Information related to the current status of legislation impacting California’s rural counties.
AB 3 (Zbur) Offshore wind energy: reports. States Legislative intent to accelerate the approval, implementation, and operation of offshore wind energy projects necessary to meet California’s climate action goals and the transition to a clean energy economy, clarify the authority of California governmental agencies related to the analysis and selection of feasible alternatives for seawater ports and transmission infrastructure improvements required to construct wind energy projects along the California coast, and specify criteria for the analysis and selection of port and transmission alternatives related to offshore wind energy projects to ensure the protection of the environment and sensitive habitats and robust community participation and comment, to keep the maximum number of jobs related to the construction of offshore wind energy projects in California, and to achieve environmental justice goals. Location: Assembly U. & E. Status: 3/27/2023-Re-referred to Com. on U. & E. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
AB 50 (Wood) Public utilities: timely service: timely electrical interconnection. 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: 3/20/2023-Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D. 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 344 (Wood) Electricity: load-serving entities: offshore wind facilities. Authorizes electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators to jointly enter into agreements to procure electricity generated from offshore wind facilities. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/23/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (March 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
AB 356 (Mathis) California Environmental Quality Act: aesthetic impacts. Repeals 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 Natural Resources Status: 3/14/2023-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. 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: interim relief. Location: Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Status: 2/17/2023-Referred to Coms. on W., P., & W. and JUD. Position: Watch Staff: Sidd (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 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. Requires the Public Utilities Commission to extend the BioMAT program until all 250 MW of capacity are procured. Location: Assembly Natural Resources Status: 3/28/2023-Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 643 (Berman) Electricity: interconnection timelines: report. Requires the Public Utilities Commission to submit a report to the Legislature on timelines for the interconnection of customer-sited energy generation and storage resources. Require the commission to consider the negligent exceedance of an interconnection timeline by an electrical corporation to be a failure to comply with a rule of the commission and subject to a penalty. Requires an electrical corporation to provide a substantial response to any queries from an interconnection applicant related to the completeness of the application and the submission of supporting information to pending applications within 3 business days. Location: Assembly U. & E. Status: 3/27/2023-In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. Position: Watch 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 rebuilt after being destroyed by a wildfire from state laws requiring installation of solar panels, until January 1, 2027. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/27/2023-VOTE: Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] (PASS) Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 772 (Jackson) Electric vehicle chargers. Require 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: Oppose 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: 3/29/2023-From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (March 27). 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:
AB 978 (Patterson, Joe) California Environmental Quality Act: housing projects: judicial review: bonds. Require a person seeking judicial review of the decision of a lead agency made pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to carry out or approve a housing project to post a bond of $500,000 to cover the costs and damages to the housing project incurred by the respondent or real party in interest. Location: Assembly Natural Resources Status: 2/23/2023-Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and JUD. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
AB 982 (Villapudua) Public Utilities Public Purpose Programs Fund. Establishes the Public Utilities Public Purpose Programs Fund and requires the Public Utilities Commission to allocate the moneys in the fund for purposes of funding the Family Electric Rate Assistance program, programs funded through an electrical corporation’s public purpose program rate component as of December 31, 2023, including the CARE program, and other programs determined by the commission to provide public benefits. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/28/2023-Re-referred to Com. on APPR. 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 U. & E. Status: 3/28/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on U. & E. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (March 27). Re-referred to Com. on U. & E. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
AB 1152 (Patterson, Joe) California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: recycled water. Exempts from CEQA a project to construct or expand a recycled water pipeline for the purpose of mitigating drought conditions for which a state of emergency was proclaimed by the Governor. Exempts from CEQA the development and approval of building standards by state agencies for recycled water systems. Location: Assembly Natural Resources Status: 3/2/2023-Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
AB 1155 (Flora) Wildfire mitigation plans: vegetation management: vegetation inspection standards. Location: Assembly U. & E. Status: 3/20/2023-Re-referred to Com. on U. & E. Position: Oppose Staff: John (1)
AB 1238 (Ward) Hazardous waste: solar panels. Requires DTSC to develop alternative management standards for recycling solar panels to reduce the regulatory burden on management and recycling. Location: Assembly Appropriations Status: 3/29/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (March 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. Position: Watch 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 B.&p. Status: 3/22/2023-Re-referred to Com. on B. & P. Position: Sponsor Staff: Sarah (1)
AB 1488 (Wallis) California Environmental Quality Act: environmental leadership development projects: water storage, water conveyance, and groundwater recharge projects: streamlined review. Requires the Judicial Council to adopt rules of court applicable to actions or proceedings brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification or adoption of an environmental impact report for water conveyance or storage projects, as defined, or the granting of project approvals, including any appeals to the court of appeal or the Supreme Court, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings. Requires the lead agency to concurrently prepare the record of proceedings for a water conveyance or storage project. Location: Assembly Natural Resources Status: 3/27/2023-Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. Position: Pending Staff:
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 Natural Resources Status: 3/9/2023-Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. Position: Watch Staff: Staci (1)
AB 1548 (Hart) Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: grant program: recycling infrastructure projects. 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. T Location: Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Status: 3/9/2023-Referred to Coms. on E.S. & T.M. and JUD. Staff:
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 B.&p. Status: 3/9/2023-Referred to Com. on B. & P. 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 Natural Resources and Water Status: 3/23/2023-Set for hearing April 11. Staff: Sidd (1)
SB 35 (Umberg) Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program. Location: Senate Health Status: 3/29/2023-Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH. 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 Energy, Utilities and Communications Status: 3/29/2023-Re-referred to Com. on E., U. & C. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 69 (Cortese) California Environmental Quality Act: judicial and administrative proceedings: limitations. Location: Senate Judiciary Status: 3/21/2023-Set for hearing April 11. 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 Status: 3/29/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (March 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. 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: 3/15/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HOUSING with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 15). Re-referred to Com. on HOUSING. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
SB 367 (Seyarto) Farm, ranch, and public lands cleanup and abatement: grant program. Seeks to create a grant program to facilitate the proper disposal of illegally dumped waste on state and federal lands. Location: Senate Appropriations Status: 3/28/2023-Set for hearing April 10. 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: 3/29/2023-Set for hearing April 11. 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 $1,000 towards litigation costs. Requires a plaintiff or petitioner to identify any pecuniary or economic interest related to any person who contributes more than $1,000 to the costs of the action. Location: Senate Judiciary Status: 3/29/2023-Set for hearing April 18. 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: 3/15/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HOUSING with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 15). Re-referred to Com. on HOUSING. Position: Support Staff: John (1)
SB 410 (Becker) Powering Up Californians Act. Requires electrical corporations to provide data to the Public Utilities Commission on the response time to provide upgraded electrical service to customers for electrification upgrades in buildings, panel upgrades, solar installations, or electric vehicle chargers. Location: Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Status: 3/14/2023-From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E., U. & C. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 420 (Becker) Electricity: electrical transmission facility projects. Requires the Governor to identify a lead agency to monitor clean energy and electrical transmission facility planning and deployment, and requires that agency to identify those electrical transmission facility projects necessary to maintain system reliability. Make that agency the lead agency for those projects for purposes of CEQA and deems those projects to be environmental leadership development projects for purposes of the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021. Location: Senate Consent Calendar Status: 3/29/2023-From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on E., U. & C. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 29). Position: Watch 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: 3/21/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (March 21). Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. Position: Support Staff: Leigh (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: 3/29/2023-Re-referred to Coms. on E.Q. and JUD. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 568 (Newman) Electronic waste: export. Conditions the export of electronic waste and covered electronic devices upon a demonstration that capacity does not exist in California to safely and responsibly recycle that waste or device. Location: Senate Environmental Quality Status: 3/27/2023-Set for hearing April 19. Position: Oppose 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: 3/29/2023-VOTE: Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar (PASS) Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 615 (Allen) Electric 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: 3/29/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 29). Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. Position: Watch Staff: John (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 Judiciary Status: 3/29/2023-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (March 29). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. Position: Sponsor Staff: John (1)
SB 651 (Grove) Water storage and recharge: California Environmental Quality Act: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009: exemptions. Makes it the policy of the state that, to help advance groundwater recharge projects, and to demonstrate the feasibility of projects that can use available high water flows to recharge local groundwater while minimizing flood risks, the state board and the regional water quality control boards must prioritize water right permits, water quality certifications, waste discharge requirements, and conditional waivers of waste discharge requirements to accelerate approvals for projects that enhance the ability of a local or state agency to capture high precipitation events for local storage or recharge, consistent with water right priorities and protections for fish and wildlife. Exempts from CEQA actions taken by a state or local agency if the state agency with primary responsibility for the implementation of directives addressing impacts of drought concurs that local action is required, and permits that are necessary to carry out those actions, to accelerate approvals for projects that enhance the ability of a local or state agency to capture high precipitation events for local storage or recharge, consistent with water right priorities and protections for fish and wildlife. Exempts from CEQA a recharge project under the Department of Water Resources’ Sustainable Groundwater Management Grant Program and flood-managed aquifer recharge projects, occurring on open and working lands to replenish and store water in groundwater basins that will help mitigate groundwater conditions impacted by drought Location: Senate Natural Resources and Water Status: 3/29/2023-From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W. Staff:
SB 675 (Limón) Prescribed grazing: local assistance grant program: Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force. Location: Senate Natural Resources and Water Status: 3/29/2023-Set for hearing April 11. 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: 3/29/2023-VOTE: Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Judiciary] (PASS) 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: 3/21/2023-Set for hearing April 12. 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 Public Safety Status: 3/20/2023-From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB S. 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: 3/29/2023-Re-referred to Coms. on E.Q. and HOUSING. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 794 (Niello) California Environmental Quality Act: judicial challenge: identification of contributors: housing projects. Requires a CEQA action brought to attack a commercial, housing, or public works projects that addresses longstanding critical needs and that results in an investment of at least $25 million to be resolved within 365 days of filing of the record of proceedings. Requires a CEQA plaintiff or petitioner to disclose the identity of persons and entities that contribute more than $100 towards litigation costs. Requires a plaintiff or petitioner to identify any pecuniary or economic interest related to any person who contributes more than $100 to the costs of the action. Location: Senate Environmental Quality Status: 3/29/2023-March 29 set for first hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) Reconsideration granted. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SB 861 (Dahle) California Environmental Quality Act: water conveyance or storage projects: judicial review. Requires the Judicial Council to adopt rules of court applicable to actions or proceedings brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification or adoption of an environmental impact report for water conveyance or storage projects, or the granting of project approvals, including any appeals to the court of appeal or the Supreme Court, to be resolved within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings. Requires the lead agency to concurrently prepare the record of proceedings for a water conveyance or storage project. Location: Senate Judiciary Status: 3/29/2023-VOTE: Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Judiciary] (PASS) Position: Watch Staff: John (1)
SBX1 2 (Skinner) Energy: transportation fuels: supply and pricing: maximum gross gasoline refining margin. Establishes a maximum gross gasoline refining margin at an unspecified amount per gallon and would authorize the Energy Commission to annually adjust the maximum gross gasoline refining margin. Authorizes the commission to petition the court to enjoin a refiner from exceeding the maximum gross gasoline refining margin. Authorizes the commission to assess an administrative civil penalty on a refiner for exceeding the maximum gross gasoline refining margin. Location: Senate Chaptered Status: 3/28/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 1, Statutes of 2023-24 First Extraordinary Session. Position: Watch Staff: John (1)