Sen. Catherine Blakespear

Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Natural Resources Agency. Under existing law, the department has jurisdiction over the conservation, protection, and management of fish, wildlife, native plants, and habitat necessary for biologically sustainable populations of those species. This bill would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the Wildlife Coexistence Program to manage and promote wildlife coexistence by conducting specified activities, including maintaining a statewide wildlife incident reporting tool. The bill would rename the Wolf-Livestock Compensation Pilot Program to the California Wolf-Livestock Coexistence and Compensation Program and would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the program to provide resources to eligible participants for purposes relating to wolves and livestock. The bill would authorize the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, including the cost for implementation, to provide resources to wildlife coexistence partners, as defined, to support efforts required for the Wildlife Coexistence Program and the California Wolf-Livestock Coexistence and Compensation Program. The bill would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the Wildlife Coexistence Technical Advisory Committee to provide technical guidance, public input, and programmatic recommendations related to the department's wildlife coexistence efforts. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2028, to include specified information on its internet website, as provided. The California Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except as specified. Under existing law, it is also unlawful to permit or allow any dog to pursue any big game mammal during the closed season on that mammal, to pursue any fully protected, rare, or endangered mammal at any time, to pursue any bear or bobcat at any time, or to pursue any mammal in a game refuge or ecological reserve if hunting within that refuge or ecological reserve is unlawful. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those prohibitions, the pursuit of wolves by dogs that are guarding or protecting livestock or crops on property owned, leased, or rented by the owner of the dogs, is not prohibited if the dogs are maintained with, and remain in reasonable proximity to, the livestock or crops being guarded or protected.

Existing law vests the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) with full possession and control of the state highway system and requires Caltrans to improve and maintain the state highways. Existing law requires Caltrans, in consultation with the California Transportation Commission, to prepare a robust asset management plan to guide selection of projects for the state highway operation and protection program (SHOPP) . This bill would require the department, in connection with each revision of the asset management plan, to prepare and publish a supplemental list of wildlife connectivity improvements on the state highway system, as specified, and would require the department to submit the supplemental list to the commission for review and comments before the final list is published. Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that Caltrans review the full extent of the state highway system, as currently maintained, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and with opportunities for the public to provide data input for consideration, to develop a comprehensive approach to address wildlife connectivity needs throughout the state with the goal of implementing measures that protect, conserve, and improve the state's unique wildlife, landscapes, and natural resources. This bill would explicitly require Caltrans to undertake this duty, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and with opportunities for the public to provide data and input for consideration, as specified. Existing law requires Caltrans, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and other appropriate agencies, to establish an inventory of connectivity needs on the state highway system where the implementation of wildlife passage features could reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions or enhance wildlife connectivity, and to update the inventory on a biennial basis, as specified. This bill would instead require Caltrans, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and other appropriate agencies, to assess potential barriers to wildlife to establish an inventory of connectivity needs on the state highway system where the implementation of wildlife passage features could reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions or enhance wildlife connectivity. The bill would require the biennial update to the inventory to be based on an analysis of transportation assets within priority route segments identified by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The bill would require Caltrans to consult with the Department of Fish and Wildlife on the development of each update to the inventory, as prescribed. Existing law requires Caltrans to prepare a State Highway System Management Plan (SHSMP) , which includes a 10-year rehabilitation plan for the rehabilitation or reconstruction by the SHOPP of all state highways and bridges, and a 5-year maintenance plan that addresses the maintenance needs of the state highway system, as provided. Existing law requires the SHSMP to include specific quantifiable accomplishments, goals, objectives, costs, and performance measures consistent with the asset management plan described above. Existing law requires the SHSMP to be updated every 2 years. This bill would require Caltrans to include wildlife connectivity as an objective in the SHSMP.

Existing law establishes the Civil Rights Department to administer and enforce various laws relating to civil rights, including the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Existing law requires certain private employers to annually submit a pay data report to the department that includes, among other information, the number of employees by race, ethnicity, and sex, as specified, and, within each job category, for each combination of race, ethnicity, and sex, the median and mean hourly rate. Upon request from the Civil Rights Department, existing law requires a court to impose a civil penalty not to exceed $100 per employee upon any employer who fails to file the required report and not to exceed $200 per employee upon any employer for a subsequent failure to file the required report. This bill would increase the penalty for subsequent failures to file the report described above to an amount not to exceed $1,000 per employee. Existing law authorizes the department to develop, publish on an annual basis, and publicize aggregate reports based on the data obtained pursuant to their authority under this section, provided that the aggregate reports are reasonably calculated to prevent the association of any data with any individual business or person. This bill would require the department to annually publish the number of total pay data reports submitted, as provided and specified.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state's clean energy and pollution reduction objectives. Existing law requires the commission, beginning November 1, 2003, and biennially thereafter, to adopt an integrated energy policy report that contains an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state, presents policy recommendations based on an in-depth and integrated analysis of the most current and pressing energy issues facing the state, and includes an assessment and forecast of system reliability and the need for resource additions, efficiency, and conservation, as specified. Existing law requires the commission, as part of the 2027 edition of the integrated energy policy report, to include an assessment of the potential for fusion energy to contribute to California's power supply, as specified. This bill would require the commission, in coordination with specified agencies, to develop a strategic plan for the development of fusion energy in California, as specified. The bill would require the commission to submit the strategic plan to the Legislature on or before December 31, 2029. This bill would require the commission, in coordination with relevant agencies and the fusion energy industry, to (1) develop a strategy for the expansion and development of fusion research and development in California, (2) develop a strategy for supporting the commercialization of fusion energy in California, (3) develop a regulatory framework for fusion energy and a roadmap for licensing and permitting for new fusion energy research and fusion energy facilities, and (4) assess the level at which fusion energy at scale would best support California's long-term renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. The bill would require the information described in this paragraph to be included in the strategic plan, as specified. Existing law authorizes persons proposing specified electrical generation, electrical transmission, hydrogen production, energy storage, and geothermal projects to apply, on or before June 30, 2030, to the commission to certify sites and related facilities as environmental leadership development projects, as specified. Existing law makes a site and related facility certified by the commission subject to streamlining benefits related to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with no further action by the applicant or the Governor. Under existing law, the commission's certification is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any governmental agency and supersedes any applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation, except as specified. This bill would expand the types of facilities eligible to be certified as environmental leadership development projects by the commission to include a discretionary project, as described, for the manufacture, production, or assembly of specialized products, components, or systems that are integral to fusion energy.

The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires plastic beverage containers sold by a beverage manufacturer, as specified, to contain a specified average percentage of postconsumer recycled plastic per year. The act requires the manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container subject to the California Redemption Value to report to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery certain information about the amounts of virgin plastic and postconsumer recycled plastic used for plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value for sale in the state in the previous calendar year. Existing law requires the department to post this reported information on its internet website, as provided. Existing law provides that a violation of the act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the act is a crime. The act subjects a beverage manufacturer that does not meet the minimum postconsumer recycled plastic content requirements to an annual administrative penalty, as provided. Under the act, the penalty is set at $0.20 for each pound of virgin plastic used in lieu of the required amount of postconsumer recycled plastic, as provided. This bill would instead set the administrative penalty at $0.30 for each pound of virgin plastic used in lieu of the required amount of postconsumer recycled plastic. This bill, beginning on or before March 1, 2028, would require a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container subject to the California Redemption Value to also provide to the department proof that the postconsumer recycled content used by the beverage manufacturer for plastic beverage containers is able to be validated and is validated by a third party, as specified. The bill would require a validation regarding the postconsumer recycled content of plastic provided by a manufacturer of postconsumer recycled plastic to be accurate. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to publish on its internet website a list of beverage manufacturers and their associated brand names, indicate whether they have complied with applicable postconsumer recycled plastic requirements, and provide other information the department deems appropriate. 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 authorizes an unmarried person who is under 18 years of age to marry upon obtaining a court order granting permission and the written consent of at least one of the parents or the guardian of each underage party to the marriage, as specified. Existing law requires the court, if it considers it necessary, as part of the court order granting permission to marry, to require the parties to the prospective marriage of a minor to participate in premarital counseling, as specified. Existing law provides that 2 unmarried, unrelated adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring may establish a domestic partnership by filing a declaration with the Secretary of State, if certain requirements are met. Existing law provides that a person under 18 years of age who, together with the person with whom the person proposes to establish a domestic partnership, meets the requirements for a domestic partnership other than the requirement of being at least 18 years of age, is capable of consenting to and establishing a domestic partnership upon obtaining a court order granting permission to the underage person or persons to establish a domestic partnership. Under existing law, registered domestic partners have the same rights, protections, and benefits as spouses. This bill would repeal the authorization for a person under 18 years of age to be issued a marriage license or to establish a domestic partnership, thereby prohibiting a person under 18 years of age from being issued a marriage license or from establishing a domestic partnership. The bill would make conforming changes. Existing law requires the State Registrar to create a document, no later than March 1, 2020, concerning marriage certificates in which one or both of the parties were minors at the time of solemnization of the marriage. Existing law requires the State Registrar to update that document annually, as specified. Existing law requires the local registrar to submit specified information for the purposes of that report. This bill would repeal those provisions.

The California Constitution specifies various requirements with respect to the levying of assessments and property-related fees and charges by a local agency. As part of those requirements, the California Constitution mandates that such fees or charges that are extended, imposed, or increased satisfy certain requirements, including, but not limited to, that the amount of the fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership not exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. Existing law, known as the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act (act) , prescribes specific procedures and parameters for local jurisdictions to comply with these requirements and, among other things, authorizes an agency providing water, wastewater, sewer, or refuse collection services to adopt a schedule of fees or charges authorizing automatic adjustments that pass through increases in wholesale charges for water, sewage treatment, or wastewater treatment or adjustments for inflation under certain circumstances. This bill would authorize a local government to demonstrate the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel by any method that reasonably allocates the ascertainable cost of providing service to all parcels, if substantiated as provided. The bill would, however, provide that for water or sewer service fee or charge impositions, a local government is not required to provide an exact measure of the cost of the service at each parcel and may instead impose uniform or tiered rates to parcel or customer classes that are defined based on common characteristics indicative of likely water or sewer use. The bill would provide that the proportional cost of service within each tier of water service may be substantiated by using any reasonable basis for allocating costs attributed to the tier, as described, and would provide a local government discretion to determine the costs allocated to each tier as long as the rate for each tier does not exceed the proportional cost of service reasonably allocated to parcels subject to that tier. The bill would specify that its provisions do not apply to fees for water connections or sewer connections, or capacity charges, as specified.

This measure would recognize open water lifeguards as first responders, in acknowledgment of their essential role in emergency response, public safety, and drowning prevention, as provided.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 152 in the County of Santa Clara as the Rusty Areias Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs.

This measure would urge President Donald J. Trump to avoid raising the cost of living for American consumers by rescinding the tariffs that he has imposed since taking office in January 2025 and refunding the American people for the costs passed on to them by his tariffs. The measure would also urge the United States Congress to enact a joint resolution to rescind President Trump's tariffs and to oppose all future unilateral and arbitrary tariff increases imposed by President Trump.