(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the Natural Resources Agency and requires the department to coordinate programs of fire protection, fire prevention, pest control, and forest and range maintenance and enhancement. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2029, in consultation with the Department of Insurance, the Natural Resources Agency, the Office of Emergency Services, and other relevant departments, to develop standards for state and local agencies to aggregate and make available data related to parcel-, neighborhood-, and community-level wildfire risk for the purpose of enabling a wildfire data sharing platform, as provided. The bill would require the department to incorporate those data standards into community wildfire risk reduction metrics. (2) Existing law creates the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, and prescribes their powers and duties. Existing law requires, on or before April 1, 2026, and every 2 years thereafter, an admitted insurer with written California premiums totaling $12,000,000 or more to submit a report to the Insurance Commissioner on its residential property experience data for the previous 2 years for policies written in California, as specified. Existing law requires this information submitted to the commissioner to be confidential, exempt from the California Public Records Act, and not subject to subpoena, as provided. This bill would authorize the Department of Insurance to provide information submitted to the department, including, among other things, the property experience data described above, to researchers and government agencies for the purpose of evaluating California wildfire risk, insurance protection gaps, or wildfire risk mitigation, as provided. The bill would require any published data product collected pursuant to the above-described authority that is provided to a researcher or government agency to be anonymized and aggregated sufficiently to avoid identification of individual company losses, claims data, or information on confidential business practices, as specified, and would prohibit subsequent reports from identifying an individual respondent or insurer. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to annually provide to the Legislature a report detailing the department's fire prevention efforts and annually post on its internet website information regarding hazardous fuel reduction and vegetation management projects funded or conducted by the department, as provided. Existing law requires the department to develop a standardized protocol for monitoring implementation and evaluating the positive and negative ecological and fire behavior impacts from vegetation management projects undertaken by the state, as provided. This bill would repeal those requirements and would instead require the department, on or before March 1 of each year, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the detailed efforts made in California towards wildfire prevention and community preparedness, as provided. Existing law requires the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, including the Natural Resources Agency and the department, among others, in coordination with certain public agencies, to develop a comprehensive implementation strategy to track and ensure the achievement of the goals and key actions identified in California's Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, as provided. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2027, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the State Fire Marshal, the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, the Wildfire County Coordinator Program, and the State Hazard Mitigation Officer to prepare a comprehensive statewide community wildfire preparedness strategy, as provided. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to support communities in the development of optional county-level community wildfire protection plans that align with the community wildfire preparedness strategy, as provided. The bill would require a local entity, in order to receive state funding to implement its community wildfire protection plan, to provide annual updates and progress on its efforts to meet the goals of its plan. (4) Existing law establishes the Continuation Account in the Wildfire Fund, to be administered by the Wildfire Fund Administrator, and continuously appropriates moneys in the Continuation Account for purposes of payment of eligible claims arising from wildfires ignited on or after September 19, 2025, as provided. Existing law requires each large electrical corporation to provide to the Public Utilities Commission a written notification of its election to participate, or not to participate, in the Continuation Account, and requires the commission, if all participating electrical corporations have provided their election to participate in the Continuation Account, to provide the administrator and other entities notification of their elections. Existing law authorizes the administrator, on or after the date the commission provides that notification, but not later than December 31, 2028, to determine if annual contributions from large electrical corporations are needed to enable the Continuation Account to fund the timely payment of eligible claims, as provided. Existing law requires the commission, within 15 days of receiving notification from the administrator that additional annual contributions are required, to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to consider using its authority to require the large electrical corporations to collect a nonbypassable charge from ratepayers to support the Continuation Account, including the payment of any bond issued for the support of the Continuation Account, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Department of Water Resources to issue bonds, in an aggregate amount up to $9,000,000,000, as provided, to support the Continuation Account. If the commission imposes the nonbypassable charge to support the Continuation Account, existing law requires the large electrical corporations, from calendar years 2029 to 2045, inclusive, to provide to the administrator their annual contributions, as specified, for deposit into the Continuation Account. This bill would, if the administrator provides that notification, additionally authorize the administrator to incur indebtedness and issue bonds solely for purposes of supporting the Continuation Account and other related expenses incurred by the administrator, provided that bonds authorized under this provision are payable solely from annual contributions and additional contributions, as provided. The bill would authorize bonds issued by the department, at the discretion of the administrator, to be secured solely by ratepayer contributions, as specified. The bill would prohibit the Wildfire Fund or Continuation Account from being terminated while bonds issued by the department remain outstanding, unless an amount sufficient to pay remaining debt service on those bonds has been irrevocably set aside for those purposes, as specified. Upon the determination of the administrator that the Wildfire Fund should be terminated, the bill would require any remaining Wildfire Fund assets to be transferred to the Continuation Account, and upon the determination of the administrator that the Continuation Account should be terminated, the bill would require any remaining funds to be transferred to the General Fund. By transferring those moneys into a continuously appropriated account, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would make additional technical and conforming changes. Existing law requires revenues and bond proceeds received by the department to be deposited in the Department of Water Resources Charge Fund and continuously appropriates the moneys in the Department of Water Resources Charge Fund to the department for specified purposes, including transfers to the Wildfire Fund and payment of the bonds. This bill would require revenues and bond proceeds received by the department pursuant to the provisions related to the Continuation Account to be deposited into an account or subaccount within the Department of Water Resources Charge Fund, and to be held separate and apart from amounts held in the Department of Water Resources Charge Fund pursuant to provisions related to the Wildfire Fund, as specified. (5) This bill would create the California Wildfire Relief Fast-Pay Program and would require the California Catastrophe Response Council to appoint a fast-pay administrator to administer the fast-pay program. The bill would require the fast-pay administrator to establish and approve procedures for the review, approval, and timely payment of claims by individual claimants for damages as a result of an activating wildfire, as defined. If the eligible entity, defined as an electric utility or public agency that has a wildfire mitigation plan approved by the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (office) , is a participating electrical corporation, as defined, the bill would require settlements pursuant to the fast-pay program to count as settlements of eligible claims and to be paid from the account, as specified. If the eligible entity is not a participating electrical corporation, the bill would require the eligible entity to be solely responsible for directly paying amounts to satisfy settlement offers pursuant to the fast-pay program. This bill would, among other things, prohibit an individual, business corporation, or other entity from selling, assigning, or transferring any wildfire claim, or any right of recovery on a wildfire claim, to a private equity group, and would prohibit an individual, wildfire attorney, corporation, or other entity from selling, assigning, or transferring, in whole or in part, any contingency fee on an interest in a contingency fee, except as provided. This bill would prohibit a private equity group from paying any wildfire expenses with respect to a wildfire claim and from funding wildfire advertising costs with respect to any applicable wildfire that damages or destroys (1) more than 100 structures, or (2) more than 10,0000 acres of land, and would authorize the Attorney General or any district attorney to bring a civil action to enforce that prohibition, as specified. (6) Existing law regulates, among other things, fee agreements, legal advertising and referral services, the sale of financial products to a client, and unlawful solicitation. This bill would require an attorney who contracts to represent a client involving a claim against an electric utility involving an applicable wildfire shall provide a disclosure to the client the options and requirements involving the fast-pay program, as provided. The bill would prohibit a person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation from making an unsolicited targeted communication to solicit any business for any attorneys concerning a potential action for wrongful death, personal injury, or property damage within 30 days of an event, defined as an incident resulting in the proclamation of a state of emergency, as specified. The bill would prohibit, for any claim based on inverse condemnation against an electrical corporation arising from a covered wildfire caused by an electrical corporation, the fee for an attorney representing an insurer involving a subrogated claim from exceeding 10% of the settlement or judgment. (7) Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. Existing law authorizes certain state bodies to hold closed session meetings for certain purposes, including authorizing the governing board or advisory panel of the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) to hold closed sessions when addressing the development of rates, reinsurance, and strategy when discussion in open session concerning those matters would prejudice the position of the CEA. This bill would additionally authorize the California Catastrophe Response Council to hold closed sessions when addressing either the administration or evaluation of individual claims submitted for reimbursement from the Wildfire Fund or the Continuation Account, or the development of strategy related to reinsurance or other mechanisms to extend the durability of the Wildfire Fund or Continuation Account, as specified. The California Public Records Act requires a public agency, defined to mean a state or local agency, to make its public records available for public inspection and to make copies available upon request and the payment of a fee, unless the public records are exempt from disclosure. This bill would exempt records held by the California Catastrophe Response Council, or the California Earthquake Authority as the Wildfire Fund Administrator, that relate to the administration or evaluation of claims submitted for reimbursement from the Wildfire Fund or Continuation Account from the California Public Records Act, as specified. (8) 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. (9) Existing law requires the Director of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety to issue a certificate to an electrical corporation if the electrical corporation provided documentation of certain conditions, including a condition that the electrical corporation has established (1) an executive incentive compensation structure approved by the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety and structured to promote safety as a priority to ensure public safety and utility financial stability with performance metrics for all executive officers, which may include denying all incentive compensation if the electrical corporation causes a catastrophic wildfire that results in one or more fatalities and (2) a compensation structure that meets certain principles. This bill would revise the recast the requirement related to the executive incentive compensation structure, among other things, to require the electrical corporation to file the approved written executive incentive compensation structure with the office at least one year before the executive incentive compensation structure would become effective. The bill would require the office to approve an electrical corporation's executive incentive compensation structure if it is structured to promote safety as a priority and to ensure public safety and utility stability with performance metrics, includes a provision denying all short-term incentive compensation, as defined, to the chief executive officer, or the officer holding an equivalent position, for a calendar year in which the electrical corporation causes a catastrophic wildfire that results in one or more fatalities, and meets the principles specified in existing law for the compensation structure. For a large electrical corporation, as defined, the bill would additionally require the executive incentive compensation structure to meet certain requirements, including a requirement for the structure to include a written presumption that 35% of the total incentive compensation for each executive officer will be denied for at least one year in the event the electrical corporation causes a catastrophic wildfire that result in one or more fatalities. (10) Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements 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. (11) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
Existing law vests the Department of Food and Agriculture with general supervision of the weights and measures and weighing and measuring devices sold or used in the state, including devices used to measure electricity sold as a motor vehicle fuel. Existing law authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of state law governing weights and measures, and requires the secretary to establish, by regulation, tolerances and specifications and other technical requirements for commercial weighing and measuring, as specified. Existing law authorizes the secretary, and each sealer acting under the supervision and direction of the secretary, to enforce provisions of state law governing weights and measures, as specified. Existing law requires the sealer of a county to inspect and test weighing and measuring devices, as specified, that are used or sold in the county. Existing law requires the secretary to adopt regulations governing the inspection frequency of all commercially used weights, measures, and weighing and measuring apparatus in the state and requires each county sealer to perform those inspections as may be required by the secretary. Existing law makes a violation of the provisions of state law governing weights and measures a crime. This bill would require the secretary to adopt regulations governing the inspection frequency of electric vehicle fueling systems used for commercial purposes, as specified, and would require a sealer to inspect those systems in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would require a sealer to submit data and information relating those inspections on a monthly basis, as prescribed by the secretary, to the Division of Measurement Standards and would require the division, no less than biannually, to provide the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission with that information and data. Existing law requires the secretary to provide rules and regulations for the submission for approval of types or designs of weights, measures, or weighing, measuring, or counting instruments or devices, used for commercial purposes, and to issue certificates of approval of those types or designs as the secretary finds meet the requirements of state law, as specified. Existing law prohibits a person from maintaining, installing, adjusting, reconditioning, or servicing a commercial weighing or measuring device for compensation unless the person registers with the secretary as a service agency. Existing law authorizes a weighing or measuring device to be placed in service only by a sealer or a service agency. This bill would exempt electric vehicle fueling systems used for commercial purposes meeting type approval requirements that are factory tested and certified for metrological requirements by a factory registered service agency from, among other things, the requirement to be placed in service in the field by a service agency or sealer. The bill would require a metrologically relevant repair of those systems to be performed by a registered service agency or service agent, and would authorize a repair that is not metrologically relevant to be performed by any person competent to perform the repair, as specified. The bill would require the operator, or the operator's designee, of such a system to report the installation of the system with a county sealer by submitting a placed in service report to the county sealer and to register the system with the county sealer, as specified. Because a violation of that requirement would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require, by July 1, 2028, the secretary, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to update the regulations regarding electric vehicle fueling systems to conform to the requirements of the bill. To the extent that the bill would expand the duties of county sealers, the 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, the Licensed Midwifery Practice Act of 1993, provides for the licensure of midwives by the Medical Board of California. Existing law requires specified boards, including the Medical Board of California, to request certain workforce data from their licensees, including midwives, for future workforce planning at least biennially or at the time of electronic license renewal, as applicable. Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information, and requires the board to provide the individual licensee and registrant data it collects to the department, as specified. This bill would additionally require the board to request certain information from a licensed midwife related to their availability to serve as a clinical preceptor for student midwives enrolled in a midwifery education program, as specified. The bill would require the board to quarterly provide that information to the department for the purpose of statewide midwifery workforce planning, analysis, and public reporting. The bill would require the department to submit a report to the Legislature, on or before June 30, 2029, detailing the department's findings based on that information. The bill would require the board and department to maintain the confidentiality of information collected or provided, as specified. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on June 30, 2029, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2030. 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. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 502 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 1811 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1811 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
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 defines various terms, including "natural and protected lands" for its purposes. This bill would revise the definition of that term to include habitats for protected species identified as candidate, sensitive, or species of special status by state or federal agencies. CEQA exempts from its requirement projects that consist exclusively of a day care center that is not located in a residential area and projects that consist exclusively of an advanced manufacturing facility located on a site zoned exclusively for industrial uses. This bill would additionally exempt projects consisting exclusively of a family day care home, as defined. The bill would, for the exemption for the day care center and family day care home, instead require the projects for those facilities not be located in an area zoned for industrial use or within 3,200 feet of a facility that actively extracts or refines oil or natural gas in order for the exemption to apply. The bill would revise the exemption for advanced manufacturing facility projects to require those projects to be used exclusively for final tier manufacturing, as defined. The bill would require an applicant of an advanced manufacturing project that is exempted from CEQA under the bill's requirement to enter into a bona fide community benefits agreement, as provided, and to comply with certain labor requirements, as provided. The bill would require the lead agency, before determining that an advanced manufacturing project is exempt from CEQA, to hold at least one public hearing on the project and to ensure that the applicant complies with the requirement to enter into a bona fide community benefits agreement and the labor requirements. CEQA exempts from its requirements a rezoning that implements the schedule of actions contained in an approved housing element. CEQA specifies that this exemption does not apply to a rezoning that would allow for the construction of certain facilities, including oil and gas infrastructure. CEQA also specifies that this exemption does not apply rezoning that would allow for construction to occur within the boundaries of any natural and protected lands, except as provided. This bill would repeal the exception from the CEQA exemption for rezoning that would allow for oil and gas infrastructure. The bill would specify that the definition of "natural and protected land" does not include habitats for protected species that would be added to that definition by this bill for purposes the exception for rezoning that would allow for construction to occur within the boundaries of any natural and protected lands to the CEQA exemption. CEQA specifies, for a proposed housing development project that would otherwise be exempt from its requirements but for a single condition required for the exemption to apply, that the application of CEQA is limited to the effects upon the environment that are caused by that single condition. CEQA provides that this limited application of CEQA does not apply if the proposed housing project is located on natural and protected land, but does not include "natural and protected land" that is a site within a very high fire hazard severity zone or within the state responsibility area, except as provided. This bill would additionally specify that "natural and protected land" does not include habitats for protected species that would be added to that definition by this bill. Because the bill would imposes additional duties on a lead agency, 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 law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and independent institutions of higher education, as defined, as 4 segments of postsecondary education in the state. This bill, upon appropriation, would establish the Designation of California Hispanic-Serving Institutions to recognize campuses of those segments of postsecondary education that excel at providing academic resources to Latino students. The bill, upon appropriation, would establish a Designation of California Hispanic-Serving Institutions governing board to designate colleges and universities as California Hispanic-Serving Institutions. The bill, upon appropriation, would designate the office of the Chancellor of the California State University as the managing entity and would require it to, among other duties, develop the application processes and to process and present initial and renewal applications to receive this designation to the governing board, as specified, and would make an initial and renewal designation valid for 5 years.
Existing law establishes various public social services programs to provide eligible recipients with certain aid or health care benefits, among others. Existing law also requires each county to provide aid to its indigent residents who are not supported by other means under programs known as general assistance programs. Existing federal law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) , makes specified persons without lawful status in the United States ineligible for state and local public benefits unless a state law is enacted that affirmatively provides for that eligibility, and defines "state or local public benefit" to mean, among other things, any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of a state or local government or by appropriated funds of a state or local government. Existing state law authorizes a city, county, city and county, or hospital district, at its discretion, to provide aid, including health care, to persons who, but for the previously described provision of the federal PRWORA, would meet the eligibility requirements for any program of that entity. This bill would clarify that the above-described authorization for provision of aid is an authorization to provide a state or local public benefit, as defined by the federal PRWORA.
Existing law prohibits a person from being subject to civil arrest in a courthouse while attending a court proceeding or having legal business in a courthouse, except pursuant to a valid judicial warrant. Existing law confers specified powers to judicial officers, including to preserve and enforce order in the officer's immediate presence and in proceedings before the officer, to compel obedience to the officer's lawful orders, and to prohibit activities that threaten access to courthouses and court proceedings, including protecting the privilege from civil arrest at courthouses and court proceedings. This bill would prohibit a person from being subject to civil arrest while traveling to, while present at, or while traveling from a courthouse for any lawful activity, as defined. The bill would authorize a court to issue appropriate judicial orders to protect the privilege from civil arrest. Under the bill, a civil arrest in violation of these provisions or the common law privilege against civil arrest would constitute false imprisonment or false arrest if the person was going to, remaining at, or returning from court for any lawful activity, and each person in violation of these provisions or who assists in the violation of these provisions would be liable for civil damages for the tort of false imprisonment or false arrest, including actual damages and statutory damages of $10,000. The bill would authorize a party in a successful action to recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The bill would exempt a court, judicial officer, or court personnel acting lawfully pursuant to their duty to maintain safety and order in the courts from any action or proceeding pursuant to these provisions. This bill would require, when court security personnel are aware that any representative of a law enforcement agency, while acting in an official capacity, enters a courthouse, that court security personnel request the law enforcement representative or representatives identify themselves and state their specific law enforcement purposes and intended enforcement action to be taken, and request from the law enforcement representative or representatives a copy of a valid judicial warrant concerning the intended enforcement action to be taken. The bill would require, if court security personnel are aware there is an attorney representing a person named in the judicial warrant in any capacity, that court security personnel request the law enforcement representative to afford the attorney the right to review the warrant. This bill would require the Judicial Council to annually prepare a report compiling statistics, aggregated by county, of information related to civil arrests, as specified. The bill would require the Judicial Council to publicly post the report on its public internet website. This bill would also make related findings and declarations and specify that the provisions of this act are severable.
Maddy summaryThis bill designates the week of September 13 to September 19, 2026, as Direct Support Professional Recognition Week in California. It serves as a commemorative measure intended to highlight the contributions of direct support professionals who assist individuals with disabilities. The legislation does not establish new funding or regulatory requirements but rather provides an official state observance for this specific period.
Existing law prohibits a school district from permitting access to pupil records to a person without written parental consent or under judicial order except as authorized by law. Existing law requires access to those particular records relevant to the legitimate educational interests of the pupil to, among other individuals, a pupil 14 years of age or older who is both a homeless child or youth, as defined, and an unaccompanied youth, as defined. This bill would additionally require access to those particular records relevant to the legitimate educational interests of the pupil to a pupil 14 years of age or older who is a foster youth, as defined. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on school districts related to pupil record requests, the 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. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 49076 of the Education Code proposed by AB 2478 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2478 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
For purposes of state apportionments based on average daily attendance, as provided, if the average daily attendance of a school district, county office of education, or charter school has been materially decreased during a fiscal year because of a specified emergency, including, among others, the imminence of a major safety hazard as determined by a local law enforcement agency, existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to estimate the average daily attendance in a manner that credits to the school district, county office of education, or charter school approximately the total average daily attendance that would have been credited to the school district, county office of education, or charter school had the emergency not occurred. This bill, for the above-described purposes, would additionally allow a local fire agency to make a determination of the imminence of a major safety hazard. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.