Existing law establishes the Clean Cars 4 All Program, which is administered by the State Air Resources Board, to focus on achieving reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases, improvements in air quality, and benefits to low-income state residents through the replacement of high-polluter motor vehicles with cleaner and more efficient motor vehicles or a mobility option. Existing law requires the implementing regulations to ensure that the program complies with certain requirements. This bill would require the implementing regulations for the Clean Cars 4 All Program to additionally ensure that, among other things, incentives provided under the program are available in all areas of the state and that, in those areas where a local air district has not elected to participate in the program to manage the distribution of incentives within its jurisdiction, the state board manages the distribution of incentives to eligible residents of those areas, as specified. The bill would make certain conforming changes in that regard. The bill would require, as one of the program goals for replacement of passenger vehicles and trucks, the state board to prioritize vehicle retirement in areas of the state that meet specified criteria. The bill would also require the state board to update the guidelines for the program no later than July 1, 2027, as specified. Existing law requires the state board to annually post on its internet website a performance analysis of the replacement and mobility options component of the Clean Cars 4 All Program that includes an evaluation of the funding for targeted outreach in low-income or disadvantaged communities, as specified. This bill would require that analysis to additionally include an evaluation of the funding for targeted outreach in low-income or disadvantaged communities with the highest number of vehicles manufactured before 2004 or that are at least 20 years old, as specified. Existing law requires the state board to consider certain metrics in allocating funding under the program to local air districts participating in the program, and to the statewide program, including the number of vouchers deployed and the population in eligible program ZIP Codes. This bill would require the state board, in allocating funding to local air districts participating in the program and to the portion of the program managed by the state board, to consider additional metrics, including the total value of vouchers deployed and a specified metric for retired vehicles, and would delete the requirement to consider the population in eligible ZIP Codes. The bill would also require the state board, in coordination with local air districts and specified organizations, to establish a means-based strategy to identify potential recipients of incentives under the Clean Cars 4 All Program that meet certain criteria and, as part of that strategy, require an increased incentive to be provided under the program to those individuals.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires all charges demanded or received by a public utility for a product or commodity furnished or to be furnished or a service rendered or to be rendered to be just and reasonable. Existing law, except as provided, prohibits a public utility from changing a rate unless there is a showing before the PUC and a finding by the PUC that the new rate is justified. Existing law requires the PUC to publish and maintain on its internet website particular documents regarding the PUC's agendas, actions, decisions, resolutions, rules, and other information. This bill would prohibit the PUC from placing the consideration of a decision in a ratesetting proceeding that would result in an increase in rates to customers of an electrical corporation that has a revenue requirement that exceeds $1,000,000,000 on its consent agenda. The bill would, except as provided, require the PUC to provide, at a meeting to vote on a decision of a ratesetting proceeding that increases the rates of an electrical corporation's customers by more than 5%, before its vote on the decision, a public comment period of at least 30 minutes on the decision. Under existing law, the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources during certain compliance periods up to December 31, 2030. Existing law provides that a local publicly owned electric utility is not required to procure a certain amount of eligible renewable energy resources if, during a year within those compliance periods, the local publicly owned electric utility receives more than 40% of its retail sales from large hydroelectric generation under an ownership agreement or contract in effect as of January 1, 2018. Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to establish appropriate multiyear compliance periods for local publicly owned electric utilities beyond December 31, 2030. This bill would provide that the provision related to the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources by local publicly owned electric utilities also applies to the compliance periods established by the Energy Commission.
Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection, until January 1, 2027, 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 batteries sold with motor vehicles in the state, and requires the secretary to appoint members to the committee from specified departments, vocations, and organizations. Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the Governor's office, under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services, and makes the office responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or manmade disasters and emergencies. This bill would require the Office of the State Fire Marshal on or before December 31, 2026, to convene the Lithium-Ion Car Battery Advisory Group to review, and advise the Legislature on, policies pertaining to the safety and management of lithium-ion vehicle batteries involved in an emergency situation, as provided. The bill would require the Office of the State Fire Marshal to appoint members to the advisory group from specified departments, agencies, vocations, and organizations. The bill would require the advisory group to meet at least quarterly until July 1, 2028, and to consult with universities and research institutions that have conducted research in the area of lithium-ion batteries, with manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles, and both state and local first responders. The bill would require the group to develop standards, on or before July 1, 2028, based on local, state, and national guidance and research, aimed at ensuring that best standards and practices are created that allow first responders to respond to lithium-ion vehicle battery emergencies in a safe and efficient manner. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029.
The Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995 requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee various programs, including an environmental farming program and the Healthy Soils Program, and requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to convene a 9-member Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming to advise the secretary on the implementation of the Healthy Soils Program and the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program and to assist federal, state, and local government agencies, as appropriate or necessary, on issues relating to the impact of agricultural practices on air, water, and wildlife habitat, as specified. Existing law creates the Climate Smart Agriculture Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, consisting of moneys made available from federal, state, industry, philanthropic, and private sources, and continuously appropriates the moneys in the account to the department for purposes of the act. This bill would, as part of the act, authorize the department, in consultation with the panel, to establish and oversee the Managed Honeybee Health Program for the purpose of enhancing the health and well-being of managed honeybees in California, which are necessary to support the economic viability of California agriculture. The bill would authorize the department, to the extent that moneys are available, to provide grants to eligible recipients for health intervention projects that directly enhance the health and well-being of managed honeybees used in pollination services and for projects that indirectly support health interventions through research, extension, and technical assistance. The bill would authorize the department to determine priorities for the program and to consider, when awarding grants, whether a project applicant or project meets specified criteria, in addition to criteria developed to address the program priorities. The bill would authorize the department to collect nonstate, federal, and private funds for the purpose of the program, require those funds to be deposited into the Managed Honeybee Health Special Fund Subaccount, which this bill would create within the Climate Smart Agriculture Account, and continuously appropriate moneys in the subaccount to the department for the purpose of the program. The bill would make operation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature for the program in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program that is administered by the State Air Resources Board for purposes of funding projects related to, among other things, the reduction of criteria air pollutants and improvement of air quality. Existing law establishes the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet Purchasing Assistance Program (program) within the Air Quality Improvement Program to make financing tools and nonfinancial supports available to operators of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets to enable those operators to transition their fleets to zero-emission vehicles. This bill, for any regulation adopted to develop or implement the program, or other regulations that are regarding the procurement or use of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles by a public or private fleet, would require the state board to consider specified things, including, among other things, the environmental and supply chain benefits of renting medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles compared to procuring them.
Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or local government, as provided. This bill, upon appropriation, would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state's natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. The bill, upon appropriation, would, among other things, authorize the commission to require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project as mitigation for those impacts.
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 California Farmland Conservancy Program Act, establishes within the Department of Conservation the California Farmland Conservancy Program. Existing law authorizes the program to offer financial assistance, including grants or contracts, for projects and activities on agricultural lands, as defined, that support agricultural conservation and sustainable land management. This bill would require the department, in collaboration with the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force, to establish the Farmland Access and Conservation for Thriving Communities Program in the department to provide financial and technical assistance to support agricultural land acquisition and protection. The bill would require the department, subject to specified requirements, to provide financial assistance under the program to qualified entities for the purpose of acquiring agricultural lands to transfer or provide long-term leases to qualified farmer participants, as specified. The bill would establish the Farmland Access Fund in the State Treasury and would make moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for program expenditures. The bill would authorize the department to contract with one or more nonprofit organizations to administer the program. The bill would make the operation of the program contingent upon the Legislature making an appropriation for purposes of the program.
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 the lead agency 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. Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation, under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells so as to permit the owners or operators of those wells to use all methods and practices known to the industry for the purpose of increasing the ultimate recovery of geothermal resources, as provided. Existing law requires the division to be the lead agency for all geothermal exploratory projects for purposes of CEQA, as specified, and authorizes the division to delegate its lead agency responsibility for geothermal exploratory projects to a county that has adopted a geothermal element for its general plan. Existing law also requires the county in which a geothermal project is located to assume the responsibilities of a lead agency for a geothermal exploratory project upon the request of an applicant, as specified. Existing law defines "geothermal exploratory project" in part as a project composed of not more than 6 wells and associated drilling and testing equipment whose chief and original purpose is to evaluate the presence and characteristics of geothermal resources. Existing law requires wells included within a geothermal exploratory project to be located at least one-half mile from geothermal development wells that are capable of producing geothermal resources in commercial quantities. Existing law requires the owner or operator of a well to keep, or to cause to be kept, a careful and accurate log, core record, and history of drilling the well and requires the log to show, among other things, the character and depth of the formation passed through or encountered in the drilling of the well. Upon completion or abandonment of a well, or upon the suspension of operations of a well, existing law requires true copies of the log, core record, and history to be filed with the district deputy of an oil and gas district, as specified. This bill would expressly include as part of a geothermal exploratory project, among other things, equipment and activities necessary to establish interconnectivity between wells and reservoirs. The bill would exclude certain wells connecting to geothermal reservoirs from the one-half mile limit described above. The bill would require the log for a well that is part of a geothermal exploratory project that is exempt from CEQA, as described below, to include the chemical and physical characteristics of well stimulation fluids. Upon completion or abandonment of a well, or upon the suspension of operations of a well, that is part of a geothermal exploratory project that is exempt from CEQA, as described below, the bill would require a project developer to disclose the composition of fluids used in all relevant hydraulic fracturing operations with the log for a well and would require the project developer to file a copy of the disclosure with the lead agency. This bill would, until January 1, 2031, exempt from CEQA geothermal exploratory projects that meet specified conditions and for which the county or the Geologic Energy Management Division is the lead agency. The bill would require a project developer to conduct a reconnaissance survey, that includes certain information, and to supply the lead agency with the reconnaissance survey when applying for an exemption from CEQA. The bill would require the lead agency to engage in a scoping consultation with any California Native American tribe that is traditionally and culturally affiliated with the geographic area of the proposed project, as provided. The bill would authorize the lead agency to require the project applicant to file an indemnity bond, as specified, before the lead agency determines that a geothermal exploratory project is exempt from CEQA. The bill would require a geothermal exploratory project that is exempt from CEQA to include full reclamation of the project site, as provided. The bill would require the lead agency, at least 30 days before making a determination to approve a geothermal exploratory project as exempt from CEQA pursuant to this exemption, to post a written notice of the intent to apply the exemption at the project site and to post a written notice of the intent to apply the exemption and the entire project application on its internet website. If the lead agency determines that the project is exempt from CEQA, the bill would require the lead agency 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 project is located, as provided, and to provide a copy of the notice to specified entities. Because the exemption would apply to projects where the county is the lead agency and the county would be required to engage in a scoping consultation and determine if a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a geothermal field development project located on a site where a geothermal exploratory project was deployed pursuant to the above-described CEQA exemption to use a baseline for CEQA review that reflects the site before the geothermal exploratory project occurred. Existing law requires the owner or operator of a well to file a written notice of intention to commence drilling with, and prohibits any drilling until approval is given by, the supervisor or district deputy. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, the Geologic Energy Management Division to promulgate regulations for enhanced geothermal system wells, as provided. Before the promulgation and implementation of those regulations, the bill would require an operator to provide specified information to the supervisor when the operator files the notice of intent to commence drilling for a well in a CEQA-exempt geothermal exploratory project that employs enhanced geothermal system technology. 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 prohibits a person, a state or local governmental agency, or a public utility from substantially diverting or obstructing the natural flow of, or substantially changing or using any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake, or depositing or disposing of debris, waste, or other material containing crumbled, flaked, or ground pavement where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, unless prescribed requirements are met, including written notification to the Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding the activity. Existing law requires the department to determine whether the activity may substantially adversely affect an existing fish and wildlife resource and, if so, to provide a draft lake or streambed alteration agreement to the person, agency, or utility. Existing law prescribes various requirements for lake and streambed alteration agreements. Existing law also establishes various exemptions from these provisions. This bill would, until January 1, 2027, exempt from these provisions, subject to certain requirements, projects to repair or reconstruct a bridge 30 feet long or less or a culvert 70 feet long or less within the County of Sutter that has been damaged or destroyed as a result of fire, flood, storm, earthquake, land subsidence, gradual earth movement, or landslide, between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024, inclusive, except as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Sutter.
