(1) The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various responsibilities and duties relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. Existing law establishes the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury to help water systems provide an adequate and affordable supply of safe drinking water in both the near and long terms. Existing law requires the state board to annually adopt a fund expenditure plan, as provided, and requires expenditures from the fund to be consistent with the fund expenditure plan. Existing law requires the state board to base the fund expenditure plan on data and analysis drawn from a specified drinking water needs assessment. This bill would require the state board to update a needs analysis of the state's public water systems to include an assessment, as specified, of the funds necessary to provide a 20% bill credit for low-income households served by community water systems with fewer than 3,300 service connections and for community water systems with fewer than 3,300 service connections to meet a specified affordability threshold on or before July 1, 2026, and on or before July 1 of every 3 years thereafter. (2) Existing law requires the state board, by January 1, 2018, to develop a plan for the funding and implementation of the Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program. Existing law requires the plan to include, among other things, a description of the method for collecting moneys to support and implement the program and a description of the method for determining the amount of moneys that may need to be collected from water ratepayers to fund the program. This bill would require qualified systems, defined as any retail water supplier that serves over 3,300 residential connections, to begin providing water rate assistance to eligible ratepayers, defined to mean a low-income residential ratepayer with an annual household income that is no greater than 200% of the federal poverty guideline level, on or before July 1, 2027. The bill would require a qualified system to automatically enroll an eligible ratepayer in the water rate assistance program if available information, which includes, among other things, authorizing a ratepayer to confirm eligibility by self-certification made under penalty of perjury, indicates that they are qualified to receive assistance and provide a water bill credit, as specified. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require a qualified system, on or before September 1, 2026, to provide an opportunity for each ratepayer to provide a voluntary contribution as part of the ratepayer's water bill to provide funding for the qualified system's water rate assistance program. The bill would require a qualified system to recommend a voluntary contribution amount on the bill of each ratepayer, other than an eligible ratepayer, at a level intended to raise sufficient funding to provide a bill credit to eligible ratepayers, pay for the qualified system's administrative costs to implement the program beginning January 1, 2025, and establish a balancing account if the qualified system chooses to do so. The bill would require a qualified system to notify ratepayers of the voluntary contribution on the water bill and provide each ratepayer the option and method of opting out of the voluntary contribution, as specified. The bill would also prohibit a qualified system from sanctioning or holding liable a ratepayer in any manner for not paying the voluntary contribution. The bill would authorize a qualified system to use any state or federal funds that are available to support a ratepayer assistance program by offsetting or supplementing the funds collected from voluntary contributions. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to bring an action in state court to restrain the use of any method, act, or practice in violation of these provisions, except as provided. (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.
Sponsored bills
Existing law authorizes an owner of real property to install and operate on their property an electrified security fence, as defined, to protect and secure commercial, manufacturing, or industrial property, that meets specified requirements, except where a local ordinance prohibits that installation and operation. If a local ordinance allows the installation and operation of an electrified security fence, existing law requires the installation and operation of the electrified security fence to meet the requirements of that ordinance. This bill would require a regulated gate, defined as any gate that weighs more than 50 pounds and is more than 48 inches wide or more than 84 inches high that is intended to be used by the public, an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, except as specified, to meet certain standards. The bill would require each building department to update, on or before July 1, 2026, its code requirements to ensure that any newly installed regulated gate in its jurisdiction meets those standards. The bill would require the owner of a regulated gate to have it inspected on or before July 1, 2026, or upon installation, and have it reinspected, thereafter, at least once every 10 years. The bill would require an owner to maintain a written report regarding the regulated gate's compliance with the specified requirements for at least 10 years and make the report available to the building department upon request. The bill would require the owner of a regulated gate that a professional or qualified employee, as defined, determines, upon inspection, to pose an immediate threat to safety to immediately stop the use of the gate until necessary repairs are completed and to engage a contractor or qualified employee to perform the repairs necessary to mitigate the emergency condition. The bill would require the owner of a regulated gate to engage a contractor or qualified employee to repair a regulated gate that is in need of repairs within a prescribed period, subject to imposition of an administrative fine by the building department, as specified. The bill would deem a regulated gate that fails to comply with these provisions 30 days after the owner of the gate has been notified of the violation, a public nuisance, and specify that in any case in which a government agency seeks to enjoin the continued use of a regulated gate that is in need of repair or replacement or that poses an immediate threat to the safety of the public, an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, the court may award costs, including the costs of investigation and discovery, and reasonable attorney's fees, that are not compensated for pursuant to some other provision of law, to the prevailing party. The bill would authorize a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to file a complaint for injunctive relief, or seeking a civil penalty, against an owner of a regulated gate for a violation of these provisions. Because the bill would require local officials to perform additional duties, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would provide that, for regulated gates in existence as of January 1, 2025, its provisions apply only to regulated gates located in schools and parks, as specified. 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, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of disability insurers, including health insurers, by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract and disability insurance policy that provides coverage for hospital, medical, or surgical expenses and is issued, amended, delivered, or renewed on and after July 1, 2000, to provide coverage for the testing and treatment of phenylketonuria, including coverage for the formulas and special food products that are part of a prescribed diet, as specified. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or disability insurance policy that provides coverage for hospital, medical, or surgical expenses and is issued, amended, delivered, or renewed on and after July 1, 2025, to provide coverage for dietary enteral formulas, as defined, for the treatment of regional enteritis, as specified. The bill would specify that these provisions do not apply to Medi-Cal managed care plans to the extent that the services are excluded from coverage under the contract between the Medi-Cal managed care plan and the State Department of Health Care Services. Because a violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan 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 Food and Agriculture, headed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. Existing law authorizes the department to expend in accordance with law all money that is made available for its use. This bill would find and declare that it is a primary goal of the state to prevent the introduction, and suppress the spread, of invasive species within its borders. The bill would require, in carrying out this goal, the department, in collaboration with relevant state agencies and stakeholders, to develop and implement strategies to detect, control, monitor, and eradicate invasive species to protect the state's agriculture, environment, and natural resources. The bill would require the department, in consultation with other relevant state agencies, to allocate funds, if available, to implement and enforce these provisions.
Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council in state government to, among other things, establish policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies. Existing law requires the council to develop and implement a voluntary sustainable seafood promotion program for the state, to consist of specified components, including a competitive grant and loan program for eligible entities, including, but not limited to, fishery groups and associations, for the purpose of assisting California fisheries in qualifying for certification to internationally accepted standards for sustainable seafood. This bill would, subject to the availability of funding, require the council to participate as a stakeholder, and in an advisory capacity, to the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program with air pollution control districts and air quality management districts along the coast and other stakeholders, including the State Air Resources Board, to support, in an advisory capacity, coastal air districts in their efforts to implement a statewide voluntary vessel speed reduction and sustainable shipping program for the California coast in order to reduce air pollution, the risk of fatal vessel strikes on whales, and harmful underwater acoustic impacts. The bill would authorize the expansion of the existing Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program to include specified components, including incentives to program participants based on a percentage of distance traveled by a participating vessel at a reduced speed, as provided. The bill would limit application of the program to vessels that are 300 gross tons or greater. The bill would require the participating air pollution control districts and air quality management districts, on or before December 31, 2028, to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the implementation of the program.
Maddy summaryThis California Assembly resolution encourages the U.S. Congress to pass legislation creating a National Infrastructure Bank to fund critical repairs and upgrades for roads, bridges, dams, and other public works. The bill cites reports from the American Society of Civil Engineers highlighting billions of dollars in investment gaps and poor conditions affecting California's transportation and water systems. It advocates for a financing model that uses existing federal debt rather than new taxes, aiming to stimulate the economy, create jobs, and prioritize projects in disadvantaged communities. The resolution formally requests that federal leaders adopt this approach to address the state's urgent infrastructure needs.
Maddy summaryThis California House Resolution condemns the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump and calls for an end to political violence. The measure highlights the event where Trump was wounded while speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and notes that one attendee died and others were injured while trying to protect him. It urges the state to foster a political environment based on respectful discourse and nonviolence. The resolution is a formal statement of the Assembly's stance and does not create new laws or change existing policies.
Maddy summaryThis bill officially designates September 2024 as California Wine Month to honor the state's wine industry. It directly affects wineries, grape growers, and related businesses by celebrating their economic and cultural contributions. The measure uses a formal resolution to proclaim the month, highlighting the industry's role in jobs, tourism, and sustainability. No new laws or regulations are created; the change is purely symbolic and commemorative.
This measure would recognize the importance of California Native American Day, celebrated this year on September 27, 2024, and the annual California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference, to the enhancement of awareness of California Indian culture.
Maddy summaryThis bill establishes Filipino American History Month to recognize the long-standing contributions of Filipinos to California and the United States. It directly affects state officials and the public by designating a specific month for commemoration and education. The resolution highlights historical milestones, including early Spanish-era interactions, the development of Filipino communities in cities like Stockton and San Francisco, and the significant roles Filipinos played in agriculture, shipbuilding, and military service during World War II. By formally acknowledging these events, the bill aims to promote awareness of Filipino American heritage within the state.