Existing law makes it unlawful to take a bird, mammal, fish, reptile, or amphibian, except as authorized by law. This bill would make it unlawful for a person in California to import, cause to be imported, export, cause to be exported, transport, sell, offer for sale, possess with the intent to sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish, wildlife, or plant that was taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or statute of any state or any law, treaty, or statute of the United States with regard to fish, wildlife, or plants in effect on January 19, 2025. The bill would, upon conviction or other entry of judgment, require any seized evidence be forfeited, as specified. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on December 31, 2031, and would repeal them on January 1, 2032. Under existing law, a violation of the Fish and Game Code is a crime. Because the above provision would be part of the Fish and Game Code, a violation of which would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species pursuant to a prescribed listing process, and generally prohibits the taking of those species. Existing law requires the commission to publish a notice in the California Regulatory Notice Register upon receipt of a petition to add or remove a species from either the list of endangered species or the list of threatened species by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. This bill would require the department to determine if there is a decrease in protections by the federal government for an endangered or threatened species, as defined, and, if so, would require the department to publish written findings in the California Regulatory Notice Register that would add the species to the commission's list of provisional candidate species, as specified. The bill would require the department to report the provisional candidacy determination at the next public meeting of the commission. The bill would prohibit criminal or civil liability for an entity operating under federal authorization for take, as specified, as long as the entities are in full compliance with their federal biological opinion. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on December 31, 2031, and would repeal them on January 1, 2032. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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 the legislative body of a city or a county to designate a proposed enhanced infrastructure financing district to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects, with a governing body referred to as the public financing authority, by adopting a resolution of intention to establish the proposed district. Existing law authorizes a city, county, city and county, special district, or a combination of any of those entities to form a climate resilience district, as described, for the purposes of raising and allocating funding for eligible projects and the operating expenses of eligible projects. Existing law deems each district to be an enhanced infrastructure financing district and requires each district to comply with existing law concerning enhanced infrastructure financing districts, except as specified. Existing law requires a district to finance only specified projects that meet the definition of an eligible project, including projects that address sea level rise, extreme heat, extreme cold, the risk of wildfire, drought, and the risk of flooding, as specified. This bill would authorize a city or county to adopt a resolution providing for the division of taxes of any participating entity without following specified procedures for the preparation and adoption of an infrastructure financing plan, if certain conditions are met. The bill would require the city or county entity proposing formation of the district to hold a public meeting to consider the resolution of intention to establish the district and the governing board of the district to hold a public meeting to consider the adoption of the infrastructure financing plan. The bill would require the city and county entity and the governing board of the district to post specified notices prior to the respective meetings, as specified. The bill would require the resolution to include specified information, including that incremental property tax revenue from the city or county and all affected taxing entities within the district may be used to finance the district's activities. The bill would require the infrastructure financing plan to be made available for public inspection at least 30 days before the governing board of the district's meeting, and would require the designated official of the district to consult with each affected taxing entity prior to development of the infrastructure financing plan. The bill would require public members appointed to the governing board of a district established pursuant to these provisions, as specified, to be residents of, own property in, or represent a business within the boundaries of the district and to serve terms of not fewer than 4 years, subject to specified term limits. The bill would limit the use of the district's revenue to repairing or replacing buildings, low- and moderate-income housing, facilities, structures, or other improvements within the district that have been damaged or destroyed by a disaster, as defined, mitigating the risk of a future disaster, or supporting economic recovery from a disaster, as specified. The bill would define disaster for these purposes to mean a disaster for which the Governor has declared a state of emergency, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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 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. This bill would require, on and after January 1, 2027, for a project, located in a geographic area for which the Governor declared a state of emergency on or after January 1, 2023, that is to maintain, repair, restore, demolish, or replace property or facilities damaged or destroyed by wildfire, and the project is not otherwise exempt from CEQA, as specified, the lead agency to prepare the record of proceeding concurrently with the administrative process. The bill would also require an action or proceeding brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification of an environmental impact report, or the adoption of a negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration, for the project to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 calendar days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings. The bill would require an applicant to agree to pay the costs of the trial court and court of appeal in hearing and deciding any action or proceeding brought under these provisions, as provided. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt rules of court to implement these requirements. The bill would require the project to be consistent with the applicable zoning and land use ordinances. By requiring a lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings concurrently with the administrative process, 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, the California Endangered Species Act, prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except in certain situations, including, if specified conditions are met, under a permit issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife commonly known as an incidental take permit. Existing law also enumerates fully protected species and prohibits the take of fully protected species, except under limited circumstances. This bill would permit the department to authorize, under the California Endangered Species Act, the incidental take of specified fully protected species resulting from impacts attributable to a specified project on State Route 37, if certain conditions are met, including, among others, the conditions required for the issuance of an incidental take permit.
Existing law requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to take specified actions relating to the addition of rivers or segments of rivers to the state's wild and scenic rivers system if, among other things, the federal government enacts a statute that, upon enactment, would require the removal or delisting of any river or segment of a river in the state that was included in the national wild and scenic rivers system and not in the state wild and scenic rivers system. Existing law authorizes, only until December 31, 2025, the secretary to take action under these provisions to add a river or segment of a river to the state wild and scenic rivers system. Existing law requires those actions to remain in effect until December 31, 2025, except as otherwise provided. This bill would indefinitely extend the date by which the secretary is authorized to take the specified actions relating to the addition of rivers or segments of rivers to the state's wild and scenic rivers system, as described above. The bill would also indefinitely extend the date that these actions remain in effect, except as otherwise provided.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires the Director of Transportation, upon consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, to review and modify all bid specifications relating to the purchase of paving materials, and base, subbase, and pervious backfill materials, using recycled materials. Existing law requires the specifications to be based on standards developed by the Department of Transportation for recycled paving materials and for recycled base, subbase, and pervious backfill materials. Existing law requires a local agency that has jurisdiction over a street or highway, to the extent feasible and cost effective, to apply standard specifications that allow for the use of recycled materials in streets and highways, except as provided. Existing law requires, until January 1, 2027, those standard specifications to allow recycled materials at or above the level allowed in the Department of Transportation's standard specifications that went into effect on October 22, 2018, for specified materials. This bill would indefinitely require a local agency's standard specifications to allow recycled materials at a level no less than the level allowed in the department's specifications for those specified materials. If a local agency's standard specifications do not allow for the use of recycled materials at a level that is equal to or greater than the level allowed in the department's standard specifications on the basis that the use of those recycled materials at those levels is not feasible, the bill would authorize a person bidding on a contract to supply materials subject to those specifications to request the local agency to provide the reason for that determination upon request and would require the local agency to respond to that request, as specified. By increasing the duties of local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation and a local agency that has jurisdiction over a street or highway, to the extent feasible and cost effective, to use advanced technologies and material recycling techniques that reduce the cost of maintaining and rehabilitating streets and highways and that exhibit reduced levels of greenhouse gas emissions through material choice and construction method. This bill would eliminate this requirement. 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 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 exempts from its requirements a change in use approved by a lead agency that is a park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency to allow public access to preexisting paved and natural surface roads, preexisting trails, preexisting pathways, preexisting disturbed areas for vehicle parking, as specified, and rail lines converted by the Great Redwood Trail Agency into trails known as the Great Redwood Trail, in areas used exclusively for nonmotorized recreation, if certain conditions are met, including that the change in use is consistent with a plan adopted by the park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency, as applicable, and does not involve a physical alteration of the affected area. Existing law requires, before making a determination to approve or carry out a change in use that is determined to be exempt from CEQA, the lead agency to, among other things, make a finding that the above-described criteria are met. Existing law requires the lead agency, if the lead agency determines that a change in use is not subject to CEQA pursuant to this exemption and determines to approve or carry out the activity, to file a notice with the State Clearinghouse in the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and with the county clerk of the county in which the land is located, as provided. This bill would extend the above exemption to a lead agency that is a county park agency. The bill would remove the condition that the change in use is consistent with a plan adopted by the park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency, as applicable, and would instead require the lead agency, before making the exemption determination, to adopt a natural resource management plan, or equivalent document, that includes appropriate identification of resources and management strategies for the affected area, as specified. The bill would instead require, as a condition of this exemption, that the change in use only involves minimal physical alterations and minimal improvements to the affected area, as specified. The bill would require the lead agency to make an additional finding that there is sufficient funding to implement the natural resource management plan, or equivalent document, and would require the finding, as well as the finding that the above-described criteria are met, to be based on substantial evidence. The bill would provide that its provisions do not apply where it is reasonably foreseeable that the provision of public access within a park or open space area will have a significant or cumulatively considerable effect on the environment. By imposing duties on public agencies related to the exemption, this bill would create 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.
By Executive Order No. N-82-20, Governor Gavin Newsom directed the Natural Resources Agency to combat the biodiversity and climate crises by, among other things, establishing the California Biodiversity Collaborative and conserving at least 30% of the state's lands and coastal waters by 2030. Existing law provides that it is the goal of the state to conserve at least 30% of California's lands and coastal waters by 2030, known as the 30x30 goal. On April 22, 2022, the Natural Resources Agency issued the "Pathways to 30x30 California: Accelerating Conservation of California's Nature" report and existing law requires the Secretary of Natural Resources Agency to prepare and submit an annual report to the Legislature on progress made toward achieving the 30x30 goal, as provided. This bill would, to further specified findings of the Pathways to 30x30 Report, require the agency to develop strategies to reduce barriers and increase support for stewardship of conserved lands. The bill would require the agency to collaborate with stakeholders, California Native American tribes, and relevant state agencies to prepare a section on stewardship as part of the 2027 annual report on progress made toward achieving the 30x30 goal, which the bill would require to include, among other things, recommendations to increase and improve stewardship of 30x30 lands, including innovative ways to reduce barriers and increase federal, state, and local support for stewardship, as specified. The bill would require the update to be posted on the agency's internet website.
(1) Existing law prohibits a conservation bank, mitigation bank, or conservation and mitigation bank from being operative, vested, or final unless the Department of Fish and Wildlife has approved the bank in writing and, if applicable, a conservation easement has been recorded on the site. Existing law requires a person interested in establishing any bank with the department to submit a bank prospectus to the department, as specified, and if the department determines the bank prospectus is acceptable, allows the person to submit a bank agreement package that, among other things, is required to contain estimates of financial assurances and proposed forms of security, as specified. This bill would authorize surety bonds to be proposed forms of security for the above purposes. (2) Existing law requires all funds derived from the sale of state duck hunting validations and state duck stamps, and related items, to be deposited into the State Duck Stamp Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, as provided. Existing law requires the funds in the account to be used for projects or endowments approved by the Fish and Game Commission for the purpose of protecting, preserving, restoring, enhancing, and developing migratory waterfowl breeding and wintering habitat, evaluating habitat projects, and conducting waterfowl resource assessments and other waterfowl-related research. Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to enter into contracts or grant funds for fish and wildlife habitat preservation, restoration, and enhancement with public and private entities whenever the department finds that the contract will assist in meeting the department's duty to preserve, protect, and restore fish and wildlife. This bill would require that the department be subject to the above-described provisions in making grants or entering into agreements pursuant to the State Duck Stamp Account, as provided. (3) Existing law, the Water Conservation District Law of 1931, authorizes a water conservation district to be organized and established by a county board of supervisors, with specified powers and purposes. The law permits a water conservation district to levy groundwater charges and requires a district to annually make an engineering investigation and report on groundwater conditions of the district that includes, among other things, an estimate of the annual overdraft for the current water year and for the ensuing water year. Existing law defines "water year" for purposes of these provisions to mean July 1 of one calendar year to June 30 of the following calendar year. This bill would redefine "water year" to mean the period beginning October 1 of one calendar year and ending September 30 of the following calendar year for purposes of the above-described provisions. (4) Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into contracts with natural persons, corporations, partnerships, and associations for the construction, maintenance, and operation of concessions within units of the state park system. Existing law requires all contracts authorizing occupancy of any portion of the state park system for a period of more than 3 years to be awarded to the best responsible bidder. Existing law requires public notice to be given to bidders of all proposed contracts authorizing the occupancy of property in the state park system for a period of more than 2 years, as specified, including requiring the department to publish an advertisement for bid at least once per week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the concession is to operate and in a major daily newspaper in the closest metropolitan area. This bill would instead require public notice to bidders to be given of all proposed contracts authorizing the occupancy of property in the state park system for a period of more than 3 years, as specified. The bill would delete the requirement that the department publish an advertisement in a newspaper, as described above. Existing law requires a concession contract to contain certain provisions, including the provision that every concessionaire submit to the department all sales and use tax returns and, at the request of the department, provide an annual financial statement prepared or audited by a certified public accountant. This bill would instead require every concessionaire to submit to the department an annual financial statement prepared or audited by a certified public accountant. (5) This bill would make corresponding changes and changes to update obsolete place names and would make other nonsubstantive changes, including by repealing obsolete laws.
Existing law establishes and vests in the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) various responsibilities with respect to developing and implementing the state's energy policies. Existing law authorizes persons proposing specified electrical generation, electrical transmission, hydrogen production, and energy storage projects to apply, on or before June 30, 2029, to the Energy Commission to certify sites and related facilities as environmental leadership development projects, as specified. Existing law makes a site and related facility certified by the Energy Commission subject to streamlining benefits related to CEQA with no further action by the applicant or the Governor. Under existing law, the Energy Commission's certification is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any governmental agency and supersedes any applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation, except as specified. This bill would expand the types of facilities eligible to be certified as environmental leadership development projects by the Energy Commission to include geothermal powerplants and projects that comprise multiple geothermal powerplants on a single site. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 25545 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 254 to be operative only if this bill and SB 254 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
