Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene State School Building Lease-Purchase Law of 1976, effectuates the declaration of the Legislature that it is in the interest of the state and its people to reconstruct, remodel, or replace existing school buildings that are educationally inadequate or that do not meet present-day structural safety requirements, and to acquire new schoolsites and buildings for the purpose of making them available to local school districts for the pupils of the public school system. Existing law authorizes the State Allocation Board, by adoption of rules, to establish priorities for the construction and leasing of projects to schools districts whose pupils will benefit most. This bill would authorize the board to include, as priorities for projects, an efficient response to extreme heat and climate change. If the board adopts priorities related to an efficient response to extreme heat and climate change, the bill would require those priorities to apply only to project applications received after January 1, 2027.
(1) Existing state and federal law provides for the enforcement of laws related to elections. This bill would prohibit a peace officer from interfering with the administration of an election, as specified. This bill would authorize certain persons to enforce those prohibitions by filing a civil action, as specified. This bill would also prohibit any individual from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as specified, to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of rosters, combined rosters, or voter lists unless authorized by a court order or to investigate certain types of voting fraud. The bill would additionally require the Attorney General to provide guidance and information regarding how to respond to requests by law enforcement, as defined, to access areas where ballots are present. (2) Existing law requires an elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the identification envelope with the voter's prior signatures, and it also provides a mechanism by which a voter can verify their signature and cure this defect. Existing law provides that the processing of vote by mail ballots is open to the public and permits specified persons and organizations to observe this processing. This bill would prohibit a vote by mail observer from challenging a signature on a vote by mail ballot that has been verified by the voter. (3) Under existing law, it is a crime for a person in possession of a firearm, a uniformed peace officer, private guard, or security personnel, or any person wearing the uniform of a peace officer, guard, or security personnel, to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without authorization from the appropriate elections official. It is also a crime for a person to hire or arrange for such a person to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without authorization from the elections official. This bill would authorize the Secretary of State or Attorney General to object to authorization provided by the appropriate elections official, in which case the person stationed or posted at the polling place, or the person who hired or arranged for such a person to be stationed or posted at the polling place, is guilty of a crime. By expanding the scope of these crimes, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and any local elections official in the county in which the act occurs, to bring a civil action against an individual, business, or other legal entity that commits any specified act of tampering with a voting system or voting equipment before, during, or after an election. This bill would additionally authorize the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the appropriate local elections official to bring a civil action against a person, business, or entity that takes a package containing ballots from the custody of an elections official. (5) Existing law makes it a crime for an individual to undertake a number of enumerated actions that would result in interference with an election, including displaying a container for the purpose of collecting ballots with the intent to deceive a voter into casting a ballot in an unofficial ballot box. This bill would also make it a crime to take a package containing voted ballots out of the custody of an elections official. By expanding the scope of this crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law requires the elections official of any county or city using a voting system to inspect the machines or devices at least once every 2 years. This bill would prohibit an individual from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as defined, to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of certified voting technology unless authorized by a court order. To the extent this bill would establish new procedures for the conduct of elections, it would create a state-mandated local program. (7) 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. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into a statewide agreement with a park support organization to facilitate the implementation of reforms recommended by the Parks Forward Commission and to develop and secure expertise, services, resources, and projects that are not readily available to the state park system, for specified purposes. This bill would authorize the Natural Resources Agency to enter into a statewide agreement with a support organization, as defined, to facilitate and implement certain objectives, and would require the agency and support organization to, after entering into a statewide agreement, collaborate to develop an annual list of strategic initiatives and projects that are statewide priorities, as provided. The bill would authorize certain persons, including the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, to serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the support organization's board of directors, as provided.
(1) Existing federal law establishes the federal Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, as part of which the United States Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the United States Secretary of Agriculture, the United States Secretary of the Interior, and the heads of other federal departments and agencies that elect to become full partners in the program, are authorized to establish and carry out a program to preserve and restore sentinel landscapes. Existing federal law authorizes federal departments and agencies to give to any eligible owner or manager of land within a designated sentinel landscape priority consideration for participation in any easement, grant, or assistance program and to coordinate actions between their departments and agencies and with other federal, state, interstate, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and private entities. Existing federal law defines "sentinel landscape" as a landscape-scale area encompassing one or more military installations or state-owned National Guard installations and the publicly and privately owned lands that serve to protect and support the rural economy, the natural environment, outdoor recreation, and the national defense missions of a military installation or state-owned National Guard installation. This bill would enact the California Sentinel Landscapes Act and would require the Natural Resources Agency to designate a Sentinel Landscapes Program Manager to coordinate state participation in the federal Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, as prescribed. The bill would require state agencies that have conservation grant or easement authority, to the extent feasible and consistent with their existing statutory authority, to cooperate with the Sentinel Landscapes Program Manager. This bill would authorize the Wildlife Conservation Board to provide grants for habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement projects that are located within a federally designated sentinel landscape, as prescribed. The bill would create the California Sentinel Landscapes Fund, into which the Wildlife Conservation Board is authorized to deposit federal funds, grants, and gifts and donations, including interest earned, that are designated and required by the donor to be used exclusively for purposes of these projects. The bill would continuously appropriate to the Wildlife Conservation Board moneys in the fund to implement these projects, thereby making an appropriation. This bill would authorize the Department of Conservation and the Strategic Growth Council, in evaluating applications for grants pursuant to the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program, the State Coastal Conservancy, and Sierra Nevada Conservancy, in evaluating applications for grants, to give priority consideration to projects within a federally designated sentinel landscape, as prescribed. This bill would require the Natural Resources Agency, in collaboration with the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Department of Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Board, State Coastal Conservancy, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other relevant state entities, to regularly consult on how to align conservation opportunities with state and federal landscape protection goals. The bill would provide that implementation of the California Sentinel Landscapes Act is contingent upon the availability of federal funds, grants, gifts, donations, or other non-General Fund resources for its purposes. (2) Existing law establishes the California Farmland Conservancy Program Act, to be administered generally by the Department of Conservation. The act creates the California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund and requires moneys in the fund from federal grants, gifts, and donations, as specified, which are continuously appropriated to the department, and other moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, to be used for the purposes of the California Farmland Conservancy Program. The act authorizes the program to offer financial assistance for projects and activities on agricultural lands that support agricultural conservation and sustainable land management, including, among others, acquisition of agricultural conservation easements or fee title to protect the land's agricultural use or capacity that meets certain requirements. This bill would authorize the department to give priority consideration to applications for projects that are located within federally designated sentinel landscapes. To the extent the bill would expand the purposes for which those continuously appropriated moneys may be used, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Under existing law, the commission administers, or otherwise oversees, various public purpose programs, including energy efficiency and conservation programs, cost-effective energy efficiency programs, rate assistance programs for eligible food banks, and home insulation financial assistance programs. Under existing law, those programs are generally funded through a charge on electrical service, which is collected through customer rates. This bill would establish the Public Utilities Public Purpose Programs Fund. The bill would require the commission, no later than January 1 of each year, commencing January 1, 2027, to determine and publish the amount necessary to fund certain public purpose programs and programs administered by electrical regional energy networks for the following fiscal year, as provided. The bill would require the Controller to transfer, on July 1 of each fiscal year, from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the Public Utilities Public Purpose Programs Fund moneys appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose. The bill would require all moneys in the Public Utilities Public Purpose Programs Fund to be allocated by the commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund the public purpose programs and programs administered by electrical regional energy networks, as provided. The bill would repeal various charges on electrical service that fund public purpose programs and, instead, provide mechanisms for funding those public purpose programs through the Public Utilities Public Purpose Programs Fund, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and 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 regulates the emission of air contaminants, including the oxides of nitrogen, into the atmosphere. Existing law generally vests regulatory jurisdiction over stationary sources of air pollution to the air pollution control districts and air quality management districts and regulatory jurisdiction over mobile sources of air pollution to the State Air Resources Board. This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2029, the state board to conduct an assessment of the amount of decarbonized gaseous fuels that will be needed to decarbonize hard-to-electrify end uses and maintain reliability in the electricity sector and to post the assessment on its internet website. The bill would require the assessment to include an assessment of the need for decarbonized gaseous fuels for each hard-to-electrify end use, as defined. The bill would require the state board, in assessing the policies and incentives, to consider, among other things, how to incentivize the increased production and use of decarbonized gas in California and how to maximize the benefits of decarbonized gas production and use in California, as provided.
Existing law designates all parks, public campgrounds, monument sites, landmark sites, and sites of historical interest established or acquired by the state, or that are under its control, as the state park system, except as specified. Under existing law, the Department of Parks and Recreation controls the state park system, which is made up of units. This bill would establish the California State Park Stewardship Act of 2026. The bill would require the department to conduct projects and programs addressing and mitigating climate change impacts in the state park system through stewardship, as provided. The bill would establish the Wildfire Safety and Climate Stewardship Fund, to be administered by the department, to support climate stewardship activities in the state park system, and would authorize the department to enter into an agreement with specified entities to accept funding for these purposes, as provided.
Existing law establishes the California Rangeland, Grazing Land, and Grassland Protection Program to protect California's rangeland, grazing land, and grasslands through the use of conservation easements, for specified purposes. Existing law authorizes, under the program, funds to be expended by the Wildlife Conservation Board for the acquisition of conservation easements over qualified property, as defined, and authorizes the board to make grants of funds to a state agency, local public agency, or nonprofit organization for the acquisition of conservation easements over qualified property. 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. The act makes available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, $870,000,000 to the board for grant programs to protect and enhance fish and wildlife resources and habitat and achieve the state's biodiversity, public access, and conservation goals. This bill would appropriate, from the above-described bond funds made available to the board, $90,000,000 to the board to award under the program as grants to eligible entities, as defined, to acquire conservation easements on privately owned qualified property that supports food and fiber production and ecosystem services, including wildfire fuel reduction, groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, and scenic open space. The bill would require, on or before June 30, 2029, a grantee to expend the grant funds to acquire a conservation easement and record the conservation easement. The bill would authorize the board to partner with, and receive funds from, land trusts that are certified by the United States Department of Agriculture, as provided.
The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act requires a California regional water quality control board to prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of pollutants into state waters and authorizes the regional board to prescribe general waste discharge requirements for a category of discharges if the regional board finds or determines that certain criteria apply to the discharges in that category. This bill would require, for a regional board that has adopted general waste discharge requirements for timber harvesting, the regional board to approve, deny, or otherwise act on a request for coverage for timber harvesting operations performed consistent with an approved timber harvesting plan subject to those general waste discharge requirements.
The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and prescribes the commission's authorities, duties, and responsibilities pertaining to energy matters, including the provision of independent oversight and analysis of the transportation fuels markets for the protection of consumers. Existing law requires the commission to submit an assessment to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2024, and every 3 years thereafter, regarding transportation fuels in the state. Existing law requires that the first assessment submitted after January 1, 2026, evaluate the cost and supply impacts of allowing the sale of gasoline with alternative specifications to support a reliable and affordable supply of transportation fuels in California, and, if the evaluation finds that allowing the sale of gasoline with alternative specifications is likely to support a reliable and affordable supply of transportation fuels in California, requires the commission, in coordination with the State Air Resources Board, to recommend a strategy to facilitate the sale of gasoline with those alternative specifications that considers, among other things, the use of a fee associated with the sale of gasoline with those alternative specifications to mitigate for any increase in emissions. This bill would require the commission to triennially submit that assessment on or before July 1, rather than January 1, and would require that the commission's recommended strategy's discussion of that fee include recommendations regarding the appropriate fee amount to protect consumers from price impacts and avoid market disruptions. Existing law requires the commission to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees, local communities, and the public, and minimize the impact of maintenance-related production losses on fuel prices. Existing law authorizes the commission, by regulation, to impose requirements governing the timing of turnaround and maintenance, and requires that those regulations include criteria that are required to be met before a refinery commences a turnaround or maintenance event, including the refiner making resupply plans or other arrangements sufficient to ensure that the loss of production during the turnaround or maintenance event does not adversely affect the California transportation fuels market. This bill would expressly provide that those resupply plans or other arrangements may include the sale of gasoline that meets alternative specifications, as provided. Existing law requires the state board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution, as provided. Existing law authorizes the state board to grant variances from gasoline specifications adopted by the state board and to impose fees and conditions on those variances, as provided. Existing law requires that the revenues from those variance fees, except as provided, be transmitted to the Treasurer for deposit into the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account and makes those revenues available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement a program for accelerated retirement of light-duty vehicles to achieve specified emission reductions. This bill would instead require those revenues to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement or fund a program for accelerated replacement of light-duty vehicles manufactured before 2004, or that are at least 20 years old, with cleaner and more efficient motor vehicles. The bill would require the commission to adopt regulations specifying the circumstances under which sellers of gasoline are required to apply for and make use of a variance, as provided. The bill would require those regulations to be adopted and implemented for the purpose of protecting consumers from price impacts associated with supply disruptions, as provided. The bill would require the state board to consider amendments to the variance process, as provided. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
