The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act prohibits any person or public agency from importing into the state, exporting out of the state, or taking, possessing, purchasing, or selling within the state, a western Joshua tree or any part or product of the tree, except as specified. The act authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to permit the taking of a western Joshua tree if specified conditions are met, including, but not limited to, that the permittee mitigates all impacts to, and taking of, the western Joshua tree through measures that are roughly proportional in extent to the authorized taking of the western Joshua tree. The act authorizes, in lieu of completing the mitigation measures, a permittee to elect to satisfy the mitigation obligation by paying fees pursuant to a specified fee schedule, as provided. The act authorizes the department to permit the removal or trimming of a dead western Joshua tree or trimming of a live western Joshua tree, without payment of fees or other mitigation, provided that the dead western Joshua tree or any limb to be removed satisfies a specified condition. The act requires a property owner seeking a permit to submit a permit request to the department with specified information, including a signed attestation or certification, as provided. This bill would alternatively allow the agent of a property owner to submit the permit request and to satisfy other related requirements imposed on a property owner. The bill would delete the requirement for the permit request to include a signed attestation or certification. The act authorizes the department to enter into memoranda of understanding with California Native American tribes to provide for the taking and possession of western Joshua trees for tribal cultural purposes. This bill would instead authorize the memoranda to include the taking, possession, purchase, or sale of western Joshua trees for tribal cultural purposes.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) , in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, and affected local air quality management districts, to adopt regulations to establish management standards for metal shredding facilities for hazardous waste management activities within the DTSC's jurisdiction, as provided. Existing law provides that treated metal shredder waste that is managed in accordance with those regulations is deemed to be solid waste, and not hazardous waste, as provided. This bill would repeal those provisions. The bill would establish a comprehensive scheme for the regulation of metal shredding facilities that would be administered by the DTSC pursuant to authority separate from laws governing the control of hazardous waste. The bill would prohibit an owner or operator from operating a metal shredding facility, as defined, in the state unless they have a permit from the DTSC or are deemed to have a permit. The bill would prescribe the requirements for obtaining a permit, for being deemed to have a permit, for operating a metal shredding facility, and for transporting certain materials related to metal shredding, as specified. The bill would require, before a decision is made to approve or deny a permit application, the DTSC to hold a public meeting, as provided. The bill would require the DTSC to take final action on a permit application by an existing facility within 3 years, as provided. The bill would require the DTSC to post on its internet website general information about each metal shredding facility that has applied for or obtained a permit, and to conduct at least one site visit to the applicant's facility after receipt of the permit application. The bill would provide that certain materials related to metal shredding are not hazardous waste if they meet specified requirements. The bill would require any report required to be submitted by a metal shredding facility pursuant to a permit issued to be signed by the owner or operator and certified under penalty of law, including criminal penalties, as specified. The bill would require the DTSC to have primary responsibility for enforcing these provisions, would require the DTSC to conduct an annual compliance evaluation inspection of each metal shredding facility, and would authorize the DTSC to refer violations to a district attorney or the Attorney General for prosecution. The bill would also require the DTSC to inform the local health officer and the director of environmental health of a county, city, or district within 15 days after the DTSC becomes aware of any unlawful disposal of materials, as provided, and of any enforcement action against a metal shredding facility as a result of that unlawful disposal. Because the bill would expand the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require an owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to report to the DTSC certain emergency situations, as specified. The bill would require an owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to submit to the DTSC a closure plan and a cost estimate for closing the metal shredding facility, as specified. The bill would also require the owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to provide written notice to the DTSC at least 60 days before transferring ownership or operation of the facility. The bill would authorize the DTSC to enforce these provisions by revoking permits and by other specified means. The bill would authorize the DTSC to adopt regulations for the operation of metal shredding facilities as necessary to implement the requirements of the bill. The bill would require the DTSC to post information provided by owners and operators regarding a metal shredding facility on the DTSC's internet website in a manner that is readily accessible to the public, except as otherwise required pursuant to existing law. Existing law authorizes the DTSC to collect an annual fee from all metal shredding facilities subject to the requirements of hazardous waste control laws or the DTSC's management standards for metal shredding facilities, as provided. Existing law requires the DTSC to adopt regulations necessary to administer the fee and authorizes the DTSC to adopt those regulations using emergency procedures, as provided. Existing law requires the Controller to establish a separate subaccount in the Hazardous Waste Control Account and for all fees collected to be placed into that subaccount, to be available for expenditure by the DTSC upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would make the requirement to collect an annual fee inoperative on July 1, 2027, and would repeal it as of January 1, 2028. This bill would instead require the DTSC to impose an annual fee on all metal shredding facilities subject to the provisions of the bill, as specified. The bill would require, beginning in the 2027–28 fiscal year, the rates established by the DTSC to be reviewed and increased or decreased annually, as provided. The bill would require the DTSC to adopt regulations necessary to administer the fee and would authorize the DTSC to adopt the regulations using emergency procedures, as specified. The bill would require a person who applies for a metal shredding facility permit to enter into a written agreement with the DTSC pursuant to which that person would be required to reimburse the DTSC for the direct costs reasonably incurred by the DTSC in processing the application, as provided. The bill would require the Controller to establish a new and separate Metal Shredding Facility Subaccount to be administered by the Director of Toxic Substances Control and would require all fees collected to be placed into that subaccount and made available for expenditure by the DTSC solely for the purpose of implementation and administration of these provisions, upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law establishes the Board of Environmental Safety in the Department of Toxic Substances Control with specified duties. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2030, the Board of Environmental Safety, at a specially scheduled public meeting, to hear from the DTSC and receive input from the public, metal shredding facilities, and other stakeholders about the implementation of the bill, as provided. The bill would require the fees established pursuant to the bill to be sufficient to cover the reasonable costs incurred by the Board of Environmental Safety in administering and implementing its duties and responsibilities established by the bill. Existing law requires the DTSC to require metal shredding facilities to monitor hazardous waste constituents requested by the DTSC and to report the results of that monitoring to the DTSC. Existing law also requires the DTSC to collect and analyze light fibrous material at the fence lines to determine the potential for release of hazardous waste. Existing law requires, on or before July 1, 2027, the DTSC to develop a procedure for community notification of the public for the area in which the metal shredding facility is located if that monitoring indicates any release of light fibrous material. In addition, existing law requires, on or before January 1, 2027, an air pollution control district or an air quality management district the jurisdiction of which includes metal shredding facilities, in consultation with the DTSC and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) , to develop requirements for facilitywide fence-line air quality monitoring at metal shredding facilities. Existing law authorizes any reasonable regulatory costs incurred by the DTSC in implementing, and requires that the OEHHA's costs to implement, the above-described duties be reimbursed from a subaccount established in the Hazardous Waste Control Account for the deposit of fees from metal shredding facilities. This bill would limit the scope of those provisions to metal shredding facilities that are subject to the other provisions of the bill and would provide for the reimbursement of those costs from the Metal Shredding Facility Subaccount. Existing law establishes in the General Fund the Toxic Substances Control Account for specified purposes, including the removal or remediation of toxic substances. This bill would require the DTSC to deposit all penalties collected pursuant to the provisions of the bill into the Toxic Substances Control Account. 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.
Existing law, the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022, establishes a stewardship program, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, as provided, for the collection, transportation, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of covered batteries in the state in an economically efficient and practical manner. The act defines a "covered battery" to mean a device consisting of one or more electrically connected electrochemical cells designed to receive, store, and deliver electric energy. Existing law defines a "covered battery" to include a loose battery that is designed to be easily removed from a product by the user of the product with no more than common household tools. Existing law excludes from the definition of a covered battery a primary battery weighing over 2 kilograms. Existing law defines a "primary battery" for this purpose to mean a nonrechargeable battery, including, but not limited to, alkaline, carbon-zinc, and lithium metal batteries. Existing law also excludes from the definition of a covered battery a rechargeable battery weighing over 5 kilograms and having a watthour rating of more than 300 watthours. This bill would revise the description of a loose battery, for purposes of the definition of a covered battery, by providing that a key, application, or other locking device provided to the consumer by the producer of the product or battery that is warranted by the producer of the product or battery to serve solely to prevent theft of the battery or tampering by persons other than the consumer and not to inhibit the consumer's ability to remove, replace, or recycle the battery would not prevent a battery from being considered designed to be easily removed from a product by the user of the product with no more than common household tools. The bill would remove the exclusions from the definition of a covered battery for a primary battery and a rechargeable battery, described above. The bill would categorize all covered batteries as either a small format battery or a medium format battery. The bill would define a "small format battery" to include a rechargeable battery weighing no more than 11 pounds with a rating of no more than 300 watthours and a nonrechargeable battery weighing no more than 4.4 pounds. The bill would define a "medium format battery" to include a rechargeable battery that weighs more than 11 pounds or that has a rating of more than 300 watthours, or both, but that does not weigh more than 25 pounds or have a rating more than 2,000 watthours, and a nonrechargeable battery weighing more than 4.4 pounds but fewer than 25 pounds. The act requires a producer of covered batteries, individually or through a stewardship organization, to develop and implement a stewardship plan for the collection, transportation, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of covered batteries in the state. The act requires the stewardship plan to describe how the producer or stewardship organization will provide a certain number of collection sites for covered batteries in each county, as provided. This bill would instead require the stewardship plan to describe how the producer or stewardship organization will provide a certain number of collection sites for small format batteries and medium format batteries, as specified. The act requires a stewardship plan to include, among other things, consultation with the California Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Task Force and coordination with certain entities, including, but not limited to, other program operators, as provided. This bill would require a stewardship plan to include consultation with the department's Office of Environmental Justice, Tribal Relations, Education and Outreach instead of the Environmental Justice Task Force. The bill would require the stewardship to additionally include coordination with California Native American Tribes. The bill would require a stewardship plan to demonstrate that the stewardship organization has adequate financial responsibility and financial controls in place to ensure proper management of funds. The act requires the program operator to retain an independent public accountant to annually audit the accounting books for the program operator. This bill would require the annual audit to be prepared in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's accounting standards codification. The bill would require a program operator to annually demonstrate achievement of minimum recycling rates for rechargeable, nonrechargeable, and primary batteries. This bill would authorize the Department of Toxic Substances Control and certain local officers and agencies to enter and inspect any collection site, establishment, or any other place or environment, where hazardous wastes are stored, handled, processed, disposed of, or being treated to recover resources, as a result of the requirements of the act, as specified. The bill would, to ensure compliance with the act, authorize the department to inspect and investigate producers, program operators, stewardship organizations, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, importers, recyclers, and collection sites. The act requires records required by the act to be maintained and accessible to the department for 3 years. The act requires all reports and records provided to the department to be provided under penalty of perjury. This bill would require records required by the act to be maintained and accessible to the department for 5 years. By expanding the document retention period and by expanding the scope of the act, the bill would expand the scope of the crime of perjury, thereby imposing 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 establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which is permitted to adjudge children who have suffered abuse or neglect to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, and prescribes various hearings and other procedures for these purposes. Existing law requires the county welfare department to submit reports at the first regularly scheduled review hearing after a dependent minor has attained 16 years of age and at the last regularly scheduled review hearing before a dependent minor attains 18 years of age, and at every regularly scheduled review hearing thereafter, verifying that the county welfare department has provided certain information, documents, and services to the minor or nonminor. Existing law prohibits the court from terminating dependency jurisdiction over a nonminor dependent until the county welfare department has submitted a report verifying specified information, documents, and services have been provided to the nonminor, including the nonminor's family history and placement history. This bill would additionally require the above-described assistance include providing the minor or nonminor the last known whereabouts of their parents and siblings and the last known contact information for them. The bill would require that the minor or nonminor have the option to decline this information. By increasing the duties of county welfare departments, 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 bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 391 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 2764 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2764 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law creates the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program to provide operating and capital assistance for transit agencies to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and improve mobility. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to administer the program and to adopt guidelines, in coordination with the State Air Resources Board, that describe the methodologies to be used by a recipient transit agency to demonstrate that proposed expenditures will meet specified program expenditure requirements and establish the reporting requirements for documenting ongoing compliance with those expenditure requirements. This bill would repeal the requirement for the department to adopt guidelines. Existing law continuously appropriates a specified amount of money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for the program and requires the Controller to allocate those moneys according to the requirements of the program. Existing law requires a recipient transit agency to demonstrate that expenditures of program moneys allocated to the agency reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and do not supplant other sources of funds. Existing law requires moneys for the program to be expended to provide transit operating or capital assistance that directly enhances or expands transit services, increases transit mode share, or is related to the purchase of zero-emission buses, as specified. Before seeking a disbursement of funds pursuant to the program, existing law requires a recipient transit agency to submit to the department a list of proposed expense types and documentation required by the guidelines that demonstrates compliance with the above-described expenditure requirements. For capital projects funded by the program, existing law requires a transit agency to specify the phases of work for which an allocation of program moneys is sought, identify sources and timing of all moneys required for those phases of work, and describe intended sources and timing of funding for subsequent phases of work, as provided. Existing law requires a recipient transit agency to provide an annual report to the department, as provided. Existing law requires the department and a recipient transit agency to comply with guidelines developed by the State Air Resources Board to ensure that the requirements of a certain investment plan are met to maximize the benefits to disadvantaged communities, as provided. This bill would revise and recast the program to, among other things, require program funds to be expended only on maintenance or expansion of bus, rail, or ferry services, transit fare subsidies, and network and fare integration technology improvements. By altering the permissible uses for which continuously appropriated funds may be used, the bill would make an appropriation. Before receiving program funds, the bill would require a recipient transit agency to submit to the department a list of services or programs to be funded by those funds, as specified. The bill would require the department to report to the Controller the recipient transit agencies that have submitted the list, and would, upon receipt of the report from the department, require the Controller to allocate program funds. The bill would require a recipient transit agency to report to the department on the expenditure of program funds, as specified.
Existing law requires a public guardian to apply for appointment as a guardian or conservator of the person, the estate, or the person and estate, if there is an imminent threat to a person's health or safety or the person's estate, there is no one else who is qualified and willing to act, as specified, the appointment would be in the best interests of the person, and the person is domiciled in the county. Existing law similarly requires a court to order a public guardian of a county to apply for appointment as a guardian or conservator if it appears that there is no one else who is qualified and willing to act, that the appointment as guardian or conservator appears to be in the best interests of the person, and the person is domiciled in the county. Existing law requires the public guardian to begin an investigation within 2 business days of receiving a referral for conservatorship or guardianship. This bill would require the public guardian to also acknowledge receipt of the referral within 2 business days and conclude the investigation within a reasonable period of time. For referrals for conservatorship, the bill would require the investigation to include a determination of whether or not a temporary or general conservatorship is warranted and would require the public guardian to inform the referring party of the investigation status upon request. By imposing new duties on the public guardian, a county officer, 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, 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.
Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to convene the Lithium-Ion Car Battery Recycling Advisory Group to review, and advise the Legislature on, policies pertaining to the recovery and recycling of lithium-ion vehicle batteries sold with motor vehicles in the state. Existing law also requires the advisory group to submit policy recommendations to the Legislature aimed at ensuring that as close to 100% as possible of lithium-ion vehicle batteries in the state are reused or recycled at end of life in a safe and cost-effective manner. Existing law designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with coordinating efforts to attain and maintain ambient air quality standards and to regulate emissions from motor vehicles. Existing state board regulations require certain new motor vehicles to be equipped with specified traction battery labels. This bill would require, commencing July 1, 2028, a battery supplier, as defined, to equip a new vehicle traction battery sold in the state with a permanent label containing only specified information, as provided. The bill would require a remanufacturer to rebrand and relabel a remanufactured vehicle traction battery, as provided. The bill would require each battery supplier and remanufacturer, no later than 90 days after the chaptering of the act, to register with the state board and provide the state board with specified information. The bill would require those entities to update that registration and information annually and upon request of the board, as provided. The bill would require the state board to adopt regulations no later than July 1, 2031, to implement and enforce these provisions and would require the state board to determine the most cost-effective means to accept required electronic submissions, as provided. This bill would require battery suppliers, beginning July 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, to pay the state board a fee sufficient to cover the state board's full personnel, administrative, regulatory, and loan and interest costs related to implementing and enforcing these provisions. The bill would require the state board to create a tiered fee schedule based on each battery supplier's share of total in-state vehicle registrations with vehicle traction batteries 10 years prior, and would exempt establishment of and updates to that schedule from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would establish the Vehicle Traction Battery Recovery Fund (fund) in the State Treasury and would require the state board to deposit all fee moneys into the fund, as specified. Moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, only to implement and enforce these provisions, and to reimburse specified loans and interest. The bill would authorize, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Director of Finance to make a loan from an unspecified fund to the fund to meet regulatory and startup costs of the state board's activities pursuant to these provisions. The state board's duties under the bill would be contingent upon an appropriation for these purposes.
Existing law establishes an accidental release prevention program for the state. Under that law, stationary sources subject to the accidental release prevention program may be required to prepare and submit a risk management plan (RMP) to prevent accidental releases of certain substances. Existing law imposes criminal penalties upon a stationary source that knowingly violates the requirements of the accidental release prevention program. This bill would state findings and declarations concerning refinery closures in California. The bill would establish the Refinery Safe Staffing Task Force to develop potential methods and strategies for ensuring maximum employee retention at refineries and addressing employment dislocations associated with oil, gas, and related industries, with membership, as specified, appointed and commencing service no later than January 1, 2028. The bill would require the task force, no later than June 1, 2029, to present to the Legislature and make available online to the public a report documenting a wide range of potential methods and strategies for ensuring maximum employee retention in the time period preceding refinery closure or long-term idling of a refinery, for ensuring safe operation in the event of understaffing, and for transitioning oil and gas workers into sectors that match their skills and experience. The bill would repeal the task force provisions on January 1, 2030.
Existing law, the Cemetery and Funeral Act, establishes the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of, among others, cemeteries and cemetery authorities. This bill, if the County of Marin acquires title to the Mount Tamalpais Mortuary and Cemetery pursuant to specified provisions, would authorize the county to transfer its ownership, care, and management to a California nonprofit organization in good standing or a cemetery authority, as specified. The bill would provide that a successor that acquires ownership of, or assumes responsibility for the care and management of, the Mount Tamalpais Mortuary and Cemetery is not liable for any debts, obligations, taxes, fines, judgments, or recordkeeping failures of a prior owner or cemetery authority arising before the date the successor acquires ownership or assumes responsibility for the Mount Tamalpais Mortuary and Cemetery. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Marin. This bill would also make its provisions operative contingent on the enactment of SB 1312 of the 2025–26 Regular Session.
The Planning and Zoning Law authorizes a state or local public agency to authorize a governmental entity, a special district, a nonprofit organization, a for-profit entity, a person, or another entity to hold title to and manage an interest in property held for mitigation purposes, subject to certain requirements. Existing law authorizes a governmental entity, special district, or nonprofit organization that holds the property as described above to hold an endowment conveyed for the property, except as specified. Existing law subjects the holder of an endowment to certain requirements, including that the holder certify to the project proponent or the holder of the mitigation property or a conservation easement and the local or state agency that required the endowment that it meets specified requirements. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2027. This bill would delete the above repeal date, thereby extending those provisions indefinitely. Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Natural Resources Agency. Under existing law, the department has jurisdiction over the conservation, protection, and management of fish, wildlife, native plants, and habitat necessary for biologically sustainable populations of those species. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, to post on its internet website a summary table providing information on the status of certain endowments held as described above, as specified. The bill would require the summary table to include specified information with respect to each such endowment, including, among other things, the name of the endowment holder.
