Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires electrical corporations to submit information to the commission for various purposes, as provided. This bill would require the commission, on or before December 31, 2026, to produce a report identifying opportunities and needs to provide for local and system reliability with firm zero-carbon resources over the short term, midterm, and long term, as provided. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, characterization of the resource attributes vital for local and system reliability and identification of barriers, including market barriers, to deploying firm zero-carbon resources to enhance local and system reliability. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of a commission action implementing those provisions 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 Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to do certain things with respect to fire prevention, including organizing fire crews and patrols. This bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Office of Emergency Services, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control, in consultation with specified entities, to form a workgroup related to exposure to toxic heavy metals after a wildfire. The bill would require the workgroup to do certain things, including establishing best practices and recommendations for wildfire-impacted communities, first responders, and other personnel engaged in wildfire response and cleanup to avoid exposure to heavy metals after a wildfire, including outreach. The bill would authorize the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to contract with public universities, research institutions, and other technical experts to support the work of the workgroup. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Office of Emergency Services, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control to report their findings to the Legislature not more than 3 years after the convening of the first meeting of the workgroup.
(1) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program. The act requires each state agency to divert at least 50% of all solid waste through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities. "State agency" is defined, for purposes of these requirements, to include the California Community Colleges. The act requires each state agency to develop and adopt an integrated waste management plan to reduce solid waste, reuse materials whenever possible, recycle recyclable materials, and procure products with recycled content in all state agency offices and facilities, including any leased locations, as provided. The act requires each state agency to submit an annual report to the department summarizing its progress in reducing solid waste by at least 50%, as provided. This bill would require a state agency to include in its integrated waste management plan descriptions of actions to be taken to source reduce certain materials, as specified. The bill would require, on or before July 15, 2027, each state agency to submit an adopted integrated waste management plan to the department for review and approval, and would, on or before January 1, 2028, require the department to complete its review of the plans, as specified. The bill would require a state agency's annual report to include summaries of the state agency's compliance with the requirement to reduce solid waste by 50% and the requirements relating to the adoption of an integrated waste management plan. By imposing new duties on community colleges, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the department to provide advice to help state agencies and facilities reduce solid waste by at least 50%. The bill would, on or before January 1, 2027, require the department to publish on its internet website a list of products available for purchase by state agencies that would reduce the overall amount of plastic or paper waste generated. (2) Existing law requires plastic beverage containers sold by a beverage manufacturer, as specified, to contain a specified average percentage of postconsumer recycled plastic. Between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2029, inclusive, existing law requires that percentage to be no less than 25% postconsumer recycled plastic per year, and on and after January 1, 2030, no less than 50% postconsumer recycled plastic per year. This bill would require, on and after January 1, 2026, reportable purchases by state agencies of plastic beverage containers to be of plastic beverage containers with no less than those above-referenced percentages of postconsumer recycled plastic per year. (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, 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 the Wildlife Conservation Board within the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Under existing law, the board administers various habitat conservation and restoration programs. This bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the sum of $21,500,000 to be allocated to the board for floodplain acquisition, habitat restoration, and associated conservation projects on floodplains in the Counties of Kern, Kings, and Tulare, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for Counties of Kern, Kings, and Tulare.
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, a violation of which is a crime, requires a distributor of beverage containers, as defined, to pay to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery a monthly redemption payment for every beverage container sold or transferred, as provided. The act requires the department to deposit those amounts into the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. The fund is continuously appropriated to, among other things, pay refund values and administrative fees to processors that receive empty beverage containers from recyclers. The act specifies that a beverage container that is a box, bladder, or pouch, or similar container, containing wine or distilled spirits has a redemption payment and refund value of $0.25. This bill would reduce the redemption payment and refund value for one of those wine or distilled spirit beverage containers, if it has a capacity of less than 24 fluid ounces, from $0.25 to $0.10, beginning January 1, 2026. By expanding the scope of 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 establishes the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation in the Governor's office for the purpose of serving the Governor and the Governor's cabinet as staff for long-range planning and research and constituting the comprehensive state planning agency. Existing law authorizes a local agency to finance infrastructure projects through various means, including by authorizing a city or county to establish an enhanced infrastructure financing district to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide significance that provide significant benefits to the district or the surrounding community. This bill would require the office, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the Infrastructure Gap-Fund Program to provide grants to local agencies for the development and construction of infrastructure projects, as defined, facing unforeseen costs after starting construction. The bill would authorize the office to provide funding for up to 20% of a project's additional projected cost, as defined, after the project has started construction, subject to specified conditions, including, among other things, that the local agency has allocated existing local tax revenue for at least 45% of the initially budgeted total cost of the infrastructure project. When applying to the program, the bill would require the local agency to demonstrate challenges with completing the project on time and on budget and how the infrastructure project helps meet state and local goals, as specified. The bill would require the office to develop guidelines to implement the program that establish the criteria by which grant applications will be evaluated and funded. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2030.
Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (smog check) program that is administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The smog check program requires inspection of motor vehicles upon initial registration, biennially upon renewal of registration, upon transfer of ownership, and in certain other circumstances. Existing law exempts specified vehicles from being inspected biennially upon renewal of registration, including, among others, all motor vehicles manufactured prior to the 1976 model year. Existing law also exempts from specified portions of the smog test, both biennially and at transfer, a collector motor vehicle that is insured as a collector motor vehicle, is at least 35 model years old, complies with the exhaust emissions standards for that motor vehicle's class and model year as prescribed by the department, and that passes a functional inspection of the fuel cap and a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks. This bill would, commencing on January 1, 2027, additionally fully exempt from the smog check requirements, both biennially and at transfer, a motor vehicle that was manufactured prior to the 1981 model year, has been assigned a special identification plate indicating that it is a historical vehicle, and is insured as a collector motor vehicle, as specified. The bill, beginning January 1, 2028, would expand this exemption by one model year, every year, for 5 years. The bill would be known, and may be cited as, Leno's Law.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms in regulating those emissions. The implementing regulations adopted by the state board provide for the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to electrical corporations pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism. Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC to continue a program of assistance to low-income electric and gas customers with annual household incomes that are no greater than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, as specified, which is referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program. Existing law also requires the PUC to continue a program of assistance to residential customers of the state's 3 largest electrical corporations consisting of households of 3 or more persons with total household annual gross income levels between 200% and 250% of the federal poverty guideline level, which is referred to as the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program. Existing law, except as provided, requires revenues received by an electrical corporation as a result of the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to be credited directly to residential, small business, and emissions-intensive trade-exposed retail customers of the electrical corporation, commonly known as the California Climate Credit. This bill would exclude residential customers from receiving the California Climate Credit if they are not enrolled in the CARE or FERA program and their total electricity bills for the previous year were less than $300. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act, or of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be part of the Public Utilities Act, and a violation of a commission action implementing its 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 State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to biennially adopt an integrated energy policy report, as specified, and to make the reports accessible to state, local, and federal entities and to the general public. This bill would require the Energy Commission to establish a process for the owner of a data center, as defined, to submit the power usage effectiveness ratio, as defined, for the data center to the Energy Commission on a biannual basis, and require the owner of a data center to submit this information for the data center in the manner and timeframe specified by the Energy Commission. The bill would require the Energy Commission, as part of the 2027 edition of the integrated energy policy report, to include an assessment of electrical load trends for data centers, as provided. Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the PUC to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would require the PUC to assess the extent to which electrical corporation costs associated with new loads from data centers result in cost shifts to other electrical corporation customers, as provided, and require the PUC, on or before January 1, 2027, to submit the assessment to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature and to publicly post a copy of the assessment on the PUC's internet website. 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.
Senate Resolution 50 designates October 8, 2025, as "California Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day" to recognize the state's leadership in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The resolution highlights California's advancements in clean energy, environmental sustainability, and innovation in these fields, including applications in transportation, power generation, and industrial decarbonization. It does not create new laws or regulations but serves as a symbolic acknowledgment of the state's role in advancing clean hydrogen solutions.
