Information related to the current status of legislation impacting California’s rural counties.
AB 50 (Wood) Public utilities: timely service: timely electrical interconnection. Seeks to establish clear expectations for how quickly utilities are expected to deliver service to new customers and fulfill requests for increased load from existing customers. Invests the CPUC with authority to determine what constitutes the timely provision of electrical service and fulfillment of requests to provide additional capacity. Requires utilities to refine their distribution planning processes to work more collaboratively with local governments and ensure that the projected demand for a given planning cycle more closely matches the actual demand for service. Requires utilities to share information with local governments about where distribution capacity exists or could be easily added to help meet local housing and economic development objectives. Location: Assembly U. & E. Status: 3/27/2023-Re-referred to Com. on U. & E. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 54 (Aguiar-Curry) Department of Food and Agriculture: research funding: winegrapes: smoke exposure. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/16/2023-Coauthors revised. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (March 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Support Staff: Mary-Ann (1), Staci (1)
AB 62 (Mathis) Statewide water storage: expansion. Location: Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Status: 2/28/2023-Re-referred to Com. on W., P., & W. Staff: Sidd (1)
AB 68 (Ward) Land use: streamlined housing approvals: density, subdivision, and utility approvals. Location: Assembly Housing and Community Development Status: 4/12/2023-From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on H. & C.D. Read second time and amended. Position: Pending Staff: Tracy (1)
AB 78 (Ward) Grand juries. AB 78 makes changes in Section 890 of the Penal Code, which would increase the per diem rate paid to civil and criminal grand juries from the current statutorily required $15 per day to an amount “equal to seventy percent of the county median daily income.” SB 78 lacks a mechanism to cover the additional cost this bill imposes on counties. Location: Assembly Appropriations Suspense File Status: 3/22/2023-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. Position: Oppose Unless Amended Staff: Sarah (1)
AB 297 (Fong, Vince) Wildfires: local assistance grant program: advance payments. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/28/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (March 27). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Support Staff: Staci (1)
AB 338 (Aguiar-Curry) Public works: definition. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/22/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (March 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Oppose Staff: Staci (1)
AB 356 (Mathis) California Environmental Quality Act: aesthetic impacts. Extends the sunset date of a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provision specifying that a lead agency is not required to evaluate the aesthetic effects of a project and aesthetic effects are not considered significant effects on the environment if the project involves the refurbishment, conversion, repurposing, or replacement of an existing building that meets certain requirements. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 4/10/2023-VOTE: Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] (PASS) Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 422 (Alanis) Natural Resources Agency: statewide water storage: tracking. Location: Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Status: 2/9/2023-Referred to Com. on W., P., & W. Position: Watch Staff: Sidd (1)
AB 429 (Bennett) Groundwater wells: permits. If 1% of domestic wells go dry in a critically overdrafted basin, this bill prohibit a county, city, or any other water well permitting agency from approving a permit for a new groundwater well or for an alteration to an existing well in a basin subject to the act and classified as a critically overdrafted basin unless the city county or well permitting agency obtains written verification from a groundwater sustainability agency that the proposed well would not be inconsistent with any sustainable groundwater management program AND the proposed well would not decrease the likelihood of achieving a sustainability goal for the basin covered by the plan. Location: Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Status: 3/28/2023-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. Position: Oppose Staff: Sidd (1)
AB 460 (Bauer-Kahan) State Water Resources Control Board: water rights and usage: interim relief: procedures. Location: Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Status: 4/3/2023-Re-referred to Com. on W., P., & W. Position: Watch Staff: Sidd (1)
AB 504 (Reyes) State and local public employees: labor relations: disputes. Location: Assembly Judiciary Status: 4/13/2023-From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on JUD. Read second time and amended. Position: Oppose Staff: Sarah (1)
AB 592 (Wilson) Vehicles: waste hauling. Allows Contra Costa County, or any other county, to create a program to regulate nonfranchise waste hauling operations within the county. Location: Assembly Local Government Status: 3/16/2023-Referred to Com. on L. GOV. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
AB 606 (Mathis) California Endangered Species Act: accidental take: farms or ranches. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/28/2023-Coauthors revised. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (March 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Support Staff: Staci (1)
AB 625 (Aguiar-Curry) Forest biomass: management: emissions: energy. Establishes the Forest Waste Biomass Utilization Program to be administered by the state board’s Joint Institute for Wood Products Innovation to develop an implementation plan to meet the goals and recommendations of the state’s wood utilization policies and priorities, and to develop a workforce training program to complement the workforce needs associated with the implementation plan. Requires annual reports on implementing the plan. Requires the Energy Commission to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature evaluating innovative bioenergy technologies that use forest biomass waste. Requires the Energy Commission to include in its integrated policy report an assessment of the potential for forest biomass waste energy to provide firm renewable power. Requires ARB to develop a methodology to quantify the greenhouse gas and short-lived climate pollutant emissions from wildfire, pile burning, and forest management activities. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 4/12/2023-Read second time and amended. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 692 (Patterson, Jim) California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: egress route projects: fire safety. Exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) egress route projects undertaken by a public agency to improve emergency access to and evacuation from a subdivision without a secondary egress route if the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has recommended the creation of a secondary access to the subdivision. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/28/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (March 27). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 704 (Patterson, Jim) Energy: building standards: photovoltaic requirements. Exempts homes meeting certain requirements and rebuilt after being destroyed by a wildfire from state laws requiring installation of solar panels, until January 1, 2027. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 4/7/2023-Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 772 (Jackson) Electric vehicle chargers. Requires the Energy Commission to require that each single-family residence constructed on and after January 1, 2025 include a rapid compact electric vehicle charger and that each multifamily residence constructed on and after January 1, 2025 include sufficient rapid compact electric vehicle chargers to serve at least 10% of its residential capacity at any given time. Location: Assembly U. & E. Status: 3/27/2023-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. Position: Pending Staff: John (1)
AB 817 (Pacheco) Open meetings: teleconferencing: subsidiary body. AB 817 would provide a narrow exemption under the Ralph M.Brown Act for non-decision-making legislative bodies currently governed by Act, such as advisory bodies and commissions, to participate in two-way virtual teleconferencing without posting physical location of members. In addition, AB 817 would remove barriers to entry for appointed and elected office by allowing non-decision-making legislative bodies to participate virtually as long as they do not have the ability to take final action on legislation, regulations, contracts, licenses, permits, or other entitlements. Location: Assembly Local Government Status: 3/20/2023-Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV. Position: Sponsor Staff: Sarah (1)
AB 909 (Hoover) Solid Waste Disposal and Codisposal Site Cleanup Program. Makes illegally disposed hazardous wastes eligible for funding under the CalRecycle’s illegal dumping grant program. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 4/3/2023-Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Sponsor Staff: John (1)
AB 944 (Irwin) Fire stations: alternative power generation. Declares Legislative intent to require fire stations to have an alternative method of power generation during power outages. Location: Assembly Emergency Management Status: 3/21/2023-Re-referred to Com. on E.M. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
AB 998 (Connolly) Biomass energy facilities: State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission: report. Requires the Energy Commission to issue a report on the utility-scale biomass combustion facilities still in operation as of January 1, 2024. The report must include an assessment of operational factors of each facility, a comparison of direct combustion compared to other biomass energy technologies, and a recommended strategy, if appropriate, to repower biomass combustion facilities to noncombustion conversion technologies. The report must include recommendations and strategies related to areas where combustion biomass facilities may be shut down or repowered, including strategies related to baseload power generation, processing waste, and job training. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 4/13/2023-From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 12). Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 1000 (Reyes) Qualifying logistics use projects. Prohibits local governments from approving warehouse development projects located within 1,000 feet of a large variety of sensitive receptors. Imposes new conditions on local approval of warehouse projects between 750-1000 feet of those sensitive receptors, in addition to mitigation measures required under CEQA. Location: Assembly Natural Resources Status: 4/3/2023-Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. Position: Oppose Staff: John (1)
AB 1272 (Wood) State Water Resources Control Board: drought planning. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/28/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 2.) (March 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Watch Staff: Sidd (1)
AB 1337 (Wicks) State Water Resources Control Board: water shortage enforcement. Location: Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Status: 3/2/2023-Referred to Coms. on W., P., & W. and JUD. Position: Watch Staff: Sidd (1)
AB 1448 (Wallis) Cannabis: enforcement by local jurisdictions. AB 1448 would enhance local enforcement mechanisms for unlicensed cannabis activities by creating a streamlined local administrative penalty process, allow local jurisdictions to utilize statutory penalties and create more collection options. Location: Assembly Judiciary Status: 4/12/2023-Read second time and amended. Position: Sponsor Staff: Sarah (1)
AB 1484 (Zbur) Temporary public employees. While AB 1484 is ostensibly intended to benefit temporary employees of local public agencies, in reality, it will directly harm these employees by severely limiting their future opportunities for temporary employment. This bill would: inflexibly mandate that temporary employees must be included within the same bargaining unit as permanent employees; and that the wages, hours, plus terms and conditions of employment for both temporary and permanent employees must be bargained together in a single memorandum of understanding. This result is already possible under current law, but only if the temporary and permanent employees have a "community of interest" making such combined treatment appropriate – an important component of fair representation and bargaining that this bill eschews. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 4/12/2023-Coauthors revised. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (April 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Oppose Staff: Sarah (1)
AB 1534 (Irwin) Methane emissions: municipal solid waste landfills: remote sensing data. Requires ARB to incorporate the use of remote sensing data into its landfill methane emissions regulations. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 4/11/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (April 10). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Watch Staff: Staci (1)
AB 1548 (Hart) Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: grant program: recycling infrastructure projects. Expands CalRecycle’s existing solid and organic waste recycling grant program to help local governments get recycled material into the marketplace, find new homes for useful consumer goods, and expand local edible food recovery programs. Location: Assembly Natural Resources Status: 3/20/2023-Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. Position: Sponsor Staff: John (1)
AB 1554 (Patterson, Joe) California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: wildfire fuels reduction projects. Exempts from CEQA fuels reduction projects in areas within moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones. Location: Assembly Natural Resources Status: 3/9/2023-Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. Position: Pending Staff: John (1)
AB 1563 (Bennett) Groundwater sustainability agency: groundwater extraction permit: verification. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/28/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 4.) (March 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Staff: Sidd (1)
AB 1597 (Alvarez) Water quality: California-Mexico cross-border rivers. Makes $50 million available, upon appropriation from the General Fund, to the North American Development Bank for loans, grants, and direct expenditures to address water quality problems arising in the California-Mexico cross-border rivers. Requires funding to be available for water quality projects for the Tijuana River and for projects consistent with the New River Water Quality, Public Health, and River Parkway Development Plan. Location: Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Status: 3/9/2023-Referred to Coms. on E.S. & T.M. and JUD. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 1616 (Lackey) California Cannabis Tax Fund: Board of State and Community Corrections grants. AB 1616 would require the Board of State and Community Corrections to prioritize local governments whose programs seek to address the unlawful cultivation and sale of cannabis when disbursing grants from California Cannabis Tax Fund. The bill would also authorize the board to make grants to local governments that ban both indoor and outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation or ban retail sale of cannabis or cannabis products. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 4/11/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (April 11). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Support Staff: Sarah (1)
AB 1700 (Hoover) California Environmental Quality Act: population growth and noise impacts: housing projects. Provides that population growth, in and of itself, resulting from a housing project and noise impacts of a housing project are not an effect on the environment for purposes of CEQA. Location: Assembly Natural Resources Status: 3/9/2023-Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. Position: Pending Staff: John (1)
SB 23 (Caballero) Water supply and flood risk reduction projects: expedited permitting. Location: Senate Environmental Quality Status: 4/12/2023-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q. Staff: Sidd (1)
SB 35 (Umberg) Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program. Location: Senate Health Status: 4/3/2023-Set for hearing April 19. Position: Pending Staff: Sarah (1)
SB 38 (Laird) Battery energy storage facilities: emergency response and evacuation plans. States Legislature intent to enact future legislation to address the need for better safety systems at battery storage facilities. Location: Senate Appropriations Status: 4/10/2023-VOTE: Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] (PASS) Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 69 (Cortese) California Environmental Quality Act: judicial and administrative proceedings: limitations. Location: Senate Appropriations Status: 4/12/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 11). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Pending Staff: John (1)
SB 75 (Roth) Courts: judgeships. SB 75 would authorize 26 new superior court judgeships, subject to appropriation. If funded in the budget, any new judgeships would be allocated to counties in the state in accordance with the Judicial Council's Judicial Needs Assessment. Location: Senate Appropriations Suspense File Status: 4/10/2023-April 10 hearing: Placed on APPR suspense file. Position: Support Staff: Sarah (1)
SB 91 (Umberg) California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: supportive and transitional housing: motel conversion. Repeals the sunset date of a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption for conversion a motel, hotel, residential hotel, or hostel to supportive or transitional housing. Location: Senate Housing Status: 3/30/2023-Set for hearing April 18. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
SB 367 (Seyarto) Farm, ranch, and public lands cleanup and abatement: grant program. Creates a grant program to facilitate the proper disposal of illegally dumped waste on state and federal lands. Location: Senate Appropriations Suspense File Status: 4/10/2023-April 10 hearing: Placed on APPR suspense file. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
SB 378 (Gonzalez) State parks: state beaches: expanded polystyrene food container and cooler ban. Bans people from bringing an expanded polystyrene food container or cooler onto a state beach or in a unit of the state park system and for improper disposal of those products. Location: Senate Natural Resources and Water Status: 4/3/2023-April 11 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 393 (Glazer) California Environmental Quality Act: judicial challenge: identification of contributors: housing projects. Requires a CEQA plaintiff or petitioner to disclose the identity of persons and entities that contribute more than $5,000 towards litigation costs for housing projects. Requires a plaintiff or petitioner to identify any pecuniary or economic interest related to any person who contributes more than $5,000 to the costs of the action. Location: Senate Judiciary Status: 4/10/2023-From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD. Position: Pending Staff: John (1)
SB 406 (Cortese) California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: financial assistance: housing. Exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act actions of a local agency to provide financial assistance or insurance for the development and construction of low- or moderate-income residential housing. Location: Senate Housing Status: 3/30/2023-Set for hearing May 2. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
SB 410 (Becker) Powering Up Californians Act. Seeks to improve electrical distribution planning, reduce interconnection delays, and ensure that California residents and businesses can timely access new and increased service for general economic growth, housing production, and meeting the state’s decarbonization goals. Charges the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) with establishing reasonable average and maximum interconnection time periods. Location: Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Status: 4/3/2023-Set for hearing April 18. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
SB 507 (Gonzalez) Electric vehicle charging station infrastructure: assessments. Requires the Energy Commission to assess the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure needed to meet zero-emission vehicle goals and ensure equitable deployment of EV charging infrastructure, including whether EV charging stations are disproportionately distributed, and whether homes have equal access to electrical panel upgrades to support at-home charging in single-family and multi-family housing. SB 507 requires the Energy Commission to quantify EV charging needs of rural, low-income, as well as disadvantaged communities and provide recommendations to remove barriers to achieve equity of EV charging infrastructure. Location: Senate Transportation Status: 4/3/2023-Set for hearing April 25. Position: Support Staff: Leigh (1)
SB 525 (Durazo) Minimum wage: health care workers. SB 525 proposes to raise the health care minimum wage broadly across the health sector to $25 per hour, including for employees working in county agencies – specifically, county health departments, county mental health departments, county correctional health settings, county hospitals, and county owned and operated clinics. Additionally, SB 525 requires salaried employees to be paid twice the proposed $25/hour minimum wage – creating a new salary base of $104,000 per year. Location: Senate Appropriations Status: 4/13/2023-From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (April 12). Position: Oppose Staff: Sarah (1)
SB 551 (Portantino) Mental Health Services Act: prevention and early intervention. SB 551 would divert 20% of the prevention and early intervention funds from the Mental Health Services Fund (MHSA), to provide direct services on school campuses. Location: Senate Health Status: 4/13/2023-Set for hearing April 26. Position: Oppose Staff: Sarah (1)
SB 560 (Laird) Solid waste: gas cylinders: stewardship program. States legislative intent to establish a framework for expended producer responsibility for the end-of-life management of covered gas cylinders. Location: Senate Environmental Quality Status: 4/11/2023-Set for hearing April 19. Position: Support In Concept Staff: John (1)
SB 613 (Seyarto) Organic waste: reduction goals: local jurisdictions: low-population exemption. Exempts from SB 1383 regulations local jurisdictions that dispose less than 5,000 tons of solid waste per year and that have fewer than 7,500 people. Location: Senate Appropriations Status: 4/11/2023-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 615 (Allen) Vehicle traction batteries. Requires all electric vehicle traction batteries to be recovered, reused, repurposed, remanufactured, or recycled at the end of their useful life in a motor vehicle or other application. Requires vehicle manufacturers, dismantlers, and secondary users to be responsible for end-of-life management of the battery. Location: Senate Transportation Status: 4/12/2023-From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 620 (McGuire) Low-impact camping areas. Location: Senate Housing Status: 4/11/2023-Set for hearing April 18. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HOUSING. Position: Support Staff: Staci (1)
SB 642 (Cortese) Hazardous materials: enforcement: county counsel. Allows county counsels to enforce provisions of state law related to aboveground storage tanks, underground storage tanks, medical waste, and hazardous materials business plans. Location: Senate Third Reading Status: 4/13/2023-Read second time. Ordered to third reading. Position: Sponsor Staff: John (1)
SB 651 (Grove) Water storage and recharge: California Environmental Quality Act. Location: Senate Environmental Quality Status: 4/12/2023-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q. Staff:
SB 675 (Limón) Prescribed grazing: local assistance grant program: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force. Location: Senate Appropriations Status: 4/12/2023-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Support Staff: Staci (1)
SB 707 (Newman) Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2023. Creates a Responsible Textile Recovery Act to require producers to establish a stewardship program for collection and recycling of apparel and textiles that are unsuitable for reuse by a consumer. Location: Senate Judiciary Status: 4/13/2023-Set for hearing April 25. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 751 (Padilla) Franchise agreements: labor impasse. Prohibits a local government from entering into an exclusive franchise agreement for waste services, or an amended agreement, that contains a force majeure provision that can be triggered by a labor impasse. Location: Senate Gov. & F. Status: 4/13/2023-Set for hearing April 26. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 752 (Padilla) Solid waste: collection service: disruptions. Location: Senate Judiciary Status: 4/11/2023-Set for hearing April 18. April 18 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 753 (Caballero) Cannabis: water resources. SB 753 amends Section 11358 of the Health and Safety Code to include groundwater as a public resource, and establishes that the theft of groundwater, unauthorized tapping into a water conveyance or storage infrastructure, or digging an unpermitted, illegal well may also be punished by imprisonment. This is an RCRC Sponsored Bill. Location: Senate Natural Resources and Water Status: 4/13/2023-Set for hearing April 25. Position: Sponsor Staff: Sarah (1)
SB 768 (Caballero) California Environmental Quality Act: vehicle miles traveled: statement of overriding consideration. States legislative intent to create a new transportation impact analysis for rural areas for purposes of the California Enivronmental Quality Act. Location: Senate Environmental Quality Status: 4/11/2023-Set for hearing April 19. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
