Sen. Roger Niello

The California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, approved by the voters as Proposition 68 at the June 5, 2018, statewide primary direct election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor access for all program. Article XVI of the California Constitution requires measures authorizing general obligation bonds to specify the single object or work to be funded by the bonds and further requires a bond act to be approved by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and a majority of the voters. This bill would enact the Climate Resiliency and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2024 which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $6,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, for flood protection and climate resiliency projects. This bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election. This bill would become operative only if SB 867 of the 2023–24 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2024.

Existing law, the Uniform Principal and Income Act, generally sets forth the powers and duties of a fiduciary of a trust. These powers and duties are related to, among other matters, the allocation of receipts and disbursements between principal and income, making adjustments between principal and income, and converting a trust to a unitrust. This bill would repeal the Uniform Principal and Income Act, and would recast, revise, and expand those provisions as the Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act, for similar purposes. The bill would define relevant terminology in this regard. The bill would expressly provide that its provisions, with specified exceptions, apply when California is the principal place of administration of a trust or estate or the situs of property that is not held in a trust or estate and is subject to a life estate or other term interest, as specified. The bill would declare that by accepting the trusteeship of a trust having its principal place of administration in, or by moving the principal place of administration of a trust to, California, a trustee submits to the application of the bill to any matter within the scope of the bill involving the trust.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires, among other things, 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 establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA. Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plan, except as specified. This bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt a rule of court to establish procedures requiring actions or proceedings brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification of an environmental impact report, or the granting of any project approvals, for groundwater recharge projects, as described, except as provided, that implement a groundwater sustainability plan or an interim groundwater sustainability plan, as described, that would require the actions or proceedings, including any appeals, to be resolved within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court. The bill would also include a related statement of legislative intent.

This measure would recognize May 20, 2023, as Girls on the Run of Greater Sacramento Day and resolve that elementary and middle schools across the Sacramento region should encourage girls in grades 3 to 8, inclusive, to get involved and participate in a nearby Girls on the Run program.

Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of various specified personal characteristics, including disability. Existing law imposes minimum statutory damages for construction-related accessibility claims if the violation of a construction-related accessibility standard denied the plaintiff full and equal access to the place of public accommodation on a particular occasion, including by causing difficulty, discomfort, or embarrassment. Existing law, for claims filed on or after a specified date, presumes that certain technical violations do not cause a person difficulty, discomfort, or embarrassment for these purposes if specified criteria are satisfied. Existing law limits a defendant's liability for statutory damages under specified conditions, including if a defendant corrects the construction-related violations within a specified time. This bill would prohibit a construction-related accessibility claim for statutory damages from being initiated in a legal proceeding against a defendant who employs 50 or fewer individuals, as specified, until the defendant has been served with a letter specifying each alleged violation of a construction-related accessibility standard and given 120 days to correct the alleged violation. The bill would provide that a defendant is not liable for statutory damages, plaintiff's attorney's fees, or costs for an alleged violation that is corrected within 120 days of service of a letter alleging the violation. The bill would also prohibit a plaintiff from avoiding the notice and opportunity to correct provisions and the liability limitations by claiming they are seeking general discrimination damages based on a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 if the underlying claim is based on a defendant's failure to comply with physical accessibility standards under California law.

This measure would recognize May 14, 2023, as the 116th annual Mother's Day and would urge all Californians to recognize, appreciate, and be grateful for the gifts and good works of mothers on that day.

This measure would acknowledge April 2023 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and encourage Californians to work together to support youth-serving child abuse prevention activities in their communities and schools.

The California Constitution limits the amount of ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property, defined as the county assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill and, thereafter, the appraised value of the real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership occurs after the 1975 assessment, subject to an annual inflation adjustment not to exceed 2%. The California Constitution, until February 15, 2021, excluded from classification as a "purchase" or "change in ownership" the purchase or transfer of a principal residence, and the first $1,000,000 of other real property, in the case of a purchase or transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased, except as provided. At the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, the voters approved Proposition 19. Pursuant to Proposition 19, the California Constitution, on and after February 16, 2021, removes the above-described exclusion from classification as a "purchase" and "change in ownership" requiring reappraisal, and instead excludes from classification as a "purchase" and "change in ownership" the purchase or transfer of a family home or family farm, as those terms are defined, of the transferor in the case of a transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased, if the property continues as the family home or family farm of the transferee, as specified. This measure would end the operation of the above-described provisions of Proposition 19 on January 1, 2025. The measure would reinstate, on January 1, 2025, the prior rule excluding from classification as a "purchase" or "change in ownership" the purchase or transfer of a principal residence, and the first $1,000,000 of other real property, in the case of a purchase or transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased. This measure would require the Legislature to provide in statute that the above-described changes are publicized and to ensure that the publicity reaches minority communities. The measure would require a liberal interpretation and broad application of these changes that effectuates their purpose.

(1) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions to ensure that the statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030. Pursuant to the act, the state board has adopted the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations. The act authorizes the state board to include in its regulation of those emissions the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. This bill would suspend the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations for one year. The bill would also exempt suppliers of transportation fuels from regulations for the use of market-based compliance mechanisms for one year. This bill would direct the Controller to transfer a specified amount from the General Fund to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. By transferring General Fund moneys to a partially continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law, the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, imposes a tax upon each gallon of motor vehicle fuel removed from a refinery or terminal rack in this state, entered into this state, or sold in this state, at a specified rate per gallon. This bill would suspend the imposition of the tax on motor vehicle fuels for one year. The bill would require a seller of motor vehicle fuels to provide a receipt to a purchaser that indicates the amount of tax that would have otherwise applied to the transaction. This bill would also direct the Controller to transfer a specified amount from the General Fund to the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account in the Transportation Tax Fund. By transferring General Fund moneys to a continuously appropriated account, this bill would make an appropriation. (3) Existing unfair competition laws establish a statutory cause of action for unfair competition, including any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising and acts prohibited by false advertisement laws. This bill would require that all savings realized based on the suspension of the motor vehicle fuels tax, the suspension of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations, and the exemption of suppliers of transportation fuels from regulations for use of market-based compliance mechanisms by a person other than an end consumer, as defined, be passed on to the end consumer, and would make the violation of this requirement an unfair business practice, in violation of unfair competition laws, as provided. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.