Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Independent System Operator, to take specified actions to facilitate the commercialization of microgrids for distribution customers of large electrical corporations, including developing microgrid service standards necessary to meet state and local permitting requirements and developing methods to reduce barriers for microgrid deployment without shifting costs between ratepayers. This bill would require a large electrical corporation, upon request, to collaborate with local governments, tribal governments, or community choice aggregators within its service area to support resiliency planning, as provided. The bill would require large electrical corporations to provide local governments, tribal governments, and community choice aggregators with access to data, including electrical distribution equipment data, transmission and distribution circuit data, grid hardening plans, and other information as directed by the commission, to support resiliency planning by local governments and tribal governments to ensure local governments, tribal governments, and community choice aggregators are able to plan potential microgrid projects to support critical facilities. The bill would authorize the commission to require large electrical corporations to share this information in aggregated and anonymized form to protect customer privacy and electrical grid security. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because the violation of a PUC 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.
This measure would request that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hold public hearings in California on the proposed 2026–2031 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, prepare an environmental impact statement to accompany the program, and provide the public the opportunity to comment on a draft programmatic environmental impact statement for potential offshore oil and gas leasing in California. The measure would strongly and unequivocally oppose any new offshore drilling and declare unequivocal support for the current federal prohibition on new oil or gas drilling in federal waters offshore of the Pacific coast.
This measure would urge President Donald J. Trump and Congress to protect and maintain the historic investments made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires each electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, or electrical cooperative, or any other entity that offers electrical service, except as provided, to develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, and to make this standard contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators using renewable electrical generation facilities, as specified. Pursuant to its authority, the commission issued a decision revising net energy metering tariff and subtariffs, commonly known as the net billing tariff. Existing law authorizes an eligible customer-generator with multiple meters to aggregate the electrical load of the meters located on the property where the renewable electrical generation facility is located and on all property adjacent or contiguous to the property on which the renewable electrical generation facility is located, if those properties are solely owned, leased, or rented by the eligible customer-generator, as provided. This bill would require the commission, for purposes of certain net energy metering contracts or tariffs, to ensure that logistics businesses and manufacturing businesses are eligible customer-generators for purposes of aggregating multiple meters, as described above, if the commission extends the application of that provision. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (act) , 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. Existing law authorizes certain regulations needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act to be adopted as emergency regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. Existing law requires the emergency regulations to be filed with the Office of Administrative Law and requires the emergency regulations to remain in effect until repealed or amended by the adopting state agency. This bill, notwithstanding the above, would exempt the adoption of regulations for purposes of developing and adopting program guidelines and selection criteria needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. The bill would require a state entity that receives funding to administer a competitive grant program established using the Administrative Procedure Act exemption to do certain things, including, among other things, to develop draft project solicitation and evaluation guidelines, to transmit copies of the draft guidelines to the fiscal committees and to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, to hold a noticed public meeting on the draft guidelines, and to submit the final guidelines to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, except as provided. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to post an electronic form of the guidelines submitted by a state entity and the subsequent verifications on the Natural Resources Agency's internet website. The bill would authorize the use of certain previously developed program guidelines and selection criteria for these purposes, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources during certain compliance periods up to December 31, 2030. Existing law provides that a local publicly owned electric utility is not required to procure a certain amount of eligible renewable energy resources if, during a year within those compliance periods, the local publicly owned electric utility receives more than 40% of its retail sales from large hydroelectric generation under an ownership agreement or contract in effect as of January 1, 2018. Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to establish appropriate multiyear compliance periods for local publicly owned electric utilities beyond December 31, 2030. This bill would provide that the provision related to the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources by local publicly owned electric utilities also applies to the compliance periods established by the Energy Commission.
Existing law defines a "renewable electrical generation facility" as a facility that uses biomass, solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, fuel cells or linear generators that use specified fuels, small hydroelectric generation of 30 megawatts or less, digester gas, municipal solid waste conversion, landfill gas, ocean wave, ocean thermal, or tidal current, and that meets other specified requirements. Existing law incorporates that definition into various programs, including the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, which requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from electrical generating facilities that meet that definition of "renewable electrical generation facility," and the net energy metering program, in which residential customers, small commercial customers, and commercial, industrial, or agricultural customers of an electrical utility, who use renewable electrical generation facilities, are eligible to participate, as specified. This bill would expand the definition of "renewable electrical generation facility" to include a facility that converts hydrogen gas to electricity in a turbine and meets specified criteria, including that the hydrogen used in the turbine is solely derived from an eligible renewable resource, as specified, or through the electrolysis of water, and exclusively uses electricity generated from another renewable electrical generation facility, and that the manufacturing of the hydrogen does not result in resource shuffling or use unbundled renewable energy credits, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law authorizes the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to authorize the conversion of not more than 250 wells for use as gravity-based energy storage wells to evaluate their use, including the establishment of appropriate operating conditions and physical parameters to safely store and generate energy. Existing law repeals this authorization on January 1, 2035, and would specify that authorizations issued by the supervisor terminate on that date. This bill would correct an erroneous cross reference for that authorization. (2) Existing law defines "task force" as the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force established by the Governor to oversee the implementation of Executive Order No. B-52-18, and required the task force to, among other things, on January 1, 2022, develop a comprehensive implementation strategy to track and ensure the achievement of the goals and key actions identified in "California's Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan" issued by the task force in January 2021, as provided. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to the definition of "task force." (3) Existing law requires the State Lands Commission to adopt regulations relating to ballast water, as provided. Existing law requires the commission to adopt a regulation that requires an owner or operator of a vessel carrying, or capable of carrying, ballast water that operates on the waters of the state to comply with specified federal laws, as provided. Existing law requires the commission to consult with the United States Coast Guard to attempt to identify an alternative, environmentally sound method of ballast water management under specified circumstances in accordance with specified federal laws, as provided. This bill would require the commission to adopt a regulation that requires an owner or operator of a vessel carrying, or capable of carrying, ballast water that operates on the waters of the state to instead comply with different specified federal law. The bill would also require the commission to consult with the United States Coast Guard on an alternative, environmentally sound method of ballast water management under specified circumstances in accordance with additional federal law. (4) Existing law lifts, until February 1, 2066, the use restrictions imposed by the granting statutes and the public trust doctrine with respect to after-acquired lands, property that is not original tidelands or submerged lands, title to which was not derived from the granting statutes, that were acquired with public trust funds derived from port operations as specified, in Jack London Square and authorizes the Port of Oakland to lease these lands for any purpose subject to specified conditions. Existing law authorizes the port to lease after-acquired lands for a nontrust use only if the port finds specified conditions are met, including, among other conditions, that the nontrust uses will not impair or harm existing public access or public trust uses and are intended to attract the statewide public to Jack London Square and the waterfront to promote increased use and enjoyment of the area. Existing law requires the port to make the findings that these specified conditions are met for each proposed nontrust lease at a public meeting. This bill would correct an erroneous cross-reference relating to that requirement.
(1) Upon receipt of a petition or resolution seeking reorganization of a school district, existing law requires a county committee on school district reorganization to hold one or more public hearings on the petition or resolution and, following the hearing or hearings, to grant or deny the petition. If the county committee grants the petition, existing law requires it to adopt a tentative recommendation and hold one or more further public hearings in the area proposed for reorganization. Following the last public hearing, existing law authorizes the county committee to adopt a final recommendation and requires the county committee to (A) transmit that recommendation with the petition or resolution to the State Board of Education for hearing, (B) transmit the petition to the state board and order the reorganization granted, or (C) transmit the petition to the state board and order that an election be held. Existing law authorizes an action of the county committee under (B) or (C) to be appealed to the state board, as specified. Existing law authorizes the state board to approve proposals for the reorganization of school districts if the state board determines that certain conditions are substantially met, and also authorizes the state board to approve a proposal for the reorganization of school districts if the state board determines that it is not practical or possible to apply the specified criteria literally, and that the circumstances with respect to the proposal provide an exceptional situation sufficient to justify approval of the proposal. If the state board approves the plans and recommendations for the unification or other reorganization of the school districts in any area, existing law requires the county superintendent of schools, within 35 days after being notified of that approval, to call an election in the territory of the districts as determined by the state board, as specified. This bill, notwithstanding any other law, and until January 1, 2030, would authorize the state board to approve a proposal for the reorganization of school districts if the governing board of a school district that is an excess tax entity, as specified, with an enrollment of fewer than 10,000 pupils and the governing board or body of a city, county, special district, or local agency formation commission with a population of more than 10,000 residents that adopted a resolution seeking reorganization of the original school district, have executed one or more legally binding and enforceable written agreements intended to effectuate the reorganization, and the state board determines that the agreements satisfactorily address the specified criteria and provide an exceptional situation sufficient to justify approval of the proposed reorganization. (2) Existing law prohibits the reorganization of a school district or districts from affecting the classification of certificated employees already employed by a school district affected by the reorganization and from affecting the rights of persons employed in positions not requiring certification qualifications to retain the salary, leaves, and other benefits that they would have had if the reorganization had not occurred. Existing law requires that persons employed in positions not requiring certification qualifications in a school district whose territory is included in a unification of districts continue as employees of the unified school district for not less than 2 years and prohibits those persons from being deprived, by reason of the unification, of any benefit that they would have had if the unification had not taken place. When a school district is reorganized as described in this bill, the bill would (A) require, in addition to the above-prescribed prohibitions, both permanent and probationary certificated and noncertificated employees who elect to remain employees of reorganized portion of the divided district to have the same rights as persons employed in positions not requiring certification qualifications in a school district whose territory is included in a unification of districts, including, but not limited to, continuing as employees of the reorganized portion of the divided district for not less than 2 years and (B) require, notwithstanding any other law, any collective bargaining agreement in effect immediately before the effective date of reorganization to remain in full force and effect until the expiration or renewal of the agreement, as specified. (3) When a school district is reorganized and the allocation of funds, property, and obligations are not fixed by terms, conditions, or recommendations as provided by law, existing law requires the funds, property, and obligations of a former district to be allocated in a specified manner. Existing law authorizes a school district to impose qualified special taxes, as defined, subject to specified constitutional and statutory provisions. When a school district is reorganized as described in this bill, the bill would authorize the reorganized portion of the divided school district and the remaining portion of the divided school district, as defined, to continue to impose within their respective geographical boundaries any qualified special taxes imposed in the boundaries of the original school district, as defined, before it was divided.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , the Independent System Operator, and the State Air Resources Board, on or before December 31, 2023, to submit to the Legislature an assessment of the firm zero-carbon resources that support a clean, reliable, and resilient electrical grid in the state and will achieve the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of all retail sales of electricity to the state's end-use customers and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2045, as specified. This bill would require the Energy Commission, working with the PUC, to prepare and submit to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2028, a statewide assessment of the role and necessity of firm zero-carbon resources in meeting the state's clean energy and reliability objectives, potential technologies and strategies for integrating firm zero-carbon resources into the state's energy mix, recommendations on procurement, policy, and planning actions to deploy and support firm zero-carbon resources, and current and projected renewable and firm zero-carbon generation capacity, reliability requirements under varying system conditions, and the cost and emission implications of firm zero-carbon resources.
