Existing law establishes the California Farmland Conservancy Program in the Department of Conservation and authorizes the program to offer financial assistance, including grants or contracts, for projects and activities on agricultural lands that support agricultural conservation and sustainable land management. Existing law creates the California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund and requires moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, to be used for purposes of the program. Notwithstanding that provision, existing law continuously appropriates moneys in the fund from federal grants and gifts and donations to the department for purposes of the program. This bill would require the Controller to transfer $20,000,000 on July 1 of each fiscal year, commencing with the 2025–26 fiscal year, from the General Fund to the California Farmland Conservancy Program Funding Account, which the bill would create within the California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund. The bill would continuously appropriate moneys in the account to the department for expenditure as provided. The bill would require that the funding only be awarded for agricultural conservation easements on agricultural land, as defined.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Department of Human Resources to establish and adjust salary ranges for each class of position in the state civil service. This bill would require that the salaries of state attorneys and administrative law judges in State Bargaining Unit 2 be no less than the average salaries of public sector attorneys, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Human Resources to annually conduct a survey of salary structures by March 1 of each year, as specified, and determine the average salary of public sector attorneys for each attorney classification, including the minimum salaries for entry-level attorneys, intermediate classifications, and the most senior nonmanagerial attorneys, noninclusive of negotiated differentials. The bill would require that state administrative law judges have salaries not less than the maximum salary of state attorneys classified at a specified level. The bill would require the department to make a good faith offer of parity in salary with respect to public sector agency attorneys' and administrative law judges' salaries in any negotiations with the exclusive bargaining representative. The bill would provide that no state attorney or administrative law judge classification shall be reduced in salary as a result of these provisions. This bill would state that its provisions supersede any memorandum of understanding and shall become effective with respect to salary increases on March 1 of each year. It would provide that its implementation, except for the annual survey, is contingent upon the appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act and that implementation shall be phased in over 3 fiscal years commencing on July 1, 2026. The bill would also provide that the superior court has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising under these provisions.
Existing law gives public school employees the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. Existing law establishes the Public Employment Relations Board and gives the board specified powers and duties relating to employer-employee relations. Existing law authorizes the board to conduct studies relating to employer-employee relations, including the collection, analysis, and making available of data relating to wages, benefits, and employment practices in public and private employment, and to recommend legislation. This bill would specifically authorize the board to conduct employer-employee relations studies concerning the impact on public employees of net-zero carbon emissions initiatives, including collecting, analyzing, and making available related data.
Under existing law, a minor who is 12 to 17 years of age when they violate any criminal law in this state, except an ordinance establishing a curfew based solely on age, or a minor under 12 years of age if they commit certain serious offenses, is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge the person a ward of the court. Existing law requires, after finding that the minor is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the court to hear evidence on the question of the proper disposition to be made of the minor and requires the court to receive in evidence a social study of the minor made by the probation officer. Existing law requires, when the probation officer recommends the minor to be placed in foster care, or if the minor is already in foster care placement or pending placement pursuant to an earlier order, the social study to include a case plan with specified components. This bill would also require a case plan, with specified components, to be developed and included in the social study in cases in which the probation officer recommends wardship and either does not recommend removal of the minor from their parent or guardian, or recommends commitment of the minor to a juvenile home, ranch, camp, forestry camp, or juvenile hall. The bill would also require the court to order a minor to comply with any case plan that is developed and to review the ward's progress toward meeting the goals in a case plan at a hearing no less than once every 6 months. By increasing the duties of county probation officers, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency for purposes of carrying out state housing policies and programs. Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency, as defined, and requires, except as provided, a local agency disposing of surplus land to comply with certain notice requirements before disposing of the land or participating in negotiations to dispose of the land with a prospective transferee, particularly that the local agency send a notice of availability to housing sponsors, as defined, that have notified HCD of their interest in surplus land, as specified. Existing law establishes the Department of General Services (DGS) in the Government Operations Agency for purposes of, among other things, planning, acquiring, constructing, and maintaining state buildings and property. Executive Order No. N-06-19 required DGS to create a digitized inventory of all state-owned parcels that are in excess of foreseeable needs, as provided. Existing law required DGS to develop, in consultation with HCD, no later than September 1, 2023, a set of criteria to consistently evaluate state-owned parcels for suitability as affordable housing sites. Existing law requires DGS to update the digitized inventory of all excess state land suitable for affordable housing after the conclusion of its review based on those criteria. Existing law also requires DGS to annually update the digitized inventory created pursuant to Executive Order No. N-06-19 of all excess state land, as defined, suitable for affordable housing identified by its review. This bill would authorize a local education agency to submit a list of any available local education agency-owned land to HCD for purposes of determining the suitability for development of affordable housing. The bill would require HCD, in consultation with DGS, to conduct a review of the local education agency-owned land and determine the suitability of the land for the development of affordable housing, consistent with the above-described criteria. The bill would require any local education agency-owned land determined to be suitable for the development of affordable housing to be made publicly available through the digitized inventory created pursuant to Executive Order No. N-06-19 and the above-described contact list of housing sponsors that have notified HCD of their interest in surplus land. The bill would require that an affordable housing development constructed on local education agency-owned land determined to be suitable for the development of affordable housing to provide school district employees and local tenants with a right of first refusal to occupy the housing, as specified.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the 25-member Board of Trustees of the California State University, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requires the board to be composed of 5 specified ex officio members, 16 appointive members appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, one representative of the alumni associations, 2 student members appointed by the Governor, and one faculty member appointed by the Governor. This bill would increase the size of the board to 27 members by adding an additional appointive member appointed by the Governor and an additional faculty member. The bill would require the Governor to appoint each faculty member from a list of at least 2 names furnished annually by the Academic Senate of the California State University. The bill would require the 2 faculty members to serve 2-year terms with one faculty member beginning their term of office on July 1 of an odd-numbered year and the other faculty member beginning their term of office on July 1 of an even-numbered year.
Existing law, the Financial Code, provides for the licensure and regulation of various types of financial institutions and transactions. Existing law, the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971, regulates the issuance, use, and processing of credit cards and credit card transactions. This bill would enact the Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax Fairness Act, within the Financial Code, to require that the calculation of interchange fees charged by an issuer, a payment card network, an acquirer bank, or a processor not take into account certain state and local taxes and fees, as specified. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would prohibit a payment card network, an acquirer bank, or a processor from altering the computation of interchange fees, either by increasing the rate or the amount of fees applicable, to circumvent the effects of the act. Existing law, the Unfair Competition Law, makes various practices unlawful and provides that a person who engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in unfair competition is liable for a civil penalty, as specified. This bill would provide a violation of its provisions is enforceable pursuant to the Unfair Competition Law, as provided.
Existing law, the California Farmland Conservancy Program Act, establishes within the Department of Conservation the California Farmland Conservancy Program. Existing law authorizes the program to offer financial assistance, including grants or contracts, for projects and activities on agricultural lands, as defined, that support agricultural conservation and sustainable land management. This bill would require the department, in collaboration with the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force, to establish the Farmland Access and Conservation for Thriving Communities Program in the department to provide financial and technical assistance to support agricultural land acquisition and protection. The bill would require the department, subject to specified requirements, to provide financial assistance under the program to qualified entities for the purpose of acquiring agricultural lands to transfer or provide long-term leases to qualified farmer participants, as specified. The bill would establish the Farmland Access Fund in the State Treasury and would make moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for program expenditures. The bill would authorize the department to contract with one or more nonprofit organizations to administer the program. The bill would make the operation of the program contingent upon the Legislature making an appropriation for purposes of the program.
Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA) within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, to advocate for causes of small business and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require OSBA to allocate 90% of the moneys appropriated to the Small Business Recovery Fund, which would be created within the State Treasury, for purposes of a small business recovery grant program to provide competitive grants to small businesses, as defined, that are directly impacted by a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor or other specified emergencies. The bill would require the funds to be used for, among other things, to support recovery and rebuilding efforts, and would require a grantee to match the amount of the grant awarded. The bill would require OSBA to award grants in amounts that range from $2,500 to $100,000, inclusive. This bill would require OSBA to allocate 5% of the moneys appropriated to the fund to the Small Business Technical Assistance Program administered by GO-Biz, for grants to small business technical assistance centers that provide direct service to disaster-affected areas, and 5% to the Capital Infusion Program administered by GO-Biz, to support increased demand for capital-related technical assistance in disaster areas. This bill would require the Director of the Office of Small Business Advocate to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the results of grant funds awarded for each state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor, as provided. This bill would repeal the Small Business Recovery Fund Act on January 1, 2032.
Existing law establishes the State Transportation Infrastructure Climate Adaptation Program, administered by the Department of Transportation, for purposes of planning, developing, and implementing projects adapting state transportation infrastructure to climate change. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with, among others, the Transportation Agency and the California Transportation Commission, to develop a program of its top priority climate adaptation projects and to submit projects in this program to the commission for adoption. Existing law requires the department, in developing the program of projects, to consider specified criteria, including, but not limited to, the benefits of the project to preserving or enhancing regional or statewide mobility, economy, goods movement, and safety, and other benefits associated with protecting the asset. This bill would require the department, in consultation with the commission and the agency, and on or before July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, to create a prioritized list of projects of statewide and regional significance, as defined, to better prepare the state for extreme weather-related events, with priority based on specified criteria. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Legislature a report containing the prioritized list of projects.