Existing law provides various provisions applicable to all public transit and transit districts and includes specific requirements applicable to public entities that operate commuter rail or rail transit systems. This bill would prohibit a public entity that owns diesel-powered on-track equipment from selling, donating, or otherwise transferring ownership of that equipment for continued use after the public entity decommissions the equipment. The bill would exempt the sale, donation, or transfer of the ownership of that equipment from the prohibition if the equipment is deemed to be in one of specified categories of emissions standards designated by the federal government for locomotives, the equipment produces emissions equivalent to any equipment within any of those federal categories, or the diesel engine is removed from the equipment, as specified.
Existing law prohibits gill nets and trammel nets from being used for commercial purposes, except under a revocable, nontransferable permit issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law requires the Fish and Game Commission to adopt regulations for the issuance of gill net and trammel net permits as necessary to establish an orderly gill net and trammel net fishery. Existing law prohibits the department from issuing any new gill net or trammel net permits and authorizes the department to renew an existing gill net or trammel net permit. Existing law authorizes a gill or trammel net permitholder to transfer that permit to any person qualified under the regulations adopted by the commission if the permitholder presents to the department satisfactory evidence that they have taken and landed fish for commercial purposes in at least 15 of the preceding 20 years. Existing law also authorizes the transfer of a gill or trammel net permit to another qualified individual upon the disability or death of the original permitholder, as specified. This bill would eliminate the provisions that authorize the transfer of a gill or trammel net permit to another qualified individual upon the disability or death of the original permitholder. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2027, only allow a permitholder to transfer a permit under the other transfer authorization described above to a family member pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission, as specified. After a permit is transferred pursuant to that authorization, the bill would prohibit the further transfer of that permit.
Existing law, the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982, authorizes the legislative body of a local agency, as defined, to create a community facilities district to finance specified types of services within an area. Existing law prohibits a territory that is dedicated or restricted to agricultural, open-space, or conservation uses from being included within or annexed to a specified community facilities district without the landowner's consent. This bill would, notwithstanding those prohibitions, specify that for territory that is located within the regional shoreline of the County of San Mateo, the consent of a landowner is not required, if specified conditions are met. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of San Mateo.
(1) 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 (EIR) 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. Existing law, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires, on or before July 1, 2025, the State Air Resources Board to develop and adopt regulations to require a reporting entity, defined to mean a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity with total annual revenues in excess of $1 billion, as specified, to annually disclose to the emissions reporting organization, as defined, or the state board all of the reporting entity's scope 1 emissions, scope 2 emissions, and scope 3 emissions, as defined. Existing law requires the state board to adopt regulations that authorize it to seek administrative penalties for nonfiling, late filing, or other failure to meet the requirements of the act, as provided. This bill would exempt those regulations from CEQA. Existing law requires, on or before January 1, 2026, and biennially thereafter, a covered entity, defined to mean a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity with total annual revenues in excess of $500,000,000, as specified, to prepare a climate-related financial risk report, as specified, and to make this report available to the public on its own internet website. Existing law requires the state board to adopt regulations that authorize it to seek administrative penalties from a covered entity that fails to make the report publicly available on its internet website or publishes an inadequate or insufficient report. This bill would exempt those regulations from CEQA. (2) This bill would appropriate from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund $1,000 to the State Air Resources Board for purposes of implementing the above-described provisions relating to climate corporate accountability and climate-related financial risk, as provided. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
Existing law makes it unlawful to take a bird, mammal, fish, reptile, or amphibian, except as authorized by law. This bill would make it unlawful for a person in California to import, cause to be imported, export, cause to be exported, transport, sell, offer for sale, possess with the intent to sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish, wildlife, or plant that was taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or statute of any state or any law, treaty, or statute of the United States with regard to fish, wildlife, or plants in effect on January 19, 2025. The bill would, upon conviction or other entry of judgment, require any seized evidence be forfeited, as specified. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on December 31, 2031, and would repeal them on January 1, 2032. Under existing law, a violation of the Fish and Game Code is a crime. Because the above provision would be part of the Fish and Game Code, a violation of which would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species pursuant to a prescribed listing process, and generally prohibits the taking of those species. Existing law requires the commission to publish a notice in the California Regulatory Notice Register upon receipt of a petition to add or remove a species from either the list of endangered species or the list of threatened species by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. This bill would require the department to determine if there is a decrease in protections by the federal government for an endangered or threatened species, as defined, and, if so, would require the department to publish written findings in the California Regulatory Notice Register that would add the species to the commission's list of provisional candidate species, as specified. The bill would require the department to report the provisional candidacy determination at the next public meeting of the commission. The bill would prohibit criminal or civil liability for an entity operating under federal authorization for take, as specified, as long as the entities are in full compliance with their federal biological opinion. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on December 31, 2031, and would repeal them on January 1, 2032. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the California Endangered Species Act, prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except in certain situations, including, if specified conditions are met, under a permit issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife commonly known as an incidental take permit. Existing law also enumerates fully protected species and prohibits the take of fully protected species, except under limited circumstances. This bill would permit the department to authorize, under the California Endangered Species Act, the incidental take of specified fully protected species resulting from impacts attributable to a specified project on State Route 37, if certain conditions are met, including, among others, the conditions required for the issuance of an incidental take permit.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts from its requirements a change in use approved by a lead agency that is a park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency to allow public access to preexisting paved and natural surface roads, preexisting trails, preexisting pathways, preexisting disturbed areas for vehicle parking, as specified, and rail lines converted by the Great Redwood Trail Agency into trails known as the Great Redwood Trail, in areas used exclusively for nonmotorized recreation, if certain conditions are met, including that the change in use is consistent with a plan adopted by the park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency, as applicable, and does not involve a physical alteration of the affected area. Existing law requires, before making a determination to approve or carry out a change in use that is determined to be exempt from CEQA, the lead agency to, among other things, make a finding that the above-described criteria are met. Existing law requires the lead agency, if the lead agency determines that a change in use is not subject to CEQA pursuant to this exemption and determines to approve or carry out the activity, to file a notice with the State Clearinghouse in the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and with the county clerk of the county in which the land is located, as provided. This bill would extend the above exemption to a lead agency that is a county park agency. The bill would remove the condition that the change in use is consistent with a plan adopted by the park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency, as applicable, and would instead require the lead agency, before making the exemption determination, to adopt a natural resource management plan, or equivalent document, that includes appropriate identification of resources and management strategies for the affected area, as specified. The bill would instead require, as a condition of this exemption, that the change in use only involves minimal physical alterations and minimal improvements to the affected area, as specified. The bill would require the lead agency to make an additional finding that there is sufficient funding to implement the natural resource management plan, or equivalent document, and would require the finding, as well as the finding that the above-described criteria are met, to be based on substantial evidence. The bill would provide that its provisions do not apply where it is reasonably foreseeable that the provision of public access within a park or open space area will have a significant or cumulatively considerable effect on the environment. By imposing duties on public agencies related to the exemption, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes and vests in the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) various responsibilities with respect to developing and implementing the state's energy policies. Existing law authorizes persons proposing specified electrical generation, electrical transmission, hydrogen production, and energy storage projects to apply, on or before June 30, 2029, to the Energy Commission to certify sites and related facilities as environmental leadership development projects, as specified. Existing law makes a site and related facility certified by the Energy Commission subject to streamlining benefits related to CEQA with no further action by the applicant or the Governor. Under existing law, the Energy Commission's certification is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any governmental agency and supersedes any applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation, except as specified. This bill would expand the types of facilities eligible to be certified as environmental leadership development projects by the Energy Commission to include geothermal powerplants and projects that comprise multiple geothermal powerplants on a single site. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 25545 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 254 to be operative only if this bill and SB 254 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts from its requirements various projects, including, but not limited to, housing projects that meet certain requirements and activities and approvals related to certain prison facilities. This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA any activity or approval necessary for the completion of the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery in the County of Orange if specified conditions are met. To the extent that a local agency would be required to determine whether an activity or approval qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal this provision on January 1, 2030. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery in the County of Orange. 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 declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act of 2004 provides, among other things, that an innocent landowner, bona fide purchaser, or contiguous property owner, as defined, qualifies for immunity from liability from certain state statutory and common laws for pollution conditions caused by a release or threatened release of a hazardous material if specified conditions are met, including entering into an agreement for a specified site assessment and response plan. The act prohibits the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Water Resources Control Board, and a California regional water quality control board from requiring one of those persons to take a response action under certain state laws, except as specified. Existing law repeals the act on January 1, 2027. Existing law provides that a person who qualifies for immunity under the act before January 1, 2027, shall continue to have that immunity on and after January 1, 2027, if the person continues to be in compliance with the requirements of the former act. This bill would extend the repeal date of the act to January 1, 2037, and would provide that a person who qualifies for immunity under the act before January 1, 2037, shall continue to have that immunity on and after January 1, 2037, if the person continues to be in compliance with the requirements of the former act.
