The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA authorizes specified entities to file and maintain with a court an action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul an act of a public agency on grounds of noncompliance with the requirements of the act. This bill would require an action or proceeding brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annual acts or decision of a public agency for a commercial, housing, or public works project that helps to address longstanding critical needs in the project area and that results in an investment of at least $25,000,000 in the state on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 365 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt a rule of court to implement this provision. This bill would require a plaintiff or petitioner, in an action brought pursuant to CEQA, to disclose the identity of a person or entity that contributes in excess of $100, as specified, toward the plaintiff's or petitioner's costs of the action. The bill also would require the plaintiff or petitioner to identify any pecuniary or economic interest related to the project of any person or entity that contributes in excess of $100 to the costs of the action, as specified. The bill would authorize a court to take any action necessary to compel compliance with these disclosure requirements, up to and including dismissal of the action.
Existing law sets forth certain requirements and other provisions applicable to unincorporated associations, including nonprofit associations, as those terms are defined. This bill would add provisions governing decentralized nonprofit associations, defined as an unincorporated association consisting of at least 100 members with a primary common purpose other than to operate a business for profit whose governance and operations are reliant, in full or in part, on a blockchain or other distributed ledger technology, as defined. Under the bill, an action against a decentralized nonprofit association may be brought in the county where it has appointed an agent for service of process. The bill would authorize a member of a decentralized nonprofit association to transfer their membership interest or rights. The bill provides that a member, administrator, or agent is not liable for a debt, obligation, or liability of the decentralized nonprofit association, including a contractual liability, unless specified conditions are met.
Existing law requires the Judicial Council to establish judicial training programs for individuals who perform duties in domestic violence matters. Existing law requires the training programs to include a domestic violence session in any orientation session for newly appointed or elected judges and an annual training session in domestic violence. Existing law requires the training programs to include instruction in all aspects of domestic violence, including, but not limited to, the detriment to children of residing with a person who perpetrates domestic violence. This bill would require the Judicial Council to establish, on or before July 1, 2025, judicial training programs for judges related to best practices related to treatment of sexual abuse and assault victims in courtroom cases. This bill would require the development of the training programs to include input by victim advocacy groups. The bill would require, commencing January 1, 2026, that the training programs be provided to all newly appointed or elected judges and to all judicial officers on an annual basis.
Existing law authorizes each county board of supervisors to appoint a county veterans service officer, and permits the county to provide the officer with any assistance and facilities that it determines to be necessary. Existing law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to disburse funds, appropriated to the department for the purpose of supporting county veterans service officers pursuant to the annual Budget Act, on a pro rata basis, to counties that comply with certain conditions This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, provide a stipend to counties that host an active United States military base for the purposes of maintaining a county veterans service officer, at least part time, at each active United States military base in the county, subject to base approval.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Decisions of the commission adopted the California Solar Initiative. Existing law requires the commission to ensure that not less than 10% of the funds for the California Solar Initiative are used for the installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential housing. This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2025, and as part of a new or existing proceeding, to evaluate program or tariff improvements to multifamily installations of hybrid resources, specifically the inclusion of energy storage paired with solar energy systems, and to consider possible adjustments to existing or successor tariffs to facilitate the installation of energy storage technologies with new or existing solar energy systems, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution and air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law requires the state board, no later than January 1, 2021, and every 5 years thereafter, to update its 2016 mobile source strategy to include a comprehensive strategy for the deployment of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in the state for purposes of bringing the state into compliance with federal ambient air quality standards and reducing motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions from the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sector. Under its existing authority, the state board has adopted the Advanced Clean Truck Regulation, which requires manufacturers who sell medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to sell zero-emission vehicles as an increasing percentage of their annual sales and requires certain fleet operators to report to the state board certain information regarding their vehicular usage. This bill would, before January 1, 2026, prohibit the state board from enforcing any regulations requiring the purchase and use of zero-emission vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of over 8,500 pounds operating in a land port of entry on the California-Mexico border within a commercial zone, as defined. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2026, prohibit the state board from enforcing any regulations requiring the purchase and use of zero-emission vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of over 8,500 pounds operating at a land port of entry on the California-Mexico border within a commercial zone under certain conditions. The bill would specify that the state board has the burden of proof in demonstrating the fleet operator has reasonable access to an economically feasible charging or fueling infrastructure in enforcing those regulations for vehicles operating at a land port of entry on the California-Mexico border within a commercial zone. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst, on or before September 1, 2024, to report to the Legislature on certain information regarding international commerce at the state's land ports of entry on the California-Mexico border within commercial zones.
Existing law authorizes a local authority, if the local authority determines that the established prima facie speed limit of 25 miles per hour is more than is reasonable or safe, to determine and declare a prima facie speed limit of 20 or 15 miles per hour, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law requires the department, subject to any necessary federal approvals, for managed care rating periods that begin between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2026, inclusive, to establish and implement the Workforce and Quality Incentive Program under which a network provider furnishing skilled nursing facility services to a Medi-Cal managed care enrollee may earn performance-based directed payments from the Medi-Cal managed care plan with which they contract, as specified. Existing law, subject to an appropriation, requires the department to set the amounts of those directed payments under a specified formula. Existing law requires the department to establish the methodology or methodologies, parameters, and eligibility criteria for the directed payments, including the milestones and metrics that network providers of skilled nursing facility services must meet in order to receive a directed payment from a Medi-Cal managed care plan, with at least 2 of these milestones and metrics tied to workforce measures. This bill would require that the measures and milestones include program access, staff training, and capital improvement measures aimed at addressing the needs of skilled nursing facility residents with vision loss. The bill would make related legislative findings.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law requires the state board to approve and begin implementing a comprehensive short-lived climate pollutant strategy, as specified, to achieve a reduction in the statewide emissions of methane by 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030, and requires methane emissions reduction goals to include specified targets to reduce the landfill disposal of organics. The state board has implemented regulations pursuant to the act for the purpose of reducing methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills. This bill would require the state board, no later than June 30, 2026, to evaluate and, if feasible and to the extent data is available, revise those regulations to incorporate the use of methane remote sensing data.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to supply to the federal government with criminal statistics data, as specified. Existing law requires local law enforcement agencies, as specified, to provide the Department of Justice with criminal statistics, as requested. Existing law required the Department of Justice to report to the Legislature on the progress on reporting of crime statistics data to the federal government in compliance with the federal National Incident-Based Reporting System. This bill would require the Department of Justice to complete the transition of all reporting of crime data to the National Incident-Based Reporting System by January 1, 2025, and would require local law enforcement agencies to provide the necessary data to complete this transition. By requiring local agencies to provide updated statistical data, 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, 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 specified labor protections for goat herders, as defined, relating to wages, meal and rest periods, lodging, and other conditions of employment. Existing law imposes civil penalties, as prescribed, for violations of these provisions. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner, on or before January 1, 2024, to issue a report to the Legislature on wage violations, including minimum wage and overtime, affecting sheepherders and goat herders. These goat herder provisions are repealed on January 1, 2024. This bill would delete the repeal language, thereby making the provisions operative indefinitely.
Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority. Under existing law, the authority is responsible for the coordination and integration of all state activities concerning emergency medical services. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
