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.
Today marks the deadline for the introduction of bills for the 2020 portion of the Legislative Session. RCRC’s Governmental Affairs staff is analyzing each legislative proposal, and will be considering positions on a number of recently-introduced bills over the next few weeks. As such, the RCRC Board of Directors is expected to consider a number of legislative proposals for a formal position as well as receive an update on the status of key bills of interest at the March RCRC Board of Directors meeting in Sacramento.
To review RCRC’s position on individual bills, please visit RCRC’s Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Tool, which can be accessed here.
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 has passed in the Assembly and awaits consideration from the Senate. 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 Assembly; respectively (Inactive File). RCRC Status: Support
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. It 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 awaits consideration from the Assembly Agriculture Committee. 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 Utilities and Energy Committee. 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 consideration from the Assembly Natural Resources and Housing and Community Committee. RCRC Status: Support
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 by the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Support
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 by the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 1919 (Bauer-Kahan): Pesticides: Enforcement Action. Assembly Bill 1919 allows the Director of Pesticide Regulation to determine that if violations of specified provisions of law relating to pesticides have been committed, the Director may levy a civil penalty for each violation. Status: AB 1919 awaits consideration from the Assembly Environmental Safety, Toxic Materials and Judiciary Committee. RCRC Position: Watch
Assembly Bill 1924 (Grayson): Housing Development: Fees: Assembly Bill 1924 Requires that a fee levied or imposed on a housing development project by a local agency be proportionate to the square footage of the proposed unit or units. Status: AB 1924 awaits consideration in the Assembly Local Government, Housing and Community Development Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
Assembly Bill 1936 (Rodriguez): Price Gouging: Public Safety Power Shutoffs: assembly Bill 1936 provides that the state’s anti-price gouging laws apply upon the announcement of a public safety power shutoff. Status: AB 1936 awaits consideration from the Assembly Public Safety Committee. RCRC Status: Pending
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 consideration from the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 2033 (Wood): Deenergization: Spoilage Claims: Assembly Bill 2033 requires an electrical corporation that engages in a public safety power shutoff to compensate a customer for any qualified claim for spoilage of food or medication if the customer experienced an interruption in electrical service for greater than 8 hours and received less than 24 hours’ notice of the interruption. Status: AB 2033 awaits consideration in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 2163 (Rivas): Rural Broadband and Emergency Infrastructure Grant Act: Assembly Bill 2163 establishes the Rural Broadband and Emergency Infrastructure Grant Act to ensure that all state fairgrounds are equipped with adequate broadband and telecommunications infrastructure to support local, regional, and state emergency and disaster response personnel and systems. Status: AB 2163 was recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Pending
Assembly Bill 2168 (McCarty, Chiu, Reyes): Planning and Zoning: Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Permit Application Approval: Assembly Bill 2168 would require an application to install an electric vehicle charging station to be deemed complete if, 5 business days after the application was submitted, the city, county, or city and county has not deemed the application to be incomplete. Would deem an electric vehicle charging station approved if, 15 business days after the application was submitted, the local jurisdiction has not approved the application through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit, and the building official has not made findings that the proposed installation could have an adverse impact on public health and safety. This is an urgency measure and would take effect immediately. Status: AB 2168 was recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Oppose.
Assembly Bill 2459 (Bigelow): Alcoholic Beverage Licenses: County of Mariposa: Assembly Bill 2459 would, among other provisions, 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 was recently introduced and awaits committee assignment. RCRC Status: Support
Assembly Bill 2612 (Maienschein): Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Recycling: Appropriation Assembly Bill 2612 annually appropriates $200 million to fund in-state solid and organic waste recycling programs to reach the state’s environmental goals. Status: RCRC Status: Support
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 378 (Wiener): Electrical Corporations: Deenergization Events: Senate Bill 378 makes a number of changes to increase disclosure of electrical system infrastructure needs and to improve the implementation of PSPS events, evaluate their impacts, and compensate individuals and local governments for associated losses. The bill also incentivizes well-constructed, surgical PSPS events that are no larger than necessary to avoid wildfire risk. Status: SB 378 has passed out from the Senate and awaits consideration from 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, 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 has passed out from the Senate and awaits consideration from the Assembly. 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 has passed out from the Senate and awaits consideration from the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support
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 807 (Nielson): Reclamation District No. 108: Hydroelectric Power: Senate Bill 807 Authorizes Reclamation District No. 108 to continue to exercise hydroelectric power authority until after January 1, 2021. Status: SB 807 awaits consideration from the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. RCRC Status: Support
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 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. RCRC Status: Support
Senate Bill 917 (Wiener): Consumer Energy and Conservation Financing Authority: Senate Bill 917 Renames the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority the California Consumer Energy and Conservation Financing Authority it to acquire, by eminent domain, the assets or ownership of PG&E and to break up the service territory if others want to take over the provisions of electricity in their over areas. Status: SB 917 has been recently introduced and awaits committee assignment. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 944 (McGuire): Fire Safe Home Tax Credits. Senate Bill 944 creates a personal state tax credit scheme to off-set costs of home hardening and vegetation management for homeowners. Status: SB 944 awaits action in the State 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 awaits consideration in the Senate. 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 was recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Senate. RCRC Status: Pending
Senate Bill 1099 (Dodd): Emergency Backup Generators: Critical Facilities: Senate Bill 1099 requires air districts to adopt a rule, or revise its existing rules, to allow critical facilities with a permitted emergency backup generator to use that emergency backup generator during a deenergization event or other loss of power, and to test and maintain that emergency backup generator without having that usage, testing, or maintenance count toward that emergency backup generator's time limitation on actual usage and routine testing and maintenance. Status: SB 1099 has been recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Senate. RCRC Status: Support