The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 establishes the Wildlife Conservation Board within the Department of Fish and Wildlife to investigate, study, and determine what areas within the state are most essential and suitable for wildlife production and preservation, among other things. Under existing law, the board administers various habitat conservation programs. This bill would require the board to establish and administer, through the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Diablo Range Conservation Program and, pursuant to the program, to approve projects to acquire, preserve, restore, and enhance habitat within the Diablo Range, as defined, consistent with conservation strategies approved by the department. The bill would authorize the board to provide grants to local public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and California Native American tribes to be used for various purposes, including the acquisition, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural resources within and adjacent to the Diablo Range. The bill would establish the Diablo Range Conservation Fund in the State Treasury and would make moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. The bill would authorize the board to accept moneys, grants, goods, or services contributed to it by public agencies or private entities or persons and would require those moneys to be deposited in the Donation Account, which the bill would establish in the fund. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the account to the board for purposes of the program, thereby making an appropriation.
(1) The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act establishes a statewide program for the control of the quality of all the waters in the state and makes certain legislative findings and declarations. Existing law defines the term "beneficial uses" for the purposes of water quality as certain waters of the state that may be protected against quality degradation, to include, among others, domestic, municipal, agricultural, and industrial supplies. This bill would add findings and declarations related to California tribal communities, as defined, and the importance of protecting tribal water use. The bill would add tribal water uses as waters of the state that may be protected against quality degradation for purposes of the defined term "beneficial uses." The bill would require any project or regulatory program subject to approval by the State Water Quality Control Board or a regional water quality control board, within a specified environmental review, and in any findings and declarations presented for state board or a regional board approval, to describe, with both quantitative and qualitative information, how the project or regulatory program will impact tribal water uses, and would require, on or before December 1, 2026, and every 2 years thereafter, the state board to publish a report on implementation of this provision on its internet website. (2) Existing law requires the state board to consult with and carefully evaluate the recommendations of concerned federal, state, and local agencies during the process of formulating or revising state policy for water quality control. This bill would additionally require the state board to consult and carefully evaluate the recommendations of concerned California tribal communities. (3) Existing law requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policy for water quality control. Existing law requires each regional board to formulate and adopt water quality control plans for all areas within the region and prohibits a water quality control plan, or a revision of the plan, adopted by a regional board from becoming effective unless it is approved by the state board. Existing law authorizes the state board to adopt certain water quality control plans. Existing law requires a regional board to establish water quality objectives in water quality control plans that in its judgment will ensure reasonable protection of beneficial uses and the prevention of nuisance and requires each regional board to consider specified factors in establishing water quality objectives. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, the state board to propose, and solicit tribal consultation and public comment on, water quality standards to achieve reasonable protection of tribal water uses into the water quality control plan for the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed. This bill would add consultations with California tribal communities and environmental justice considerations as factors for a regional board to consider in establishing water quality control objectives. The bill would exempt adoption of tribal water uses within water quality control plans from the California Environmental Quality Act, and would require, upon the next triennial review of a water quality control plan after January 1, 2026, each regional board to define tribal beneficial uses in its water quality control plan and, where applicable, adopt water quality standards to achieve reasonable protection of tribal water uses into water quality control plans. (4) Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency, on or before December 1, 2007, to enter into a memorandum of understanding for the purposes of establishing the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, which the state board is required to administer. Existing law requires the monitoring council to review existing water quality monitoring, assessment, and reporting efforts and to recommend specific actions and funding needs necessary to coordinate and enhance those efforts. Existing law requires the memorandum of understanding to describe the means by which the monitoring council shall formulate recommendations to reduce redundancies, inefficiencies, and inadequacies in existing water quality monitoring and data management programs and to ensure that water quality improvement projects financed by the state provide specific information necessary to track project effectiveness with regard to achieving clean water and healthy ecosystems. This bill would require, on or before December 1, 2026, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency to amend the memorandum of understanding to incorporate participation from California tribal communities in the actions of the monitoring council, and would describe these potential methods of participation. The bill would require the memorandum of understating to include recommendations on how to achieve and maintain tribal water uses through state board and regional board regulatory actions and other programs, as specified. (5) 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.
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.
