Existing law prohibits a person from selling or offering for sale a product, as defined, that is labeled with the term "compostable" or "home compostable" unless, among others, the product meets a specified ASTM standard specification, has OK compost HOME certification, and meets a standard adopted by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. Existing law requires the department to review revisions to the ASTM standard specification, as provided. Existing law authorizes the department to adopt a standard different from an ASTM standard if adopted or developed by a standard-setting organization recognized by the department, the standard adds qualifications to an ASTM standard specification, and the standard is more stringent than an ASTM standard specification, as provided. Existing law exempts a fiber product that is demonstrated to not incorporate any plastics or polymers from complying with any of these ASTM standards. This bill would instead prohibit a person from selling or offering for sale a product that is labeled with the term "compostable" or "home compostable" unless the product has OK compost HOME certification or meets a standard adopted by the department. The bill would repeal the requirement for the department to review revisions to the ASTM standard specification. The bill would instead authorize the department to adopt an existing standard different from an ASTM standard specification if the standard is adopted or developed by a standard-setting organization recognized by the department. This bill would exempt a fiber product that is demonstrated to not incorporate any plastics or polymers from requirements for labeling compostable products, as specified, unless the department adopts a standard for compostable fiber products. This bill, on and after June 30, 2027, would prohibit a person from selling or offering for sale a product in this state that is labeled with the term "compostable" or "home compostable" that is made wholly or partially of plastic, as defined. This bill would exempt from prohibition a food service establishment's use of plastic single-use food service ware that is accepted by a recycling collector that services the jurisdiction in which the food service establishment operates, as specified. The bill would provide that this exemption does not preempt a local requirement for food service establishments to use compostable or reusable service ware or otherwise limit the authority of a local government to regulate service ware outside of the exemption, as specified. Existing law requires a compostable bag that meets an ASTM standard specification described above to comply with certain labeling requirements. This bill would repeal those labeling requirements.
Existing law prohibits a person from operating or leaving standing upon a highway a motor vehicle that is required to be equipped with a motor vehicle pollution control device or any other certified motor vehicle pollution control device, as specified, unless the motor vehicle is equipped with the required motor vehicle pollution control device that is correctly installed and in operating condition, and prohibits a person from disconnecting, modifying, or altering that device. Existing law also prohibits a person from installing, selling, offering for sale, or advertising any device, apparatus, or mechanism intended for use with, or as a part of, a required motor vehicle pollution control device or system that alters or modifies the original design or performance of the motor vehicle pollution control device or system. Existing law exempts from these provisions an alteration, modification, or modifying device, apparatus, or mechanism found by resolution of the State Air Resources Board to not reduce the effectiveness of a required motor vehicle pollution control device or to result in emissions from the modified or altered vehicle that comply with existing state or federal standards, as specified. A violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would additionally exempt from the above-described provisions an alternative fuel retrofit system for a light-duty or medium-duty gasoline-fueled vehicle that converts the vehicle to a dual-fueled vehicle that can utilize gasoline or E85 fuel if the alternative fuel retrofit system has been certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a clean alternative fuel conversion system, as specified, and would prohibit the State Air Resources Board from requiring state certification, executive order approval, or any additional testing or demonstration for such an alternative fuel retrofit device.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in California's existing residential and nonresidential building stock. Existing law requires the PUC to investigate the ability of electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide various energy efficiency financing options to their customers for the purpose of implementing the program developed by the Energy Commission. Existing law imposes requirements for custom projects and other custom programs for industrial, agricultural, commercial, residential, and public sector customers. Existing law requires the PUC to develop and maintain rules for custom energy efficiency projects that include eligibility criteria or metrics for determining if a project is eligible for funding. This bill would delete the requirement on the PUC to develop and maintain those rules, and would instead require the commission, as part of the approval of the next Tier 2 advice letters submitted after January 1, 2027, by program administrators for mid-cycle review pursuant to a specific commission decision, to revise the rules adopted for custom agricultural and industrial efficiency projects to replace the commission's ex ante review process with a process that ensures the provision of incentives pursuant to these provisions for custom agricultural and industrial efficiency projects, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because 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.
The Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (act) requires a retailer selling a covered electronic device, including a covered battery-embedded product, as defined, in this state to collect from a consumer at the time of retail sale a covered electronic waste recycling fee, as specified. The act imposes certain obligations on a manufacturer of a covered electronic device sold in the state. Existing law requires a manufacturer of a covered electronic device that is a covered battery-embedded product, as defined, to provide a specified notice to any retailer that sells that product informing the retailer that the covered battery-embedded product is subject to a recycling fee, as provided. Existing law requires the notices to identify the covered electronic device by brand and model number. Existing law incorporates the requirements and other provisions of the act by reference as requirements and provisions of the hazardous waste control laws. The act also expressly authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control to enforce the act, and all regulations adopted pursuant to the act, through the hazardous waste control laws. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. This bill would require the manufacturer to send notices regarding the products to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) in accordance with specified timeframes set forth in the bill. The bill would also require the notices to contain the universal product code (UPC) , as defined, and make conforming changes. By changing the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require CalRecycle to develop, on or before March 1, 2027, a standardized form for notices submitted by a manufacturer pursuant to this provision. The bill would require the form to require each notice to identify the battery-embedded covered product manufactured by that manufacturer by brand, model number, and UPC, and the covered battery-embedded waste recycling fee. The bill would require CalRecycle, on or before May 1, 2027, to create and maintain a searchable database for the notices sent by a manufacturer pursuant to this requirement, to post that information on its internet website, as provided, and to consult with manufacturers and retailers to develop a standardized online upload process for these purposes. The bill would require, upon receipt of a notice directly from a manufacturer or the publication of a notice in the online database maintained by CalRecycle, that a retailer shall have 60 days to commence collection of the fee established in compliance with requirements of the act. The bill would specify procedures for addressing complaints or information alleging a violation of laws relating to a covered battery-embedded product, as provided. Existing law sets forth definitions for purposes of the act. This bill would expand the definition of a "retailer" to include a "marketplace facilitator," as defined. The bill would delay, until January 1, 2028, the application of the act to "discount stores," as defined. The bill would limit the duties under the act of "thrift retail stores," as defined, and manufacturers regarding battery-embedded product donations to thrift retail stores, as specified. The bill would define a "universal product code" to mean an all-numeric code that represents a consumer package of a particular brand, size, type, and manufacturer by using a series of alternating bars and spaces for electronic scanning. 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 Transportation Agency, which has the power of general supervision over specified state entities. Existing law requires the agency to develop and report on legislative, budgetary, and administrative programs to accomplish comprehensive, long-range, coordinated planning and policy formation in the matters of public interest related to the agency. This bill would establish specified goals for the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) , consistent with state law.
(1) Existing law, until January 1, 2030, generally prohibits a person from possessing, importing, shipping, or transporting in the state, or from placing, planting, or causing to be placed or planted in any water in the state, invasive mussels, and authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife or the director's designee to engage in various enforcement activities, including ordering the areas in conveyance that contain water be drained, dried, or decontaminated, as provided. Existing law requires a public or private agency that operates a water supply system to cooperate with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement measures to avoid infestation by invasive mussels and to control or eradicate any infestation that may occur in a water supply system. Existing law requires, if invasive mussels are detected, the operator of a water supply system to, in cooperation with the department, prepare and implement a plan to control or eradicate invasive mussels within the system, and eliminate or minimize any potential downstream transport of an invasive mussel. Existing law requires, on or before December 31, 2026, the department to review all approved plans and require all plans that do not specifically address all invasive mussel species known to be present in bodies of water in the state as of January 1, 2026, to be updated or revised appropriately to include all invasive mussel species, on or before September 30, 2027. Existing law requires every invasive mussel species to be addressed in a plan no later than 180 days from the date that the species is listed in a certain regulation. Existing law defines "invasive mussel" for these purposes as any nonnative detrimental mussel, as provided. Under existing law, except as otherwise provided, any violation of the Fish and Game Code, or of any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under the code, is a crime. This bill would prohibit a conveyance from being launched until a specified drying period has completed, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to require water supply system operators to update their plans to address all invasive mussel species present in the operator's water system as of January 1, 2026, as provided. The bill would require a plan to address every invasive mussel species detected in a water supply system after January 1, 2026, no later than 180 days from the date the species is detected. The bill would require a plan to minimize or eliminate the spread of invasive mussels. The bill would revise the definition of "invasive mussel" to mean any nonnative biofouling mussel, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would enact a comprehensive inspection and decontamination program to be administered by the department under which the department would license inspection and decontamination stations with qualified inspectors to inspect and decontaminate conveyances for aquatic invasive species and issue certificates of compliance or notices of noncompliance, as prescribed by standards adopted by the department. The bill would establish a length of 2 years for those licenses and qualifications and would impose related application fees. The bill would impose requirements on various entities as part of the program, including requiring inspection and decontamination stations and waterbody managers to use a specified data sharing system for tracking the movement of conveyances, equipment, and other vectors among California waterbodies. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law establishes a registration fee and a renewal fee for vessels, and imposes an additional fee, known as the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee, on a vessel required to pay the registration fee or renewal fee, as provided. Existing law requires the Division of Boating and Waterways to issue a vessel an invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker to the vessel owner upon payment of the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee. Existing law authorizes a vessel operator to be issued a citation for operating a vessel or a recreational vessel in nonmarine waters without a valid state-issued invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker. This bill would enact similar provisions that would impose an additional invasive mussel infestation prevention fee of $20 per nonmotorized vessel every 2 years, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue an invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker to be affixed to the nonmotorized vessel upon payment of the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee. The bill would authorize a vessel operator to be issued a citation for operating a nonmotorized vessel without that valid state-issued invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker. This bill would require the $20 fee to be deposited into the Nonmotorized Vessel Invasive Mussel Infestation Prevention Account, which the bill would create within the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund. Moneys in the account would be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for reasonable regulatory costs of the department and the division and for specified grants. The bill would require any citation moneys to be deposited into the Nonmotorized Vessel Invasive Mussel Infestation Prevention Penalty Account, which the bill would create within the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund. Moneys in the penalty account would be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified grants and to expend on certain educational materials and signage. (3) 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. (4) 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 establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife and sets forth the duties of that department, which include administering various programs for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife. Existing law authorizes the department to take feasible actions to conserve monarch butterflies and the unique habitats they depend upon for successful migration. Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, establishes the California Coastal Commission and provides for planning and regulation of development in the coastal zone, as defined. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2028, the department, in coordination with the commission, to identify known monarch butterfly overwintering habitat sites in the coastal zone and current local government monarch butterfly overwintering habitat management plans or policies. The bill would also require, on or before July 1, 2029, the department, in coordination with the commission, to develop and provide guidance on model policies to be used by a local government for the protection of monarch butterfly overwintering habitat, including habitat restoration and enhancement. The bill would require, after the above-described guidance on model policies is finalized, a local government with a monarch butterfly overwintering habitat site located within its jurisdiction and the coastal zone, as described, to, on or before July 1, 2031, develop and implement enforceable monarch butterfly overwintering habitat site protection policies, as provided. By imposing additional duties on a local government, 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 establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state. Under this system, local educational agencies throughout the state provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and existing law establishes courses of study for those pupils. This bill would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to integrate outdoor learning into standards-aligned instruction across all grades and subject areas, as provided. Existing law establishes the State Department of Education under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and assigns the department numerous duties relating to the governance and funding of local educational agencies. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2028, to curate and maintain on its internet website resources for educators on outdoor learning. The bill would also encourage the department, in carrying out these provisions, to consult with county offices of education, classroom educators, tribal partners, mental and physical health professionals and researchers, environmental literacy experts, and community organizations with experience in outdoor learning. The bill would authorize the department to provide resources to address the particular needs of each local educational agency. The bill would authorize the department to accept voluntary contributions to be deposited into the Outdoor Learning and Environmental Literacy Account, which the bill would create in the State Treasury, to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the costs of these provisions.
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 certain projects. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, exempt from CEQA critical fuels reduction projects that address extremely flammable species, are conducted in communities located in high fire threat districts or very high fire hazard severity zones, and remove specified nonnative species or common species. The bill would require projects exempt from CEQA pursuant to this exemption to comply with the best management practices under the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan, as provided. The bill would require a lead agency carrying out a project exempt from CEQA pursuant to this exemption to consult with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, as provided, and to, within 90 days of project completion, submit a notice of project completion and a final compliance determination regarding the 2025 Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and the Secretary for Environmental Protection, as provided. The bill would require, on or before March 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to, in consultation with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, submit a report to the Legislature with specified information summarizing the implementation of these provisions during the preceding calendar year. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, 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, by December 31, 2026, the State Air Resources Board, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, as provided, to develop a framework for measuring the average carbon intensity of the materials used in the construction of new buildings, including those for residential uses. Existing law requires, by December 31, 2028, the state board to develop a comprehensive strategy for the state's building sector to achieve a 40% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of building materials, as specified, as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2035. Existing law authorizes the state board to establish an embodied carbon trading system, as defined, in compliance with these requirements, as provided. This bill would require the state board to determine whether using building materials with lower embodied carbon would be cost effective during the first 2-year period of their use compared to using conventional building materials before implementing the above-described provisions. If the state board determines that using building materials with lower embodied carbon would not be cost effective during the first 2-year period of their use compared to using conventional building materials, the bill would require the state board to delay or suspend, as applicable, implementation of those provisions for not less than 5 years, not to exceed 10 years in total.
