Information related to the current status of legislation and regulations impacting California’s rural counties.
Assembly Bill 1 (C. Garcia): Hazardous Waste: Assembly Bill 1 Establishes several new governance, policy, and fiscal reforms to improve the Department of Toxic Substances Control, including significantly increasing several fees and repealing several important fee exemptions. Status: AB 1 is awaiting consideration by the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Assembly Bill 33 (Ting): Natural Gas: Prohibits new state buildings from having natural gas connections and utilities from subsidizing natural gas line connections. Status: AB 33 is awaiting consideration in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Watch
Assembly Bill 318 (Levine): Hazardous waste: Assembly Bill 318 excludes from classification as hazardous waste green waste that has not been contaminated by a hazardous or toxic chemical during production, harvest, or processing. Allows those green wastes to be disposed in a permitted solid or hazardous waste landfill or composting operation. Status: AB 318 awaits referral to a policy committee in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Pending
Assembly Bill 322 (Salas): Energy: Electric Program Investment Charge program: Assembly Bill 322 requires the Energy Commission to allocate at least 20% of all funds appropriated for the Electric Program Investment Charge program (roughly $25 million annually) to bioenergy projects for biomass conversion. Status: AB 322 has been recently introduced. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 332 (ESTM): Hazardous waste: treated wood waste: Assembly Bill 332 seeks to reestablish a statutory pathway for the alternative management and disposal of treated wood waste in a landfill. Status: AB 332 awaits referral to a policy committee in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support.
Senate Bill 7 (Atkins): Jobs and Economic Improvement Environmental Leadership. Senate Bill 7 requires a lead agency to prepare a master environmental impact report (EIR) for a general plan, plan amendment, plan element, or specific plan for housing projects where the state has provided funding for the preparation of the master EIR. Allows for limited review of proposed subsequent housing projects that are described in the master EIR if the use of the master EIR is consistent with specified provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act. Status: SB 7 awaits consideration by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Watch
Senate Bill 30 (Cortese): Building Decarbonization: Senate Bill 30 prohibits state agencies from designing or constructing a state facility that is connected to the natural gas grid and prohibits state agencies from funding projects for the construction of residential and nonresidential buildings that are connected to the natural gas grid. Status: Senate Bill 30 awaits consideration by the Senate Governmental Organization Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 38 (Wieckowski): Beverage Containers: Senate Bill 38 replaces the existing Beverage Container Recycling Program (Bottle Bill) with a new recycling program administered by beverage container manufacturers and increases the CRV from $0.05 to $0.10 per container if the state fails to achieve specified recycling rates. Status: SB 38 awaits consideration by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 42 (Wieckowski): Department of Toxic Substances Control: Senate Bill 42 establishes a new Board of Environmental safety to oversee the Department of Toxic Substances Control, consider permit appeals, and propose regulatory changes and establishes an ombudsperson to make and receive public complaints and suggestions. Status: SB 42 awaits consideration by the Senate Environmental Quality committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 52 (Dodd): State of Emergency: Power Outages. Senate Bill 52 clarifies that deenergization events (also known as PSPS events) qualify as events for which a state of emergency or local emergency can be declared under the California Emergency Services Act. Status: SB 52 awaits consideration in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 99 (Dodd): Community Energy Resilience Act of 2021: Senate Bill 99 requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop and implement a grant program for local governments to develop community energy resilience plans. Sets forth guiding principles for plan development, including equitable access to reliable energy and integration with other existing local planning documents. Status: SB 99 awaits consideration in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 207 (Dahle): Photovoltaic Recycling Advisory Group: Senate Bill 207 seeks to spur the recycling and reuse of solar photovoltaic panels by requiring an advisory group to make recommendations to ensure that, to the extent possible, all solar photovoltaic panels in the state are reused or recycled at the end of their lives in a safe and cost-effective manner. Status: SB 207 awaits referral to a policy committee in the Senate. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 431 (Patterson): Forestry: timber harvesting plans: defensible space: exemptions: Assembly Bill 431 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations, as defined, unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to, and approved by, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Status: AB 431 awaits referral to a policy committee in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 45 (Portantino): Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water Bond Act: Senate Bill 45 enacts the Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2022, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in a specified amount pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for a wildfire prevention, safe drinking water, drought preparation, and flood protection program. Status: SB 45 awaits consideration in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 208 (Dahle):Sierra Nevada Conservancy: Sierra Nevada Region: subregion: Senate Bill 208 requires the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to make an annual report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency regarding expenditures, land management costs, and administrative costs. This bill would modify areas listed under the definitions of the “Sierra Nevada Region” and its “subregions,” as specified, for these purposes. Status: SB 208 awaits consideration from the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 252 (Wiener): Bears: take prohibition: Senate Bill 252 Would make it unlawful to hunt, trap, or otherwise take a bear of the genus Euarctos or the species Ursus americanus, except under specified circumstances, including under a depredation permit. The bill would authorize the Department of Fish and Wildlife to adopt regulations to implement these provisions. The bill would remove the designation of game mammal for bears, thereby designating a bear as a nongame mammal, and would eliminate bear tags. Status: SB 252 awaits referral to a policy committee. RCRC Status: Oppose