Existing law requires that a person who is convicted of felony arson, in addition to the term of imprisonment for the felony, be punished by a 3-, 4-, or 5-year enhancement if one or more of any specified circumstances is found to be true, including that the defendant caused multiple structures to burn in a single violation. This bill would additionally authorize the 3-, 4-, or 5-year enhancement for a person who proximately causes 500 or more acres of forest land to burn. By expanding the scope of the enhancement, 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 requires the Public Utilities Commission, on or before December 31, 2018, and biennially thereafter, as part of a specified report, to identify and report to the Legislature on electrical and gas corporation ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs that are similar to programs administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the State Air Resources Board, and the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. This bill would instead require the commission to identify and report to the Legislature on those programs on an annual basis.
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 certain projects from its requirements, including actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency. Existing law prohibits an electrical corporation from beginning the construction of a line, plant, or system, or extensions of those facilities without first obtaining from the Public Utilities Commission a certificate that the present or future convenience and necessity require or will require the construction. Existing law specifies that the certificate is not required for the extension, expansion, upgrade, or other modification of existing electrical transmission facilities. This bill would require the commission to determine whether to certify the environmental impact report for an electrical infrastructure project that is a priority project, as defined, no later than 270 days after the commission determines that an application for an electrical infrastructure project is complete, except as specified. The bill would require a project applicant to identify an electrical infrastructure project that is a priority project and the basis for the designation in the application to the commission. The bill would require commission staff to review an application for a priority project no later than 30 days after it is filed and notify the applicant in writing of any deficiencies in the information and data submitted in the application. The bill would require the applicant to correct any deficiencies or notify the commission in writing why it is unable to correct those deficiencies, as specified, within 60 days of that notification. The bill would require the commission to deem an application for a priority project complete with a preliminary ruling setting the scope and schedule, as provided. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires the Strategic Growth Council to develop and administer the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through projects that implement land use, housing, transportation, and agricultural land preservation practices to support infill and compact development, and that support other related and coordinated public policy objectives. Existing law specifies the types of projects eligible for funding under the program, including, among others, transit capital projects, active transportation capital projects, and transit-oriented development projects, as provided. This bill would expressly include certain transit capital projects and transit-oriented development projects near planned high-speed rail stations that meet specific criteria as eligible for funding under the program.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in coordination with specified agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, and requires the Energy Commission to submit the strategic plan to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature on or before June 30, 2023, as specified. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in coordination with relevant state and local agencies, to develop a plan to improve waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities, as specified. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, beginning November 1, 2003, and biennially thereafter, to adopt an integrated energy policy report that contains an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state, presents policy recommendations based on an in-depth and integrated analysis of the most current and pressing energy issues facing the state, and includes an assessment and forecast of system reliability and the need for resource additions, efficiency, and conservation, as specified. This bill would require the Energy Commission, as part of the 2027 edition of the integrated energy policy report and each edition thereafter, and contingent upon an appropriation for this purpose, to include an assessment of funding needs for port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with specified entities, to include in the assessment any federal, state, and local funding opportunities, including general obligation bonds and funding from the private sector, that can help build port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.
Existing law establishes the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, and provides for the powers and duties of the commissioner. Existing law requires the commissioner to convene a working group to identify, assess, and recommend risk transfer market mechanisms that promote investment in natural infrastructure to reduce the risks of climate change related to catastrophic events, create incentives for investment in natural infrastructure to reduce risks to communities, and provide mitigation incentives for private investment in natural lands to lessen exposure and reduce climate risks to public safety, property, utilities, and infrastructure. This bill would require the department to establish and administer the Climate and Sustainability Insurance and Risk Reduction Grant Program, to be funded upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of achieving specified goals, including developing proofs of concept that expand insurance options and testing community-purchased insurance to reduce overall insurance costs, as specified. The bill would require the department to report to the Senate Committee on Insurance and the Assembly Committee on Insurance on program results on or before January 1, 2029, and on or before January 1 every 3 years thereafter. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2035.
Existing law establishes the California Conservation Corps in the Natural Resources Agency and requires the corps to implement and administer the conservation corps program. Existing law authorizes the Director of the California Conservation Corps to establish various training and educational program, including, among others, the Education and Employment Reentry Program, within the corps, to provide education and training to formerly incarcerated individuals who successfully served on a California Conservation Camp program crew. This bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to jointly evaluate the Ventura Training Center and would require the evaluation to include specified components, including, among others, an evaluation of ways to increase the rate of graduated trainees entering the firefighter workforce. The bill would require the departments to submit a report describing the evaluation to certain legislative committees by January 1, 2026, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, creates a program for the recycling of rigid plastic packaging containers. The program defines "rigid plastic packaging container" to mean a plastic package having a relatively inflexible finite shape or form, with a capacity between 8 fluid ounces and 5 fluid gallons, that is capable of maintaining its shape while holding other products, including, but not limited to, bottles, cartons, and other receptacles, for sale or distribution in the state. The program generally requires a rigid plastic packaging container sold or offered for sale in this state to meet one of specified criteria, including, but not limited to, having been made from 25% postconsumer material or being a reusable package or a refillable package, unless a waiver or an exemption applies. Notwithstanding these provisions, the program deems a manufacturer in compliance with the program if the manufacturer demonstrates that it, or another company under the same corporate ownership, either consumed or arranged for the purchase and consumption of certain amounts of postconsumer material generated in the state for the manufacture of rigid plastic packaging containers or other plastic products or packaging not subject to the program, as provided. The program makes a violation of these provisions a public offense punishable by a fine of not more than $100,000. The program also subjects a violation of these provisions to a civil penalty of not more than $50,000, as provided. The program requires the department to deposit all penalties and fines into the Rigid Container Account in the Integrated Waste Management Fund in the State Treasury. The program requires the moneys in the account to be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to assist local governmental agencies to develop and implement collection and processing systems for the recycling of materials covered by the program, for the development of markets for these materials, and for the department's costs of implementing the program. The program requires the department to adopt regulations to implement the program, as provided. This bill would repeal the program and replace it with a new program for recycling plastic packaging and products. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer of a covered product, as defined, to pay an annual registration charge and to register with the department, as specified. The bill would require a manufacturer to provide certain information during registration, including, but not limited to, the brand name of each of the manufacturer's covered products. The bill would subject a manufacturer that is not in compliance with the registration requirement to an administrative civil penalty of not more than $5,000 per day per violation, as specified. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2029, require a manufacturer to include, as part of its annual registration, proof of third-party certification of the postconsumer recycled content of each of its covered products. The bill would require the third-party certification to be provided under penalty of perjury. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a manufacturer to meet certain annual minimum postconsumer recycled content percentages for covered products, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to grant a waiver for up to 2 years, upon application, from these requirements, as specified. The bill would require certain information to be included in a waiver application and would require a waiver application charge not to exceed $1,000. The bill would require the department to assess an administrative civil penalty for a violation on a per-pound basis for each pound of virgin material that was used by a manufacturer in its products instead of the minimum postconsumer recycled content, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to reduce this administrative civil penalty if the manufacturer submits, and the department approves, a corrective action plan, as specified. This bill would require the department to deposit all penalties and fines paid pursuant to the program into the Rigid Container Account, which this bill would continue in existence. The bill would require moneys deposited into the account to be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to assist local governmental agencies to develop and implement collection and processing systems for the recycling of materials that are subject to the program, for the development of markets for these materials, and for the department's actual and reasonable costs of implementing the program. This bill would require, on and after April 1, 2028, a manufacturer to provide to the department, in a format and manner prescribed by the department, an annual report that includes specified information regarding amounts and types of plastics used in covered products. The bill would exempt confidential and proprietary information, collected by the department from manufacturers for purpose of the program, from disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act. This bill would authorize a manufacturer to authorize an organization to act on its behalf in complying with certain requirements, including, but not limited to, registration and annual reporting requirements. The bill would exempt certain covered products from the program, as specified. This bill would require the department to adopt regulations to implement and enforce the program, as specified. The bill would require the department to establish an electronic registration process on its internet website. (2) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires a manufacturer of certain plastic trash bags to ensure that the recycled plastic postconsumer material in the bag is equal to at least 10% of the weight of the bag, or that at least 30% of the weight of the material used in all of the manufacturer's plastic products is recycled plastic postconsumer material, as provided. Existing law requires a manufacturer of a plastic trash bag to submit an annual report to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery certifying compliance with these postconsumer materials requirements, as specified. Existing law requires the department to survey manufacturers and report to the Legislature on, among others, the quantity of recycled plastic postconsumer material provided by suppliers within the state and the quantity of the material provided by suppliers outside the state. Existing law requires a wholesaler of plastic trash bags to annually certify to the department the name and physical location of each manufacturer from whom it purchased plastic trash bags, as provided. Existing law authorizes the department to adopt regulations to implement these provision, as specified. Existing law prohibits a supplier, manufacturer, or wholesaler, as provided, that is not in compliance with these provisions from being eligible for a state contract or subcontract, as provided. This bill would repeal these provisions. (3) 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. (4) 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.
The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) in the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, governed by a board of directors. The act, among other things, authorizes the I-Bank to make loans, issue bonds, and provide financial assistance for various types of projects that qualify as economic development or public development facilities. The Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund Act of 2020 authorizes the I-Bank, under the Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund Program, to provide financial assistance to any eligible sponsor or participating party in connection with the financing or refinancing for eligible climate catalyst projects, as defined, either directly to the sponsor or participating party or to a lending or financial institution, as specified. The act, beginning in the 2021–22 fiscal year, requires the I-Bank to adopt a climate catalyst financing plan, as specified, after meeting and conferring with prescribed authorized consulting agencies concerning specific categories of climate catalyst projects. The act establishes the Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund as a continuously appropriated fund for the purpose of implementing the objectives and provisions of the act. This bill would authorize the I-Bank to provide financial assistance in connection with the financing or refinancing of an additional category of climate catalyst projects, those projects that enable the capture and conversion of data centers' waste heat, with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) as the consulting agency. If multiple projects seek funding under this category of climate catalyst projects, the bill would require the consulting agencies to prioritize funding based on state policy and on financial considerations, as determined by the Energy Commission. By expanding the purposes for which moneys in the fund may be expended, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to evaluate each customer renewable energy subscription program to determine if the program meets certain goals and determine whether it would be beneficial to ratepayers to establish a new tariff or program or modify an existing tariff or program to establish a community renewable energy program consistent with certain requirements, including a requirement that the program provides bill credits to subscribers based on the avoided costs of the program's facilities, as provided. Pursuant to this requirement, the PUC has adopted a community renewable energy program. This bill would revise and recast the requirements for the customer renewable energy subscription program to, among other things, specify that the avoided costs include certain avoided cost values. The bill would impose additional requirements that the program is required to meet, including requiring facilities participating in the program to have no more than 5 megawatts of generation capacity and no more than 5 megawatts of storage, and capping the total program capacity at 5 gigawatts or ending program subscription after 7 years, when either limit is first reached. The bill would require the PUC, on or before September 1, 2026, to adopt or modify the community renewable energy program to ensure consistency with certain requirements, as provided. The bill would require each community choice aggregator and electric service provider, within 180 days of the adoption or modification of the program, to notify the PUC regarding whether it will participate in the program. The bill would authorize a community choice aggregator or electric service provider to begin participating in, or end its participation in, the program at any time by notifying the PUC. The bill would require the PUC, beginning 2 years from the adoption or modification of the program, to evaluate the program to ensure consistency with the program's requirements and would require the PUC to authorize the termination or modification of the program if the PUC determines that the program does not meet those requirements. The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to evaluate community solar and storage projects as a load-modifying resource so that those projects may be counted as a load-modifying resource. The bill would require the Energy Commission to undertake the evaluation and issue a determination on or before September 1, 2026, as provided. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
