Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. The department is administered by the Director of Housing and Community Development. The department is responsible for administering various housing and home loan programs throughout the state. Existing law requires the department, on or before December 31 of each year, to submit an annual report containing specified information to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department. This bill would establish the Master Plan for Aging Housing Task Force, chaired by the director or their designee, and composed of specified stakeholders and representatives of government agencies to, among other things, identify policy strategies that will help increase the supply of affordable housing for older adults and reduce barriers to providing health care and social services to older adults in affordable housing, and make recommendations to the Legislature. This bill would require the task force to meet at least 6 times in the 2020 calendar year, and would require the task force to submit a report to the Legislature by April 30, 2021, that provides specified information and policy recommendations related to the supply of affordable housing for older adults. The bill would make various related legislative findings.
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Existing law prohibits any person from collecting blood from animals, or preparing, testing, processing, storing, or distributing blood or blood component products, as defined, from animals, for retail sale and distribution except in a commercial blood bank for animals that is licensed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. Existing law requires a commercial blood bank for animals, as a condition of licensing, to document how the animal donor was acquired and to have a written protocol for, among other things, ongoing veterinary care for animals held in blood donor facilities. Existing law exempts all records held by the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to these provisions from disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act. This bill would modify the definition of a commercial blood bank for animals to include establishments that collect blood not only from "captive closed-colony" animals that are kept, housed, or maintained for the purpose of collecting blood, but also "community-sourced" animals, as defined, that are brought by their owners to the commercial blood bank for animals to have their blood collected. The bill would define "indirect supervision" to have the same meaning as in specified regulations. The bill would require a commercial blood bank for animals to include in its written protocol, which would be required to be consistent with current standards of care and practice for the field of veterinary transfusion medicine, bloodborne pathogen testing for all canine and feline blood donors, as specified, and ongoing veterinary care, including an annual physical exam and vaccination schedule for animals held in a captive closed-colony. The bill would prohibit a commercial blood bank for animals from providing payment to a person who brings a community-sourced animal to the commercial blood bank for the purpose of donating that animal's blood or blood component products, and would impose specified requirements on a commercial blood bank for animals that accepts a donation from a community-sourced animal. The bill would require commercial blood banks for animals to annually submit a specified report to the department. The bill would require the department to submit a specified report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2025. The bill would delete the above-described exemption from the California Public Records Act, except for identifying personal information, as defined, of owners of animal donors, as provided. The bill, for purposes of liability, would declare the production and use of whole blood, plasma, blood products, and blood derivatives for the purpose of injecting or transfusing the same, or any of them, into an animal to be construed to be, and would declare to be, the rendition of a service by each and every person, firm, or corporation participating, and would prohibit from being construed, and would be declared not to be, a sale of that whole blood, plasma, blood products, or blood derivatives. 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. Under existing law, a violation of certain provisions of the Food and Agricultural Code relating to animals is a crime. Because a violation of some of the above provisions 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.
Existing property tax law requires the county auditor, in each fiscal year, to allocate property tax revenue to local jurisdictions in accordance with specified formulas and procedures, subject to certain modifications. Existing law requires an annual reallocation of property tax revenue from local agencies in each county to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) in that county for allocation to specified educational entities. Existing law authorizes certain local agencies to form an enhanced infrastructure financing district, affordable housing authority, transit village development district, or community revitalization and investment authority for purposes of, among other things, infrastructure, affordable housing, and economic revitalization. This bill would establish in state government the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Program, which would be administered by the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee. The bill would authorize a city, county, city and county, joint powers agency, enhanced infrastructure financing district, affordable housing authority, community revitalization and investment authority, transit village development district, or a combination of those entities, to apply to the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee to participate in the program and would authorize the committee to approve or deny plans for projects meeting specific criteria. The bill would also authorize certain local agencies to establish an affordable housing and community development investment agency and authorize an agency to apply for funding under the program and issue bonds, as provided, to carry out a project under the program. The bill would require the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee to adopt guidelines for plans. Subject to the Legislature enacting a budget bill for the applicable fiscal year that specifies the amount for the committee to allocate pursuant to the program, the bill would require the committee to approve no more than $200,000,000 per year from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2026, and $250,000,000 per year from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2030, in transfers from a county's ERAF for applicants for plans approved pursuant to this program. This bill would provide that eligible projects include, among other things, the predevelopment, development, acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of workforce and affordable housing, certain transit-oriented development, and projects promoting strong neighborhoods. The bill would require the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee, upon approval of a plan and subject to specified conditions, to issue an order directing the county auditor to transfer an amount of ad valorem property tax revenue that is equal to the affordable housing and community development investment amount approved by the committee, except as provided, from the county's ERAF. The bill would require the county auditor to either deposit that amount into the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Fund, which this bill would create in the treasury of each county, or, if the applicant is a specified type of authority or special district to transfer to the city or county that created the authority or district an amount of property tax revenue equal to the amount approved by the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee for that authority or district. The bill would require the city or county that created the district to, upon receipt, transfer those funds to the authority or district in an amount equal to the affordable housing and community development investment amount for that authority or district. By imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize applicants to use approved amounts to incur debt or issue bonds or other financing to support an approved project. The bill also would require each applicant that has received funding to submit annual reports, as specified, and would require the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Committee to provide a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, if it approves funding under the program, that includes certain project information. Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution sets forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts for each fiscal year. This bill would require the Director of Finance to adjust the percentage of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and community college districts for these purposes in a manner that ensures that the transfers from a county's ERAF pursuant to the Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment Program have no net fiscal impact upon the total amount of the General Fund revenue and local property tax revenue allocated to school districts and community college districts pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, 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.
(1) Existing federal law governing immigration authorizes the importation of an alien as a nonimmigrant agricultural worker, known as an H-2A worker, if specified requirements are met, including that the employer furnish housing, as provided. Existing state law establishes various housing programs administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, including the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program, pursuant to which the department provides, subject to availability of funds, grants and loans to specified entities for the construction or rehabilitation of housing for agricultural employees and their families or for the acquisition of manufactured housing, as provided. Existing state law, the California Community Services Block Grant Program, requires the Department of Community Services and Development to administer the federal Community Services Block Grant funds to provide financial assistance for activities designed to have a measurable and potentially major impact on causes of poverty in a community or areas of a community where poverty is a particularly acute problem. Existing law authorizes this funding to assist programs that, among other things, meet the needs of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families, such as improved housing and sanitation, including the provision and maintenance of emergency and temporary housing and sanitation facilities. This bill would prohibit the provision of state funding, as defined, for the purposes of funding predevelopment of, developing, or operating any housing used to comply with the federal law requirement to furnish housing to H-2A workers and would require an employer, as defined, or other recipient of state funding who utilizes state funding for these purposes to reimburse the state or state agency that provided the funding in an amount equal to the amount of that state funding expended for those purposes. The bill would exempt from these provisions any contract or other enforceable agreement pursuant to which the state or a state agency provides funding that was entered into prior to January 1, 2020. The bill would also make various conforming changes to other laws. (2) The Planning and Zoning Law requires that the housing element of a city's or county's general plan include, among other things, that the housing element of a city's or county's general plan include, among other things, an analysis of any special housing needs, including the needs of, among others, farmworkers. Existing law exempts certain housing developments from conditional use permits and requires those developments to be subject to certain streamlined approval processes, as specified. Existing law, the Employee Housing Act, requires a person operating employee housing, as defined, to obtain a permit to operate that housing from the agency that enforces the act, which may either be the Department of Housing and Community Development or a city, county, or city and county that assumes responsibility for enforcing the act. The act generally reserves local use zone requirements to local governments except as provided, including requiring a specified streamlined approval process for certain improvements related to employee housing for agricultural employees. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor. This bill would provide that a tenant residing in agricultural employee housing, as defined, has all rights applicable to a person residing in employee housing under existing provisions, including the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and specified provisions relating to tenant rights. The bill would require the department to establish and administer, as specified, an application and review process for certifying that a person is an affordable housing organization qualified to operate specified agricultural employee housing. The bill also would require the department to establish and maintain a roster of all certified affordable housing organizations. The bill would, as an exception to the provision reserving local use zone requirements to local governments, authorize a development proponent to submit an application for an agricultural employee housing development that is subject to a streamlined, ministerial approval process, as specified, and that is not subject to a conditional use permit if certain requirements are met, including that the agricultural employee housing will be maintained and operated by a qualified affordable housing organization that has been certified by the department, as specified. The bill would require a local government to notify the development proponent in writing if the local government determines that the development does not meet those requirements by a specified time; otherwise, the development would be deemed to comply with the requirement that the development not be located on certain types of hazardous or conservation sites, as specified. The bill would authorize a specified local government entity to conduct a development review or public oversight of the development, as provided. The bill would provide that agricultural employee housing approved pursuant to the provision providing for a streamlined, ministerial approval process is not subject to the density limitations otherwise required to be considered an agricultural land use and exempt from local approval, taxes, and fees, as described above. The bill would also require, as a condition of that approval process, the qualified affordable housing organization and the landowner to obligate themselves and any successors in interest to maintain the affordability of the proposed agricultural employee housing, as specified, for not less than 35 years. If that organization does not continue to operate and maintain the housing for the time period agreed to satisfy that condition, the bill would require the landowner who obtained approval of the housing to select an alternative certified person within 90 days, and would subject the landowner to an unspecified administrative penalty if the landowner fails to do so. By increasing the duties of local officials with respect to the Employee Housing Act, and by expanding the scope of an existing crime with respect to violations of the Employee Housing Act, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make related findings and declarations, and would include findings that the 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. The bill would make various conforming changes. The Employee Housing Act deems employee housing consisting of no more than 36 beds in a group quarters or 12 units or spaces designed for use by a single family or household to be an agricultural land use for purposes of specified provisions of the act. The act provides that, for the purpose of all local ordinances, employee housing is prohibited from being deemed a use that implies that the employee housing is an activity that differs in any other way from an agricultural use. The act prohibits a local government from requiring a conditional use permit, zoning variance, or other zoning clearance for the employee housing, or from subjecting the employee housing to certain taxes or fees that are not required for other agricultural activities in that zone. The act, for the purposes of any contract, deed, or covenant for the transfer of real property, requires employee housing consisting of no more than 36 beds in a group quarters or 12 units or spaces designed for use by a single family or household to be considered an agricultural use of property. This bill, for purposes of the above-described provisions of the act, would deem employee housing that is approved pursuant to the above-described provisions of the bill providing for a streamlined, ministerial approval process, an agricultural land use. The bill would modify the prohibition on a local government requiring a zoning clearance for the employee housing to, instead, prohibit a local government from requiring a zoning clearance that is discretionary for the employee housing. The bill, as an exception to the requirement that employee housing be deemed an agricultural use for purposes of all local ordinances, would authorize a local government to subject an agricultural employee housing development, approved pursuant to the above-described provisions of the bill providing for a streamlined, ministerial approval process, to specified written objective development standards. The bill, as an exemption to the prohibition on a local government subjecting employee housing to certain taxes or fees that are not required for other agricultural activity in that zone, would authorize a local government to impose fees and other exactions otherwise authorized by law that are essential to provide necessary public services and facilities to an agricultural employee housing development. The bill, for the purposes of any contract, deed, or covenant for the transfer of real property, would require employee housing, approved pursuant to the provisions of the bill providing for a streamlined, ministerial approval process, to be considered an agricultural use of property. The bill would provide that if any owner, who invokes the above-described provisions or the provisions of the bill providing for a streamlined, ministerial approval process, fails to maintain a permit to operate throughout the first 10 consecutive years following the issuance of the original certificate of occupancy, the public agency that has waived any taxes, fees, assessments, or charges, as specified, is authorized to recover certain amounts of those taxes, fees, assessments, or charges. 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. CEQA does not apply to the approval of ministerial projects. Because the approval process established by the bill is streamlined and ministerial in nature, the approval of projects subject to this process are exempt from CEQA. The bill, additionally, would prohibit the approval of a development and the application of development standards pursuant to specified provisions of the bill from being deemed a discretionary act within the meaning of CEQA. 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 specified reasons.
Existing federal law, the Agricultural Act of 2014, authorizes an institution of higher education, as defined, or a state department of agriculture, as defined, to grow or cultivate industrial hemp under an agricultural pilot program, as defined, under certain conditions. Existing federal law, the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, requires a state desiring to have primary regulatory authority over the production of industrial hemp in the state to submit to the United States Secretary of Agriculture, through the state department of agriculture, a plan, with specified contents, under which the state monitors and regulates hemp production. Existing state law regulates the cultivation and testing of industrial hemp, as defined, and regulates the activities of seed breeders to develop seed cultivars through seed development plans, as defined. Existing law creates the Industrial Hemp Advisory Board. Existing state law requires an entity that is either a grower of industrial hemp for commercial purposes or a seed breeder that develops varieties of industrial hemp for sale or research to register with the county agricultural commissioner of the county in which it intends to cultivate industrial hemp and to annually renew its registration. Existing state law exempts an established agricultural research institution, as defined, from these registration requirements. Existing state law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish a registration fee and appropriate renewal fee to be paid by registrants. Under existing state law, these fees are deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund and continuously appropriated to the department for the administration and enforcement of this registration program and other provisions regulating the cultivation of industrial hemp. Existing state law requires a county agricultural commissioner to transmit information collected pursuant to these provisions to the department. Under existing state law, a violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. Under existing state law, these provisions are operative only to the extent authorized by federal law, as set forth in an opinion of the Attorney General. Before enactment of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, an opinion of the Attorney General issued pursuant to existing state law concluded that industrial hemp may only be grown pursuant to these provisions to the extent authorized by the federal Agricultural Act of 2014. Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , added by Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, revised some provisions of state law regarding industrial hemp. This bill would revise the provisions regulating the cultivation and testing of industrial hemp to conform with the requirements for a state plan under the federal Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, by, among other things, revising the definition of "industrial hemp," and replacing the terms "seed breeder," "seed cultivar," and "seed development plan" with the defined terms "hemp breeder," "cultivar," and "variety development plan," respectively. The bill would expand and change the membership of the Industrial Hemp Advisory Board, as specified. The bill would apply the registration requirements to growers of industrial hemp for noncommercial as well as commercial purposes. Upon approval of a state plan, as specified, the bill would apply certain registration and regulatory requirements to established agricultural research institutions, including submission of research plans, as defined, to county agricultural commissioners before cultivating hemp. The bill would impose new requirements on the department and county agricultural commissioners for the handling and transmittal of registration information, impose new testing requirements, provide new enforcement procedures to be operative as of the effective date of an approved state plan, as defined, and impose new conditions on eligibility to participate in the industrial hemp program, as defined. By expanding registration requirements, including payment of registration fees, to some growers of industrial hemp for agricultural or academic research purposes, the bill would establish a new source of revenue for a continuously appropriated fund, thus making an appropriation. This bill would require the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the Governor and the Attorney General, to develop and submit a state plan to the United States Secretary of Agriculture, as provided, on or before May 1, 2020. This bill would specify consequences for a violation of its provisions according to the frequency of prior violations and whether the violation was negligent, grossly negligent, reckless, or intentional. By imposing new registration requirements on some growers of industrial hemp for agricultural or academic research purposes, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend certain provisions of AUMA to further the purposes and intent of AUMA with a 2/3 vote of the membership of the Legislature. This bill would amend AUMA by modifying the definition of "established agricultural research institution" and imposing certain registration and other requirements on these institutions, as of the date on which a state plan for California is approved pursuant to the federal Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by the federal Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of AUMA. By increasing the duties of county agricultural commissioners who would enforce certain of these new provisions, 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 specified reasons.
Existing law, including, among others, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, provides various programs to assist older adults and people with disabilities. These programs include the Aging and Disability Resource Connection program established to provide information to consumers and their families on available long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs and to assist older adults, caregivers, and persons with disabilities in accessing LTSS programs at the local level. By executive order, the Governor ordered that a master plan for aging be developed and issued to serve as a blueprint to implement strategies and partnerships that promote healthy aging and prepare the state for upcoming demographic changes. This bill would require the master plan for aging developed pursuant to that executive order to consider the efficacy of utilizing a No Wrong Door System. The bill would specify the purpose of the No Wrong Door system as assisting older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers in obtaining accurate information and timely referrals to appropriate community services and supports. The bill would also require that master plan for aging to consider the efficacy of using a universal tool and process that is capable of assessing individual need and determining initial eligibility for programs and services available in the long-term services and supports delivery network.
Existing law requests the University of California to compile specified information, including a survey of existing resources throughout California's governmental and administrative structure that are available to address the needs of an aging society. Existing law requires the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, based upon the information compiled by the University of California and with the consultation or advice of specified entities, to develop a statewide strategic plan on aging for long-term planning purposes and submit the plan to the Legislature. By executive order, the Governor ordered that a master plan for aging be developed and issued to serve as a blueprint to implement strategies and partnerships that promote healthy aging and prepare the state for upcoming demographic changes. The executive order requires the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a Cabinet-level Workgroup for Aging to advise the secretary in developing and issuing the master plan. This bill would require the secretary, in coordination with the Director of the California Department of Aging, to lead the development and implementation of the master plan established pursuant to that executive order. The bill would require the secretary and the director, with the assistance of the workgroup, to work with specified agencies, as needed, to identify policies, efficiencies, and strategies necessary to implement the master plan. The bill would also require the workgroup to solicit input and gather information to assist with the implementation of the master plan. The bill would require the department to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1, 2020, and submit updates annually thereafter, until October 1, 2030, regarding the master plan.
The Physician Assistant Practice Act provides for licensure and regulation of physician assistants by the Physician Assistant Board, which is within the jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California. The act authorizes a physician assistant to perform medical services as set forth by regulations and the act and when those services are rendered under the supervision of a licensed physician and surgeon. The act requires the Physician Assistant Board to, among other things, make recommendations to the Medical Board of California concerning the formulation of guidelines for the consideration and approval of applications by licensed physicians to supervise physician assistants. The act prohibits a physician and surgeon from supervising more than 4 physician assistants at any one time. The act requires the medical record to identify the physician and surgeon who is responsible for the supervision of the physician assistant. The act requires the supervising physician and surgeon to be physically available to the physician assistant for consultation when that assistance is rendered. The act requires the physician assistant and the supervising physician and surgeon to establish written guidelines for adequate supervision, and authorizes the supervising physician and surgeon to satisfy this requirement by adopting protocols for some or all of the tasks performed by the physician assistant, as provided. The act additionally authorizes a delegation of services agreement to authorize a physician assistant to order durable medical equipment, to approve, sign, modify, or add to a plan of treatment or plan of care for individuals receiving home health services or personal care services, or to certify disability, as provided. This bill would remove the requirement that the Physician Assistant Board make recommendations to the Medical Board of California concerning the formulation of guidelines for the consideration and approval of applications by licensed physicians and surgeons to supervise physician assistants. The bill would remove the requirements that the medical record identify the responsible supervising physician and surgeon and that those written guidelines for adequate supervision be established. The bill would instead authorize a physician assistant to perform medical services authorized by the act as amended by this bill if certain requirements are met, including that the medical services are rendered pursuant to a practice agreement, as defined, and the physician assistant is competent to perform the medical services. The bill would also require a practice agreement between a physician assistant and a physician and surgeon to meet specified requirements, and would require a practice agreement to establish policies and procedures to identify a physician and surgeon supervising a physician assistant rendering services in a general acute care hospital. The act authorizes a physician assistant, under the supervision of a physician and surgeon, to administer or provide medication to a patient, or transmit orally, or in writing on a patient's record or in a drug order, an order to a person who may lawfully furnish the medication or medical device, subject to specified requirements. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to, among other related changes, authorize a physician assistant to furnish or order a drug or device subject to specified requirements, including that the furnishing or ordering be in accordance with the practice agreement and consistent with the physician assistant's educational preparation or for which clinical competency has been established and maintained, and that the physician and surgeon be available by telephone or other electronic communication method at the time the physician assistant examines the patient. The bill would also authorize the physician assistant to furnish or order Schedule II or III controlled substances in accordance with the practice agreement or a patient-specific order approved by the treating or supervising physician and surgeon. The act defines various terms for its purposes. This bill would revise and change the definitions as applicable to carry out the bill's provisions. The bill would provide that any reference to "delegation of services agreement" in any other law means "practice agreement," as defined by the bill. The bill would provide that "supervision," as specified by the bill, does not require the supervising physician and surgeon to be physically present, but does require adequate supervision as agreed to in the practice agreement and does require that the physician and surgeon be available by telephone or other electronic communication method at the time the physician assistant examines the patient. The bill would prohibit this provision from being construed as prohibiting the board from requiring the physical presence of a physician and surgeon as a term or condition of a PA's reinstatement, probation, or imposing discipline. The bill would also make various conforming changes. The act makes a violation of specified provisions punishable as a misdemeanor. By revising and recasting the provisions of the act, the bill would change the definition of that crime and would, therefore, result in 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.
Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board administers a water rights program pursuant to which the board grants permits and licenses to appropriate water. Existing law allows a person who has an urgent need to divert and use water to apply for, and the board to issue, a temporary permit, as prescribed. Existing law requires an applicant to pay an application fee and a permit fee, if a temporary permit is issued, both computed as specified. Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. Existing law requires a groundwater sustainability plan to be developed and implemented to meet the sustainability goal, established as prescribed. This bill would authorize a groundwater sustainability agency or local agency to apply for, and the board to issue, a conditional temporary permit for diversion of surface water to underground storage for beneficial use that advances the sustainability goal of a groundwater basin, as specified. Existing law allows a permittee or licensee who has an urgent need to change a point of diversion, place of use, or purpose of use to petition for, and the board to issue, a temporary change order, subject to certain restrictions. This bill would authorize a groundwater sustainability agency or local agency to petition for, and the board to issue, a conditional temporary change order that authorizes the diversion of surface water to underground storage for beneficial use that advances the sustainability goal of a groundwater basin, as specified. The bill would require the board to post on its internet website, by December 31, 2024, certain information, as specified, regarding the effectiveness of the temporary permitting and change petition provisions enacted by this bill.