Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt and implement motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law prohibits the state board from adopting any regulation that establishes a specification for motor vehicle fuel unless that regulation, and a multimedia evaluation conducted by affected agencies and coordinated by the state board, are reviewed by the California Environmental Policy Council. This bill would, notwithstanding that prohibition, authorize blends of gasoline containing 10.5% to 15% ethanol by volume to be sold in the state for use as a transportation fuel until (1) the California Environmental Policy Council completes its review of those blends and (2) the state board either adopts a regulation establishing a specification for those blends or posts an assessment on its internet website demonstrating that it is not possible for a regulation establishing a specification for those blends to meet specified requirements. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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 July 1, 2026, provide an exemption from the taxes imposed by the Sales and Use Tax Law for the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, hydrogen fuel, as defined. 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, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would also include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells so as to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources, damage to underground oil and gas deposits from infiltrating water and other causes, loss of oil, gas, or reservoir of energy, and damage to underground and surface waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes by the infiltration of, or the addition of, detrimental substances. Existing law defines "wells" to mean oil or gas wells or other wells related to oil or gas production. Under existing law, a person who fails to comply with the requirements relating to the regulation of wells is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would, until January 1, 2035, establish the Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program and would authorize the supervisor to authorize the conversion of not more than 250 wells for use as gravity-based energy storage wells, as defined, to evaluate their use, including the establishment of appropriate operating conditions and physical parameters to safely generate energy, as provided. The bill would authorize the supervisor, the State Water Resources Control Board, or an appropriate regional water quality control board, before authorizing the use of a well as a gravity-based energy storage well, to require the operator to provide certain information demonstrating the suitability of the well for use as a gravity-based energy storage well. The bill would require idle wells that are authorized for use as gravity-based energy storage wells to be identified as gravity-based energy storage wells in a plan for the management and elimination of idle wells or updates to the plan required to be filed with the supervisor. The bill would require the Geologic Energy Management Division to require mechanical integrity testing of wells before conversion to gravity-based energy storage wells and not less than annually thereafter. The bill would require an operator of a gravity-based energy storage well, in the event of a loss of mechanical integrity of the well or a leak to the environment, to notify the division, the State Air Resources Board, the appropriate regional water quality control board, and schools and community members within 3,200 feet of the well and to cease operation until the mechanical integrity is restored or to plug and abandon the well, as provided. The bill would require gravity-based energy storage wells to be continuously monitored for leaks. The bill would require operators of gravity-based energy storage wells to annually report to the division certain information regarding their operation of the gravity-based energy storage wells. The bill would specify that the authorization for wells to be used as gravity-based energy storage wells ends at the termination of the pilot program. The bill would, by January 1, 2033, require the division, in consultation with certain entities, to evaluate the pilot program and make recommendations to the Legislature for a framework to implement an ongoing Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Program to regulate the operation of gravity-based energy storage wells, as provided. The bill would, until January 1, 2035, impose an annual charge on operators of gravity-based energy storage wells, as provided, to defray the regulatory costs incurred by the state in maintaining surveillance of those wells, ensuring that testing is conducted properly, and ensuring no damage occurs to the environment by reason of the conversion. Because a violation of the requirements of the Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program 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.
Existing law authorizes a person proposing an eligible facility, including an energy storage system that is capable of storing 200 megawatthours or more of energy, to file with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) an application for certification for the site and related facility, as provided. Existing law provides that the certification issued by the Energy Commission is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by a state, local, or regional agency for the use of the site and related facility. Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC to direct the state's 3 largest electrical corporations to file applications for programs and investments to accelerate widespread deployment of distributed energy storage systems for specified purposes and authorizes the PUC to approve, or modify and approve, programs and investments of an electrical corporation in distributed energy storage systems with appropriate energy storage management systems, as defined. This bill would require that an application submitted to the Energy Commission after January 1, 2026, in accordance with the above-described provisions relating to certification of facilities by the Energy Commission, and an application submitted to a local jurisdiction, as defined, for an energy storage system, include the applicant's certification that, at least 30 days before submitting the application, the applicant met and conferred with the authority that has jurisdiction over fire suppression in the area where the energy storage system is proposed, as provided. The bill would also prohibit the Energy Commission certification or local approval unless, after installation is complete, but before commencing operations or use of the batteries, the energy storage system is inspected by the authority that has jurisdiction over fire suppression. The bill would require that the applicant bear the cost of the inspection, as specified. The bill would require, as part of the next update to the California Building Standards Code considered after July 1, 2026, the Office of the State Fire Marshal to review and consider proposing provisions that restrict the location of energy storage systems to dedicated-use noncombustible buildings or outdoor installations, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local officers, the 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to prescribe, by regulation, lighting, insulation, climate control system, and other building design and construction standards, and energy and water conservation design standards, for new residential and new nonresidential buildings to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, as specified. This bill would require the commission to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of passive house energy efficiency standards by California climate zone, using commission-adopted metrics such as long-term system cost. The bill would require the commission to evaluate the use of the 2 passive house energy models currently required for passive house certification in its analysis and the cost-effectiveness of passive house construction compared to existing construction, as specified. The bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2028, to submit a report to the Legislature documenting its findings and recommendations.
The California Constitution generally limits the maximum rate of ad valorem tax on real property to 1% of the full cash value of the property and defines "full cash value" for these purposes as the appraised value of real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred after the 1975 assessment. Pursuant to constitutional authorization, existing property tax law excludes from the definition of "newly constructed" for these purposes the construction or addition of any active solar energy system, as defined, through the 2025–26 fiscal year. Under existing property tax law, this exclusion remains in effect only until there is a subsequent change in ownership, but an active solar energy system that qualifies for the exclusion before January 1, 2027, continues to receive the exclusion until there is a subsequent change in ownership. Existing law repeals these exclusion provisions on January 1, 2027. This bill would make a technical change to the existing active solar energy system exclusion by instead making the repeal date of January 1, 2027, the date the exclusion becomes inoperative. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 73 of the Revenue and Taxation Code proposed by AB 1516 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1516 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases and requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. Existing law requires the state board, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to develop a standardized system for quantifying the direct carbon emissions and decay from fuel reduction activities for purposes of meeting the accounting requirements for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund expenditures, as specified. This bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2028, to publish on its internet website an assessment of the life-cycle emissions from alternative uses of forest and agricultural biomass residues, as specified. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2029, to publish on its internet website a strategy to support beneficial carbon removal products, including, but not limited to, biochar, that are generated from agricultural or forest biomass resources. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to require, to the extent feasible, all state-funded forest health projects to include an appropriate forest biomass resource disposal component that includes a scientifically based, verifiable method to determine the amount of biomass to be physically removed and the amount to be burned by prescribed burn. The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to include the value proposition of using agricultural and forest biomass resources for low- and negative-carbon liquid and gaseous fuels, including hydrogen, from noncombustion conversion technology methods and other emerging and innovative approaches in relevant reports and other agency-sponsored documentation.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt rules and regulations that will achieve ambient air quality standards required by the federal Clean Air Act, as specified. Existing law requires the state board, following a noticed public hearing, to adopt airborne toxic control measures to reduce emissions of toxic air contaminants from nonvehicular sources. Pursuant to this authority, the state board has adopted the Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Fuel Sulfur and Other Operational Requirements for Ocean-Going Vessels within California Waters and 24 Nautical Miles of the California Baseline regulation to require the use of low-sulfur marine distillate fuels in order to reduce emissions of particulate matter, diesel particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides from the use of auxiliary diesel and diesel-electric engines, main propulsion diesel engines, and auxiliary boilers on oceangoing vessels. This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in coordination with the State Lands Commission, the Transportation Agency, and the state board, to develop a plan on or before December 31, 2030, for the alternative fuel needs of oceangoing vessels that call at California's public seaports and that enables the seaports to meet their emission reduction goals. The bill would require that the plan do specified things, including, among other things, identify barriers to permitting alternative fuel facilities at seaports and opportunities to address those barriers. The bill would require the Energy Commission to convene a working group to advise the Energy Commission on the development of the information required to be included in the plan, as specified. The bill would require the state board to provide the Energy Commission with information regarding fuels for oceangoing vessels that comply with the state board's regulations for those vessels.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in consultation with specified entities, to adopt a biennial integrated energy policy report containing certain information, including an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state. This bill would require the Energy Commission, in the next update to the biennial integrated energy policy report after January 1, 2027, and subject to available funding, to adopt a virtual power plant deployment plan. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in developing the plan, to take certain actions, and would require that the plan meet specified requirements. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission and the Independent System Operator, to adopt a goal for load shifting to reduce net peak electrical demand and adjust this target in each biennial integrated energy policy report thereafter. This bill would require each electrical corporation to annually report to the Energy Commission its contribution towards meeting that load-shift goal.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a city or county to adopt a comprehensive general plan for the city's or county's physical development that includes various elements, including, among others, a land use element that designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land in specified categories, and a circulation element that identifies the location and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares, transportation routes, terminals, any military airports and ports, and other local public utilities and facilities, as specified. This bill, the Local Electrification Planning Act, would require each city, county, or city and county, on or after January 1, 2027, but no later than January 1, 2030, to prepare and adopt a specified plan, or integrate a plan in the next adoption or revision of the general plan, that includes locally based goals, objectives, policies, and feasible implementation measures that include, among other things, the identification of opportunities to expand electric vehicle charging and other zero-emission vehicle fueling infrastructure, as specified, and includes policies and implementation measures that address the needs of disadvantaged communities, low-income households, and small businesses for equitable and prioritized investments in zero-emission technologies that directly benefit these groups. For these purposes, the bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to designate a previously adopted similar plan that meets the above-described requirements, as specified. By increasing the duties of local public officials, the bill would establish a state-mandated local program. The bill would deem a plan adopted pursuant to these provisions as a regional plan for specified purposes. The bill would require that the above-described provisions only apply to a city, county, or city and county with a population greater than 75,000 residents. The bill would define terms for these purposes. 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
