This Senate Resolution highlights the importance of medically supportive food and nutrition services, often called "food as medicine," in improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs for Californians. It notes that these services, which include medically tailored meals and groceries, are already a key part of the state's Medi-Cal program and have been shown to lower emergency room visits and hospitalizations. The resolution emphasizes the value of these programs in addressing diet-related health issues and encourages continued collaboration among healthcare providers and community organizations to expand access. Additionally, it supports sourcing food from local farms to benefit the economy and environment while ensuring high-quality, culturally relevant care for patients.
Under existing law, the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. The State Oil and Gas Supervisor supervises the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production, as provided. Existing law divides the state into districts and requires the supervisor to appoint one chief deputy and at least one district deputy for each of the districts. Existing law requires a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility, as soon as it is reasonably possible, but no later than the date when the acquisition of the well or production facility becomes final, to notify the supervisor or the district deputy, in writing, of the person's operation, as provided. Existing law further requires a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility to file with the supervisor an individual indemnity bond or a blanket indemnity bond in an amount determined by the supervisor to be sufficient to cover, in full, all costs of plugging and abandonment, decommissioning the facility, and site restoration, as provided. Existing law requires a person who intends to acquire the right to operate a well or production facility, by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition, to submit a request to the supervisor for a determination of the amount of the bond required before completing the acquisition and prohibits that person from completing the acquisition until the determination is received and the bond has been filed with the supervisor. A person who violates, fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with requirements of the oil and gas laws, including the bonding requirements described above, is guilty of a misdemeanor, as provided. This bill would make the above-described requirements applicable to a person who acquires, or intends to acquire, as applicable, the right to control a well or production facility and would make conforming changes, as provided. The bill would provide that, for purposes of filing an indemnity bond, a person who "acquires a right to operate or control a well or production facility" includes, but is not limited to, the rights a person acquires through the direct or indirect sale or exchange in a single or series of related transactions resulting in the acquisition of more than 50% of the voting stock of the operator or through a liquidation or dissolution of the operator, among other transactions. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law exempts from the above-described requirements relating to filing an indemnity bond a well that has an average daily production level that exceeds 15 barrels of oil or 60,000 cubic feet of natural gas during the 12 months preceding the date of acquisition or a natural gas storage well, as provided. This bill would delete that exemption. 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. This bill would make the operation of its provisions contingent upon the enactment of AB 2716 of the 2025–26 Regular Session.
Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, including when the child suffered or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer serious physical harm, or a parent fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law requires a social worker who has cause to believe that a child meets the requirements to be adjudged a dependent of the court to immediately conduct an investigation to determine whether child welfare services should be offered to the family and whether proceedings in the juvenile court should be commenced. Existing law authorizes a court to make any reasonable orders to the parents or guardians of the child as the court deems necessary and proper. This bill would require a social worker, if an investigation involves an allegation that a parent or guardian has used or is under the influence of fentanyl or other opioids, to document whether the risk of fentanyl or opioid exposure to the child was specifically assessed, as specified. The bill would also require a juvenile court that finds a risk of fentanyl use, as specified, by a parent or guardian to order the parent or guardian to submit to testing for fentanyl. If the court finds a risk of fentanyl use, the bill would require the case plan for the parent or guardian to include certain resources, including, among others, information on the proper storage of controlled substances and prescription medications. By imposing additional duties on county social workers, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) Existing law declares that all water within the state is the property of the people of the state, but the right to the use of the water may be acquired by appropriation in the manner provided by law. Existing law requires the appropriation to be for some useful or beneficial purpose. Existing law provides, however, that the diversion of floodflows for groundwater recharge does not require an appropriative water right if certain conditions are met, including that a local or regional agency that has adopted a local plan of flood control or has considered flood risks as part of its most recently adopted general plan has given notice, as provided, of imminent risk of flooding and inundation of lands, roads, or structures. Existing law defines "floodflow" for these purposes to include circumstances in which flows would inundate ordinarily dry areas in the bed of a terminal lake to a depth that floods dairies and other ongoing agricultural activities, or areas with substantial residential, commercial, or industrial development. Existing law applies those requirements to diversions commenced before January 1, 2029. 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. Existing law prohibits an entity from substantially diverting or obstructing the natural flow of, or substantially changing or using any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake, or from depositing or disposing of certain material where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, without first notifying the Department of Fish and Wildlife of that activity, and entering into a lake or streambed alteration agreement if required by the department to protect fish and wildlife resources, except as specified. This bill would revise and recast those conditions required for the appropriative water right exemption for a diversion of floodflows for groundwater recharge, would apply the requirements to a diversion commenced before January 1, 2034, and would further exempt those diversions from the requirements of CEQA and requirements relating to lake or streambed alteration agreements, subject to conducting tribal consultation, as provided. The bill would expand the definition of "floodflow" to include flows downstream of a dam that is releasing water for flood control purposes, as provided. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to operate the State Water Resources Development System, known as the State Water Project, to supply water to persons and entities in the state. Existing law designates as the Central Valley Project a system of works for the conservation, development, storage, distribution, and utilization of water, with incidental generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. This bill would provide that the inclusion of certain proposed terms in an application to divert water within or upstream of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to underground storage pursuant to certain permits, and its adoption in the applicable permit, would satisfy the State Water Resources Control Board's finding that water may be diverted and used without injury to the legal users of water from the Central Valley Project or the State Water Project, including the United States Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Water Resources, or any contractors to the project. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2037. (3) Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to consider and act upon all applications for permits to appropriate water, and requires the Division of Water Rights to conduct a field investigation of all minor protested applications, except under a specified circumstance. Existing law defines a "minor application" to include an application by a groundwater sustainability agency or local agency for a diversion previously authorized by a conditional temporary permit for diversion of surface water to underground storage, as specified, without complying with other procedures or provisions previously authorized by a temporary permit. Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans, except as specified. Existing law requires a groundwater sustainability plan to be developed and implemented to meet the sustainability goal, established as prescribed. This bill would expand that definition of minor application to include an application by a private entity under a memorandum of understanding or other agreement with a groundwater sustainability agency for specific diversions. The bill would create an additional exception from the requirement to conduct a field investigation if the application involves a diversion substantially similar to a diversion previously authorized by temporary permits for at least 5 years, involves no greater amount of diversion and no other points of diversion than authorized in the last preceding temporary permits, and includes specified information based on the applicant's experience under prior temporary permits, including specified documentation and proposed terms. The bill would also require the board to give public notice of the minor application within 30 days of the application's filing, to allow 45 days from the date of the notice for the filing of comments, as provided, and to issue a decision within 180 days of the deadline for submitting comments on the application, as provided. The bill would require the board to approve the application if it determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the proposed diversion would not injure a legal user of water, as specified, and would not unreasonably affect fish, wildlife, or other instream beneficial uses. The bill would exempt the permit issued by the board pursuant to these provisions from CEQA, except as specified, and requirements relating to lake or streambed alteration agreements, subject to specified conditions. The bill would make inoperative or repeal these provisions on January 1, 2037. The bill would require the board to, on or before January 1, 2035, compile information on the permits issued and diversions conducted pursuant to these provisions, and post the information on its internet website. Existing law authorizes any person who has an urgent need to divert and use water to apply for, and authorizes the board to issue, a conditional, temporary permit, as prescribed. Existing law defines "urgent need" for these purposes. This bill would expand the definition of "urgent need" to include, in a basin for which the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act requires a groundwater sustainability plan, the application of a local agency, groundwater sustainability agency, or private entity operating under a memorandum of understanding or other agreement with a groundwater sustainability agency, to divert and use water determined to be available using specified criteria, as provided, to augment the basin's recharge in order to support implementation of the sustainability goal in that basin. The bill would exempt the board's issuance of a temporary permit from CEQA and requirements relating to lake or streambed alteration agreements, subject to specified conditions. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2037. The bill would require the board to, on or before January 1, 2035, compile information on the permits issued and diversions conducted pursuant to a temporary permit and post the information on its internet website. (4) Existing law requires the state water board to appoint a deputy director for the Division of Water Rights. This bill would, for applications submitted before January 1, 2037, authorize a certain temporary permit to authorize the diversion to be initiated more than 180 days after date of issuance, except that authorization to divert would automatically expire 5 years after diversions commence, as provided. The bill would authorize the Chief Deputy Director of Water Rights to limit diversion under those temporary permits in favor of competing temporary permits based on, among other things, consideration of public interest, as provided. (5) Existing law requires each person or entity who holds a permit or license to appropriate water, and each lessor of water, as provided, to pay an annual fee according to a fee schedule established by the board, as specified. This bill would require the board, in setting fees for minor applications and for temporary urgency permits, to set those fees at a level that encourages those applications. The bill would prohibit the board from requiring a separate application or fee for consumptive and nonconsumptive uses of diverted water. The bill would make inoperative or repeal these provisions on January 1, 2037.
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to report an emergency to specified government entities knowing that report to be false. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to initiate communication with the 911 emergency system with the intent to annoy or harass another person. This bill would make a 2nd or subsequent violation of these provisions punishable as a misdemeanor or felony for a person who was 18 years of age or older at the time the person committed the prior offense or offenses. By increasing the penalty for existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law makes an individual convicted of the crimes described above liable to a public agency for the reasonable costs of an emergency response by the public agency. The bill would extend those liability provisions to property damage incurred as a result of the emergency response. 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 requires a title insurer, underwritten title company, or controlled escrow company to file with the Insurance Commissioner its schedules of rates, all regularly issued forms of title policies to which those rates apply, and every modification to those forms and title policies that it proposes to use in this state. Existing law requires the filings to include the effective date and the character and extent of coverages and services contemplated. Existing law prohibits a title insurer, underwritten title company, or controlled escrow company from using a rate prior to the effective date or prior to having the filing publicly displayed for less than 30 days in the office of the company in the county to where the rate applies. Existing law requires the schedule of rates to be printed or typed in type not smaller than 10 point, and requires that full copies are kept at all times available to the public and prominently displayed in a public place in every office of a title insurer, an underwritten title company, and a controlled escrow company in the county where the rates apply. This bill would require only a title insurer to file with the commissioner its schedules of rates, all regularly issued forms of title policies to which those rates apply, and every modification to those forms and title policies that it proposes to use in this state. The bill would require a title insurer to also file its schedule of escrow rates if the title insurer conducts escrow services. The bill would additionally modify the documents controlled escrow companies and underwritten title companies are required to file. The bill would authorize the commissioner to object to a new or modified rate and prohibit that rate from becoming effective unless the commissioner's objection is resolved. The bill would remove the requirement that the schedule of rates be printed and modify the requirement that they be publicly available by instead requiring the schedule of rates to be made publicly available by means of a clear and conspicuous link posted on the internet website of the title insurer, underwritten title company, or controlled escrow company that has filed the rate schedule, for so long as those rates remain effective. The bill would additionally require an underwritten title company to maintain a complete copy of each title insurer's rate schedule that the underwritten title company has used for issuing title policies for a minimum of 7 years. The bill would require a notice to be posted in the applicable office that a specified rate schedule would be readily accessible for public viewing in the office of a title insurer, underwritten title company, or controlled escrow company, upon request and as specified.
Existing law requires the California Community Colleges, on or before July 1, 2027, to adopt a common course numbering system for all general education requirement courses and transfer pathway courses, and requires each community college campus, on or before July 1, 2027, to incorporate common course numbers from the adopted system into its course catalog. The Budget Act of 2021 allocated $10,000,000 to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish a workgroup to support the development of that system. That workgroup recommended, among other things, the development of a common course numbering template for each course subject to the requirement described above. This bill would require the Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, on or before July 1, 2027, to establish an agreement for implementing streamlined system-level articulation by using the common course numbering templates, rather than individual course review, as provided. If the intersegmental committee has not established an agreement on or before July 1, 2027, the bill would require the respective administrative bodies of the segments, on or before December 31, 2027, to establish an agreement for implementing streamlined system-level articulation by using the common course numbering templates, rather than individual course review, as provided. This bill would require, commencing with the fall term of the 2028–29 academic year, the streamlined system-level articulation agreement to be the only articulation agreement used for community college courses subject to the common course numbering system described above. This bill would require, on or before June 1 of each year, the respective administrative bodies of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and request the University of California, to publicly post on their respective internet websites a report on the results of the streamlined systemwide articulation agreement, as provided. This bill would require each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and request each campus of the University of California, to publicly post, on or before June 1 of each year, the name and contact information of the articulation lead or individual responsible for managing the course articulation process at the campus. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, in consultation with the administrative bodies of the California State University and the University of California, to identify a limited-term funding plan that would provide funding to the California State University and the University of California to support the intersegmental implementation of the common course numbering system, as provided. 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, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. Existing law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities and establishes the Department of Cannabis Control to administer its provisions. Existing law authorizes the Governor to enter into an agreement with another state or states authorizing medicinal or adult-use commercial cannabis activity, or both, between foreign licensees, who are licensed under the laws of the other state or states, and entities operating with a state license pursuant to MAUCRSA, provided that the commercial cannabis activities meet specified requirements, including meeting state license safety standards, as specified. Existing law prohibits the agreement from taking effect unless, among other things, federal law is amended to allow for, or the United States Department of Justice issues an opinion or memorandum allowing or tolerating, interstate transfer of cannabis or cannabis products between authorized commercial cannabis businesses. This bill would similarly authorize the Governor, or their designee, to enter into an agreement with a federally recognized Indian tribe in this state authorizing medicinal or adult-use commercial cannabis activity, or both, between entities licensed under the laws of a contracting tribe, as defined, and entities operating with a state license pursuant to MAUCRSA, provided that the commercial cannabis activities are lawful and subject to licensure under the laws of the tribal government, as specified, and meet specified requirements. The bill would make these provisions subject to federal approval or toleration of interstate cannabis activity as described above. This bill would make its provisions severable. AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act with a 23 vote of the membership of both houses of the Legislature. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act.
Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, requires the California State Board of Pharmacy within the Department of Consumer Affairs to license and regulate the practice of pharmacy, including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacies. Under existing law, it is unlawful for any person to manufacture, compound, furnish, sell, or dispense a dangerous drug or dangerous device, or to dispense or compound a prescription unless they are licensed, as specified. Existing law also requires the compounding of drug preparations by a pharmacy for furnishing, distribution, or use to be consistent with standards established in the pharmacy compounding chapters of the current version of the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary, including relevant testing and quality assurance. Existing law authorizes advertisements for prescription drugs, if the advertisement conforms with certain requirements, including not containing a false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statement. A violation of the Pharmacy Law is a crime. This bill would make it unlawful for any person to advertise or otherwise promote certain compounded medications used for obesity or weight management, as provided, unless the advertisement is truthful and not misleading, including not containing an unsubstantiated claim with respect to the product. Because a violation of these provisions 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, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , governs the licensure and regulation of commercial cannabis activities. MAUCRSA prohibits engaging in certain commercial activities with cannabis or a cannabis product that is misbranded or adulterated. Among the conditions for which cannabis or a cannabis product is deemed misbranded, MAUCRSA includes packaging or labeling that does not conform to specified requirements. Among the conditions for which cannabis or a cannabis product is deemed adulterated, MAUCRSA includes instances in which concentrations differ from, or its purity or quality is below, that which it is represented to possess. This bill would revise the standards for determining whether cannabis or a cannabis product has been misbranded or adulterated by eliminating certain conditions, including the conditions described above. MAUCRSA establishes the Department of Cannabis Control for the administration and enforcement of its provisions. Existing law gives the department various enforcement powers and duties related to the recall, embargo, seizure, and destruction of cannabis and cannabis products that have been deemed misbranded or adulterated, or whose sale would otherwise be in violation of MAUCRSA. When the department has evidence that cannabis or a cannabis product has been adulterated or misbranded or when the department issues an embargo, existing law requires the department to notify the licensee. This bill would require those notifications to include certain documentation supporting the finding of adulteration or misbranding, or the finding of probable cause to issue an embargo, as specified. Existing law authorizes a licensee to conduct a voluntary recall of the affected cannabis or cannabis product and to remediate the cannabis or cannabis product, if approved by the department, otherwise, existing law requires the licensee to destroy the affected cannabis or cannabis product under the supervision of the department. This bill would authorize, rather than require, the licensee to destroy the affected cannabis or cannabis product under those circumstances. The bill would require the department, prior to a voluntary recall by the licensee, to provide the licensee with an opportunity for an informal conference on why the cannabis or cannabis product is considered adulterated or misbranded. The bill would prohibit the department from permitting destruction of the product until either the informal conference process has concluded or the licensee has declined to participate in the informal conference. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a mandatory recall if the cannabis or cannabis product creates or poses an immediate and serious threat to human life or health, as specified. Existing law requires the department to provide an opportunity for an informal proceeding on the recall within 5 days, as specified. This bill would require the department to provide the evidence supporting the mandatory recall simultaneously with the issuance of the order. The bill would require the department to provide the licensee with an opportunity for an informal conference on the recall, instead of an informal proceeding, as specified. The bill would prohibit the department from requiring destruction of cannabis or cannabis product prior to the conclusion of either the informal conference process or the licensee's decision not to participate in the informal conference. Existing law requires the department to affix an embargo tag or other appropriate marking to cannabis or cannabis product that the department finds or has probable cause to believe is in violation of MAUCRSA, as specified. Existing law prohibits the embargoed cannabis or cannabis product from being removed or disposed of by sale or otherwise until the department or a court gives permission. Existing law authorizes the licensee to request that the department remove the tag or other marking to permit correction if the adulteration or misbranding can be corrected by proper labeling or additional processing, and other requirements are met. Existing law authorizes the department to remove the tag or other marking if it finds that the embargoed cannabis or cannabis product is not in violation of MAUCRSA, as specified. This bill would require the department to provide the licensee with an opportunity for an informal conference on an embargo, as specified, and would require the department to make a final determination on the embargo order within 15 calendar days from the date of the informal conference. The bill would require the department to remove the embargo tag or other marking within 5 calendar days of finding that cannabis or a cannabis product is not in violation of MAUCRSA, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to condemn cannabis or a cannabis product that is embargoed. Existing law also authorizes the licensee or product owner of embargoed cannabis or cannabis product to destroy or remediate the cannabis or cannabis product pursuant to a corrective action plan approved by the department and under the supervision of the department. This bill would authorize the department to initiate condemnation proceedings, as provided, if the department does not approve a corrective action plan or does not receive a response from the licensee with 7 days of the notice of the embargo. This bill would prohibit the department from requiring a licensee to conduct a voluntary recall, sign a waiver of liability, or waive any right to an informal meeting or an administrative or judicial hearing or appeal as a condition of the department taking certain actions. Those actions include approving a voluntary recall, authorizing remediation, supervising the destruction of the cannabis or cannabis product, removing an embargo tag, approving a corrective plan, and permitting the destruction of product. The bill would make failure to comply with a condemnation order a separate cause for disciplinary action against a licensee. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a citation to a licensee or unlicensed person for any act or omission that violates or has violated any provision of MAUCRSA and requires the citation to include a provision that notifies the licensee or person that a hearing may be requested to contest the finding of a violation. Existing law requires the hearing to be conducted pursuant to specified provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act that govern formal hearings. This bill would instead require the citation to include a provision that notifies the licensee that a hearing or informal conference, or both, may be requested to contest the violation, as specified. The bill would require the informal hearing to be conducted pursuant to different provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, other than the provisions governing formal hearings, and would set forth additional specific procedures for the informal conference. The bill would require a citation issued under these provisions to be issued within 3 years after the performance of the act or omission that violates MAUCRSA.
Existing law, the Eminent Domain Law, authorizes a public entity to exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire property for a public use, as specified. Existing law entitles the owner of a property acquired by eminent domain to specified compensation. Existing law requires a public entity to pay reasonable costs, not to exceed $5,000, of an independent appraisal ordered by the owner of a property that the public entity offers to purchase under the threat of eminent domain. This bill would require a public entity that offers to purchase property under a threat of eminent domain related to specified purposes to pay the full reasonable costs of an independent appraisal ordered by the owner, not to exceed $8,000.
Existing law establishes the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) within the Governor's office and requires GO-Biz 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. 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, in coordination with other specified state entities, to establish the California Grid Manufacturing Initiative. The bill would require the Energy Unit to determine and provide appropriate forms of state assistance to address identified delays with critical electricity grid components, as defined, to incentivize new or existing in-state manufacturing of critical electricity grid components, and to provide support to joint procurement initiatives. This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, as soon as practicable, and in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Independent System Operator, to develop a process to identify critical electricity grid components and to assess the statewide need for critical electricity grid components for the next 10-year period. The bill would require the assessment to include identification of specific strategies to reduce delays and ratepayer costs associated with the procurement of critical electricity grid components. The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to determine, for each critical electricity grid component, whether requiring electrical corporations to engage in the joint procurement of the critical electricity grid component would further the purposes of the bill, and if the commission makes that determination, and also determines that electrical corporations would benefit from the joint procurement, the bill would authorize the Public Utilities Commission to require electrical corporations to engage in a joint procurement to fulfill the projected purchasing needs of each participating electrical corporation for the critical electricity grid component, as provided. This bill would require electrical corporations that are required to engaged in a joint procurement pursuant to the bill to, not more than 12 months following the imposition of the requirement, take certain actions, including engaging in a joint cooperative process for the sourcing and negotiation of joint purchase agreements for the purchase of critical electricity grid components. This bill would authorize the Energy Unit to provide assistance to projects that establish or expand manufacturing capacity in California for critical electricity grid components, as specified. The bill would also authorize the Energy Unit to enter into production joint ventures with qualified private suppliers, as provided, and to provide bond financing and other assistance. The bill would authorize the Public Utilities Commission to authorize the recovery of costs incurred under the initiative only to the extent it determines those costs are just and reasonable, cost-effective, and aligned with state energy policy, as provided. To the extent the joint procurement results in costs below prevailing market prices for critical electricity grid components, the bill would require the commission to ensure that the difference is credited to ratepayers, as provided. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing certain requirements of the bill would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act, establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) within GO-Biz and, among other things, authorizes the I-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. This bill would create the California Grid Manufacturing Initiative Revolving Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of providing financial assistance pursuant to the initiative. The bill would make the moneys in the revolving fund continuously appropriated for expenditure in accordance with the initiative. The bill would authorize the I-Bank, on behalf of the Energy Unit, to issue revenue bonds to finance procurement and manufacturing of critical electricity grid components, and would authorize the I-Bank to provide financial assistance, including financial assistance from the proceeds of the revenue bonds, to a participating party, as defined, in connection with the financing or refinancing of a project to establish or expand manufacturing capacity for critical electricity grid components. The bill would require the I-Bank to meet and confer with the Energy Unit for eligible projects and would provide that final authority to provide financial support to an eligible project resides with the Energy Unit. The bill would require the proceeds of any bonds to be deposited into the revolving fund and used exclusively for the purposes of the initiative. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. 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.
