Existing law prescribes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of state and local public contracts. Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2027, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017, a claim resolution process applicable to any claim by a contractor in connection with a public works project against a public entity, as specified. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines "public entity" to include, among others, a city, including a charter city, and county, including a charter county. Existing law imposes various requirements on a public entity in relating to the claim resolution process, including, among other things, conducting a reasonable review of the claim and, within 45 days, providing the claimant a written statement identifying the disputed and undisputed portions of the claim. This bill would repeal the above-described January 1, 2027, repeal date, thereby extending the operation of these provisions indefinitely. By indefinitely extending the duties of local agencies in relation to the above-specified claim resolution process, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, administered by the State Department of Education, with the purpose of encouraging, maintaining, and strengthening the delivery of high-quality career technical education programs. Existing law requires, for the 2021–22 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, $300,000,000 to be available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the program. Existing law requires a grant applicant to demonstrate a proportional dollar-for-dollar match and sets that amount at $2 for every $1 received from the program. Existing law prohibits an applicant from being awarded an amount higher than the amount that the allocation formula determines them to be eligible to receive under the program. Existing law authorizes a grant recipient under the program to consist of one or more, or any combination, of school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, or regional occupational centers or programs operated by joint powers authorities or county offices of education, as provided. Existing law provides that an applicant receiving a grant from the program in a prior fiscal year is eligible to apply to receive a renewal grant if the applicant's career technical education program continues to meet specified requirements, as provided. This bill would delete the prohibition against an applicant being awarded more than the amount determined by the allocation formula and would provide, for the 2025–26 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, that the amount to be made available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the program to be the amount appropriated in the prior fiscal year as adjusted by a specified percentage, as provided. The bill would instead provide that an applicant receiving a grant from the program in a prior fiscal year is required to receive a renewal grant for 3 additional years, as provided. The bill would require, beginning with the 2025–26 fiscal year, up to 90% of the grants awarded pursuant to the program to be designated for renewal grants and up to 10% to be designated for grants for new applicants, unless otherwise determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as provided. The bill would require the Superintendent to cease distribution of funding and recover previously distributed funding if certain conditions occur, including, among others, that the grant recipient did not implement the program substantively as was initially proposed, as provided.
The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized 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. Of these funds, the act makes available $1,500,000,000, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for wildfire prevention, including, among other things, by making $25,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for technologies that improve detection and assessment of new fire ignitions. This bill would require, of the $25,000,000 made available to the department, $10,000,000 be allocated for purposes of the ALERTCalifornia fire camera mapping system.
(1) Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law establishes, under the Medi-Cal program, the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Family PACT) Program. If Family PACT becomes inoperative, existing law requires all persons who have received, or are eligible to receive, comprehensive clinical family planning services pursuant to Family PACT to receive family planning services under other specified provisions of the Medi-Cal program or under the State-Only Family Planning Program, which is also established within the department for purposes of family planning services. This bill would require the department, subject to an appropriation, to develop a new program or to expand any existing state-only-funded health programs, in order to provide to Medi-Cal beneficiaries certain services or benefits that are otherwise covered under the Medi-Cal program but for any lack of, elimination of, reduction in, or limitation on, federal financial participation. For purposes of the expansion above, the bill would require the department to determine the services or benefits, which may include, but are not limited to, abortion and gender-affirming care, based on the levels of federal financial participation, as specified. (2) This bill would, subject to an appropriation, require the California Health and Human Services Agency to develop a new program, or to expand an existing state program, as applicable, to provide certain services or benefits that are otherwise covered under the Medi-Cal program but for any lack of, elimination of, reduction in, or limitation on, federal financial participation. Under the bill, these services or benefits would not be limited to the population of Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The bill would require the agency to determine the services or benefits, which may include, but are not limited to, abortion, family planning, and gender-affirming care, based on the needs of target populations and the levels of federal financial participation, as specified. The bill would create the Health Care Maintenance and Expansion Fund for purposes of distributing funding, if appropriated, for these services or benefits. The bill would authorize the agency to receive private donations, for deposit into the fund, to support implementation. (3) The bill would authorize modification and expansion of the State-Only Family Planning Program, subject to an appropriation, to facilitate implementation of the provisions described in paragraphs (1) and (2) , as specified.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, incontinence medical supplies are covered by the Medi-Cal program. This bill would establish diapers as a covered Medi-Cal benefit for a child greater than 3 years of age who has been diagnosed with a condition, as specified, that contributes to incontinence, and for an individual under 21 years of age if necessary to correct or ameliorate a condition pursuant to certain federal standards. The bill would limit the provided diapers to an appropriate supply based on the diagnosed condition and the age of the Medi-Cal beneficiary. The bill would require the department to seek any necessary federal approvals to implement these provisions. The bill would condition implementation of these provisions on receipt of any necessary federal approvals, the availability of federal financial participation, and an appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require the department to update the Medi-Cal provider manual, as applicable, in the course of implementing these provisions.
(1) The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 provides for the adoption of rules, regulations, and procedures, under the administration of the Director of General Services, for the allocation of state funds by the State Allocation Board for the construction and modernization of public school facilities. The act permits a school district to apply for hardship assistance in cases of extraordinary circumstances. The act requires, for health and safety projects for school facilities that are determined by the Department of General Services to pose an unacceptable risk of injury to occupants in the event of a seismic event, a school district to demonstrate that certain conditions are satisfied, including that the school facilities are needed to ensure the health and safety of pupils if the health and safety of pupils is at risk. This bill would apply the above-described provisions to health and safety projects for school facilities that are determined by the Department of General Services to pose an unacceptable risk of injury to occupants in the event of a wildfire, flood, or other state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor, and would specify that the above-described condition includes ending the disruption to the delivery of educational services due to damage to, or destruction of, school facilities. The bill, for projects approved under these provisions, would authorize a school district to employ any project delivery method authorized under existing law to support concurrent coordination and approval by the State Department of Education, the State Architect, and the State Allocation Board for expedited permitting, approval, and construction processes, and would authorize those state agencies to use machine learning to automate nondiscretionary aspects of those processes. The bill would also authorize a school district to use machine learning to prepare documents and materials for the permitting process for these projects. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to take specified actions relating to the construction of school facilities, including to establish standards for use by school districts to ensure that the design and construction of school facilities are educationally appropriate and promote school safety. This bill would require the department, the Division of the State Architect, the Office of Public School Construction, and the State Allocation Board, beginning July 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, to engage the Government Operations Agency to collaboratively review the processes relating to school design and construction to identify short-term, intermediate, and long-term improvements that can be made to those processes. The bill would require those entities, on or before December 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, to submit a report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature that identifies process changes to streamline how local educational agencies receive the approval required for school construction and secure state funding. The bill would require the report required on or before December 1, 2026, to also address specified priorities, including, among other things, implementation of specific timeframes for the Division of the State Architect to review submitted proposals and the development of an alternative project delivery method specific to the need to expedite school reconstruction and repair in the aftermath of an emergency.
Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending all segments of postsecondary education. This bill would establish the California Legislative Staff Education Loan Repayment Program, under the administration of the commission, to provide up to $50,000 in student loan repayment per applicant, disbursed in equal monthly installments over 20 years, as specified. The bill would require applicants for the program to be full-time eligible employees, as defined, of the California State Assembly or the California State Senate who have served for a minimum of 12 months. The bill would require an applicant to provide proof of full-time employment and for the applicant's supervisor or manager to attest, under penalty of perjury, that the applicant is in good standing with their employer. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would create the California Legislative Staff Education Loan Repayment Fund and authorize the commission to accept donations for purposes of the program and deposit them in the fund. The bill would require the commission to monitor the program for fraud and to annually report to the Legislature on the program, as specified. The bill would make the operation of the program contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute. 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.
Under existing law, there are programs providing assistance for, among other things, emergency housing, multifamily housing, farmworker housing, home ownership, and downpayment assistance for first-time home buyers. Existing law also authorizes the issuance of bonds in specified amounts pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law and requires that proceeds from the sale of these bonds be used to finance various existing housing programs, capital outlay related to infill development, brownfield cleanup that promotes infill development, and housing-related parks. This bill would enact the Social Housing Bond Act of 2026 which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $950,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, to fund social housing programs, as specified. The bill would create the California Housing Authority, which would be governed by the California Housing Authority Board, to ensure that social housing developments that are produced and acquired align with specified goals and would authorize the authority to issue the bonds and, upon appropriation of the Legislature, utilize funds from other sources to build more low, very low, and extremely low income housing. The bill would create the Social Housing Revolving Loan Fund to be used, upon appropriation of the Legislature, to provide zero-interest loan for the purpose of constructing housing to accommodate a mix of household incomes. The bill would provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, sets forth the emergency powers of the Governor under its provisions and empowers the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency for certain conditions, including fire, flood, and severe energy shortage. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt cost-effective and technologically feasible regulations to prohibit engine exhaust and evaporative emissions from new small off-road engines produced on or after a specified date. This bill would exempt from those regulations and other regulations adopted by the state board the sale and purchase of portable or emergency backup generators during the period of time for which the Governor has proclaimed a state of emergency based on an emergency resulting in a loss of electrical service to any part of the state. (2) Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, provide an exemption from the taxes imposed by the Sales and Use Tax Law for the gross receipts of a qualified backup electricity generator, as defined, during the month of May, as specified. The bill would restrict the exemption to apply only to those generators with a cost not exceeding $7,000 and purchased for noncommercial purposes. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to those state sales and use tax rates imposed or dedicated for local government funding, including those rates for which revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund 2011. Existing law requires any 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 include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, until January 1, 2031, authorizes the State Air Resources Board to adopt a regulation establishing a system of market-based declining aggregate emissions limits for sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse gases (market-based compliance mechanism) that meets certain requirements. Existing law establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sales of allowances as a part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited into the fund and requires the Legislature to appropriate moneys in the fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the state, as provided. Existing law, the California Climate Crisis Act, declares that it is the policy of the state both to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2045, and achieve and maintain net-negative greenhouse gas emissions thereafter, and to ensure that by 2045, statewide anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 85% below the 1990 levels. This bill would enact the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 and would establish the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Program to be administered by the California Environmental Protection Agency to require fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share of the damage caused by greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere during the covered period, which the bill would define as the time period between the 1990 and 2024 calendar years, inclusive, resulting from the extraction, production, refining, sale, or combustion of fossil fuels or petroleum products, to relieve a portion of the burden to address cost borne by current and future California taxpayers. The bill would require the agency, within 90 days of the effective date of the act, to determine and publish a list of responsible parties, which the bill would define as an entity with a majority ownership interest in a business engaged in extracting or refining fossil fuels that, during the covered period, did business in the state or otherwise had sufficient contact with the state, and is determined by the agency to be responsible for more than 1,000,000,000 metric tons of covered fossil fuel emissions, as defined, in aggregate globally, during the covered period. This bill would require the agency, within one year of the effective date of the act, to conduct and complete a climate cost study to, among other things, quantify the total damage amount, which the bill would define as all past and future climate harms and damages to the state from January 1, 1990, through December 31, 2045, inclusive. The bill would require the agency to update the climate cost study, not less frequently than every 5 years, through January 1, 2045, as provided. The bill would require the agency, within 60 days of the completion of the climate cost study, to determine and assess, as provided, a cost recovery demand for each responsible party listed, which represents the responsible party's proportionate share of the total damage amount. The bill would require responsible parties to pay their cost recovery demand, as provided. The bill would require the collected cost recovery demands to be deposited in the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury. The bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require moneys in the fund be expended for, among other things, qualifying expenditures, which the bill would define to include expenditures for projects and programs to mitigate, adapt, or respond to the damages and costs caused to the state from climate change. The bill would require all interest earned on moneys that have been deposited into the fund to be retained in the fund for use in implementing the program. The bill would require the agency to determine the initial implementation costs for the act, as provided, and would require the agency to assess an amount allocated equitably among responsible parties to cover those costs. This bill would require the Director of Finance, within 45 days of the effective date of the act, to perform an initial assessment of the reasonable and appropriate initial implementation costs that will be incurred by the agency. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
