Sen. Steve Padilla

This measure would, among other things, urge the United States Congress and President Joseph R. Biden to fully fund the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Comprehensive Infrastructure Solution for the Tijuana River due to the ongoing impacts to public health, the environment, and the local economy caused by cross-border pollution and would urge President Joseph R. Biden to declare a national emergency due to those ongoing impacts.

Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality and prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program established by the federal Clean Water Act. The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 prohibits a regional water board from issuing a waste discharge permit for a new landfill, or a lateral expansion of an existing landfill, that is used for the disposal of nonhazardous solid waste if the land has been primarily used at any time for the mining or excavation of gravel or sand, as specified. The act defines "landfill used for the disposal of nonhazardous solid waste" as a disposal site regulated by a regional water board as a Class III landfill, as provided. This bill would additionally prohibit a regional water board from issuing a waste discharge permit for a new landfill that is used for the disposal of nonhazardous solid waste if the land is located within the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve or within an area that is tributary to the Tijuana River, except as provided. The bill would also expand the definition of "landfill used for the disposal of nonhazardous solid waste" to also include a disposal site regulated by a regional water board as a Class II landfill, as provided. The bill would state that its provisions are severable.

This measure would request that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conduct further investigation into the concerns raised regarding potential health impacts attributed to pollution in the Tijuana River.

This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to address, with effective policies, the issue of servicemembers who were unjustly discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" or predecessor provisions, in order to unify efforts to upgrade discharges issued under the DADT policy, and to restore benefits.

Existing law establishes the California Border Environmental and Public Health Protection Fund in the State Treasury to receive funds appropriated in the annual Budget Act, including, but not limited to, proceeds of bonds sold as specified, and other sources, such as from the North American Development Bank (NADBank) , and makes money in the fund available, upon appropriation, to the California-Mexico Border Relations Council, a state entity. Money in the fund is used to assist local governments in implementation of projects to identify and resolve environmental and public health problems that directly threaten the health or environmental quality of California residents or sensitive natural resources of the California border region, among other purposes. This bill would authorize, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute, funds to be made available to the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) for NADBank for loans, grants, and direct expenditures to address water quality problems arising in the California-Mexico cross-border watersheds. The bill would require the funding to be available for specified purposes, as provided, including water quality projects for the Tijuana River, and would make 10% of the funding available for the administrative costs of implementing these provisions. The bill would authorize funding provided for activities or projects in the State of Baja California to be provided through direct expenditures and for grants to an eligible funding recipient authorized to work in Mexico under a specified circumstance. The bill would require grant funding to be conditioned upon the enforceability and accountability requirements mutually agreed upon by CalEPA and NADBank, and would authorize CalEPA to withhold funding if the requirements of the applicable funding agreement are not met. The bill would also authorize grant funding to be conditioned on enforceability and accountability mechanisms agreed upon by CalEPA, NADBank, and the recipient. The bill would require CalEPA to notify the leadership office in each house of the Legislature on cross-border collaboration and the expenditure of the funding, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the North American Development Bank.

Existing law establishes the California State University, which is administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, which is administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The California Community Colleges segment comprises 73 community college districts and a total of 116 campuses throughout the state. The California State University segment includes 23 institutions of higher education located throughout the state. This bill would enact the High-Quality Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act. The bill would require the Chancellor of the California State University and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to develop a 5-year pilot program to commence with the 2025–26 school year to recruit high-quality teaching candidates at 3 California State University campuses in partnership with 3 community college campuses. The bill would require the pilot program to meet certain requirements, including, among other requirements, that it create a pathway from a community college campus that can then be completed at a California State University campus that will allow, but not require, the participating student to complete a baccalaureate degree and a teaching credential in 4 years.

Existing law establishes various rental housing finance programs administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Existing law authorizes the department to monitor and fund various multifamily housing loans. With respect to these programs and loans, existing law authorizes the department to approve an extension of a department loan, the reinstatement of a qualifying unpaid matured loan, the subordination of a department loan to new debt, or an investment of tax credit equity pursuant to specified rental housing finance programs and multifamily housing loans administered, monitored, or funded by the department, subject to specified requirements. This bill would additionally authorize the department to forgive the full amount of the principal, interest, fees, and other outstanding balances of the above-described loans if the borrower makes specified showings. The bill would require that projects receiving loan forgiveness meet specified requirements, including that the projects maintain the same number of affordable units at the same affordable housing cost as provided in the project's regulatory agreement, except as specified. The bill would authorize borrowers to appeal a loan forgiveness decision to the Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing for reconsideration. This bill would make findings and declarations related to a gift of public funds.

Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality and prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program established by the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. This bill would require the board to, on or before August 1, 2025, establish regulations governing annual reporting by compliance entities, as defined, regarding waste discharges, as provided. The bill would require compliance entities to submit a report to the board by June 1, 2026, and annually thereafter on waste discharges and their locations, as provided. The bill would require, within 3 months of reporting to the board waste discharges that affect the quality of the water of the state within any region, any nonexempt compliance entity to prominently label any product sold in California whose production resulted in waste discharge contaminating California's water quality with a warning label, as specified. The bill would authorize the board to adopt regulations to seek administrative penalties for nonfiling, late filing, or other failures to meet the requirements of these provisions, and would require these penalties to be deposited into the California Water Quality and Public Health Impact Fund, which the bill would create. The bill would require the moneys in the fund to be used exclusively to mitigate the impacts of the contamination on waters of the state caused by the reported waste discharges. The bill would authorize the board to charge compliance entities a reasonable fee necessary to cover the board's reasonable costs of administering and implementing these provisions and to impose noncompliance penalties, not to exceed $1,000,000. The bill would exempt from these provisions certain discharge requirements prescribed by the state board or a regional board and permits issued by a state in accordance with a program approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act.

Existing law requires the Secretary of Government Operations to develop a coordinated plan to, among other things, investigate the feasibility of, and obstacles to, developing standards and technologies for state departments to determine digital content provenance. For the purpose of informing that coordinated plan, existing law requires the secretary to evaluate, among other things, the impact of the proliferation of deepfakes, defined to mean audio or visual content that has been generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence that would falsely appear to be authentic or truthful and that features depictions of people appearing to say or do things they did not say or do without their consent, on state government, California-based businesses, and residents of the state. This bill would require the Government Operations Agency, the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, the California Privacy Protection Agency, and the Department of Technology to collaborate to establish the California Artificial Intelligence Research Hub (hub) in the Government Operations Agency, as prescribed. The bill would require the hub to serve as a centralized entity to facilitate collaboration between government agencies, academic institutions, and private sector partners to advance artificial intelligence research and development that seeks to harness the technology's full potential for public benefit while safeguarding privacy, advancing security, and addressing risks and potential harms to society, as prescribed.

Maddy summarySenate Resolution 108 officially designates August 8 as California Pickleball Day to honor the sport's history and growing popularity in the state. This resolution does not change laws or allocate funding but instead serves as a commemorative measure to recognize pickleball as a fun, social activity suitable for people of all ages. The text highlights the game's origins in 1965 and its rapid expansion across the United States, noting its inclusion in senior games and its status as one of the fastest-growing sports. By adopting this resolution, the Senate acknowledges the sport's cultural significance without imposing any new regulations or obligations on residents.