California Bills

(1) Existing law prohibits, except as required by state or federal law or as required to administer a state or federally supported educational program, school officials and employees of a school district, county office of education, or charter school from collecting information or documents regarding citizenship or immigration status of pupils or their family members. Existing law requires the superintendent of a school district, the superintendent of a county office of education, and the principal of a charter school, as applicable, to report to the respective governing board or body of the local educational agency in a timely manner any requests for information or access to a schoolsite by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency for the purpose of enforcing the immigration laws in a manner that ensures the confidentiality and privacy of any potentially identifying information. This bill would prohibit school officials and employees of a local educational agency from allowing an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement to enter a nonpublic area of a schoolsite, as defined, for any purpose without being presented with a valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena, or a court order. The bill would require school officials and employees of a local educational agency, to the extent practicable, to request valid identification of any officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement seeking to enter a nonpublic area of a schoolsite. The bill would also prohibit a local educational agency and its personnel from disclosing or providing, in writing, verbally, or in any other manner, the education records of or any information about a pupil or a pupil's family and household without the pupil's parents' or guardians' written consent, a school employee, or a teacher to an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement without a valid judicial warrant or judicial subpoena, or court order directing the local educational agency or its personnel to do so. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the Attorney General, by April 1, 2018, in consultation with the appropriate stakeholders, to publish model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement at public schools, to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law, and ensuring that public schools remain safe and accessible to all California residents, regardless of immigration status, as provided. Existing law requires local educational agencies, by July 1, 2018, to adopt those model policies developed by the Attorney General or equivalent policies. This bill would require the Attorney General, by December 1, 2025, to update those model policies to ensure that the policies align with the above-described prohibitions on school officials and employees of local educational agencies allowing an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement to enter a nonpublic area of a schoolsite without a valid judicial warrant or judicial subpoena, or a court order and from disclosing or providing certain information to those officers or employees, as provided. The bill also would require a local educational agency to update its model policy by March 1, 2026, and to make the policy available to the State Department of Education upon request. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) This bill would make these provisions severable. (4) 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. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law prohibits credibly impersonating a peace officer, firefighter, or employee of a public utility, state or local government agency, or search and rescue team, as specified. Existing law also prohibits willfully and credibly impersonating a peace officer, firefighter, or employee of a public utility, state or local government agency, or search and rescue team through or on an internet website, or by other electronic means, for the purposes of defrauding another. A violation of these prohibitions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to prohibit impersonating a law enforcement officer, and would clarify that a law enforcement officer, for these purposes, includes a federal law enforcement officer. The bill would extend these offenses to include willfully and credibly impersonating any of those entities through any means for the purpose of defrauding another. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2026, require a law enforcement officer operating in California that is not uniformed to visibly display identification that includes their agency and either a name or badge number to the public when performing their enforcement duties, except as specified. The bill would make a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. The bill would define personnel of a law enforcement agency as any peace officer under California law and any federal law enforcement officer. By creating a new crime and imposing duties on local law enforcement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require any law enforcement agency operating in California to, by January 1, 2026, maintain and publicly post a written policy on the visible identification of sworn personnel, including a purpose statement affirming the agency's commitment to specified principles including transparency, accountability, and public trust, and a requirement for sworn personnel to visibly display identification and for specified exceptions. The bill would exempt personnel of any agency from the crime for not displaying identification if an agency maintains a policy pursuant to these provisions. The bill would deem a policy consistent with that exception unless a member of the public, an oversight body, or a local governing authority challenges it. The bill would, if the agency does not address deficiencies within 90 days, authorize the complaining party to proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction for a judicial determination of the exemption, as specified. The bill would also authorize a peace officer, as defined, to request an alleged law enforcement officer to present identification when there is probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe the alleged law enforcement officer has committed crime, including, but not limited to, impersonating a peace officer. Existing law, the Bail Fugitive Recovery Persons Act, regulates bail fugitive recovery agents, defined as a person given written authorization by the bail or depositor of bail and contracted to investigate, surveil, locate, and arrest a bail fugitive and any person employed to assist the bail or depositor of bail to investigate, surveil, locate, and arrest a bail fugitive. This bill would prohibit a person authorized to apprehend a bail fugitive from using that position for the purposes of immigration enforcement and would prohibit a person authorized to apprehend a bail fugitive from disclosing personally identifiable information of any bail fugitive that is requested for purposes of immigration enforcement, except as specified. This bill would declare these provisions are severable. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to wear a mask, false whiskers, or any personal disguise, as specified, with the purpose of evading or escaping discovery, recognition, or identification while committing a public offense, or for concealment, flight, evasion, or escape from arrest or conviction for any public offense. This bill would make it a crime for a law enforcement officer to wear a facial covering in the performance of their duties, except as specified. The bill would define law enforcement officer as anyone designated by California law as a peace officer who is employed by a city, county, or other local agency, and any officer or agent of a federal law enforcement agency or law enforcement agency of another state, or any person acting on behalf of a federal law enforcement agency or agency of another state. The bill would make a violation of these provisions punishable as an infraction or a misdemeanor, as specified. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require any law enforcement agency operating in California to, by July 1, 2026, maintain and publicly post a written policy limiting the use of facial coverings, as specified. The bill would exempt personnel of any agency from the crime of wearing a facial covering if an agency maintains a policy pursuant to this section no later than July 1, 2026. The bill would deem a policy consistent with these provisions for the purposes of that exception unless a member of the public, an oversight body, or a local governing authority challenges it. The bill would also impose a specified civil penalty against certain officers for tortious conduct, including, but not limited to, false imprisonment or false arrest of an individual while wearing a facial covering. The bill would, if the agency does not address deficiencies within 90 days, authorize the complaining party to proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction for a judicial determination of the exemption, as specified. The bill would define a law enforcement agency for these purposes as any entity of a city, county, or other local agency, that employs anyone designated by California law as a peace officer, any federal law enforcement agency, or any law enforcement agency of another state. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement agencies, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill would declare its provisions to be severable. This bill would make related findings and declarations. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing provisions of the California Constitution make the Attorney General, subject to the powers and duties of the Governor, the chief law officer of the state. Under existing law, the Attorney General may maintain an action for equitable relief in the name of the people of the State of California against any person for the protection of the natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment, or destruction. This bill would continue in existence in the Department of Justice a Bureau of Environmental Justice. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to prepare, in consultation with specified entities, a monitoring plan regarding the availability and effectiveness of toxic air contaminant and criteria air pollutant advanced sensing monitoring technologies and existing community air monitoring systems, as specified, and based on the findings and recommendations of that plan, select, in consultation with the air pollution control districts and air quality management districts, the highest priority locations around the state to deploy community air monitoring systems, as provided. This bill would require monitoring in a location selected by the state board to remain active for no fewer than 5 years, with an option for the air district and the state board to agree to extend active monitoring for additional 5-year periods, as necessary. The bill would require the state board to update the above-described monitoring plan by July 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter. The bill would require the update to be considered and approved by the state board before it is implemented. The bill would subject these requirement to available funding. The bill would require, by March 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the state board, in consultation with the air districts, to report to specified committees of the Legislature about the progress the state board and the air districts have made in implementing these and other provisions, as specified. The bill would require the chair of the state board and the executive directors or air pollution control officers of the relevant air districts to appear before the relevant policy committees of the Legislature to present on the progress in implementing those requirements. By imposing additional requirements on air districts, 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.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations for greenhouse gas emissions limits and emissions reduction measures to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in furtherance of achieving the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined. The act authorizes the state board to revise regulations or adopt additional regulations to further the act. The act authorizes that state board to include in those regulations the use of a market-based compliance mechanism to comply with those regulations. Existing law requires the state board, in regulations implementing the market-based compliance mechanism to, among other things, establish limits on the use of offset credits as a means for a covered entity to meet its compliance obligations. Existing law requires moneys collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and continuously appropriates a portion of the moneys in the fund for various purposes. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to direct specific percentages of the revenues deposited into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to individual funds dedicated to funding clean transportation, housing and community investment, clean air and water, wildfire prevention and resilience, agriculture, clean energy, and climate-focused innovation. The bill would make the continuous appropriations from the fund inoperative on July 1, 2026. The bill would, beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year, allocate moneys in the fund in a specified priority and would continuously appropriate a certain amount of moneys in the fund for certain purposes. This bill would require the state board, no later than December 31, 2026, to conduct a study and report to the Legislature evaluating and making recommendations on the use of offsets. The bill would require the state board, no later than January 1, 2029, to update all existing compliance offset protocols to reflect the best available science. The bill would require the state board, no later than January 1, 2034, and every 5 years thereafter, to evaluate all compliance offset protocols and to consider whether updates are necessary to ensure the protocols reflect the best available science. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act generally requires the administrator for oil spill response, acting at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities relating to oil spill response, including emergency drills and preparedness, and oil spill containment and cleanup, and to represent the state in any coordinated response efforts with the federal government. Existing law requires the Governor to establish a California oil spill contingency plan that provides for an integrated and effective state procedure to combat the results of major oil spills within the state and that specifies state agencies to implement the plan. Existing law requires the administrator to adopt and implement regulations governing the adequacy of oil spill contingency plans to be prepared and implemented and requires the regulations to provide for the best achievable protection of coastal and marine waters. Existing law requires these regulations to permit the development, application, and use of an oil spill contingency plan for similar vessels, pipelines, terminals, and facilities within a single company or organization, and across companies and organizations. Existing law requires these regulations to ensure, among other things, standards for determining a reasonable worst case oil spill. Under the act, the owner or operator of a facility where a spill could impact waters of the state is required apply for and obtain a certificate of financial responsibility issued by the administrator for the facility or the oil to be handled, stored, or transported by the facility. This bill would require the administrator to publicly post a list of all applications for certificates of financial responsibility submitted by facility owners and operators on the internet website of the Office of Spill Prevention and Response and would require the posting to include specified information about applicants, including reasonable worst case spill volume of the facility to be covered by the certificate and the amount of financial responsibility demonstrated, as provided. This bill would, commencing January 15, 2027, and at least once every 10 years thereafter, require the administrator to solicit public input regarding both (A) the appropriateness of the reasonable worst case spill volumes for facilities and (B) the appropriateness of the financial responsibility requirements for facilities. The bill would require the supervisor, based on this feedback, to review and, as appropriate, revise the criteria and formulas for (A) calculating reasonable worst case spill volume and (B) calculating the financial assurances and setting the maximum amount of a certificate of financial responsibility necessary to respond to an oil spill, as provided. (2) The Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 requires the State Fire Marshal to administer provisions regulating the inspection of intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of hazardous liquid. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would prohibit the restarting of an existing oil pipeline that is 6 inches or larger that has been idle, inactive, or out of service for 5 years or more without passing a spike hydrostatic testing program that meets the requirements established by the State Fire Marshal, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require these tests to be performed by a qualified testing company, as provided. The bill would require the Office of the State Fire Marshal to promulgate regulations as necessary to implement these provisions. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to post on its public internet website information fully characterizing the parameters and results of each hydrostatic spike test performed, subject to any information deemed confidential and proprietary, no less than 30 calendar days after each hydrostatic spike test is conducted. (3) Existing law authorizes the State Air Resources Board (state board) to adopt and implement motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to establish, by regulation, maximum standards for the volatility of gasoline, as provided. Pursuant to these authorizations, the state board has adopted the California Reformulated Gasoline regulations establishing California-specific gasoline specifications for various regions of the state at specified time periods. Existing regulations also prohibit a person from selling, offering for sale, supplying, offering for supply, or transporting California gasoline that exceeds the applicable cap limit for Reid vapor pressure within each of specified air basins during various defined regulatory periods throughout the year. This bill would require the Governor to suspend those regulatory control periods on which gasoline exceeding the Reid vapor pressure may be sold or supplied for use in the state, if the Governor, in consultation with the state board and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, determines the average retail gasoline price increased substantially or is projected to increase substantially within any 30-day period and a suspension is necessary to protect consumers in the state from extraordinary gasoline price increases and determines, in the Governor's discretion, that suspension is prudent and unlikely to yield unintended consequences. The bill would require the Governor, in considering whether to suspend the regulatory control periods, to consider the air quality effects and options to mitigate those effects, if necessary and subject to available resources. (4) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (energy commission) , on or before January 1, 2024, and every 3 years thereafter, to submit an assessment to the Governor and the Legislature that, among other things, identifies methods to ensure a reliable supply of affordable and safe transportation fuels in California and evaluates the price of transportation fuels, including branded and unbranded retail prices, alternate formulations of gasoline with lower carbon impact, and other products suitable for production from refineries in California, as provided. This bill would require the next version of the above-described transportation fuels assessment to evaluate the cost and supply impacts of allowing the sale of gasoline with alternative specifications from the state board's gasoline specifications, as provided. The bill would require the energy commission to recommend a strategy to facilitate the sale of gasoline with those alternative specifications that, at a minimum, considers a trigger mechanism for when the gasoline with those alternative specifications may be sold, the existing variance process, and the use of a fee associated with the sale of the gasoline with those alternative specifications, as provided. The bill would additionally require the next version of this assessment to evaluate the development of westwide gasoline specification that could be used in a western region to include California and areas outside of California as an alternative to the California-specific specification in order to stabilize the petroleum market and petroleum prices in the western region, as provided. The bill would additionally require the energy commission, on or before March 31, 2026, to submit an assessment to the Governor and the Legislature that evaluates recommendations and strategies identified by the vice chair of the energy commission in a specified letter, and offers recommendations to the Legislature on potential changes to working group authorities or structures to support the state's reliable, equitable, safe, and affordable transition away from petroleum fuels. (5) 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 also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA prohibits a lead agency or a responsible agency from requiring the preparation of a subsequent or supplemental EIR unless one or more of 3 specified events occurs. Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of 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 a well to file a written notice of intention to commence drilling with, and prohibits any drilling until approval is given by, the supervisor or district deputy. Existing law prohibits the division from approving any notice of intention within a health protection zone, defined as the area within 3,200 feet of certain residential, educational, health care, detention, or business facilities, except approvals necessary for specified purposes. Existing law requires oil or gas production facilities or wells with a wellhead within a health protection zone to comply with specified health, safety, and environmental requirements, as provided. This bill would, among other things, deem a specified County of Kern environmental impact report sufficient for full compliance with the requirements of CEQA for purposes of consideration and adoption of amended revisions to a specified County of Kern zoning ordinance, and would establish that this determination of full compliance shall be final and conclusive for purposes of reliance on that environmental impact report by any responsible agency, as provided. The bill would establish that projects that satisfy the requirements of that zoning ordinance and that are approved by the County of Kern under that ordinance are deemed sufficient for full compliance with CEQA and no further environmental review shall be required pursuant to CEQA. This bill would prospectively apply these provisions concerning CEQA compliance to any approvals by the County of Kern with respect to the permitting of oil and gas production operations under any adopted local ordinance and associated development. The bill would also apply these provisions prospectively and retroactively to any pending causes of action and claims for which no final nonappealable judgment has been entered, as provided. The bill would prohibit the granting of approvals by the County of Kern or the Geologic Energy Management Division in reliance on that environmental impact report for any operation located in a health protection zone, regardless of whether the above-described prohibitions on health protection zones are enforceable. The bill would require the division to be the lead agency for projects in Kern County that include approval of a notice of intention to drill or rework an oil or gas well within 3,200 feet of specified types of buildings, to the extent such projects may be authorized by law. The bill would prohibit the division from approving more than 2,000 notices of intention to drill new wells in reliance on that environmental impact report as a responsible agency, unless the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission makes a formal finding that additional permit issuance is necessary for in-state crude oil production to supply 25% of in-state refinery feedstock demand, and that such production would likely help reduce costs for retail consumers of gasoline in the state. The bill would repeal all of the above-described provisions concerning CEQA in the County of Kern on January 1, 2036. To the extent a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of some of the above-described exemptions and determinations of full compliance with CEQA, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) The California Coastal Act of 1976 requires a person wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit. The act encourages coastal-dependent industrial facilities to locate or expand within existing sites and requires that facilities be permitted reasonable long-term growth, as provided. The act specifies that new or expanded oil and gas development is not to be considered a coastal-dependent industrial facility and is to be permitted only if it is consistent with the act and meets certain requirements, including a requirement that oil produced offshore is to be transported onshore by pipeline using the best achievable technology, as defined, and onshore transport of the oil to processing and refining facilities by pipeline. The act applies the pipeline requirements on new or expanded oil extraction operations, and defines terms for these purposes, including the term "expanded oil extraction." The act authorizes the transport of the oil by other modes of transportation if certain conditions are met. This bill would require the onshore transportation of the oil to processing and refining facilities to use the best available technology, as provided. The bill would repeal authorization for the use of alternative modes of transportation. The bill would revise the definition of "expanded oil extraction" to include reactivation of a facility idled, inactive, or out of service for more than 5 years, or an increase in oil extraction from the use of hydraulic fracturing, extended reach drilling, acidization, or other unconventional technologies. The act authorizes the repair and maintenance of an existing oil and gas facility to be permitted as a coastal-dependent industrial facility if certain requirements are met. The bill would require a person to obtain a new coastal development permit for the repair, reactivation, and maintenance of an oil and gas facility, including an oil pipeline, that has been idled, inactive, or out of service for 5 years or more. Because the bill would impose additional duties on a local government with a certified local coastal program in processing and reviewing an application for a coastal development permit, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (7) 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. (8) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Kern. (9) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

(1) Existing law establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) within the Governor's office and requires the office to serve 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, as provided. Existing law, the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act (bank act) , establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) within GO-Biz, under the direction of an executive director and governed by, and its corporate power exercised by, a board of directors (bank board) . Existing law, among other things, authorizes the bank to make loans, issue bonds, and provide financial assistance for various types of projects that qualify as economic development or public development facilities, as provided. Existing law prohibits the financing of economic development facilities unless the bank determines that the financing or assistance meets specified public interest criteria. Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (bond act) , approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. Existing law makes $850,000,000 of that amount available, upon appropriation of the Legislature, for clean energy projects, as provided. This bill would deem the financing of projects related to the clean energy projects funded by the bond act, as described above, to be in the public interest and eligible for financing by the I-Bank or by a special purpose trust established pursuant to the bank act and would, except as specified, require that any such financing be treated as financing of an economic development facility for purposes of the bank act. The bill would authorize the I-Bank to provide any form of financial assistance, including issuing bonds, as provided. The bill would authorize the I-Bank to provide financial assistance under the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund Program to any eligible participating party, either directly or to a lending or financial institution, in connection with the financing or refinancing of an accelerator project, in accordance with an agreement or agreements between the I-Bank and the participating party, either as a sole lender or in participation or syndication with other lenders. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would require that eligible projects for financing under these provisions meet specified conditions. The bill would require the I-Bank to prepare, and the bank board to approve, guidelines for the provision of financial assistance under the Accelerator Revolving Fund Program, and would exempt the accelerator financing plan and guidelines to administer the program from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Existing law creates the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund (bank fund) in the State Treasury for purposes of implementing the objectives and provisions of the bank act. Except as specified, existing law continuously appropriates all moneys in the bank fund for support of the I-Bank and for expenditure for the purposes stated in the bank act. This bill would provide that moneys in the bank fund are available for expenditure for California Transmission Accelerator financing, as described above, only upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would create the Accelerator Revolving Fund within the State Treasury for the purpose of providing financial assistance under the Accelerator Revolving Fund Program. The bill would make the moneys in the fund, except as specified, continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, for the support of eligible entities, as defined, and available for expenditure for the above-described purposes. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law creates within Go-Biz the Energy Unit to accelerate the planning, financing, and execution of critical energy infrastructure projects, as specified. This bill would require the Energy Unit to establish a Transmission Infrastructure Accelerator (accelerator) , in coordination with certain entities, to develop a financing and development strategy for eligible transmission projects receiving California Transmission Accelerator financing, established by this bill's provisions as described above, and would require the accelerator to take the necessary steps to accelerate the development and deployment of those projects to maximize ratepayer savings. The bill would require the accelerator, before December 31, 2026, to coordinate the state's ongoing activities related to transmission planning and development and to ensure accelerator projects meet specified criteria. The bill would also require the accelerator to evaluate the results of the Independent System Operator's transmission planning process, to select which accelerator projects have the opportunity to receive public financing, and to develop a public-private partnership plan to develop financing options that maximize debt financing, among other things. (3) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2036, in an amount equal to 20% of the qualified expenditures paid or incurred by the qualified taxpayer during the taxable year, not to exceed $20,000,000 per qualified taxpayer per taxable year. The bill would define "qualified expenditures" for these purposes to mean costs paid or incurred for planning, design, engineering, permitting, construction, and equipment directly related to an eligible transmission project, as defined, or qualified wages, as defined, paid or incurred to employees of a qualified taxpayer that perform services directly related to the eligible transmission project. The bill would define "qualified taxpayer" for these purposes to mean a taxpayer that is a participating entity under the Accelerator Revolving Fund Program, as described above. If the credit allowed under these provisions is claimed by the qualified taxpayer, the bill would prohibit the taxpayer from earning a return on equity for the eligible transmission project for the portion of the project for which the credit is claimed. The bill would require the I-Bank to inform the Franchise Tax Board of any eligible transmission project that the bank approves for financial assistance and to provide any other information the Franchise Tax Board requires for administration of the credits allowed by the bill. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would provide that this requirement does not apply to the credits allowed by the bill's provisions. (4) The California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority Act creates the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority. The act authorizes the authority, before January 1, 2007, to establish, finance, purchase, lease, own, operate, acquire, or construct generating facilities and other projects and enterprises, or provide financial assistance for projects or programs by participating parties, to supplement private and public sector power supplies to ensure a sufficient and reliable supply of electricity for California's consumers at just and reasonable rates, to finance programs for consumers and businesses to invest in cost-effective energy efficient appliances, renewable energy projects, and other programs that will reduce the demand for energy in California, to finance natural gas transportation and storage projects, to achieve an adequate energy reserve capacity in California, and to provide financing for owners of aged, inefficient, electric powerplants to perform necessary retrofits to improve the efficiency and environmental performances of those powerplants. This bill would additionally authorize the authority to sponsor, finance, purchase, lease, own, operate, acquire, or construct new transmission projects, as defined. The bill would authorize the authority to seek financing assistance from any entity eligible to access the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund. Existing law authorizes the authority to incur indebtedness and to issue securities of any kind or class, at public or private sale by the Treasurer, and to renew the same, if the indebtedness is payable solely from revenues. Existing law authorizes the authority to issue bonds, as specified, in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000,000, exclusive of any refunds. This bill would delete that $5,000,000,000 limit. Existing law prohibits the authority from financing or approving any new program, enterprise, or project on or after January 1, 2007, unless authority to approve such an activity is granted by statute enacted on or before January 1, 2007. This bill would repeal that provision. (5) Existing law vests the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) with the exclusive jurisdiction to certify the construction of certain eligible facilities, as defined. Existing law prohibits a person from constructing such a facility unless that person obtains a certificate from the commission, as provided. Existing law authorizes a person proposing an eligible facility to file an application no later than June 30, 2029, for certification with the commission to certify a site and related facility, as provided. This bill would extend the date that a person proposing an eligible facility is authorized to apply by to June 30, 2030. Existing law requires an application for a site and related facility to be in a form prescribed by the Energy Commission, contain specified information, and be further supported by other information as the Energy Commission may require to support the preparation of an environmental impact report and issuance of a certification. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to review the application and make a determination of completeness within 30 days of the submission of the application, and authorizes the executive director of the Energy Commission to require the applicant to submit additional information, documents, or data determined to be reasonably necessary to prepare the environmental impact report for the application, as provided. This bill would explicitly authorize the Energy Commission to require certain supporting information to support the preparation of an environmental impact report, mitigated negative declaration, or negative declaration, and would make related conforming changes. The bill would require the application to include evidence that the applicant has sufficient real property rights to the proposed location to currently access, build, and operate the proposed facility. The bill would instead authorize the executive director to require an applicant to submit missing information in the application before an application can be deemed complete and would require that any further requests by the executive director for missing information in response to additional information provided by the applicant be made within 45 days, or as soon as practicable thereafter, of receipt of that information. Existing law requires each person proposing to construct a thermal powerplant or electrical transmission line to submit to the Energy Commission a notice of intention to file an application for the certification of the site and related facility or facilities, requires the approval of the notice by the Energy Commission to be based upon specified findings, and requires an application for certification of the site and related facility to be filed with the Energy Commission. Existing law requires, for the consideration of an application and the issuance of a certification, the Energy Commission to comply with the requirements to prepare a written decision after a public hearing on an application that includes specified things, including findings regarding the conformity of the proposed site and related facilities with standards adopted by the Energy Commission, as provided, and applies these requirements to an application for an eligible facility, as provided. This bill would remove findings regarding the conformity of the proposed site and related facilities with standards adopted by the Energy Commission from that application requirement for an eligible facility. Existing law prohibits the Energy Commission from certifying a site and related facility unless the Energy Commission finds that the construction or operation of the facility will have an overall net positive economic benefit to the local government that would have had permitting authority over the site and related facility. This bill would establish a rebuttable presumption that the construction or operation of the facility will have an overall net positive economic benefit to the local government that would have had permitting authority over the site and related facility. Existing law prohibits the Energy Commission from certifying a site and related facility unless it finds that the applicant has entered into one or more legally binding and enforceable agreements with, or that benefit, a coalition of one or more community-based organizations, including, but not limited to, workforce development and training organizations, labor unions, social justice advocates, local governmental entities, and California Native American tribes. This bill would add community foundations to the list of community-based organizations described above. Existing law, until July 1, 2025, provides that an agreement entered into for purposes of the above-described provisions does not require competitive bidding, or the review, consent, or approval of the Department of General Services or any other state department or agency and is not required to comply with certain contracting requirements. This bill would extend that exemption until July 1, 2027. (6) 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 (EIR) 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 also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA authorizes a lead agency for a later project, if a prior EIR has been prepared and certified for a program, plan, policy, or ordinance, commonly known as a "program EIR," to examine significant effects of the later project upon the environment by using a tiered EIR and provides that the tiered EIR is not required to examine effects that meet certain requirements. Existing law establishes a process for the certification of facilities related to clean energy infrastructure by the Energy Commission. This bill would require the Energy Commission to prepare a program EIR to analyze the development of a class or classes of facility for which the Energy Commission has received an application under a specific certification program, as provided. The bill would authorize a public agency considering the approval of a specific facility that is within a class or classes of facility described in the program EIR prepared under these provisions to tier from that program EIR, as provided. (7) Existing law generally requires an operator of a subsurface installation to become a member of, participate in, and share in the costs of, a regional notification center. Existing law requires a record of all notifications by an excavator or operator to the regional notification center to be maintained for a period of not less than 3 years and available for inspection, as specified. Existing law requires an operator to maintain certain records on subsurface installations. Existing law establishes prescribed notification procedures for an excavator who discovers or damages a subsurface installation. Existing law requires a regional notification center to quarterly provide notification records to the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Board and to provide notifications of damage to the board within 5 business days of receipt at the regional notification center. This bill would require a regional notification center to facilitate the exchange of planning and design information for infrastructure projects, as described, and would require operators to participate in this exchange, as provided. The bill would require a regional notification center, upon request, to notify a California Native American tribe of proposed excavations within the geographic area with which the tribe is traditionally and culturally affiliated. The bill would require the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Board to report to the Legislature on the advantages, barriers, and funding options for the development of an internet web-based planning and design platform for accomplishing the exchange of planning and design information and for allowing tribes to view plans for projects and to communicate with plan submitters. (8) Existing law requires electrical corporations to construct, maintain, and operate their electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment. This bill would require those actions to take into account the time required to implement proposed mitigations and the amount of risk reduced for the cost and risk remaining. (9) Existing law requires each electrical corporation to annually prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan that covers at least a 3-year period and authorizes the office to allow for annual submissions to be updates to the last approved comprehensive wildfire mitigation plan, but requires the electrical corporation to submit a comprehensive wildfire mitigation plan at least once every 3 years for review. Existing law requires wildfire mitigation plans to include, among other things, a list that identifies, describes, and prioritizes all wildfire risks, and drivers for those risks, throughout the electrical corporation's service territory, and a description of the actions the electrical corporation will take to ensure its system will achieve the highest level of safety, reliability, and resiliency, as specified. This bill instead would require each electrical corporation to submit a wildfire mitigation plan to the office for review at least once every 4 years. The bill would require each electrical corporation, beginning January 1, 2027, to submit a preliminary wildfire mitigation plan to the office at the earliest date of one year before the filing of its general rate case application or concurrent with the filing of its Risk Assessment Mitigation Phase application with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) . The bill would revise those wildfire mitigation plan requirements to, among other things, require the list to also include particular risks and risk drivers associated with the speed with which wildfire risk mitigation measures can and will be deployed by the electrical corporation and an estimate of cost-per-avoided ignition for each risk, or an explanation on why such a value could not be assigned to a particular risk, and require the presentation of certain cost-efficiency measures adopted by the PUC, as specified. (10) Existing law requires the office to approve or deny each wildfire mitigation plan and update submitted by an electrical corporation within 3 months of its submission. Existing law establishes procedures for the office to oversee compliance with an approved wildfire mitigation plan. Existing law requires the PUC to consider whether the cost of implementing an electrical corporation's wildfire mitigation plan is just and reasonable in the electrical corporation's general rate case application. This bill instead would require the office to approve or deny a wildfire mitigation plan submitted by an electrical corporation within 9 months of its submission. The bill would, for a general rate case application filed on or after January 1, 2027, require an electrical corporation to file the wildfire mitigation plan approved by the office or, if the plan has not been approved by the office, the preliminary wildfire plan filed with the office, and any applicable decision from the office, with the general rate case application. The bill would require an electrical corporation, within 45 days of the PUC's decision on whether the cost of implementing the electrical corporation's wildfire mitigation plan is just and reasonable in the electrical corporation's general rate case or any PUC order modifying that decision, to submit to the office a revised wildfire mitigation plan that conforms to the PUC's revenue authorization. The bill would require the office to approve the revised wildfire mitigation plan within 2 months of submission and would require the electrical corporation to file the approved revised wildfire mitigation plan as an information-only submittal with the PUC. The bill would revise and recast provisions related to the oversight by the office in the implementation of, and the enforcement by the PUC of, the finally approved wildfire mitigation plan. (11) Existing law requires the PUC to establish an expedited utility distribution infrastructure undergrounding program for large electrical corporations. In order to participate in the program, existing law requires a large electrical corporation to submit to the office a distribution infrastructure undergrounding plan, as provided. Upon approval of the plan by the office, existing law requires the large electrical corporation to submit to the PUC an application requesting review and conditional approval of the plan's costs and other specified information. This bill would revise the provisions related to the expedited utility distribution infrastructure undergrounding program to, among other things, specify that the approval of a distribution infrastructure undergrounding plan is not a project for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act, as specified. (12) Existing law requires the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board to annually make recommendations to the office on various topics, including the appropriate scope and process for assessing the safety culture of an electrical corporation. Existing law requires the office to annually issue an analysis and recommendation to the PUC on the recommendations provided by the board. Existing law requires the PUC to annually adopt and approve, among other things, a process for the office to conduct annual safety culture assessments for each electrical corporation. This bill would repeal those provisions. (13) Existing law requires local publicly owned electric utilities and electrical cooperatives to annually prepare and submit to the board, on or before July 1 of each year, wildfire mitigation plans. This bill instead would require, after January 1, 2026, local publicly owned electric utilities and electrical cooperatives to prepare and submit to the board wildfire mitigation plans at least once every 4 years on a schedule determined by the board. (14) Existing law establishes the Wildfire Fund, administered by the Wildfire Fund Administrator, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to pay eligible claims, as defined, from participating electrical corporations arising from wildfires ignited on or after July 12, 2019, that are determined to be caused by the electrical corporation. Existing law requires each large electrical corporation, by certain dates, to notify the Public Utilities Commission of its election to participate in the fund by making a commitment to provide an initial contribution and annual contributions to the fund, as provided. Existing law authorizes large electrical corporations providing the notification and commitment (participating electrical corporations) to seek payment from the fund to satisfy settled and finally adjudicated eligible claims. Existing law authorizes a participating electrical corporation to file an application with the commission to recover costs and expenses arising from a wildfire ignited on or after July 12, 2019, that is caused by the electrical corporation that the commission determines to be just and reasonable. Existing law requires a participating electrical corporation, within 6 months of the commission's decision in the application for the recovery of costs and expenses arising from the wildfire, to reimburse the fund, as provided, for any payment of costs and expenses determined not to be just and reasonable. Existing law requires the commission to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to consider using its authority to require participating electrical corporations to collect a nonbypassable charge from their ratepayers to support the fund, including the payment of any bonds issued for the support of the fund, as provided. The bill would authorize the Department of Water Resources to issue bonds, in an aggregate amount up to $10,000,000,000, as provided, to support the fund. This bill would require the administrator, on or before April 1, 2026, to prepare and submit to the Legislature and to the Governor, a report that evaluates and sets forth recommendations on new models or approaches that mitigate damage, accelerate recovery, and responsibly and equitably allocate the burdens from natural catastrophes, across stakeholders, to complement or replace the fund, as specified. This bill would create the Continuation Account within the fund, which is separate and distinct from moneys in the fund, to be administered by the administrator, and would continuously appropriate moneys in the account for purposes of payment of eligible claims arising from wildfires ignited on or after the effective date of the bill, as provided, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require each large electrical corporation, within 15 days of the effective date of the bill, to provide to the commission a written notification of its election to participate, or not to participate, in the account. The bill would specify that the election by participating electrical corporations to participate in the account constitutes an agreement of the large electrical corporations to certain matters, including a revision of how the large electrical corporations are required to reimburse the fund for any costs and expenses arising from a wildfire that are found not to be just and reasonable and limiting the obligation of the fund to provide payments for eligible claims arising from wildfires ignited on or before the effective date of the bill. The bill would require the commission, if all participating electrical corporations have provided their election to participate in the account, to provide the administrator and other entities notification of their elections. The bill would authorize the administrator, on or after the date the commission provides the notification, but not later than December 31, 2028, to determine if additional annual contributions are needed, and to provide notification of its determination to the commission and the department. The bill would require the commission, within 15 days of receiving the notification from the administrator, to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to consider using its authority to require the large electrical corporations to collect a nonbypassable charge from ratepayers to support the account, including the payment of any bond issued for the support of the account, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to issue bonds, in an aggregate amount up to $9,000,000,000, as provided, to support the account. The bill would, if the commission imposes the nonbypassable charge to support the account, require the large electrical corporations, from calendar years 2029 to 2045, inclusive, to provide to the administrator their annual contributions, as specified, for deposit into the account. The bill would, if the administrator determines that an additional contribution of $3,900,000,000 is needed to support the account, authorize the administrator to require the large electrical corporations to provided their proportionate share of that amount in equal installment payments over a 5-year period, as provided. The bill would authorize a large electrical corporation to seek payment from the account to satisfy settled or finally adjudicated eligible claims arising from wildfires ignited on or after the effective date of the bill, as provided. The bill would require the large electrical corporations, within 6 months of the commission's decision in the application for the recovery of costs and expenses arising from the wildfire, to reimburse the fund, as provided, for any payment of costs and expenses determined not to be just and reasonable. The bill would make the above provisions inoperative if one of the large electrical corporations elects not to participate in the account. This bill would, except as provided, for an agreement by a property insurer to sell, assign, or transfer, in whole or in part, to a third-party entity, a right of subrogation, reimbursement, or recovery resulting from a wildfire that is ignited on or after the effective date of this act and that destroys 1,000 or more structures, require the property insurer to first offer to settle that right, on the same terms and conditions as the proposed agreement, to a large electrical corporation, if any, that provides electrical service to the service area in which the wildfire ignited. The bill would require the large electrical corporation to accept or reject the offer or to reach agreement on mutually agreeable terms for the settlement of that right within 30 days of the property insurer making the offer. The bill would, except as provided, require the agreement and exchange of information, including the offer made and other documentation related to the offer, to be subject to a nondisclosure agreement and would prohibit the disclosure of that information. The bill would specify that the information provided to a public agency pursuant to law is not subject to public disclosure under the California Public Records Act or any other law. (15) Existing law authorizes an electrical corporation to file an application requesting the commission to issue a financing order to authorize the recovery of certain costs and expenses, including those related to catastrophic wildfires, that are determined to be just and reasonable through the issuance of recovery bonds by the electrical corporations that are secured by a rate component, as provided. This bill would, for a catastrophic wildfire that was ignited between January 1, 2025, and the effective date of the bill, authorize an electrical corporation, before filing an application for a determination of just and reasonableness of the settled or finally adjudicated claims associated with the catastrophic wildfire, to a file an application for a determination that those claims cannot be paid by the fund and for the issuance of a financing order in the amount of those claims. The bill would require the commission to issue a financing order if it makes certain determinations, as provided. The bill would require a large electrical corporation, if it issues recovery bonds pursuant to the financing order, to file an application for a just and reasonableness determination for the costs and expenses included in the recovery bonds, as provided. The bill would authorize the commission to order a large electrical corporation to provide a credit to its ratepayers for any disallowed costs and expenses plus any cost and expense resulting from the inclusion of the disallowed costs and expenses in the recovery bonds. Existing law, until December 31, 2035, authorizes the commission to issue the financing order. Existing law requires the commission to prohibit a large electrical corporation from including in its equity rate base its share for the first $5,000,000,000 expended in aggregate by large electrical corporations on fire risk mitigation capital expenditures, as provided, and authorizes those expenditures to be financed through the financing order. This bill would, in addition to the amount of fire risk mitigation capital expenditure described above, require the commission to prohibit a large electrical corporation from including in its equity rate base its share of the first $6,000,000,000 expended in aggregate by large electrical corporations on fire risk mitigation capital expenditures approved by the commission on or after January 1, 2026. The bill would authorize an electrical corporation's share of the fire risk mitigation capital expenditures and the debt financing costs of these fire risk mitigation capital expenditures to be financed through a financing order, as specified. The bill would provide that these provisions do not apply to expenditures made after December 31, 2035. (16) Existing law requires the PUC, by May 1 of each year, to prepare and submit a written report to the Legislature with certain information, including information regarding electrical corporations' utility costs and rate increases. This bill would require the report to include additional certain information on the transmission assets, distribution assets, and generation assets of each large electrical corporation, including information on the amount or ratebase for those assets with 10 years of historical values and the total amount for return on equity and debt collected in the revenue requirement for those assets. (17) Existing law requires the PUC to establish reasonable average and maximum target energization time periods, as defined, and a procedure for customers to report energization delays to the PUC, as provided. Existing law requires the PUC to require an electrical corporation to take remedial actions necessary to achieve the PUC's targets and would require all reports to be publicly available, among other reporting requirements. This bill would require the PUC to evaluate and report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2027, whether to require an electrical corporation to have an executive incentive compensation structure that includes incentive compensation based on meeting the above-described targets for all executive officers. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, the commission to establish an enforcement policy for the those targets that include penalties for not complying with the remedial actions, as specified. This bill would require the PUC to require each electrical corporation to retain an independent third-party auditor to review the electrical corporation's business practices and procedures for energizing new customers and how the electrical corporation is planning for demand growth, including new customer energizations. The bill would require the third-party auditor to review specified factors and to evaluate the electrical corporation's current and future energization performance and make recommendations as to whether the electrical corporation is adequately meeting and anticipating customer demand, adequately training and retaining an adequate workforce, and is funded at sufficient levels to meet forecasted demand growth. The bill would require the third-party auditor to report to the PUC on a biannual basis, as specified. The bill would authorize the PUC to require an electrical corporation to take remedial actions necessary to address deficiencies identified in the report provided by the third-party auditor or to achieve the above-described targets. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2032. (18) 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 of the above-described provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing the above-described provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (19) 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. (20) 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. (21) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing law provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and requires the ISO to ensure efficient use and reliable operation of the electrical transmission grid consistent with achieving planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the North American Electric Reliability Council. Existing law, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, provides for the transformation of the ISO into a regional organization, with the approval of the Legislature, pursuant to a specified process. That process provides that modifications to the ISO's governance structure, through changes to its bylaws or other corporate governance documents, will not become effective until the ISO, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , the State Air Resources Board (state board) , the Governor, and the Legislature take specified actions on or before January 1, 2019. This bill would delete the above-described provisions providing for the transformation of the ISO into a regional organization. The bill would authorize the ISO and the electrical corporations that are participating transmission owners whose transmission systems are operated by the ISO to use voluntary energy markets governed by an independent regional organization, only if specified requirements are satisfied. The bill would authorize the ISO, on or after January 1, 2028, to implement tariff modifications accepted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to operate the energy markets whose rules are governed by an independent regional organization if the governing board of the ISO has adopted a resolution, as specified, finding that each of the specified requirements have been, or will be, adopted by the independent regional organization. The bill would require the PUC to make a determination through a formal decision in an existing or new proceeding that these requirements have been satisfied before electrical corporations participate in an energy market governed by an independent regional organization. The bill would require the ISO to maintain the necessary technical capability to operate energy markets, as specified, and would require the ISO to continue its functions and responsibilities as a balancing authority, as provided. This bill would require the ISO to develop, publish, and annually update a report on certain activities of the ISO and, if applicable, an independent regional organization, as provided. The bill would require the chair of the board of governors and the chief executive officer of the ISO to annually appear before the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature to present the report, as specified. (2) Existing law establishes the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, which requires the PUC to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, at specified percentages of the total kilowatthours sold to their retail end-customers during specified compliance periods. The program, consistent with the goals of procuring the least-cost and best-fit eligible renewable energy resources that meet project viability principles, requires that all retail sellers procure a balanced portfolio of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as specified, referred to as the portfolio content category requirements. This bill would require the PUC and the Energy Commission to coordinate to revise any relevant rules, regulations, or guidance to ensure that the transition to a regional energy market governed by the ISO or the independent regional organization does not expand the types of transactions that meet the portfolio content category requirements, as compared to the transactions that would otherwise meet those requirements on December 31, 2025. (3) Existing law requires the Power Exchange to provide an efficient competitive auction, open on a nondiscriminatory basis to all suppliers, that meets the loads of all exchange customers at efficient prices, and authorizes the Power Exchange governing board to form appropriate technical advisory committees composed of market and nonmarket participants to advise the governing board on relevant issues. This bill would delete these provisions. (4) 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 part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing the 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.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations for greenhouse gas emissions limits and emissions reduction measures to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in furtherance of achieving the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined. The act authorizes the state board to revise regulations or adopt additional regulations to further the act. The act authorizes that state board to include in those regulations the use of a market-based compliance mechanism to comply with those regulations. This bill would require the state board to adopt regulations for greenhouse gas emissions limits and emissions reduction measures to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to instead achieve certain emissions reductions goals and the purposes of the act. The bill would require the state board, in adopting regulations, to design the regulations in a manner that transitions support from gas corporations to electrical distribution utilities to minimize ratepayer impacts and meet the emissions reduction goals of the act. The bill would require the state board to consider the effects of the regulations on affordability, cost-effectiveness, minimization of leakage in California, and achieving the emissions reduction goals of the act. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the market-based compliance mechanism be known as the California Cap-and-Invest Program. The act, until January 1, 2031, authorizes the state board to adopt a regulation establishing a market-based compliance mechanism that is a system of market-based declining aggregate emissions limits for sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse gases meeting certain requirements, including the establishment of a price ceiling, as provide, the allowance price containment reserve, and a requirement for state board, if the allowance from the allowance price containment reserve is exhausted, to offer covered entities additional allowances at the price ceiling if need for compliance. The act requires that moneys generated by the sale of those additional allowances be expended by the state board to achieve emissions reductions, as provided. The act, until January 1, 2031, establishes the Compliance Offsets Protocol Task Force to provide guidance to the state board in approving new offset protocols for the market-based compliance mechanism for purposes of increasing offset projects, as provided. The act, until January 1, 2031, establishes the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee within the California Environmental Protection Agency and requires the committee to annually report to the state board and the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies on the environmental and economic performance of the regulation establishing the market-based compliance mechanism and other relevant climate change policies. The act, until January 1, 2031, requires the state board to designate the market-based compliance mechanism as the rule for petroleum refineries and oil and gas production facilities to achieve their greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The act provides that a violation of any rule, regulation, order, emissions limitation, emissions reduction measure, or other measure adopted by the state board under the act is a crime. Existing law requires moneys collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and continuously appropriates a portion of the moneys in the fund for various purposes. This bill would extend the above-described provisions until January 1, 2046. The bill would require the state board, in adopting those regulations, to additionally do certain things, including establish offset credit limits from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2045, inclusive, as provided. The bill would require that moneys generated from the sale of additional allowances at the price ceiling be deposited into the California Climate Mitigation Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury. The bill would require moneys in the California Climate Mitigation Fund be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of providing direct rebates and investments to reduce household energy costs. Because a violation of the market-based compliance mechanism whose operation would be extended by the bill would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By extending the operation of the market-based compliance mechanism, thereby extending the deposit of moneys from that market-based compliance mechanism into the fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would specify that the members of the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee are to be considered designated employees of the California Environmental Protection Agency for purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974. This bill would, if the state board initiates a regulatory process to update those regulations that is expected to be a major regulation for purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, require the chairperson of the state board, until January 1, 2046, to present to the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies and other relevant policy committees of the Legislature on the current state of the market-based compliance mechanism and provide the rationale for updating the regulations, as provided, and to transmit certain information to the joint legislative committee and the relevant budget subcommittees, including the economic analysis required by the Administrative Procedure Act of the proposed amendments to the regulations. The bill would require the state board and other state agencies implementing programs that are funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, upon request, to appear annually before the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies and the relevant budget subcommittees to give a presentation on the expenditures of those moneys. The act requires the state board, on or before January 1, 2009, to prepare and adopt 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 require the state board, until January 1, 2046, to include in the updates to the scoping plan the progress towards meeting certain greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and recommendations to the Legislature on necessary statutory changes to the market-based compliance mechanism to further cost-effectively reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to allocate 15% of the revenues received by electrical corporations as a result of the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to electric corporations for clean energy and energy efficiency projects that are administered by the electrical corporations or a qualified third-party administrator and that are not otherwise funded by other funding sources. Existing law requires the commission to require the balance of those revenues to be credited directly to the residential, small business, and emissions-intensive, trade-exposed retail customers of the electrical corporations. Existing law requires the commission to require the adoption and implementation of a customer outreach plan for each electrical corporation for purposes of obtaining the maximum feasible public awareness of the crediting of greenhouse gas allowance revenues. This bill would require the credits provided to residential customers to be provided on the bills of those customers in no more than 4 high-billed months of each year to maximize customer electric bill affordability or as otherwise directed by the commission to address extreme, unforeseen, and temporary circumstances. The bill would instead authorize the commission to require those revenues to be credited to small businesses and emission-intensive trade-exposed retail customers of the electrical corporations. The bill would require the commission, not later than January 1, 2027, to require each electrical corporation to update its customer outreach plan, as provided. This bill would make the 15% allocation for clean energy and energy efficiency projects inoperative on July 1, 2026. The bill would require, from July 1, 2026, to January 1, 2031, inclusive, 5% of those revenues be remitted to the State Treasury for deposit into the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund and be available to California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank for purposes of the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund Program. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain provisions of the bill would be part of the Public Utilities Act and a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require local publicly owned electric utilities receiving a direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances in addition to the greenhouse gas allowance totals specified in the regulations implementing the market-based compliance mechanism to provide a credit, as provided. The bill would require local publicly owned electric utilities to report to the state board on the uses of all revenues received by those utilities as a result of the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances under those regulations and would require the state board to annually submit a report to the Legislature on the uses of those revenues. By imposing additional duties on local publicly owned electric utilities, 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 specified reasons. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

SCR 95 is a ceremonial resolution that would establish September 20, 2025, and every September 20 thereafter, as "Soju Day" in the state. It does not create new laws or regulations, nor does it affect any specific individuals or groups. The resolution solely designates an annual date for recognition and celebration. This is purely symbolic, with no concrete policy changes or practical impact beyond the ceremonial observance.

SCR 85 designates September 20, 2025, as Latino Veterans Day. This ceremonial resolution directly recognizes Latino veterans for their military service. The bill does not create new benefits or policies; it simply formally designates a date for commemoration. The measure is purely symbolic, aiming to honor this group's contributions through official recognition.

This measure would proclaim September 4, 2025, as Taekwondo Day in California and encourage all residents to recognize and celebrate the positive impact of Taekwondo on individuals, families, and communities throughout the state.