate into the Specialized License Plate Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would require the council to use those funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund projects that include, among others, supporting lowrider arts and cultural preservation efforts. The bill would authorize the council to use 4 to 6% of those funds to consult with or enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity to support implementation of the program.
Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to require the purchase of an entry permit for nonconsumptive uses of department-managed lands if the department finds that it is practical and would be cost effective for the state to collect entry permit fees, and imposes specified requirements if the department does so, including requiring the department to use the Automated License Data System to sell that entry permit. Existing law authorizes the department to lease department-managed lands for agricultural activities if certain conditions are met and requires money collected from the lease of these lands to be deposited by the department into the Wildlife Restoration Fund or the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and authorizes the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to use the funds to support the management, maintenance, restoration, and operations of department-managed lands. This bill would require the department to use the Automated License Data System to sell an entry permit for consumptive use and would authorize the department to use the Automated License Data System to sell an entry permit for nonconsumptive use if the department requires the purchase of an entry permit for nonconsumptive uses of department-managed lands, as described above. The bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the above-described agricultural lease funds to be used by the department to support the management, maintenance, restoration, and operations of department-managed lands. Existing law requires the department to annually provide an opportunity for licensed hunters to comment and make recommendations on public hunting programs, including anticipated habitat conditions in hunting areas on Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas, as provided. This bill would add wetland floodup to the topics that the department is required to provide an opportunity for comment and recommendation on as described above. This bill would create the Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Fund in the State Treasury and would require all revenues generated from the sale of waterfowl hunting reservation applications and daily and season long entry passes from Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas to be deposited into the fund. The bill would require the department to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, expend those revenues for the operation and maintenance of, and the reasonable administrative costs directly related to, the public hunting programs for Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas. The bill would require the department to, on or before October 1, 2033, prepare and submit a report to the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature, as specified.
Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, establishes procedures for the reporting and investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect. Existing law requires certain professionals, including specified health practitioners and social workers, known as "mandated reporters," to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect to a local law enforcement agency or a county welfare or probation department, as specified. Existing law requires an employee of those agencies, in certain circumstances, to send or have sent, within 36 hours, a copy of a report made pursuant to these provisions to the attorney who represents the child, who is the subject of the report, in dependency court. Existing law requires the agency to maintain a copy of the written report and provide all information requested by the attorney for the child or the child's guardian ad litem within 30 days of the request. This bill would require, if a county welfare agency substantiates a report for an incident that occurred in an out-of-home placement, including, but not limited to, placement in foster or congregate care, or if a child is removed from an out-of-home placement due to abuse or neglect, a county welfare agency to send notice, containing specified information, of the report to the attorney who represents a parent or legal guardian of the child in dependency court and, in the case of an Indian child, the tribal representative. The bill would make that requirement inapplicable to a parent whose parental rights have been terminated. The bill would require, if a county welfare agency substantiates a report for an incident that occurred in an out-of-home placement, including, but not limited to, placement in foster or congregate care, or if a child is removed from an out-of-home placement due to abuse or neglect, the agency to send a notice of the report, as specified, to all attorneys who represent a child with an open dependency case in that placement, as provided. By expanding the duties of local agencies that receive reports alleging abuse or neglect of children, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 provides, among other things, for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary educational institutions in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act requires the Director of Consumer Affairs to provide biannual written updates to the Legislature that describe the bureau's progress in protecting consumers and enforcing the act, as specified. The act requires institutions to report to the bureau specified investigations and actions by oversight entities within 30 days. The act is repealed on January 1, 2027. This bill would revise and recast the act's provisions. The bill would instead require the director to provide those written updates to the Legislature annually. The bill would additionally require institutions to report bankruptcy filings, felony charges against the institution or specified persons, and certain civil actions or arbitrations to the bureau, as provided. The bill would specify that an institution's failure to provide the bureau with a required report is a material violation and subjects the institution to citation, probation, suspension, or revocation of its approval to operate. The bill would authorize the bureau to deny an application for approval to operate if the institution would be owned, controlled, or managed by a person who previously owned, controlled, or managed an institution that closed without providing required student refunds or appropriately preserving and making available records. The act requires an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution to register with the bureau, pay a fee, and comply with additional delineated requirements, including reporting to the bureau certain enforcement or adverse occurrences. The act requires the bureau, after receipt of such a report, to determine if the institution will be permitted to continue to enroll new students, as provided. The act requires the bureau to receive complaints about these institutions. This bill would instead authorize the bureau, after receipt of a report or a complaint, to request from the institution information necessary to determine whether the institution's registration should be revoked or have conditions placed on it. The act applies to private entities with a physical presence in the state that offer postsecondary education to the public for a charge, but exempts certain institutions from its application, including certain institutions that only offer educational programs to members of a bona fide trade or fraternal organization, as specified, certain religious organizations if instruction is limited to the principles of that religious organization, certain flight instruction providers or programs if they meet specified student loan and prepayment conditions, and institutions that do not award degrees and that solely provide educational programs for total charges of $2,500 or less, as provided. This bill would clarify that institutions can qualify for the trade or fraternal organization exemption only if they offer nondegree educational programs to those members, and that adding religious perspectives or verbiage to the titles or descriptions of otherwise secular programs does not limit instruction to the principles of that religious organization for purposes of the religious organization exemption. The bill would remove those student loan and prepayment conditions from the flight instruction exemption and would specify that the $2,500 or less program exemption does not apply to institutions that provide any training or curriculum for Class A, B, or C commercial driving licenses, except as specified. The bill would specify processes for and limits on granting a verification of exemption. The act requires an institution seeking to offer one or more degree programs to satisfy certain requirements to obtain a provisional approval to operate. The act requires, within the first 2 years of the issuance of provisional approval to operate degree programs, a visiting committee to make a recommendation to the bureau regarding an institution's progress to achieving full accreditation. The act requires the bureau to automatically suspend a provisional approval to operate if an institution fails to comply with certain requirements. The act requires the bureau to grant an institution that is accredited an approval to operate by means of its accreditation. The act exempts an accredited institution from certain recordkeeping requirements. This bill would require accreditation for degree-granting institutions to cover all degree programs offered by the institution. The bill would require, for institutions seeking a provisional approval to operate, that enrollment of students on student visas not exceed more than 25% of total enrollment in any provisionally approved degree program. The bill would authorize, within the first 4 years of the issuance of a provisional approval to operate degree programs, the bureau to empanel a visiting committee to make a recommendation to the bureau regarding an institution's progress to achieving full accreditation. The bill would require the bureau to automatically terminate a provisional approval to operate if an institution fails to comply with certain requirements. The bill would specify, for an approval to operate by means of its accreditation, that a nondegree program not within the scope of accreditation is not included as an approved program by the bureau without the written consent of the institution's accrediting agency. The bill would remove the recordkeeping exemption for accredited institutions. The bill would remove a requirement that the bureau indicate in an annual report and make available on its internet website the number of enforcement actions taken by the bureau against institutions. The act requires an institution to obtain bureau approval before making certain substantive changes to its operations, including an addition of a separate branch more than 5 miles from the main or branch campus. The act requires that a student enrollment agreement, school catalog, and other disclosures meet certain requirements. This bill instead would require an institution to obtain bureau approval before adding a separate branch, regardless of the distance from the main or branch campus. The bill would revise the requirements for a student enrollment agreement, school catalog, and other disclosures. The act establishes the Private Postsecondary Education Administration Fund, requires that fees collected from institutions be deposited in the fund, and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, authorizes moneys in the fund to be used by the bureau for the administration of the act. This bill would increase certain fees collected from institutions. The act requires private postsecondary educational institutions to provide refunds to students under specified circumstances, including upon a notice of cancellation, and establishes methods for calculating those refunds based on the institution's total charges and periods of attendance. This bill would require an institution that originated or accepted payment from an income share agreement to calculate the required refund based on the institution's total charges for a student who does not receive a notice of cancellation refund, as specified. The act establishes the Student Tuition Recovery Fund, requires the bureau to adopt regulations governing the administration and maintenance of the fund, including requirements relating to assessments on students and student claims against the fund, and continuously appropriates the moneys in the fund to the bureau for specified purposes. This bill would expand the claims under which a student is eligible for payment from the fund and the evidence available to the bureau in making determinations about student eligibility under the fund. The bill would make other conforming, technical, and nonsubstantive changes and would extend the operation of the act by 4 years to January 1, 2031. By expanding the scope and extending the operation of the Student Tuition Recovery Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. Under existing law, the act specifies conduct by regulated institutions that, if undertaken, is a crime. Because this bill would extend the application of those criminal provisions, it would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides that any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act, including any of the acts constituting other crimes, as provided, upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under 14 years of age, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 6, or 8 years. The bill would require the Department of Justice, upon completion of an investigation of a person who holds an elected office in which the department determines the person committed specified crimes relating to rape, that the victim was a minor, and that the case is appropriate for prosecution, to bring criminal charges against that person within 30 days. Existing law authorizes a court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant suffering from a mental disorder, on an accusatory pleading alleging the commission of a misdemeanor or felony offense, in order to allow the defendant to undergo mental health treatment. Existing law makes a defendant ineligible for this diversion program if the defendant is charged with specified offenses, including, among other offenses, any sex offense except indecent exposure. This bill would, when the facts alleged in the accusatory pleading or disclosed in the preliminary hearing transcript would constitute an offense for which a defendant would be ineligible for diversion under these provisions, and the defendant has not been charged with those offenses, require the prosecution to state on the record why those charges are not being sought and whether they have conferred with the victim about the charges filed. By increasing duties on prosecutors, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1001.36 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 46 to be operative only if this bill and AB 46 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law generally provides for the compensation of victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes by the California Victim Compensation Board from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for specified losses suffered as a result of those crimes. Existing law sets forth eligibility requirements and limits on the amount of compensation that the board may award, and requires the application for compensation to be verified under penalty of perjury. This bill would create a pilot program, the Trauma Healing and Resilience Investment for Victimized and Exposed Youth Act (T.H.R.I.V.E.) , to be administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the administration of grants to the County of Los Angeles to establish and administer a program to pay for mental health and counseling services for youth survivors of gun violence, as defined, who request those services and who reside in that county. The bill would require policies and procedures for distributing funds to meet certain requirements, including, among other things, allowing youth survivors of gun violence, or their parents or guardians for survivors who are minors, to attest to their experiences of gun violence without requiring external documentation of the gun violence incident. The bill would create the Trauma Healing and Resilience Investment for Victimized and Exposed Youth Fund to be used by the department for the purposes of this program, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would make client information and records of mental health services provided to these provisions confidential. The bill would make implementation of these provisions contingent upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2032. 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.
(1) Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , to provide transmission-focused guidance to the Independent System Operator (ISO) about resource portfolios of expected future renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources, including the allocation of those resources by region based on technical feasibility and commercial interest in each region to allow the ISO to identify and approve transmission facilities needed to interconnect resources and reliably serve the needs of load centers, as specified. On December 23, 2022, the PUC, the Energy Commission, and the ISO entered into a memorandum of understanding related to resource and transmission planning, transmission development and permitting, procurement, and interconnections to achieve reliability and policy needs and to coordinate the timely development of resources, resource interconnections, and needed transmission infrastructure. Existing law requires the Energy Commission and the PUC, in coordination with the ISO, every 5 years, to review the memorandum of understanding and a related workplan to ensure the memorandum and workplan reflect the coordination that is needed to help meet the state's energy goals. This bill would require those entities, on or before January 1, 2028, to update the memorandum and workplan to, among other things, ensure that the memorandum and workplan reflect the requirements of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 1920, as applicable. (2) Existing law vests the PUC with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC to identify a diverse and balanced portfolio of resources needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply that provides optimal integration of renewable energy and resource diversity in a cost-effective manner, as specified. This bill would require that the portfolio provide optimal integration in a cost-effective and risk-prudent manner, as specified. (3) Existing law requires that the above-described transmission-focused guidance provided to the ISO provide projections each year to support planning and approvals by the ISO in its annual transmission planning process, including projections of resource portfolios and electricity demand by region for at least 15 years into the future, as specified. Existing law expresses the state policy that planning for new transmission facilities include consideration of the goal of increasing systemwide reliability and cost efficiency, among other state policy goals. This bill would require that the transmission-focused guidance takes into account uncertainty and optionality, is risk prudent, and supports compliance with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders, as specified. The bill would remove the requirement that the projections be provided annually and would require the projections of resource portfolios and electricity demand by region to be for at least 20, rather than 15, years into the future. The bill would add to those state policy goals reducing resource interconnection timelines and supporting achievement of the state's energy, climate change, and air quality goals. (4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 454.57 of the Public Utilities Code proposed by AB 2369 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2369 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (5) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because certain provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of a PUC action implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the California Reproductive and TGI Health Equity Program within the Department of Health Care Access and Information for the purpose of ensuring abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care are affordable for and accessible to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay, and to provide financial support for safety net providers of these services to offset the costs of providing uncompensated care to patients with low incomes who would otherwise lack access to care. Existing law authorizes a Medi-Cal enrolled provider to apply for a grant, and a continuation award after the initial grant, if they agree to provide abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care services in accordance with specified requirements, including that the services are provided at no cost or a reduced cost to individuals with a household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level who are uninsured or have health care coverage that does not include both abortion and contraception or does not include gender-affirming care and are not otherwise eligible to receive both abortion and contraception care at no cost through the Medi-Cal and Family PACT programs or receive gender-affirming care at no cost through the Medi-Cal program. This bill would additionally authorize a Medi-Cal enrolled provider to apply for a grant or a continuation of a grant if they provide the above-described services to patients who are veterans, as defined, who are uninsured or have health care coverage that does not include both abortion and contraception and are not otherwise eligible to receive both abortion and contraception care at no cost through the Medi-Cal and Family PACT programs. The bill would make other conforming changes and would make related findings and declarations. Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs and vests the department with specified duties related to veterans in the state, including the development of a transition program to assist veterans in successfully transitioning from military to civilian life by providing information related to, among other things, health care programs and services. This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to publish a link to the State Department of Public Health's abortion information internet website on the women veterans resources page of its internet website.
