Asm. Buffy Wicks

(1) Existing law requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, determined by the Director of Industrial Relations, be paid to workers employed on public works projects. Existing law defines the term "public works" for purposes of requirements regarding the payment of prevailing wages to include construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for using public funds, except as specified. Existing law defines "paid for in whole or in part out of public funds" to include, among others, projects that involved transfer by the state or political subdivision of an asset of value for less than fair market price or projects where the money loaned by the state or political subdivision will be repaid on a contingent basis. Existing law makes a willful violation of laws relating to the payment of prevailing wages in public works a misdemeanor. Commencing January 1, 2026, this bill would expand the definition of paid for in whole or in part out of public funds to include projects paid using credits against a tax, including certain low-income housing tax credits. The bill would also exempt from public works provisions, private residential projects built on private property when the public funds are less than $3,000,000 for a project that is the acquisition or rehabilitation of a specified residential project. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make the bill's provisions operative only if AB 3160 of the 2023–24 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025, and would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2031. (2) 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 Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. That law requires the city or county's planning agency, after the legislative body has adopted a general plan, to submit an annual report to the legislative body, the Office of Planning and Research, and the Department of Housing and Community Development. This bill would require the annual report to include a list of all historic designations listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources (California Register) , or a local register of historic places by the city or county in the past year, and the status of any housing development projects proposed for the new historic designations, as specified. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65400 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2667 and AB 3093 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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 Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to appoint a Range Management Advisory Committee and to consult with the advisory committee on rangeland resource issues under consideration by the board. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2025, the advisory committee, in consultation with specified entities, to develop guidance for local or regional prescribed grazing plans, as provided. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (department) and the Department of Conservation to consider and incorporate this guidance in specified grant programs, as provided. Existing law requires the department to establish a local assistance grant program for eligible groups for purposes of specified fire prevention and home hardening education activities in the state, including public education outreach activities and projects to improve compliance with defensible space requirements through increased inspections, assessments, and assistance for low-income residents, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to authorize advance payments from a local assistance grant award, subject to specified conditions, and requires the grantee of the advance payment to file an accountability report with the department 4 months from the date of receiving the funds and every 4 months thereafter. Existing law makes funding for this program subject to an appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would expand the fire prevention and home hardening education activities eligible for these grants to include projects involving the application of prescribed grazing, as provided. The bill would change the eligibility criteria for projects to improve compliance with defensible space requirements to make eligible, instead of low-income residents, those residents with socioeconomic characteristics that increase the risk of wildfire or adverse health outcomes, or that inhibit the ability to respond to a wildfire, as specified. For purposes of an advance payment of grant funds, the bill would instead require the grantee to file an accountability report with the department no later than 6 months from the date of receiving the funds and no later than every 6 months thereafter. Existing law requires the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, established by former Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., to develop a comprehensive implementation strategy to track and ensure the achievement of the goals and key actions identified in the state's "Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan," as provided. Existing law requires, on or before March 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, the task force to update the action plan. This bill would require the task force, on or before June 30, 2025, in consultation with the advisory committee, to develop a strategic action plan to expand the use of prescribed grazing, as provided. The bill would require the task force to consider incorporating prescribed grazing in the January 1, 2026, update to the "Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan." This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4124.5 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 504 to be operative only if this bill and SB 504 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law establishes a low-income housing tax credit program pursuant to which the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee provides procedures and requirements for the allocation, in modified conformity with federal law, of state insurance, personal income, and corporation tax credit amounts to qualified low-income housing projects that have been allocated, or qualify for, a federal low-income housing tax credit, and farmworker housing. Existing law limits the total annual amount of the state low-income housing credit for which a federal low-income housing credit is required to the sum of $70,000,000, as increased by any percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year, any unused credit for the preceding calendar years, and the amount of housing credit ceiling returned in the calendar year. Existing law provides for an additional allocation of $500,000,000 in low-income housing tax credits for the 2020 calendar year and up to $500,000,000 for the 2021 calendar year and thereafter. Existing law provides that the additional amount for the 2021 calendar year and thereafter is available only if the Budget Act or related legislation specifies an amount available for allocation. This bill would instead require that this additional allocation of low-income housing tax credits be $500,000,000 for the 2020 calendar year through the 2030 calendar year, and up to $500,000,000 for the 2031 calendar year and every year thereafter. The bill would limit the requirement that this additional allocation is subject to the Budget Act or related legislation to allocations for the 2021 through the 2025 calendar years, and the 2031 calendar year and every year thereafter, thereby eliminating this requirement for the 2026 calendar year through the 2030 calendar year. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would provide that its provisions would become operative only if AB 3190 is enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2025. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 12206, 17058, and 23610.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code proposed by AB 3035 to be operative only if this bill and AB 3035 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture, under the control of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. Under existing law, the policy of the state is that every human being has the right to access sufficient, affordable, and healthy food. Existing law establishes various food assistance programs, including, among others, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. This bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with specified entities, to appoint and convene the End Hunger in California Master Plan Task Force to make recommendations for future comprehensive strategies aimed at addressing access to healthy and culturally relevant food for all Californians. The bill would require the task force to meet at least twice per year and to be composed of 25 members, from specified agencies and with specified knowledge and expertise in various food-related subject matters. The bill would authorize the department to use privately donated funds to provide non-state-employed members with a reasonable per diem allowance for each day of attendance and reimbursement for actual and necessary travel expenses incurred in connection with their official duties involving the task force. The bill would also authorize the task force to form ad hoc advisory committees to learn more about specific issues regarding recommending future comprehensive strategies aimed at addressing access to healthy and culturally relevant food. The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to serve as the lead agency for developing the End Hunger in California Master Plan and to assist the task force in carrying out its duties. The bill would require the plan to be distributed to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2027, or 2 years after an appropriation of funds is made to implement these provisions, whichever is later, and to include specified actions, among others, identification of barriers to bringing retailers to specific locations, inclusion of a strategy to maximize eligible individuals' participation in specified federal and state nutritional programs, and identification of goals and implementation mechanisms to ensure California achieves an end to hunger. The bill would make related findings and declarations. The bill would also require the task force to report to the Legislature, on an annual basis, the demographic information of its members, as defined, to the extent that the information is available and the member has agreed to disclose their demographic information in the report.

Existing law establishes various programs to address homelessness, including requiring the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness and establishing the Homeless Emergency Aid program for the purpose of providing localities with one-time grant funds to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law commits to the Department of Housing and Community Development the administration of various housing assistance programs, including provisions relating to residential hotel rehabilitation and tasks the department, in consultation with each council of governments, with the determination of each region's existing and projected housing need. This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this express purpose, require the Department of Housing and Community Development, commencing January 1, 2025, to begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to offer competitive grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, continuums of care, public housing authorities, and area agencies on aging, as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as defined, in up to 5 geographic regions or counties. This bill would require the department, in establishing the program guidelines, to prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of older adult renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. The bill would create the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund from which funds would be allocated by the department to selected recipients for a 3-year period for these purposes. This bill would require an award recipient to use grant funds for specified activities, including housing subsidies up to the rent cap, as defined, until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires and would authorize the use of grant funds for relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program or evicts a tenant, as specified. The bill would authorize a grantee to utilize up to 15% of its allocation for landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives, and housing navigation and tenancy transition services, as defined. This bill would require the department to conduct specified oversight activities, including imposing reporting requirements on award recipients and contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an evaluation of program outcomes and submit that report to the Legislature, as specified.

Under existing law, the Department of Justice is responsible for carrying out several functions related to the sale, delivery, and transfer of firearms, including maintaining a centralized list of all persons licensed to sell firearms and inspecting firearms. The California Constitution establishes the Attorney General as the chief law officer of the state and makes it the duty of the Attorney General to see that the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced. This bill would establish, within the Department of Justice, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The bill would require the office to advise the Attorney General on, among other things, gun violence prevention-related matters and the effectiveness of certain gun violence prevention laws and programs. The bill would require the office to consult with specified stakeholders and, on or before July 1, 2026, issue a public report on achieving sustained gun violence reduction, including addressing new legislation and improvements to statutory implementation. The bill would require the office to make its report publicly available and transmit copies to the public safety committees of both houses of the Legislature and the Governor's office, within 60 days of the report's completion.

Existing law prohibits a person from discharging from nonvehicular sources air contaminants or other materials that cause injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance to the public, or that endanger the comfort, repose, health, or safety of the public, or that cause, or have a natural tendency to cause, injury or damage to business or property, as specified. Existing law establishes maximum civil penalties for a person who violates air pollution laws from nonvehicular sources. Existing law provides that civil penalties for specified violations are to be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought by the Attorney General, by any district attorney, or by the attorney for any district in which the violation occurs. This bill would allow specified civil penalties to be multiplied by a factor of not more than 3 if the violation results from an emission from a stationary source required by federal law to be included in an operating permit program established pursuant to specified provisions of the federal Clean Air Act, and the emission contains or includes one or more air contaminants, as specified. The bill would define "source" for this purpose. The bill would require, in assessing penalties, that health impacts, community disruptions, the timeliness and accuracy of the notifications from the violator, and other circumstances related to the violation be considered, as specified. The bill would also require that civil penalties for a violation be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought by the Attorney General, by any district attorney, or by the attorney for any district in which the violation occurs.

Existing law establishes various nutrition and housing assistance programs within the jurisdiction of the State Department of Social Services, including, among others, the CalFresh program, the State Emergency Food Assistance Program (CalFood) , the Bringing Families Home Program, and the CalWORKs Housing Support Program. This bill would, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose, require the department to establish the Prepared Meals Delivery Program for the purpose of providing meals to unhoused individuals. The bill would require the County of Alameda to participate in the program and to select a community-based organization as a grantee of funding for the program based on a bidding process, as specified. The bill would require the delivery of food directly to unhoused encampments, as specified. The bill would require the grantee to provide to recipients information on enrollment within the CalFresh program as part of the grantee's meal delivery services. The bill would require the County of Alameda to submit periodic reports of performance data to the department during the course of implementing the program, as specified. The bill would require the department, no later than June 1, 2026, to submit a report to the Legislature evaluating the effectiveness of the program. By creating new duties for the County of Alameda, 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 County of Alameda. 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.

(1) Existing law, the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022, provides that a housing development project is an allowable use on a parcel that is within a zone where office, retail, or parking is a principally permitted use, if the proposed development complies with specified requirements. Under that act, one of those requirements is that the project site is 20 acres or less. This bill, if the site is a regional mall, as defined, would instead require that the project site not be greater than 100 acres. (2) Existing law, the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, until January 1, 2033, authorizes a development proponent to submit an application for an affordable housing development or a mixed-income housing development that meets specified objective standards and affordability and site criteria, including being located within a zone where office, retail, or parking are a principally permitted use. The act makes a development that meets those objective standards and affordability and site criteria a use by right and subject to one of 2 streamlined, ministerial review processes depending on, among other things, the affordability requirements applicable to the project. This bill would make various changes to the objective standards and affordability and site criteria applicable to an affordable housing development or mixed-income housing development subject to the streamlined, ministerial review process under the act. Among other changes to those objective standards, the bill would prohibit an affordable housing development subject to the act from demolishing a historic structure that was placed on a national, state, or local historic register. (3) The Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 prohibits a housing development from being subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval process if it is located on a site or adjoined to a site where more than 13 of the square footage is dedicated to industrial use in the latest version of a local government's general plan adopted before January 1, 2022. This bill would instead prohibit a housing development from being subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval process if it was designated for industrial use in the latest version of a local government's general plan adopted before January 1, 2022, and either residential uses are not principally permitted on the site. Existing law prohibits a housing development from being subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval process if it is located within 500 feet of a freeway. This bill would authorize a housing development located within 500 feet of a freeway to be subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval process, provided that the building meets specified criteria, including that it will have a centralized heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system. This bill would prohibit a local government from imposing any density limitation on a mixed-income development project that is a conversion of existing buildings into residential use, except as specified. The act prohibits a mixed-income housing development subject to the streamlined, ministerial review process from being located on a site greater than 20 acres. This bill, if the mixed-income housing development is located on a site that is a regional mall, as defined, would prohibit the development from being located on a site greater than 100 acres. (4) Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 requires a mixed-income housing development subject to the streamlined, ministerial review process to meet specified affordability criteria. In this regard, the act requires a rental housing development to include either 8% of the units for very low income households and 5% of the units for extremely low income households or 15% of the units for lower income households. In the case of an owner-occupied housing development, the act requires either 30% of the units be offered to moderate-income households or 15% of the units be offered to lower income households. This bill would clarify that those affordability thresholds apply only to the base units of the housing development project and excludes units added by a density bonus, among other changes. (5) Existing law defines various terms for purposes of the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022. The act defines "use by right" to mean that the development is not subject to a conditional use permit or other discretionary local government review and the development project is not a "project" for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act. This bill would revise various definitions for purposes of the act. The bill would clarify that "use by right" means that the development project is not subject to a conditional use permit or any other discretionary local government approval, permit, or review process and no aspect of the development project, including any permits required for the development project, is a "project" for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act. Existing law requires at least 75% of the perimeter of the housing development site to be adjoined with parcels that are developed with urban uses in order to be subject to the act. The act defines "urban uses" to include any current or former residential, commercial, public institutional, transit or transportation passenger facility, or retail use. This bill would include a public park that is surrounded by other urban uses, parking lot or structure, transit or transportation passenger facility, or retail use, or any combination of those uses, as an "urban use." (6) Existing law requires a local government that determines a housing development project is in conflict with any of the standards established in the act to provide the development proponent written documentation of the standards with which the development conflicts within 60 days or 90 days of the submittal of the development proposal, depending on the number of housing units. This bill would require a local government to determine, in writing, whether a development is consistent or inconsistent with the act within specified timeframes, including 30 days of submittal of a development proposal that was resubmitted to address written feedback. The bill, after the local government determines that a development is consistent with the objective planning standards of the act, would require a local government to approve a development within 60 days or within 90 days, depending on the number of housing units. (7) The Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 authorizes a local government, by ordinance, to exempt parcels from the act if the local government makes specified written findings, including that the local government identifies another parcel that meets the requirements of the act and that the substitution of parcels will result in no net loss of the total residential capacity in the jurisdiction. This bill would additionally require the local government to designate the exempted parcels and identify the reclassified parcels on its zoning maps, as specified. (8) This bill would provide that the provisions of the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 as applicable on December 31, 2024, apply to a housing development project application that is submitted on or before December 31, 2024, unless the development proponent chooses to be subject to any of the provisions of the act as applicable on January 1, 2025. (9) The bill would make various other clarifying and technical changes. (10) Because the bill would impose various new requirements on local governments reviewing and approving affordable housing developments and mixed-income housing developments under the act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (11) The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. (12) 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.