The California Endangered Species Act prohibits the take of an endangered, threatened, or candidate species, except as specified. Under the act, the Department of Fish and Wildlife may authorize the take of listed species by certain entities through permits or memorandums of understanding for specified purposes. The act allows take of an endangered, threatened, or candidate species by permit if, among other things, the impact of the authorized take is minimized and fully mitigated. This bill would also allow the department to authorize by permit the take of a species proposed for listing, as defined, if specified conditions are met. The bill would provide that if a species proposed for listing becomes listed as an endangered, threatened, or candidate species, further authorization or approval shall not be required for a take of that species, if specified conditions are met, including that the species proposed for listing was included as a covered species in a permit previously issued by the department for incidental take and that the incidental take is caused by a renewable electrical generation facility. The bill would require the department to, on or before January 31, 2033, compile and post a summary table on its internet website with specified information for calendar years 2027 to 2032, inclusive.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to prescribe, by regulation, standards for minimum levels of operating efficiency, and authorizes the Energy Commission to prescribe other cost-effective measures, to promote the use of energy- and water-efficient appliances whose use requires a significant amount of energy or water. Existing law prohibits the sale, and the offering for sale, of new appliances unless their manufacturers certify that they comply with the standards in effect at the time the appliances are manufactured. Existing law defines "sold or offered for sale in the state" to mean any sale of or offer to sell an appliance for end use in the state, regardless of the seller's physical location. This bill would expand the above-described provisions to also include the rental, importation, distribution, or lease of, or an offer for the rental, importation, distribution, or lease of, those appliances, as provided.
Existing law, the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act, establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and prescribes the authorities, duties, and responsibilities of the commission pertaining to energy matters. This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and other relevant state agencies, to identify and designate Strategic Clean Energy and Critical Mineral Development Zones. The bill would authorize the county in which a proposed zone is located to submit a request for designation and would authorize the county board of supervisors to, by resolution, authorize the request for designation. The bill would authorize multiple counties to submit a request for designation if a proposed zone crosses the jurisdictional boundaries of the counties, as provided. The bill would require the commission to approve or deny a complete submission within 180 days. The bill would require a zone to consist only of geographic areas located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the county submitting the request for designation and would require that certain criteria be satisfied, including that the zone be in an area identified by state or federal agencies as containing significant deposits or identified production potential of critical minerals used in battery, clean energy, or advanced manufacturing supply chains, as specified. The bill would require the commission to review the designated zones at least every 5 years and authorize the commission to update the designated zones as appropriate based on changes in energy resources, infrastructure, or economic development planning. The bill would require state agencies administering programs related to economic development, advanced manufacturing, workforce development, or critical mineral supply chains to give priority consideration to projects, infrastructure investments, and technical assistance located within designated zones that support large-scale clean energy production or energy-intensive industrial development. The bill would require the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to consider designated zones when administering programs intended to support advanced manufacturing, clean technology industries, energy storage supply chains, and other energy-intensive industries. The bill would authorize the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to coordinate with the commission and other relevant state agencies to support site readiness, infrastructure development, and attracting investment within designated zones. The bill would require the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and state agencies administering programs related to economic development, advanced manufacturing, workforce development, or critical mineral supply chains to give priority consideration to projects that will provide for the payment of prevailing wages, the employment of apprentices from state-approved projects, and the use of a skilled and trained workforce.
The Powering Up Californians Act requires the Public Utilities Commission to determine the criteria for timely service for electrical customers to be energized, including, among other things, categories of timely electric service through energization, as specified. The act requires the commission to establish reasonable average and maximum target energization time periods to ensure that work is completed in a manner that minimizes delay in meeting the date requested by an electrical customer to the greatest extent possible. This bill would require the commission, by September 30, 2027, in a new or existing proceeding, to establish timelines for electrical corporations to respond to and process requests to energize small energization projects, as provided. The bill would require the commission, in establishing the timelines for energization, to require electrical corporations to comply with certain requirements. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the above-described provisions would be part of the 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. 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, it is the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 90% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2035, 95% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2040, 100% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2045, and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2035, as specified. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to procure eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources to satisfy those state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Resources Development System, commonly known as the State Water Project, pursuant to that policy. Existing law authorizes the department to defer, until no later than December 31, 2040, procuring zero-carbon electricity resource quantities equal to the amount of electricity provided under an existing contract to procure fossil generation entered into before January 1, 2010, if the department determines that the full achievement of the state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Project would require the early termination of the existing contract and that early termination of the existing contract would result in significant uneconomic costs. Existing law requires the department, in conducting procurement, to consider specified factors and requires that all resources procured be used first to meet the department's own electricity needs. This bill would require the department, in conducting that procurement, to also consider portfolio diversity, resource type, location, and hours of typical peak operation. The bill would expand the scope of the department's authorization to defer the procurement of those resource quantities to apply to an existing contract to procure fossil generation entered into before January 1, 2011, rather than January 1, 2010. The bill would authorize, on and after January 1, 2036, excess procurement of eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources, as defined, in one year to be applied to any subsequent year's obligation, as provided.
Existing law requires, by July 1, 2030, a water supplier, as defined, to have access to sufficient backup energy sources to operate critical fire suppression infrastructure, as defined, needed to supply water for at least 24 hours for the purpose of fire suppression in high or very high fire hazard severity zones in the County of Ventura, or to have access to alternative sources of water supplied by a different water supplier or agency that can serve this same purpose of supplying backup water to critical wells and water pumps for 24 hours, as provided. Existing law authorizes a water supplier that uses a backup energy source that is not permanent and stationary to use mobile backup energy sources or procure an energy source via an established mutual aid agreement provided that the backup energy source can provide power within 12 hours of the National Weather Service alerting the County of Ventura of a red flag warning and provide power for at least 24 hours after a loss of power and within 60 minutes of a loss of power. Existing law requires, if any fire damages and makes uninhabitable more than 10 residential dwellings within the service area of a water supplier, a report be made by the Ventura County Fire Department in cooperation with the water supplier, as specified. This bill would authorize a water supplier to use a backup energy source that is not permanent or stationary, provided that the backup energy source can, among other things, provide power within 90 minutes of a loss of power, or as soon as practically possible after deenergization. The bill would require a water supplier that uses a backup energy source that is not permanent and stationary to notify the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services as soon as practically possible, but no later than 3 business days after a loss of power, if that backup energy source does not provide power within 90 minutes of a loss of power. The bill would require a water supplier that used a backup energy source to include in the report made by the Ventura County Fire Department, in cooperation with the water supplier, whether that water supplier made a notification to the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services due to a loss of power and the amount of time critical infrastructure for that water supplier experienced a loss of power, if applicable. Existing law requires a water supplier, in coordination with the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services and the Ventura County Fire Department, to establish an emergency preparedness plan, as specified, for response to red flag warnings, extreme weather events, and other major power outages or emergencies that pose a potential threat to providing water service. This bill would require the emergency preparedness plan described above to be established by July 1, 2027. To the extent the bill would require a higher level of service by local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Ventura. 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.
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 vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in California's existing residential and nonresidential building stock. Existing law requires the PUC to investigate the ability of electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide various energy efficiency financing options to their customers for the purpose of implementing the program developed by the Energy Commission. Existing law imposes requirements for custom projects and other custom programs for industrial, agricultural, commercial, residential, and public sector customers. Existing law requires the PUC to develop and maintain rules for custom energy efficiency projects that include eligibility criteria or metrics for determining if a project is eligible for funding. This bill would delete the requirement on the PUC to develop and maintain those rules, and would instead require the commission, as part of the approval of the next Tier 2 advice letters submitted after January 1, 2027, by program administrators for mid-cycle review pursuant to a specific commission decision, to revise the rules adopted for custom agricultural and industrial efficiency projects to replace the commission's ex ante review process with a process that ensures the provision of incentives pursuant to these provisions for custom agricultural and industrial efficiency projects, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because a violation of a PUC action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, expresses a goal of creating good-paying energy efficiency and clean energy jobs in California. Existing law establishes in state government the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, under the supervision of the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, which consists of the Office of the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and the California Workforce Development Board, among others. Existing law creates the position of Deputy Secretary for Climate within the agency, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of assisting in the oversight of California's workforce transition to a sustainable and equitable carbon neutral economy. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, establish an Electric Vehicle Economic Opportunity Zone (EVEOZ) for the County of Riverside, administered by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, for the purpose of creating programs to make electric vehicle manufacturing jobs and education more accessible to lower income communities. The bill would require the agency to collaborate with the County of Riverside in determining the geographical boundaries of the EVEOZ. By imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the agency to partner with educational institutions, electric vehicle manufacturing businesses, and local and national financial intuitions to develop EVEOZ education, training, and investment programs, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Riverside. 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 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 the Governor to certify projects meeting certain requirements as infrastructure projects and provide those certified projects with certain streamlining benefits, including requiring the lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings concurrently with the environmental review process and requiring the resolution of an action or proceeding challenging the certification of an EIR for certified projects or the granting of any project approvals, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the record of proceedings with the court, as specified. Existing law requires the lead agency, within 10 days of the certification of an infrastructure project, to provide a public notice of the certification, as provided. If a lead agency fails to approve a project certified as an infrastructure project before January 1, 2033, existing law specifies that the certification is no longer valid. This bill would authorize the Governor to certify up to 3 sustainable aviation fuel projects, as defined, meeting certain requirements, as infrastructure projects, thereby providing the above streamlining benefits to those projects. By expanding the duties of a lead agency as they relate to infrastructure projects and to sustainable aviation fuel projects, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
