Existing law establishes various entities for specified purposes over specific geographic areas of the state, including the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority and California Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, among others. This bill would establish the Monterey Bay Area Stewardship Authority, a regional entity with jurisdiction extending throughout the Monterey Bay region, as defined. The bill would provide that the purpose of the authority is to raise and allocate public and private funds for restoring, enhancing, protecting, engaging in long-term stewardship, and improving access for the enjoyment of natural and working lands, as defined, in the Counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz, as specified. The bill would establish a 9-member governing board to govern the authority that consists of county board of supervisors, city officials, and public members of these counties, as specified. The bill would require the board to, among other things, establish policies for the operation of the authority, and convene an advisory committee to assist and advise the board in carrying out its functions. The bill would authorize the authority to award grants to public and private entities for eligible projects, including projects that restore, protect, enhance, or maintain natural, working, or open space lands in the Counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz, as specified. The bill would also authorize the authority to, among other things, levy a benefit assessment, special tax, or property related fee, apply for and receive grants from federal and state agencies, solicit and accept gifts, fees, grants, and allocations from public and private entities, issue revenue bonds, incur general bond indebtedness, and enter into joint powers agreements, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local governmental agencies relating to the membership of the authority's governing board, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz. 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 generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and air pollution control districts and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes air districts to adopt and implement regulations to reduce or mitigate emissions from indirect sources of air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations relating to vehicular emissions standards, as specified, that will achieve the ambient air quality standards required by federal law in conjunction with other measures adopted by the state board, air districts, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This bill would authorize the state board, if necessary to carry out that duty to achieve those ambient air quality standards, to adopt regulations to reduce or mitigate emissions from indirect sources of pollution. Existing law makes any violation of a rule or regulation of the state board relating to nonvehicular air pollution control a misdemeanor. Because a violation of these regulations of the state board with respect to nonvehicular sources subject to those regulations would be a crime, 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.
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. CEQA defines "environment" and "significant effect on the environment" for its purposes. CEQA requires the EIR to include a detailed statement setting forth specified facts. This bill would expand those definitions to include impacts on people, as specified. The bill would additionally require the lead agency to include in the EIR a detailed statement on any significant effects that may result from locating the proposed project near, or attracting people to, existing or reasonably foreseeable natural hazards or adverse environmental conditions. Because the lead agency would be required to undertake this additional consideration, 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 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. Existing law requires a lead agency to be responsible for determining whether the project is exempt from CEQA and whether an environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration is required, as provided. Existing law, for certain projects, establishes a ministerial review process with modified environmental assessment procedures, as provided. This bill, notwithstanding the above-described provisions relating to determinations by a lead agency, would require an environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration, as determined by the lead agency, for any project, except as provided, that includes the development, intensification, or substantial expansion of an industrial use if the project is located in or within 12 mile of an overburdened community, as defined. The bill would disqualify these projects from receiving a statutory exemption or ministerial review process. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of this requirement, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require, on and after July 1, 2027, specified categories of notices prepared pursuant to the requirements of CEQA to be translated into all threshold languages, as defined, in the city or county where the project is located to ensure meaningful involvement of all impacted people. Because this bill would impose additional requirements on a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Office and Land Use and Climate Innovation, by July 1, 2027, to develop guidelines for this requirement, and would require the guidelines to allow lead agencies to develop a procedure for an interested party to request that interpretation services be made available, as specified. The bill would authorize the lead agency, if it develops that procedure, to require mandatory interpretation services only when a request has been made in advance of the hearing or meeting. This bill would require the lead agency to, among other things, provide a notice of any public hearing subject to the above-described requirements to owners and occupants of property located within 12 half mile of any parcel or parcels, and to any school located within one mile of any parcel or parcels, of a project site, not less than 30 days before the public hearing. The bill would require this public hearing to include oral translation services in all threshold languages spoken in the city or county, as provided. Because this bill would impose additional requirements on a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would prohibit a minor inaccuracy in the translation of a notice or hearing from being a basis for invalidation of a public agency decision, unless the inaccuracy is found to preclude relevant information from being presented to the public, as provided. 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 Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and prescribes the commission's authorities, duties, and responsibilities pertaining to energy matters, including the provision of independent oversight and analysis of the transportation fuels markets for the protection of consumers. Existing law requires the commission to submit an assessment to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2024, and every 3 years thereafter, regarding transportation fuels in the state. Existing law requires that the first assessment submitted after January 1, 2026, evaluate the cost and supply impacts of allowing the sale of gasoline with alternative specifications to support a reliable and affordable supply of transportation fuels in California, and, if the evaluation finds that allowing the sale of gasoline with alternative specifications is likely to support a reliable and affordable supply of transportation fuels in California, requires the commission, in coordination with the State Air Resources Board, to recommend a strategy to facilitate the sale of gasoline with those alternative specifications that considers, among other things, the use of a fee associated with the sale of gasoline with those alternative specifications to mitigate for any increase in emissions. This bill would require the commission to triennially submit that assessment on or before July 1, rather than January 1, and would require that the commission's recommended strategy's discussion of that fee include recommendations regarding the appropriate fee amount to protect consumers from price impacts and avoid market disruptions. Existing law requires the commission to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees, local communities, and the public, and minimize the impact of maintenance-related production losses on fuel prices. Existing law authorizes the commission, by regulation, to impose requirements governing the timing of turnaround and maintenance, and requires that those regulations include criteria that are required to be met before a refinery commences a turnaround or maintenance event, including the refiner making resupply plans or other arrangements sufficient to ensure that the loss of production during the turnaround or maintenance event does not adversely affect the California transportation fuels market. This bill would expressly provide that those resupply plans or other arrangements may include the sale of gasoline that meets alternative specifications, as provided. Existing law requires the state board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution, as provided. Existing law authorizes the state board to grant variances from gasoline specifications adopted by the state board and to impose fees and conditions on those variances, as provided. Existing law requires that the revenues from those variance fees, except as provided, be transmitted to the Treasurer for deposit into the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account and makes those revenues available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement a program for accelerated retirement of light-duty vehicles to achieve specified emission reductions. This bill would instead require those revenues to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement or fund a program for accelerated replacement of light-duty vehicles manufactured before 2004, or that are at least 20 years old, with cleaner and more efficient motor vehicles. The bill would require the commission to adopt regulations specifying the circumstances under which sellers of gasoline are required to apply for and make use of a variance, as provided. The bill would require those regulations to be adopted and implemented for the purpose of protecting consumers from price impacts associated with supply disruptions, as provided. The bill would require the state board to consider amendments to the variance process, as provided. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in consultation with the specified entities, to adopt a biennial integrated energy policy report containing certain information in a specified format. 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 the Energy Commission, in consultation with specified entities, to analyze the cost-effectiveness of specific load flexibility programs and other types of load-shifting interventions and identify both the approximate amount of load shifting and the cost-effectiveness of each type of load-shifting intervention in the next update to the biennial integrated energy policy report after January 1, 2027, as provided. The bill would require the Energy Commission, as part of each integrated energy policy report, to estimate each retail supplier's load-shifting potential, giving consideration to certain factors, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before July 1, 2028, and biennially thereafter, to analyze and publish the amount of load shifting that each retail supplier achieved in the prior calendar year.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to establish the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program that includes the direct install program and the statewide incentive program for low-carbon building technologies, as provided. This bill would require the Energy Commission to establish a mechanism to notify applicants to the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program that they may also be eligible for building energy efficiency and decarbonization incentives authorized by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) . Existing law vests the PUC with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law establishes an 11-member Low-Income Oversight Board to advise the PUC on low-income electrical, gas, and water customer issues, as specified. This bill would add to the Low-Income Oversight Board a member to be selected by the Executive Director of the Energy Commission.
Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control, on or before January 1, 2029, to adopt regulations to enforce specified covered perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) restrictions, which include prohibitions on the distribution, sale, or offering for sale of certain products that contain specified levels of PFAS. Existing law requires the department, on and after July 1, 2030, to enforce and ensure compliance with those provisions and regulations, as provided. Existing law requires manufacturers of these products, on or before July 1, 2029, to register with the department, to pay a registration fee to the department, and to provide a statement of compliance certifying compliance with the applicable prohibitions on the use of PFAS to the department, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to test products and to rely on third-party testing to determine compliance with prohibitions on the use of PFAS, as specified. Existing law requires the department to issue a notice of violation for a product in violation of the prohibitions on the use of PFAS, as provided. Existing law authorizes the department to assess an administrative penalty for a violation of these prohibitions and authorizes the department to seek an injunction to restrain a person or entity from violating these prohibitions, as specified. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2028, prohibit a person from distributing, selling, or offering for sale a cleaning product, dental floss, juvenile product, food packaging, or ski wax, as provided, that contains intentionally added PFAS, as defined, except for previously used products and as otherwise preempted by federal law. The bill would, until January 1, 2031, exempt certain components of a cleaning product from this prohibition, as specified. The bill would clarify that, on and after January 1, 2028, a cleaning product is required to comply with certain regulations adopted by the California Air Resources Board regarding volatile organic compounds in consumer products, and would prohibit the use of a regulatory variance to comply with those regulations, as specified. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2030, prohibit a person from distributing, selling, or offering for sale cookware that contains intentionally added PFAS, except for previously used products and as otherwise preempted by federal law. The bill would authorize the department, on or before January 1, 2029, to adopt regulations to carry out these provisions. This bill would require these prohibitions on products containing intentionally added PFAS to be enforced by the department pursuant to the existing authority described above, including, but not limited to, product testing and administrative penalties. The bill would require a manufacturer of a product regulated by the bill to provide a certificate of compliance to the department upon request instead of on or before July 1, 2029. The bill would exempt a manufacturer of a product regulated by the bill from the registration and registration fees required by the existing enforcement authority described above.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, authorizes the Governor to declare a state of emergency during conditions of disaster or extreme peril to persons or property. Existing law authorizes the Governor, during a state of emergency, to suspend any regulatory statute, or statute prescribing the procedure for conduct of state business, or the orders, rules, or regulations of any state agency, if the Governor determines and declares that strict compliance with any statute, order, rule, or regulation would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the emergency. Under the authority of the California Emergency Services Act, on March 1, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation of a state of emergency that suspends applicable state statutes, rules, regulations, and requirements that fall within the jurisdiction of boards, departments, and offices within the California Environmental Protection Agency or the Natural Resources Agency to the extent necessary for expediting critical fuels reduction projects, as provided. The proclamation requires an individual or entity desiring to conduct a critical fuels reduction project to request the secretary of the appropriate agency to make a determination that the proposed project is eligible for the suspension and requires the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency to maintain on their respective internet website a list of all suspensions approved. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2028, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency to each report to the Legislature information on the implementation of the above-described proclamation of emergency, as provided. Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, requires any person wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit and provides various procedures related to development control within areas of the coastal zone. The act provides for the certification of local coastal programs and public works plans by the California Coastal Commission. The act provides for limited review by the commission for projects contained in a public works plan after certification and for action taken by a local government on a coastal development permit application after certification of a local coastal program. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2028, the commission to report to the Legislature certain information on fuel modification and reduction projects, including the acreage of fuel modification or reduction projects approved annually under coastal development permits from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2026, inclusive, among other information.
The Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 prohibits a person, with exceptions, from conducting surface mining operations unless, among other things, a permit is obtained from, a specified reclamation plan is submitted to and approved by, and financial assurances for reclamation have been approved by the lead agency for the operation of the surface mining operation. This bill would prohibit pit dewatering, as defined, in areas with subsurface river flow or groundwater levels shallower than 50 feet below ground anywhere within the San Joaquin River Parkway, as defined. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Joaquin River Parkway.
