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.
The Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, authorizes a mattress recycling organization to be established by a qualified industry association to develop, implement, and administer a used mattress recycling program in the state. The act requires the organization to develop and submit to the department for approval a plan, including an annual budget to implement the plan, for the recovery and recycling of used mattresses. The act requires the plan to include, among other things, providing outreach efforts and education to consumers, manufacturers, and retailers, for the purpose of promoting the recycling of used mattresses and options available to consumers for the free dropoff or collection of used mattresses. The act requires the organization to set the state mattress recycling charge, which is added to the purchase price of a mattress, at an amount sufficient to fund the program. The act requires the charge to be clearly visible on the invoice, receipt, or functionally equivalent document by the seller to the consumer as a separate line item. This bill would authorize the distributor, retailer, or seller to pay the applicable charge to the mattress recycling organization on behalf of the consumer or ultimate end user if the distributor, retailer, or seller enters into a written agreement with a mattress recycling organization to pay the charge directly to the mattress recycling organization, as provided. The bill would make a distributor, retailer, or seller responsible for educating the consumer or the ultimate end user of the mattress in the state on the recycling of used mattresses and options available to consumers for the free dropoff or collection of used mattresses.
(1) Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency, composed of departments, boards, conservancies, and commissions responsible for the restoration, protection, and management of the state's natural and cultural resources. Existing law establishes within the Natural Resources Agency the Sixth District Agricultural Association, known as Exposition Park. Existing law establishes the Department of General Services in the Government Operations Agency for purposes of providing centralized services of state government, including, among other things, planning, acquiring, constructing, and maintaining state buildings and property. This bill would authorize the Natural Resources Agency to enter into a noncompetitive grant with a nonprofit organization, as specified. The bill would authorize the nonprofit organization, in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency and the Department of General Services, to plan, construct, and maintain a memorial to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust at Exposition Park, as specified. The bill would require the Department of General Services, in consultation with the nonprofit organization and the agency, to, among other things, review the preliminary design plans to identify potential maintenance concerns. The bill would require the nonprofit organization, in consultation with Exposition Park and with the approval of the Natural Resources Agency and the Department of General Services, to prepare certain items, including an agreement for the long-term maintenance and security of the memorial. (2) Existing law sets forth a comprehensive plan for the conservation of the waters of the San Francisco Bay and the development of its shoreline and delegates to the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission authority to implement the plan. Existing law establishes in the State Treasury a Bay Fill Clean-Up and Abatement Fund and requires moneys from specified sources to be paid into the fund, including all moneys collected civilly under specified proceedings. Existing law makes the moneys in the fund available for expenditure by the commission or the executive director, when appropriated by the Legislature, for specified purposes, including resource enhancement and remedial cleanup or abatement actions. This bill would additionally make the moneys in the fund available for enforcement activities and for technology, services, programs, and personnel that directly support those enforcement activities or that directly support any of the other specified purposes of the fund. (3) Existing law provides for the regulation of underground storage tanks, as defined, by the State Water Resources Control Board. Existing law, until January 1, 2036, requires the board to conduct a loan and grant program to assist small businesses in upgrading, replacing, or removing project tanks to comply with underground storage tank and gasoline vapor control requirements. Existing law makes funds available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Financing Account available for the loan and grant program. Existing law defines "project tanks" to mean tanks that would be upgraded, replaced, or removed with loan or grant funds, including tanks that are upgraded to comply with the Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II regulations. Existing law authorizes grant funds to be used to reimburse up to 100% of costs incurred to comply with the Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II regulations, if the grant application was received by April 1, 2009. This bill would instead define "project tanks" to mean tanks that would be upgraded, replaced, or removed with loan or grant funds to comply with underground storage tank and gasoline vapor control requirements, including tanks that are required to be permanently closed on or before December 31, 2025. The bill would eliminate the authority to use the grant funds to reimburse costs incurred to comply with the Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II regulations. The bill would authorize loan and grant funds to be used to reimburse up to 100% of the costs to remove or replace a project tank if the board receives the loan application before June 30, 2025, and the costs are incurred between specified dates. (4) The Professional Foresters Law provides for the regulation of persons who practice the profession of forestry and whose activities have an impact upon the ecology of forested landscapes and the quality of the forest environment. Under existing law, fees received pursuant to the Professional Foresters Law are required to be deposited in the Professional Forester Registration Fund, to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the administration of these provisions. Existing law authorizes, in specified circumstances, the Director of Finance to authorize an emergency expenditure from the fund in an amount determined by the director, as provided. Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish by regulation the amount of fees, for, among other things, application for registry and a penalty fee for failure to apply for a renewal, within specified ranges and based on a determination by the state board of the amount of revenues reasonably necessary to carry out the regulation of these provisions. This bill would increase the specified ranges for the above-described fees. By increasing the range for these specified fees that are deposited into a fund that is continuously appropriated under specified circumstances, this bill would make an appropriation. (5) Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL-FIRE) under the control of an executive officer known as the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection. Existing law requires CAL-FIRE, in accordance with a plan approved by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, to, among other things, provide fire prevention and firefighting implements, organize crews and patrols, and employ people to effect the plan. This bill would require CAL-FIRE, subject to an appropriation of funds, to begin to employ sufficient permanent firefighting personnel to increase the base period hand crew staffing levels. Under the bill, CAL-FIRE would maintain the ability to hire seasonal, temporary firefighters as needed to allow for surge hiring capacity for confronting emergency fire conditions or other personnel shortages as determined by the director. (6) Existing law requires the annual Budget Bill submitted by the Governor to include an amount not to exceed $3,400,000 to be appropriated by the Legislature from the Highway Users Tax Account in the Transportation Tax Fund to the State Parks and Recreation Fund. Existing law requires those funds to be appropriated to the Department of Parks and Recreation for state park highway purposes. This bill would instead require the Governor's annual Budget Bill to include an amount not to exceed $12,000,000 for those purposes. (7) Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources within the Natural Resources Agency and vests it with various powers and duties related to water, including, among other things, the authority to acquire by eminent domain any property necessary for state water and dam purposes and to award and enter into construction contracts that require expenditures in excess of funds presently available, as specified. Existing law requires workers employed on public works to be paid not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for work of a similar character in the locality that the public work is performed, as prescribed, unless an exception applies. This bill would authorize the Department of Water Resources to enter into contracts for habitat restoration projects, as specified. The bill would provide that these contracts may include the physical restoration of any state or privately owned real property, and any incidental or necessary services to accomplish that purpose. The bill would require the Department of Water Resources to prepare a request for proposals, as specified, for solicitations by the department for these contracts. The bill would require contracts entered into by the Department of Water Resources to provide compensation, including through progress payments, based upon measurable environmental outcomes and performance targets. The bill would require contracts entered into by the Department of Water Resources that include work considered to be a public work, as defined, to be subject to the public works provisions of the Labor Code. The bill would require the Department of Water Resources to classify the nature of the services to be provided when establishing the terms and conditions applicable for each contracted-for project. (8) Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources, in conjunction with other public agencies, to conduct an investigation of the state's groundwater basins and to report its findings to the Governor and the Legislature in years ending in 5 and 0. This bill would require the Department of Water Resources to report its findings, as described above, to the Governor and the Legislature only in years ending in 5. (9) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
