RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff. Click “Read More” to access information related to the current status of legislation and regulations impacting California’s rural counties.
Assembly Bill 315 (Garcia): Local Government: Lobbying Associations: Public Funds: Assembly Bill 315 prohibits an association of local agencies or districts from expending moneys for any purpose other than specified activities and educational activities, with respect to moneys paid to or otherwise received by an association from a local agency or district member of the association. Requires the association to publicly disclose the amount of those moneys expended. Status: AB 315 was not heard in the Assembly Local Government Committee. RCRC Status: Oppose
Assembly Bill 352 (Garcia): Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water. Assembly Bill 352 enacts the Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2020, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,920,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a wildlife prevention, safe drinking water, drought preparation, and flood protection program. Status: AB 352 awaits consideration in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Watch
Assembly Bill 464 (Garcia): State Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Assembly Bill 464 Defines district under the State Global Warming Solutions Act to mean an air pollution control or an air quality management district. Specifies that the definition of contribution of natural sources under the Act includes contribution from catastrophic wildfires. Status: AB 464 awaits consideration on the Assembly Floor. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 1080 (Gonzalez)/Senate Bill 54 (Allen): Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction. Assembly Bill 1080/SB 54 requires the state to reduce the waste associated with single use packaging and products 75 percent by 2030, requires the state to set standards for what is considered recyclable and compostable, and promotes the development of in-state manufacturing that uses recycled materials. Status: AB 1080 and SB 54 awaits consideration in the Senate and on Assembly Floor. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 1356 (Ting): Cannabis: Local Jurisdictions: Commercial Cannabis. Assembly Bill 1356 provides that if more than 50 percent of the voters of a local jurisdiction voted in favor of Proposition 64, these local jurisdictions must issue a minimum number of licenses authorizing retail cannabis activity within that jurisdiction. Status: AB 1356 awaits action in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Oppose
Assembly Bill 1509 (Mullin): Solid Waste: Lithium Ion Batteries: Assembly Bill 1509 establishes the Lithium Ion Battery Recycling Program in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. Requires a covered entity to provide a list of covered products that it sells or offers for sale in the state to the department and the total number of each covered product it sold in the state during the prior year, and to update those lists annually. Status: AB 1509 awaits consideration in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Support in Concept
Assembly Bill 1840 (Ting): Recycling: Reports: Assembly Bill 1840 requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to make recommendations to the Legislature on how to improve the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act to increase recycling of beverage container materials within the state and increase consumer redemption convenience. Status: AB 1840 awaits consideration from the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Assembly Bill 1841 (Salas): District Agricultural Associations: Fiscal Audits. Assembly Bill 1841 would require district agricultural associations to annually report the salary information of their employees and requires the chief executive officer and each director of a district agricultural association to attend ethics and conflict-of-interest training classes each year. Status: AB 1841 was recently introduced and awaits committee assignment. RCRC Position: Watch
Assembly Bill 1847 (Levine): Electrical Corporations: Public Administrator: Assembly Bill 1847 authorizes the Public Utilities Commission, if the commission adopts a decision that includes findings that an electrical corporation is not complying with state law or rules, regulations, or other directives from the commission, to appoint a public administrator to the electrical corporation up to 180 days. Vests the public administrator with oversight authority over the electrical corporation's activities that impact public safety. Status: AB 1847 awaits consideration from the Assembly. RCRC Status: Watch
Assembly Bill 1907 (Santiago): California Environmental Quality Act: Shelters: Assembly Bill 1907 Exempts from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act certain activities approved by or carried out by a public agency in furtherance of providing emergency shelters, supportive housing, or affordable housing. Status: AB 1907 awaits committee assignment. RCRC Status: Pending
Assembly Bill 1915 (Chu): Electrical Corporations: Deenergization Events: Assembly Bill 1915 requires the PUC to establish rules under which PSPS events can be undertaken and to do a post-event review of the duration and geographic range of an event. If the utility failed to comply with the rules and customers incurred losses, the PUC shall order the utility to pay claims for losses. Status: AB 1915 awaits consideration from the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Assembly Bill 1916 (Chu): Deenergization Events: Notification: Languages: Assembly Bill 1916 requires utilities to provide PSPS notifications in various languages, to survey customers to determine language preference and determine medical needs that require accommodation during a PSPS event, and to mitigate PSPS impacts for customers who rely on medical equipment or who have a medical condition that puts them at greater risk during a PSPS event. Status: AB 1916 awaits consideration from the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
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 awaits consideration in the Senate Floor. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 372 (Wieckowski): Beverage Container Recycling Act of 2020: Senate Bill 372 replaces the existing beverage container recycling program with a similar program run by beverage manufacturers. Status: SB 372 awaits consideration on the Senate Floor. RCRC Status: Watch
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, as specified, 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: Pending
Senate Bill 559 (Hurtado): California Water Commission: Grant: Friant-kern Canal. Senate Bill 559 requires the grant to be part of a comprehensive solution to groundwater sustainability and subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley and would require the joint powers authority to demonstrate a funding match of at least 35 percent from user fees, local sources, federal funding, or a combination of these sources. Status: SB 559 failed passaged in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 596 (Stern): In-home Supportive Services: Senate Bill 596 requires a county human services agency to inform each applicant for benefits under the IHSS program that the applicant may be eligible to receive that higher energy allowance and any advanced notifications that may be provided by a utility in an emergency. Status: SB 596 awaits consideration on the Senate Floor. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 753 (Stern): Public Social Services: Emergency Notification: Senate Bill 753 permits elderly or disabled clients telephone numbers and e-mail addresses to be disclosed to the first responder and would specifically identify a public safety power shut-off as a public safety emergency. Status: SB 753 awaits consideration in the Senate (Third Reading File). RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 799 (Dodd): Local Agency Services: Contracts: Napa & San Bernardino: Senate Bill 799 deletes the repeal date with regard to the pilot program under the Cortese Knox Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act in the Counties of Napa and San Bernardino. Status: SB 799 awaits consideration from the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. RCRC Status: Watch
Senate Bill 801 (Glazer): Electrical Corporations: Wildfire Mitigation Plans: Senate Bill 801 Requires an electrical corporation to deploy backup electrical resources or provide financial assistance for backup electrical resources to a customer receiving a medical baseline allowance, if the customer meets specified conditions. Status: SB 801 awaits consideration from the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. RCRC Status: Watch
Senate Bill 862 (Dodd): Planned Power Outage: Public Safety: Senate Bill 862 clarifies that public safety power shutoffs are included in the California Emergency Services Act and expands the universe of medically sensitive individuals for whom electrical corporations must mitigate public safety power shutoff event impacts. Status: SB 862 was recently introduced and awaits committee assignment. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 884 (Dodd): Education Finance: Emergencies: Power Shutoffs: Senate Bill 884 provides schools with funding to make up instructional days lost as a result of emergencies or other extraordinary conditions. Status: SB 884 was recently introduced and awaits committee assignment. RCRC Status: Pending