Information related to the current status of legislation and regulations impacting California’s rural counties.
Assembly Bill 1071 (Limon): Climate Change: Agriculture: Agricultural Climate: Assembly Bill 1071 requires the council to provide guidance in the development of, and to coordinate the activities of member agencies of the council for, a grant program, known as the Agricultural Climate Adaptation Tools Program, as specified, to provide funding for activities that include development of specified planning tools for adapting to climate change and developing resiliency strategies in the agricultural sector, using the best available science. Status: AB 1071 has passed in the Assembly and awaits consideration in the Senate. RCRC Status: Watch
Assembly Bill 1958 (Cooper): State Plan of Flood Control: Facilities: Assembly Bill 1958 would protect critical flood protection infrastructure by bolstering the maintenance of levees throughout California. Status: AB 1958 awaits committee assignment by Senate Rules. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 2076 (Bigelow): Public Lands: Wildfire Prevention Strategy: Assembly Bill 2076 requires the Director of Parks and Recreation to develop and implement a wildfire prevention strategy for all property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation that is located within a high or a very high fire hazard severity zone. Requires the wildfire prevention strategy to outline the department's fire prevention goals. Status: AB 2076 awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 2421 (Quirk): Emergency Standby Generators: Assembly Bill 2421 requires local agencies to make the installation of an emergency standby generator within the physical footprint of a macro cell tower site that meets specified requirements a permitted use subject only to local agency administrative review. Status: AB 2421 awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 2459 (Bigelow): Alcoholic Beverage Licenses: County of Mariposa: Assembly Bill 2459 would authorize the Alcoholic Beverage Control to issue up to 10 additional new original on‑sale alcoholic beverage licenses to bona fide public eating places in Mariposa County that have a seating capacity for 50 or more persons. Status: AB 2459 gained passage in the Assembly and now awaits consideration in the State Senate. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 2642 (Salas): Multi-benefit Land Conversion Incentive Program: Assembly Bill 2642 requires the Department of Conservation to establish and administer a program named the Multi-benefit Land Conversion Incentive Program for purposes of providing grants to groundwater sustainability agencies, or other specified entities designated by groundwater sustainability agencies, for the development or implementation of local programs supporting or facilitating multi-benefit land conversion at the basin scale. Status: AB 2642 held by Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Status: Support.
Assembly Bill 3012 (Wood): Residential Property Insurance: Assembly Bill 3012 requires, for a total loss of a furnished residence related to a declared state of emergency, a residential property insurer to provide a payment for contents of no less than a certain percent of the policy limit without requiring an itemized claim. Requires a notice of nonrenewal for a policy to be accompanied by certain information, including information about the Home Insurance Finder and FAIR plan policies. Status: AB 3012 awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 3074 (Friedman): Fire Prevention: Wildfire Risk: Defensible Space: Assembly Bill 3074 Relates to defensible space. Requires more intense fuel reductions between 5 and 30 feet around the structure, and to create an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of the structure, as provided. Status: AB 3074 awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 3164 (Friedman): Fire Prevention: Wildland Urban Interface: Assembly Bill 3164 requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a wildland urban interface wildfire risk model to determine the risk for a community or parcel within a local responsibility area or state responsibility the department to establish, and consult with, an advisory workgroup, with specified members, to develop the model. Requires the department to update the model and guidelines when fire hazard severity zones are revised. Status: AB 3164 awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 3256 (Garcia): Bond Act: Assembly Bill 3256 Enacts the Economic Recovery, Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood Protection Bond Act, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in a specified amount to finance projects for an economic recovery, wildfire prevention, safe drinking water, drought preparation, and flood protection program. Status: AB 3256 Assembly Rules Committee, pending referred to the Assembly Floor with Amendments. RCRC Status: Watch
Senate Bill 45 (Allen): Wildfire, Drought, and Flood Protection Bond Act 2020. Senate Bill 45 enacts the Wildfire, Drought, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2020, which, if approved by voters, authorizes the issuance of bonds to finance projects to restore fire damaged areas, reduce wildfire risk, create healthy forests and watersheds, reduce climate impacts on urban areas and vulnerable populations, protect water supply and water quality, protect rivers, lakes and streams, reduce flood risk, protect fish and wildlife from climate impacts, and protect coastal lands and resources. Status: SB 45 has passed out from the Senate and awaits consideration from the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 182 (Beth Jackson): Local Government: Planning and Zoning: Wildfires: SB 182 creates a structure of increased fire risk strategies to be used by local governments to plan and permit for housing development in a VHFRA, defined as state, local and locally designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ). This bill adds reducing development pressure in VHFRA as an objective of the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) plan through considering allocating a lower portion of housing to a jurisdiction, if appropriate, due to the risk to life and safety to catastrophic wildfire. Status: SB 182 has passed out of the Senate and awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 431 (McGuire): Mobile Telephony Service Base Transceiver Station Tower: Senate Bill 431 requires the commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, to develop and implement performance reliability standards for all mobile telephony service base transceiver station towers, commonly known as "cell towers," located within a commission-designated Tier 2 or Tier 3 High Fire Threat District. Status: SB 431 awaits consideration in the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 755 (Rubio): Insurance: Residential Property Insurance: Senate Bill 755 requires specified insurers who fail to renew or offer renewal of a policy of residential property insurance to make certain notifications to a policyholder regarding other options the policyholder may have, including information about the FAIR plan. Status: SB 755 passed in the Senate and awaits consideration from the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 872 (Dodd): Residential Property Insurance: State of Emergency: Senate Bill 872 relates to actions taken during a state of emergency. Requires an insurer of residential property to provide extensions to collect the full replacement cost of an insured acting in good faith and with reasonable diligence encounters delays in approval for, or reconstruction of, the property that are beyond the insured's control. Requires coverage for loss of use relating to a state of emergency to be for a specified period, plus an extension, as specified. Status: SB 872 awaits consideration in the Senate. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 971 (Hertzberg): Small Water Supplier and Countywide Water Shortages: Senate Bill 971 requires a small water supplier to prepare and adopt a small water supplier water shortage contingency plan that consists of specified elements. Requires a small water supplier with a specified number of service connections to take specified actions related to water shortage planning and response. Requires small water suppliers to provide to the public and to report, the plan and specified water shortage planning information. Status: SB 971 will not be considered by the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee this year due to the shortened legislative calendar. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 974 (Hurtado): California Environmental Quality Act: Water Systems: Senate Bill 974 exempts from CEQA certain projects that benefit a small community water system that primarily serves one or more disadvantaged communities or that benefit a non-transient noncommunity water system that serves a school that serves one or more disadvantaged communities, by improving the small community water system's or non-transient noncommunity water system's water quality, water supply, or water supply reliability, or by encouraging water conservation. Status: SB 974 awaits consideration on the Senate Floor. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 1120 (Atkins): Subdivisions: Tentative Maps: Senate Bill 1120 amends the Planning and Zoning Law. Requires a proposed housing development containing two residential units to be considered ministerially, without discretionary review or hearing, in zones where allowable uses are limited to single family residential development. Requires ministerial approval of parcel map dividing a lot into two equal lots. Status: SB 1120 awaits consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 1130 (Gonzalez): Telecommunications: California Advanced Services Fund: Senate Bill 1130 make changes to the California Advanced Services Fund that would require broad band projects to provide high quality, future proof infrastructure to be eligible for state funding. Status: SB 1130 awaits consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 1347 (Galgiani): Veterinary Medicine: Authorized Care: Senate Bill 1347 Expands the types of veterinary care, animal shelter, employees can provide to include first aid, the administration of nonprescription vaccinations to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and other activities pursuant to veterinarian writers protocol. Status: SB 1347 awaits consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 1385 (Caballero): Local Planning: Housing: Commercial Zones: Senate Bill 1385 establishes the Neighborhood Home Act which would deem a housing development project an authorized use on a parcel that is zoned for office or retail commercial use under a local agency's zoning code or general plan. Status: SB 1385 awaits consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 1431 (Glazer): Property Taxation: Reassessment: Disaster Relief: Senate Bill 1431 expands existing law relating to the reassessment of property damaged or destroyed in an area or region subsequently proclaimed to be in a state of disaster. Specifies that damage includes a diminution in the value of property as a result of any law, order, or rule, or regulation of the state or locality providing tenant protections in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Status: SB 1431 awaits consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Status: Oppose