Sen. María Elena Durazo

Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to develop a plan for the funding and implementation of the Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program. Existing law requires the plan to include, among other things, a description of the method for collecting moneys to support and implement the program and a description of the method for determining the amount of moneys that may need to be collected from water ratepayers to fund the program. This bill would establish the Water Rate Assistance Program. As part of the program, the bill would establish the Water Rate Assistance Fund in the State Treasury, available upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide water affordability assistance, for both residential water and wastewater services, to low-income residential ratepayers, as specified. The bill would require the state board to take various actions in administering the fund, including, among other things, tracking and managing revenue in the fund separately from all other revenue. The bill would require the state board, in consultation with relevant agencies and after a public hearing, to adopt guidelines for implementation of the program and to adopt an annual report to be posted on the state board's internet website identifying how the fund has performed, as specified. The bill would require the guidelines to include minimum requirements for eligible systems, including the ability to confirm eligibility for enrollment through a request for self-certification of eligibility under penalty of perjury. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the state board to take various actions in administering the program, including, but not limited to, providing guidance, oversight, and funding for low-income rate assistance for residential ratepayers of eligible systems. The bill would authorize the Attorney General, at the request of the state board, to bring an action in state court to restrain the use of any method, act, or practice in violation of these provisions, except as provided. The bill would make the implementation of all of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature. 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 designates 8 agencies in state government and requires the secretary of an agency to be generally responsible for the sound fiscal management of each department, office, or other unit within the agency. Existing law further requires the secretary of an agency to, among other duties, continually seek to improve the organization structure, the operating policies, and the management information systems of each department, office, or other unit. This bill would establish the Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Agency as an agency within state government, to be headed by a secretary who is appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation. The bill would specify that the purpose of the agency is to enhance, and reduce obstacles to, immigrant and refugee inclusion into the social, cultural, economic, and civic life of the state. The bill would authorize the secretary to, among other things, assist other state agencies in evaluating their programs for accessibility and effectiveness in providing services to immigrants and refugees and recommending policy and budget mechanisms for meeting immigrant and refugee inclusion. This bill would establish the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs within the agency, under the direction of the Statewide Director of Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion. The bill would declare the intent to incorporate existing and future programs created to assist immigrants and refugees into the office. The bill would transfer to the office the property of any other office, agency, or department that relates to functions concerning immigrant and refugee affairs. The bill would require every officer and employee who is performing a function at another office, agency, or department that is transferred to the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs to also be transferred to the office, and would provide that every officer and employee who is serving in the state civil service who is transferred to the office shall retain their status, position, and rights, except as specified. The bill would create the Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion Fund within the State Treasury, and would make the moneys in the fund available to the office upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would transfer to the office any unencumbered balance of any appropriation or other funds that were available for use in connection with any function transferred to the office. This bill would limit interagency sharing of information, would prohibit sharing of personal information of immigrants and refugees outside of the agency, and would prohibit use of agency resources to directly or indirectly participate or assist in immigration enforcement activity. Existing law establishes the Statewide Director of Immigrant Integration and requires the director serve as the statewide lead for the planning and coordination of immigrant services and policies in California. Existing law requires, among other things, that the director develop a comprehensive statewide report on programs and services that serve immigrants, develop an online clearinghouse of immigrant services, resources, and programs, and monitor the implementation of statewide laws and regulations that serve immigrants. This bill would recast those provisions to rename the director as the Statewide Director of Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion and would require the director to, among other things, develop a mission statement, strategic plan, and matrix of success for the office, and to report to the Legislature biannually on successes and challenges in meeting immigrant and refugee inclusion goals. The bill would require the director, by January 1, 2027, to report to the Governor and the Legislature on programs and services that serve immigrants and refugees and on a statewide plan for better implementation and coordination of immigrant and refugee assistance policies and programs. The bill would repeal the bill's provisions on January 1, 2036. 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.

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 (EIR) 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. Existing law exempts from CEQA a rezoning that implements the schedule of actions contained in an approved housing element, as specified, except, among other things, a rezoning that would allow for the construction of a distribution center or for oil and gas infrastructure. This bill would instead exempt a rezoning to the extent that it is necessary to implement a schedule of actions contained in an approved housing element, except, among other things, a rezoning that would allow for the construction of a distribution center, for a tourism facility, as defined, or for oil and gas infrastructure. Existing law, for a proposed housing development project, as defined, that would otherwise be exempt from CEQA pursuant to a statutory exemption or specified categorical exemptions, but for a single condition, limits the application of CEQA to the effects upon the environment that are caused by that single condition, except as provided. This bill, for purposes of those provisions, would modify the definition of housing development project to exclude a project that has any portion of the project designated for use as a tourism facility, as defined. To the extent that this would create new duties for a lead agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law exempts specified projects from CEQA, including a project that consists exclusively of a facility for advanced manufacturing, as defined, if the project is located on a site zoned exclusively for industrial uses. Existing law excludes projects located on natural and protected lands, as defined, from these exemptions, as provided. Existing law includes in the definition of natural and protected lands, lands protected as preserve areas or reserve lands pursuant to an adopted natural community conservation plan or habitat conservation plan, as specified. This bill would instead include, for that portion of the definition of natural and protected lands, lands identified for conservation in an adopted natural community conservation plan, habitat conservation plan, or other adopted natural resource protection plan, as specified. The bill would also expand the definition of natural and protected lands to include habitat for protected species, as specified, fully protected species, or species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, the California Endangered Species Act, or the Native Plant Protection Act. The bill would eliminate the exemption from CEQA for advanced manufacturing projects. The bill would instead exempt from CEQA, until January 1, 2030, a project that consists exclusively of a facility for semiconductor manufacturing if the project is located on a site that was zoned exclusively for heavy industrial use on or before August 1, 2025, and meets specified criteria, including, among other things, that the project does not involve the storage, use, or discharge of extremely hazardous gases or chemicals above California's accidental release program reporting thresholds, the project applicant demonstrates high road employment standards and certifies to the lead agency that it will maintain those standards in the development, construction, and operation of the facility, and the project applicant has provided a legally binding commitment to comply with specified labor-related requirements with respect to the initial construction of the facility and subsequent maintenance that is contracted out to a contractor in the construction industry, as specified. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop and make available to lead agencies guidelines for evaluating whether a project applicant demonstrates high road employment standards. The bill would require the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, on or before January 1, 2029, to report to the Legislature on projects that were exempted from CEQA pursuant to the above exemption, as provided, and require the report to include a list of the projects for semiconductor manufacturing facilities that have been approved for development in the state, as specified. CEQA requires in an action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul certain acts or decisions of a public agency to be commenced according to a specified process and requires the record of proceedings to contain specified information, including all internal agency communications, except as specified. Existing law provides that for those projects that do not include a distribution center or oil and gas infrastructure, internal agency communication does not include staff notes and electronic internal agency communications, including emails, that were not presented to the final decisionmaking body, other than those communications and documents consulted, or reviewed by the lead agency executive or a local agency executive, as provided, thereby limiting what the record of proceeding is required to contain for these projects. This bill would eliminate the above-described limitation on internal agency communication required to be included in the record of proceedings for those projects that do not include a distribution center or oil and gas infrastructure, thereby requiring additional information to be included in the record of proceeding. By imposing new duties on a lead agency in order to comply with this provision, the bill would create 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 strongly condemn and denounce mass immigration raids that target immigrant workers and families in California and the engagement of the military in immigration enforcement operations and in response to community protests. This measure would affirm support for safeguarding the rights and safety of all Californians, regardless of immigration status, and support, among other things, the expansion of legal services and emergency response resources to protect workers, children, and families affected by immigration enforcement.

Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, prohibits various forms of employment and housing discrimination, including various types of discrimination because of national origin. Existing law empowers the Civil Rights Department to investigate and prosecute complaints alleging unlawful practices. Existing labor law also prohibits an employer or other person or entity from engaging in, or to directing another person or entity to engage in, unfair immigration-related practices against a person for exercising specified rights. Existing law defines unfair immigration-related practices for these purposes. Existing law additionally makes it unlawful for an employer to request more or different immigration documents than are required under federal law, to refuse to honor documents tendered that reasonably appear to be genuine, and to take other related actions concerning employee work authorization documents. Existing law authorizes an applicant for employment or an employee who is subject to an unlawful act that is prohibited by these provisions, or a representative of that applicant for employment or employee, to file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Existing law establishes specified civil penalties for a violation of these provisions. This bill would require each employee, upon request, to be released by their employer for up to 5 unpaid working days within a 12-month period in order to attend appointments, interviews, adjudications, legal proceedings, detainment, or any other meeting at which the employee's presence is required concerning the employee's immigration status, work authorization, visa status, or any other immigration-related matter, as specified. The bill would also require a postintroductory employee, as defined, whose employment has been terminated due to an inability to provide documentation of proper work authorization, to be immediately reinstated to their former classification without loss in seniority, subject to producing proper work authorization, except as provided. The bill would also require an employer, if the employee demonstrates a need for additional time, to rehire the employee into the next available opening in the employee's former classification, as a new hire without retaining seniority, subject to the employee providing proper work authorization and meeting certain other conditions. This bill would require an employer that is notified that an employee has been detained or incarcerated as a result of pending immigration or deportation proceedings, to place the employee on an unpaid leave of absence for a period pending the employee's release from detainment or incarceration and not to exceed 12 months. If the employee is released and provides appropriate work authorization documentation within the period of the authorized unpaid leave of absence, the bill would require the employer to return the employee to their former job classification without loss of seniority, except as specified. This bill would apply the above requirements to a public or private employer, but would exempt a public or private employer with 25 or fewer employees. The bill would prohibit each public or private employer from disciplining, discharging, or discriminating against an employee because of national origin or immigration status, or solely because the employee is subject to immigration or deportation proceedings, except as required to comply with the law. The bill would prohibit an employee subject to immigration or deportation proceedings from being discharged solely because of those proceedings, so long as the employee is authorized to work in the United States. This bill would provide that its provisions do not invalidate a collective bargaining agreement or a memorandum of understanding that contains a provision addressing rehire or reinstatement rights or leave rights regarding employees who are subject to immigration proceedings, nor does it supersede the seniority provisions of a collective bargaining agreement or a memorandum of understanding. The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to enforce the bill's provisions. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2029, and would repeal them on January 1, 2030.

Existing law, the Housing Accountability Act, among other things, prohibits a local agency from disapproving, or conditioning approval in a manner that renders infeasible, a housing development project for very low, low-, or moderate-income households unless the local agency makes written findings as to one of certain sets of conditions, as specified. Existing law defines, for its purposes, a housing development project as a use consisting of, among other things, mixed-use developments consisting of residential and nonresidential uses meeting one of several conditions, including that at least 23 of the new or converted square footage is designated for residential use. This bill would revise the definition of "housing development project" to, in the case of mixed-use developments with at least 23 of the new or converted square footage designated for residential use, require that no portion of the project be designated for use as a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging, except as specified. This bill would correct cross-references in the Housing Accountability Act. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65589.5 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1308 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1308 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law authorizes a local authority, by ordinance or resolution, to regulate the occupancy of a room or rooms, or other living space, in a hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, or other lodging for a period of less than 30 days. This bill would authorize a local agency, defined to mean a city, county, or city and county, to enact an ordinance to require a short-term rental facilitator, as defined, to report, in the form and manner prescribed by the local agency, the physical address, including 9-digit ZIP Code, of each short-term rental, as defined, during the reporting period. The bill would also authorize a local agency to request additional information, as provided, when the physical address is not sufficient for the local agency to identify a specific short-term rental. The bill would authorize the local agency to impose an administrative fine or penalty for failure to file the report, and would authorize the local agency to initiate an audit of a short-term rental facilitator, as described. The bill would require a short-term rental facilitator, in a jurisdiction that has adopted an ordinance, to include in the listing of a short-term rental any applicable local license number associated with the short-term rental and any transient occupancy tax certification issued by a local agency. The bill would state these provisions do not preempt a local agency from adopting an ordinance that regulates short-term rentals, short-term rental facilitators, or the payment and collection of transient occupancy taxes in a manner that differs from those described in the bill.

Existing unemployment compensation disability law requires workers to pay contribution rates based on, among other things, wages received in employment and benefit disbursement, for payment into the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury. That fund is continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions. Existing law establishes, within the above state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits for up to 8 weeks to workers who take time off work for prescribed purposes, including to care for a seriously ill family member. Existing law defines terms for its purposes, including family care leave and family member. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2028, expand eligibility for benefits under the paid family leave program to include individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill designated person. The bill would define designated person to mean any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship, and would make conforming changes to the definitions of the terms family care leave and family member. This bill would require an individual that requests for the first time family temporary disability insurance benefits to care for a designated person to identify the designated person and, under penalty of perjury, attest to how the individual is related by blood to the designated person, or how the individual's association with the designated person is the equivalent of a family relationship. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By authorizing expenditures from the continuously appropriated fund for these expanded purposes, this bill would make an appropriation. 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 establishes the Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Wellness and Equity Fund under the administration of the State Department of Public Health, for purposes of funding grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to create programs, or funding existing programs, focused on coordinating trans-inclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex (TGI) . Existing law makes the grants available to TGI-serving organizations, as specified. Existing law defines terms, including "health care" and "gender nonconforming," for purposes of these provisions. This bill would rename the fund as the Two-Spirit, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex (2TGI) Wellness and Equity Fund and would make a conforming change to a related provision. The bill would expand the availability of grant funds to 2TGI-serving organizations, as defined, for purposes of providing workforce development training for 2TGI individuals, resettlement and social integration programs for 2TGI asylees and immigrants, and diversion programs for, and outreach to, transitional-age 2TGI youth. Under the bill, an organization that serves tribal populations would also be eligible for a grant for any of the specified purposes if that organization applies in partnership with a 2TGI-serving organization. The bill would revise the definition of "health care" to include mental health services and would define "Two-Spirit" and "transitional-age 2TGI youth" for purposes of these provisions. The bill would make related legislative findings.

(1) The Outdoor Advertising Act, a violation of which is a crime, provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. Existing law exempts from certain provisions of the act advertising displays located in specific geographic areas in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet prescribed conditions and requirements, including the condition that the advertising display is authorized by, or in accordance with, an ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles that regulates advertising displays by identifying the specific displays or establishing regulations that include, at a minimum, specified restrictions, as provided. This bill would authorize the ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles to authorize a framework of allowable signage that preserves flexibility in the ultimate placement, sizing, and scope of advertising displays, and define a range or maximum signage capacity, as specified. The bill would also authorize the City of Los Angeles to adopt implementing ordinances that sequence or phase the authorization of advertising displays over time. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.