(1) Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL-FIRE) , and requires CAL-FIRE to be responsible for, among other things, fire protection and prevention, as provided. Existing law establishes the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection in CAL-FIRE to represent the state's interest in the acquisition and management of state forests and requires the board to maintain an adequate forest policy. The former Governor, Edmund G. Brown Jr., issued Executive Order No. B-52-18 that, among other things, established a Forest Management Task Force, now known as the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, involving specified state agencies to create the action plan for wildfire and forest resilience. The executive order also established a Joint Institute for Wood Products Innovation, to be located within the state board. This bill would establish the Forest Biomass Waste Utilization Program to be administered by the state board's Joint Institute for Wood Products Innovation to develop an implementation plan to meet the goals and recommendations of, and the comprehensive framework to align with the state's wood utilization policies and priorities and focused market strategy of, specified statewide forest management plans, and to develop a workforce training program to complement the workforce needs associated with the implementation plan. The bill would require the state board, in coordination with the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, to submit an annual report to the Legislature, beginning January 1, 2025, on the progress made on implementing the implementation plan. This bill would require the Natural Resources Agency, in furtherance of the program, to facilitate the integration of recommendations for forest biomass waste utilization in relevant, state climate adaptation plans. (2) The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and requires the Energy Commission to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state's clean energy and pollution reduction objectives. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with specified state and federal agencies and at least every 2 years, to conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry supply, production, transportation, delivery and distribution, demand, and prices. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with specified entities, to adopt a biennial integrated energy policy report containing certain information. This bill would require the Energy Commission, in furtherance of the Forest Biomass Waste Utilization Program, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature, on or before December 31, 2024, that evaluates innovative bioenergy technologies that use forest biomass waste, as specified. The bill would also require the Energy Commission to include, as part of the 2025 edition of the integrated policy report, an assessment of the potential for forest biomass waste energy to provide firm renewable power. (3) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board (state air board) as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act requires the state air board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as specified, and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions. The act requires the state air board to develop, on or before December 31, 2020, and every 5 years thereafter, a report that assesses greenhouse gas emission associated with wildfire and forest management activities. This bill would require the state air board, in the report developed on or before December 31, 2025, and every 5 years thereafter, to include, among other things, a methodology to quantify the greenhouse gas and short-lived climate pollutant emissions from wildfire, pile burning, and forest management activities, as specified. (4) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires every electrical corporation to file with the PUC a standard tariff for electricity generated by an electric generation facility, as defined, that qualifies for the tariff, is owned and operated by a retail customer of the electrical corporation, and is located within the service territory of, and developed to sell electricity to, the electrical corporation. The PUC refers to this requirement as the renewable feed-in tariff. The renewable feed-in tariff law, in part, requires the PUC to direct the electrical corporations, collectively, to procure at least 250 megawatts of cumulative rated generating capacity from developers of bioenergy projects that commence operation on or after June 1, 2013. Pursuant to this requirement, the PUC has established and revised the Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff (BioMAT) program. Existing law authorizes a community choice aggregator to submit eligible projects for cost recovery pursuant to the BioMAT program, as specified. This bill would require the PUC to continue the BioMAT program until the implementation of the provisions authorizing community choice aggregators to participate in the program has been resolved as specified, and adequate time is given to community choice aggregators to participate in the program. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) 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 the Department of Food and Agriculture has general supervision of the weights and measures and weighing and measuring devices sold or used in the state. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that provision.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt evaluation rubrics for specified purposes relating to school accountability and requires the state board, as part of the evaluation rubrics, to adopt state and local indicators to measure school district and individual schoolsite performance in regard to each of the state priorities and standards for local educational agency and individual schoolsite performance and expectations for improvement, as provided. Existing law requires the State Department of Education, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board, to develop and maintain the California School Dashboard, a web-based system for publicly reporting performance data on the state and local indicators included in the evaluation rubrics. This bill would require the state board to consider adopting regulations, by January 1, 2025, to include the completion of a culminating performance assessment, such as a graduate pupil profile, capstone project, senior exhibition, or portfolio, that demonstrates competency in skills beyond core academic areas, as an accepted measure for the college or career readiness indicator for the California School Dashboard, as provided. To the extent any regulations adopted by the state board for these purposes would impose additional duties on local educational 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, 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.
The Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act provides for the regulation of charter-party carriers of passengers by the Public Utilities Commission and includes specific requirements for liability insurance coverage, background checks, and other regulatory matters applicable to transportation network companies, as defined, and their participating drivers, as defined. The act also requires a participating driver to carry proof of transportation network company insurance coverage with them at all times during their use of a vehicle in connection with a transportation network company's online-enabled application or platform. This bill would authorize a participating driver to carry the proof of insurance on a mobile electronic device, as provided.
Existing federal law establishes the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law establishes a statewide electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system, administered by the State Department of Social Services, for the purpose of providing financial and food assistance benefits, including CalFresh benefits. Existing law establishes the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project and requires the department, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture and specified stakeholders, to include within the EBT system a supplemental benefits mechanism that allows an authorized retailer to deliver and redeem supplemental benefits. Existing law defines the term "supplemental benefits" for these purposes to mean additional funds delivered to a CalFresh recipient's EBT card upon purchase of California-grown fresh fruits and vegetables using CalFresh benefits. Existing law requires the department, upon the deposit of sufficient moneys into the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Grant Fund, and upon the appropriation of moneys from the fund by the Legislature for this purpose, to provide a minimum of 3 grants to nonprofit organizations or governmental agencies for pilot projects to implement and test the supplemental benefits mechanism, as specified. This bill would establish the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Expansion Program and create the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Expansion Fund in the State Treasury. The program would include a process and guidelines for the State Department of Social Services to, upon the deposit of sufficient moneys in the fund, enroll authorized retailers to enable those authorized retailers to provide supplemental benefits to CalFresh recipients who purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. The bill would authorize the department to initially allocate from any appropriation made for the purposes of the program, $40,000,000 for large authorized retailers that are not direct farm-to-consumer authorized retailers to provide supplemental benefits, $20,000,000 for small authorized retailers that are not direct farm-to-consumer authorized retailers to provide supplemental benefits, and $30,000,000 for direct farm-to-consumer authorized retailers to provide supplemental benefits. The bill would also require the department to provide grants to small authorized retailers that are not direct farm-to-consumer authorized retailers to offset the cost of technological upgrades required to offer supplemental benefits and would authorize the department to allocate up to $1,000,000 from any appropriation made for the purposes of the program to provide those grants. The bill would authorize the department, 6 months or later after the enrollment of authorized retailers as a result of the first round of application solicitation, to reallocate those funds. The bill would require supplemental benefits to be provided using the EBT system supplemental benefits mechanism established for purposes of the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project. The bill would also require the department, as part of the program, to contract with one or more vendors to develop at least 2 technology solutions that allow authorized retailers to wirelessly accept EBT CalFresh benefits and offer supplemental benefits, to develop marketing materials that authorized retailers that have been enrolled in the program and community groups can use for outreach efforts to promote supplemental benefits, and to submit specified reports to the Legislature. The bill would require, if the department fails to submit one of the reports, if the report recommends stopping further expansion of supplemental benefits programs, or if supplemental benefits are not distributed pursuant to the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project, all unencumbered state funds in the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Expansion Fund to revert to the General Fund. The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to develop a grant program to award funds to nonprofit organizations to recruit, train, and support authorized retailers participating in supplemental benefit programs. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to seek any necessary federal waivers or approvals to implement these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the formation of nonprofit corporations under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law by 20 or more persons for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Existing law authorizes a corporation, or human officer thereof, to proffer a complaint against any person, before any court or magistrate having jurisdiction, for the violation of any law relating to or affecting animals and to aid in the prosecution of the offender before a court or magistrate. This bill would authorize a corporation, or humane officer thereof, proffering a complaint under existing law to bring it as a civil action to obtain specific or injunctive relief to enforce laws relating to or affecting animals. This bill would also make legislative findings and declarations in support of its provisions.
Existing law, with certain exceptions, entitles an employee to paid sick days for certain purposes if the employee works in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment. Existing law requires the leave to be accrued at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked, and to be available for use beginning on the 90th day of employment. Existing law authorizes an employer to use a different accrual method as long as an employee has no less than 24 hours of accrued sick leave or paid time off by the 120th calendar day of employment or each calendar year, or in each 12-month period. Existing law also provides that an employer may satisfy the accrual requirements by providing not less than 24 hours or 3 days of paid sick leave that is available to the employee to use by the completion of the employee's 120th calendar day of employment. Under existing law, an employer has no obligation under these provisions to allow an employee's total accrual of paid sick leave to exceed 48 hours or 6 days, provided that an employee's rights to accrue and use paid sick leave are not otherwise limited, as specified. Under existing law, sick leave carries over to the following year of employment, but an employer is permitted to limit the use of the carryover amount, in each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period, to 24 hours or 3 days. This bill would modify the employer's alternate sick leave accrual method to require that an employee have no less than 40 hours of accrued sick leave or paid time off by the 200th calendar day of employment or each calendar year, or in each 12-month period. The bill would modify that satisfaction provision to authorize an employer to satisfy accrual requirements by providing not less than 40 hours or 5 days of paid sick leave that is available to the employee to use by the completion of the employee's 200th calendar day of employment. The bill would also provide that an employer is under no obligation to allow an employee's total accrual of paid sick leave to exceed 80 hours or 10 days, as specified. The bill would raise the employer's authorized limitation on the employee's use of carryover sick leave to 40 hours or 5 days. Under existing law, an employer is not required to provide additional paid sick leave days if the employer has a paid leave policy or paid time off policy that provided paid sick leave or paid time off to a class of employees before January 1, 2015, and the employee was eligible to earn at least 3 days or 24 hours of sick leave or paid time off within 9 months of employment. This bill would instead provide that an employer is not required to provide additional paid sick leave days in the above circumstances if the employer provided paid sick leave or paid time off to a class of employees before January 1, 2024, and the employee was eligible to earn at least 5 days or 40 hours of sick leave or paid time off within 9 months of employment, subject to certain conditions. Existing law requires paid sick leave for nonexempt employees to be calculated in the same manner as the regular rate of pay for the workweek in which the employee uses paid sick time, as specified. This bill would instead require paid sick leave for nonexempt employees to be paid at the employee's base rate of pay. The bill would also authorize an employer to request an employee, if an employee uses paid sick leave, to provide a written statement indicating that the employee was absent from work for a specified reason, and in certain cases, to provide written documentation regarding the leave. The bill would provide that an employer is not in violation of these provisions if the employer denies leave based on a determination that the verification or documentation is false. Existing law establishes that providers of in-home supportive services accrue sick leave in accordance with a schedule that is based on the timeline for state minimum wage increases, up to a maximum of 24 hours or 3 days when the minimum wage reaches $15 per hour. This bill would amend the schedule for in-home supportive services providers to increase the sick leave accrual maximum to 40 hours or 5 days in each year of employment, beginning January 1, 2026. The bill would also provide that, on or after January 1, 2024, a county, city, or municipality shall not adopt an ordinance, resolution, law, rule, or regulation, or amend an ordinance, resolution, law, rule, or regulation regarding paid sick leave, other than related to COVID-19-specific paid leave. The bill would provide that these sick leave provisions would preempt any existing local ordinance, resolution, law, rule, or regulation regarding earned sick leave, excluding local ordinances regarding COVID-19-specific sick leave and local ordinances enacted before January 1, 2023, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner to enforce the above provisions governing paid sick leave, including by investigating an alleged violation, and ordering appropriate temporary relief to mitigate the violation, issuing a citation, and filing a civil action. The Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 authorizes an aggrieved employee who complies with specified notice and filing requirements to bring a civil action to recover specified civil penalties that would otherwise be assessed and collected by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. This bill would provide that the paid sick leave provisions are not enforceable by an action under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities and counties, including charter cities and counties.
Existing law provides the procedure by which a restraining order prohibiting harassment or abuse may be sought by, or on behalf of, specified persons. Existing law prohibits the imposition of a fee for filing a petition that alleges that a person has inflicted or threatened violence against the petitioner, stalked the petitioner, or acted or spoken in any other manner that has placed the petitioner in reasonable fear of violence, and that seeks a protective or restraining order restraining stalking, future violence, or threats of violence. This bill would prohibit a filing fee for a civil harassment petition if the petitioner is 60 years of age or older.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law authorizes the establishment of community college districts under the administration of community college governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at community college campuses throughout the state. Existing law authorizes these districts to establish compensation levels for academic employees, as provided. Existing law requires community college districts, as a condition of receiving funding allocated for the Student Success and Support Program, to negotiate in good faith with the exclusive representatives for part-time, temporary faculty, the terms of reemployment preference for part-time, temporary faculty assignments based on minimum standards up to the range of 60% to 67% of a full-time equivalent load and a regular evaluation process for part-time, temporary faculty, as specified. This bill would require community college districts, as a condition of receiving funds allocated for the Student Success and Support Program, to commence negotiating the terms of compensation for office hours for part-time employees, as specified, and the terms governing reemployment preferences and evaluation processes, no later than the expiration of any negotiated agreement in effect on January 1, 2024, and for any community college district that does not have a collective bargaining agreement in effect as of January 1, 2024, on January 1, 2024.
Under existing law, by executive order, CaliforniaVolunteers is established in the Office of the Governor and is charged with overseeing programs and initiatives for service and volunteerism. Existing law authorizes CaliforniaVolunteers to form a nonprofit public benefit corporation or other entity exempt from income taxation, as provided, to raise revenues and receive grants or other financial support from private or public sources, for purposes of undertaking or funding any lawful activity authorized to be undertaken by CaliforniaVolunteers. Existing federal law, the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, also requires the state to create a commission to carry out specified duties relating to national service programs to be eligible for grants or allotments under certain programs, or to receive distributions of approved national service positions. Existing state law continues into existence the Board of Commissioners under CaliforniaVolunteers for purposes of meeting the requirements of the federal act and the act's implementing rules and regulations. #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs Corps is a program of the CaliforniaVolunteers. This bill would establish in statute the #CaliforniansForAll Youth Job Corps Program. The bill would require the CaliforniaVolunteers to expand the program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, which would fund supportive services, as specified, that are necessary for homeless youth and current or former foster youth to enable their participation in the workforce development program, as defined. Under the bill, grants would be awarded on a competitive basis. The bill would require the CaliforniaVolunteers to conduct outreach activities and to provide technical assistance to eligible applicants to ensure that grants are awarded to qualified applicants providing a broad spectrum of supportive services. The bill would prescribe definitions, duties for the CaliforniaVolunteers, and requirements for applications and applicants, including the requirement that applicants agree to provide the office any information that the office deems necessary to meet reporting requirements and other grant requirements. The bill would require the CaliforniaVolunteers to evaluate how grants awarded under the program address the needs of eligible targeted populations and, beginning one year after the initial award of grant funds, to post an annual report on its internet website regarding the progress and success of the program.
The Administrative Procedure Act governs the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. The office is under the control of a director who is authorized to employ and fix the compensation of various employees. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that provision.
Existing law, the Los Angeles County Regional Housing Finance Act, establishes the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency. Under existing law, the purpose of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency is to increase the supply of affordable housing in Los Angeles County by providing for significantly enhanced funding and technical assistance at a regional level for renter protections, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production, as specified. Existing law makes legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a countywide agency to address the housing crisis in Los Angeles County. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to the above-described legislative findings and declarations provisions.
