Sen. Melissa Hurtado

Existing law, the Use Fuel Tax Law (UFTL) , imposes a state excise tax on the use of fuel, as defined, at specified rates. This bill would establish in the state treasury the Carbon Neutrality Fund, and would require, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2029, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to pay annually from the fund an incentive payment to a qualified taxpayer on a first-come-first-served basis, as prescribed. The bill would, among other things, require the incentive payment for a taxable year to be an amount equal to the applicable amount, as determined based on the carbon intensity of a transportation fuel, multiplied by the number of diesel gallons equivalent or gasoline gallons equivalent of qualified liquid or gaseous transportation fuel sold by the qualified taxpayer during a taxable year, reported as prescribed. The bill would prohibit the incentive payment in a taxable year from exceeding the amount of tax paid by the qualified taxpayer pursuant to the UFTL in that taxable year and would prohibit the aggregate amount of incentive payments in a taxable year from exceeding $500,000,000.

Existing law, the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, imposes a tax upon each gallon of motor vehicle fuel removed from a refinery or terminal rack in this state, entered into this state, or sold in this state, at a specified rate per gallon. Existing unfair competition laws establish a statutory cause of action for unfair competition, including any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising and acts prohibited by false advertisement laws. This bill would suspend the imposition of the tax on motor vehicle fuels for one year. The bill would require that all savings realized based on the suspension of the motor vehicle fuels tax by a person other than an end consumer, as defined, be passed on to the end consumer, and would make the violation of this requirement an unfair business practice, in violation of unfair competition laws, as provided. The bill would require a seller of motor vehicle fuels to provide a receipt to a purchaser that indicates the amount of tax that would have otherwise applied to the transaction. This bill would also direct the Controller to transfer a specified amount from the General Fund to the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account in the Transportation Tax Fund. By transferring General Fund moneys to a continuously appropriated account, this bill would make an appropriation.

This measure would recognize the value of all women's contributions to agriculture and resolve to help realize their success as leaders on the land.

Existing law requires a hosting platform to provide an offer or listing a residence for short-term rental on the hosting platform with a specific notice relating to certain liability considerations and risks of listing the residence. Existing law defines "hosting platform" as a marketplace that is created for the primary purpose of facilitating the rental of a residential unit, as specified. This bill would prohibit a city or county from prohibiting or effectively prohibiting the use of property as a home experience sharing unit. The bill would define "home experience sharing unit" as a privately owned, noncommercial property or residential dwelling unit that is rented partially for a fee for a period of fewer than 18 continuous hours and that does not provide sleeping accommodations to transients. The bill would authorize a city or county to reasonably regulate home experience sharing units to protect the public's health and safety, as specified. 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.

Existing law defines the terms "serious felony" and "violent felony" for various purposes, including, among others, enhancing the punishment for felonies pursuant to existing sentencing provisions commonly known as the Three Strikes Law. This bill would include human trafficking within the definition of a violent felony and the definition of a serious felony for all purposes, including for purposes of the Three Strikes Law. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, 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.

This measure would recognize March 2022 as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Awareness Month.

Under existing law governing the Community Development Block Grant Program, the Department of Housing and Community Development is required to distribute federal funds in the form of grants to eligible cities and counties to provide housing and economic development, principally for persons and families of low or moderate income. Existing law requires all funds made available under the program to be utilized to provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunities, consistent with federal requirements. This bill would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to prioritize 10% of program funds for down payment assistance. The bill would provide that these requirements be implemented only to the extent that they are consistent with federal requirements. Existing federal law establishes the HOME Investment Partnership Act, which allocates funds to states and local governments to, among other things, expand the supply of affordable housing. Existing law designates the Department of Housing and Community Development as the state agency responsible for the administration of the state's allocation of HOME Investment Partnership Act funds, the provision of technical assistance, and coordination of HOME Investment Partnership Act activities. This bill would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to prioritize 30% of the federal funding provided under the HOME Investment Partnership Act for purposes of promoting homeownership. The bill would provide that this requirement be implemented only to the extent that it is consistent with federal requirements.

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. The act requires a groundwater sustainability agency, upon adoption of a groundwater sustainability plan, to submit the groundwater sustainability plan to the department for review. If groundwater sustainability agencies develop multiple groundwater sustainability plans for a basin, the act requires, when the entire basin is covered by groundwater sustainability plans, the groundwater sustainability agencies to jointly submit to the department the groundwater sustainability plans, an explanation of how the plans satisfy specified provisions of the act, and a copy of the coordination agreement between the groundwater sustainability agencies. The act requires the department to evaluate a groundwater sustainability plan within 2 years of its submission and issue an assessment of the plan. This bill would provide that nothing in those provisions relating to making submissions to the department shall be construed to prohibit groundwater sustainability agencies that have developed multiple groundwater sustainability plans for a basin from amending the coordination agreement following department issuance of an assessment of the plans.